<p>Hello everybody. I'm interested in possibly attending a liberal arts school. There happen to be a bunch in NY, such as Hamilton, Colgate, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence and Bard. Can you guys compare and contrast these schools, along with any other schools I might have missed? Thanks guys!</p>
<p>I just visited Bard on friday , you should really check it out. I posted a visit report, so check it out. if you have any questions about Bard, just ask me.</p>
<p>I need to know more about you. Gender? Interests? Kine of student body you think you'd fit with? Preppy? Crunchy? What do you want to study? my D goes to a small NY LAC, and my son applied to and was accepted at several but is going to MA. I've visited almost all of them & all great in their own way.</p>
<p>mythmom, thank you for replying to my post. I am a male, who probably can't be defined by a distinct social group. I tend to float from crowd to crowd, and I almost always get along with everyone I meet. I am aiming to become a doctor, so the school's strengths should include a good Pre-Med program, or it's equivalent(i.e. biology, biochemistry). In terms of my stats, I have a 3.8 GPA and a 2070 SAT(1390 out of 1600).</p>
<p>Most of them are excellent: Bard, Hamilton, Colgate, Vassar, Union, Hartwick, Hobart and William Smith, Paul Smith; Barnard and Wells which are for women only. </p>
<p>Keep the publics in mind also: SUNY Geneseo, Fredonia, Plattsburgh and New Paltz are all excellent liberal arts colleges (larger student bodies however).</p>
<p>dWincho, could you give me some info on the SUNY's? I'm interested in a top-tier program, so do any of tehse schools have a very well known honors program, or the equivalent?</p>
<p>Son's friend goes to Geneseo and loves it. He's in their premed program: <a href="http://www.geneseo.edu/CMS/display.php?dpt=premed%5B/url%5D">http://www.geneseo.edu/CMS/display.php?dpt=premed</a></p>
<p>And also in their honors program, which is tough. He had books to read before his first fall semester started. He even got some kind of merit scholarship, but needs to maintain a 3.5 to keep it. However should do that anyhow for med school.</p>
<p>Well, I'm going to be attending Vassar College this fall and would HIGHLY recommend it... it would definitely be a good fit for someone who "floats from crowd to crowd" and has an excellent, personalized science program according to a recent graduate of the school who I spoke with who's doing pre-med (he was a biochemistry major). I got into Vassar RD this past year with almost identical stats to yours (3.80 UW GPA, 1390/2100 SAT, 1/59 class rank), so you'd probably have an excellent shot of getting into the school (also, because its an LAC, your chances would be even better as a guy).</p>
<p>Comparing Vassar to a few of the other schools on your list... I'd say it's less "preppy" overall than Colgate. It's also more gender-balanced than Sarah Lawrence which is currently 75% female. Of course, that might appeal to you.... my former bf goes to a college that's 70% female and loves it. I'd say Vassar is probably the most well-known school out of the ones you've listed if prestige is important to you. Lastly, something that sets Vassar apart is the open curriculum... there are no real requirements (1 quantitative course, 1 freshman seminar, and a language requirement is it) which means you can study what you want and pick classes more freely.</p>
<p>Some other NY schools you could consider (the list ranges from reach to safety): Skidmore College, Union College, Marist College, University of Rochester, Cornell University.</p>
<p>I concur with littleatheist. Vassar is particularly enthusiastic about male applicants and those who want science so I think your stats would be competitive there. Bard is also looking for science applicants. Bard is highly intellectual and really on the rise.
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Union, Hamilton and Colgate are all wonderful schools on the preppier, frat end of the spectrum.</p>
<p>Skidmore, Geneseo and Hobart and William Smith are the next tier down but also very good schools.</p>
<p>Of these schools my son picked Bard aned Vassar (did not apply to others because he was accepted EA to Bard) and was accepted to both. He is interested in music and medicine. He would have been thrilled to attend either, but his dream school accepted him, and he's going there. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.</p>
<p>What is the relative importance to you of 1) a "top-tier" undergraduate program vs. 2) an inside track to medical school? They're not always the same thing. If your main goal is medical school, as an example, you might consider applying to the Siena College/Albany Med program, where you are accepted to Albany Med and Siena at the same time. You are then guaranteed a spot at Albany Med when you graduate, as long as you maintain a 3.5 ave. (I believe) while in college. There may be other schools in NYS with similar special arrangements with medical schools, I don't know off-hand. This kind of program is harder to get into than general admission to the college itself, as you can imagine. But you have the option of applying and only accepting an offer of admission if you get into the medical school program as well.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies. Vassar and Bard sound REALY good right now, so I just have to find out more about the religous scene on campus for Modern Orthodox Jews. If I was aiming for an inside track for medical school, I'd probably end up going to Stony Brook. However, this would only realy interest me if it was an inside track to a well known medical school(not like an Albany or a Stony Brook medical school).</p>
<p>Colgate is 20-25% Jewish, although am guessing Orthodox Jews would be a small % of them.</p>
<p>I would assume their orthodox population is probably non-existent, which definitely stinks :(.</p>
<p>colgate is the best</p>