<p>What are they known for? Their distinguishing features?
Are any of them really significantly more "preppy" or "cliquey" or "quirky" or more "studious" than others?</p>
<p>I'm just curious as to what people think of/know about these schools.
The list below is really long, so feel free to pick a couple you know well and talk about it.</p>
<p>Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Grinnell College
Haverford College
Middlebury College
Pomona College
Reed College
Swarthmore College
Vassar College
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Williams College</p>
<p>Amherst College - compact, rich and rather bland
Bowdoin College - a lot like Amherst but less well known
Grinnell College - rich, tiny and in the middle of corn country
Haverford College - if it were a dog, it would get picked on by the bigger dogs
Middlebury College - they’ve tried everything, including making quidditch a team sport
Pomona College - the Amherst of the West
Reed College - the Pomona of the Northwest
Swarthmore College - can’t stop picking on Haverford
Vassar College - if you like Second Empire architecture, this is your place
Wellesley College - probably the most impressive list of alum(na) of any LAC
Wesleyan University - what can I say, I’m biased; but, it really does pull off being part university and part small college.
Williams College - beautiful surroundings, hard to get to; a tad overbuilt.</p>
<p>Here’s a list of LACs by percentage of student body receiving Pell Grants.</p>
<p>Every college is really “studious,” but some colleges’ students do take themselves too seriously and make sure everyone and his mother knows how much homework they have to do.</p>
<p>Based on my perceptions, experiences, rumors (don’t take any of this as fact…obviously it’s more nuanced on the ground): </p>
<p>Amherst College: Doesn’t lean particularly hard one way or the other on the preppy to artsy/hipster/hippy scale. Clean-cut intellectuals.
Bowdoin College: Kind of like Amherst, maybe more outdoorsy. Very NICE students from those I’ve met.
Grinnell College: Quirky, tight-knit community. Midwest lack of “edge.”
Haverford College: Somewhat quirky, though others say it has a larger jock and prep feel than other quirky LACs. Depends on who you ask.
Middlebury College: A bit preppier, very outdoorsy.
Pomona College: A slightly quirkier version of Amherst.
Reed College: Very artsy/activist/hippy/hipster. Very academics focused, with something of a culture of stress.
Swarthmore College: Intellectual in a UChicago way, though probably artier than that.
Vassar College: Very artsy/activist/hippy/hipster, though of course thats not all there is.
Wellesley College: Smart, high-achieving, clean-cut women.
Wesleyan University: Again, very artsy/activist/hippy/hipster. However, here I can speak from experience when I say there are plenty of more mainstream students too, there’s a nice mix.
Williams College: Known for being preppy and jocky, but also has very strong arts, so there must be a mix.</p>
<p>Hamilton College - last of the slightly crazy WASP colleges; the uncle in the attic of NESCAC
Colgate University - somewhat larger version of Hamilton but not as crazy.
Occidental College - will go down in history as Obama’s safety school (after Swarthmore rejected him.)</p>
<p>Reed College: Very artsy/activist/hippy/hipster. Very academics focused, with something of a culture of stress.
Swarthmore College: Intellectual in a UChicago way, though probably artier than that.
Vassar College: Very artsy/activist/hippy/hipster, though of course thats not all there is.</p>
<p>any other artsy-fartsy lacs with a strong focus on learning/“critical thinking”? =D</p>
<p>carleton - progressive, smart; not as conceited as the eastern colleges
macalester - perfect urban location; heavily recruits full-pay families from overseas.</p>