@urbanslaughter Webster’s says that “down-to-earth” means “practical, non-pretentious.” I would not go to Liberace’s estate sale to buy some down to earth clothing anymore than I would go to the NESCAC to find down to earth students. Of course, some must exist there. But some people on this post imply that down to earth is tantamount to poor or at least below average family incomes perhaps thinking that those students would be forced by circumstance to be practical or non-pretentious. In that case, some of the wealthiest schools in the world are not the places to find down to earth.
Okay. I think it’s clear that drilling down with more statistics isn’t helping the OP. I think - assuming this isn’t an oxymoron - what she wants are “concrete anecdotes” of what makes each NESCAC a fun-loving, relaxed place to go to school. I’ll start:
Wesleyan - football practice with their own dj:
http://sportzedge.com/2017/10/10/wesleyan-footballs-team-dj-keeps-energy-level-high-at-practice/
Hamilton - outing club weekend:
https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/hamilton-outing-club-weekend-frenzy
Conn - painting in the arboretum:
http://www.theday.com/article/20170927/NWS01/170929427
Middlebury - quidditch capital of the world:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2017/10/07/harry-potter-quidditch-returns-middlebury-college/735010001/
Any others?
We were “streaked” by the coed “streaking club” during admitted student’s weekend at Hamilton.
@circuitrider thank you this is exactly what I was wondering
Or because it costs much less than the state options.
In my experience, families with “old money” tend to be more practical and raise their kids to be humble. It’s the newer money parents who are braggy and their kids are entitled. I know that’s a vast generalization but it’s held up for many years for me. My friends in college whose families had a LOT of money were much more relaxed and friendly and inclusive than the kids whose parents were the first in their families to have money. I still see this today in our town. I mention this because it’s my guess that you’re going to find both types at any school.
I think the only way to know if a school feels more “country club” is to visit.
@WISdad23, the diversity facts at many of the NESCAC LAC’s don’t support your opinion regarding token representation. While I am sure Wisconsin Black River Falls is a great school, as are all the University of Wisconsin schools - at 88% Caucasian, diverse it is not.
@OHMomof2, absolutely agree. For qualified students that are from less advantaged families, those schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need are a great option!
Here’s an example of what opportunities the NESCAC and similar LAC’s can provide; it happens to be at Hamilton College: https://youtu.be/9MJ9PrxzNEU - there are many others
I went to Williams College in the 1980’s/ 1990’s, but I imagine that, if anything, any change since then would have been in a more egalitarian direction, considering the recent efforts by all top colleges to increase socioeconomic diversity and accessibility.
I was an upper middle class kid, the child of two public school faculty members, not a super wealthy kid. A lot of my friends were from less wealthy backgrounds than my own. A few were from wealthier backgrounds (more notable by home address and vacation plans than anything else). Honestly, I did not experience a feeling of class difference while I was there. No one seemed to segregate by wealth level. I am not one to notice things like clothing, but I don’t think it mattered; people wore comfy clothes to class anyway. If there was any elitism, it went right over my head… which I guess means it was not so evident. The housing entries do a great job of mixing and matching students from different walks of life, so everyone gets to know everyone else.
I visited my cousin at Williams in the late 80’s, and it was like Clone City. Her 6 suitemates were practically identical. She was from a middle class family and it seemed most of the others were too, or from higher economic brackets. Three of the six were named Katie and all were from MA/NY/CT.
My sister went to Middlebury in the 70’s. She was definitely a ‘poor kid.’ She was also a poor kid when she transferred to a flagship, but at least there were a lot of other poor kids too.
I doubt it is very different now,and I didn’t notice any difference when we were touring schools. There might be more people of color, but are they included if they are from different SES groups? Are they invited to the vacations on the Cape or the ski trips, and can they afford them? My kids are the poor kids and they don’t go on spring break to ‘the Islands’ or Mexico or skiing for a week, but they are not the only ones who don’t.
@chembiodad I am not sure what racial diversity has to do with being down to earth? I think non-white kids can be down to earth as easily as anyone else.
My friends did not do group trips to islands on breaks like twoinanddone described. We took friends home with us for holidays— for example, I had a friend from Alaska and another friend from Kentucky who spent Thanksgiving break at my house.
Among my friends at Williams were a Jamaican orphan who had lived part of his life homeless on the street, a daughter of Indian immigrants who owned a motel, a Latina whose parents worked on a lettuce farm, two African American students who visited the used book exchange at the start of each semester, a middle class white girl from an NYC borough, a few upper middle class white kids from northern Virginia and Maryland including some whose parents worked for government agencies like NIH, a boy from California who had attended a northeastern prep school, the son of a southern general practitioner doctor, a Quaker recipient of the Tyng Scholarship, a boy from a middle class Long Island town who was the son of a postal worker, and a girl from one of the wealthier towns on Long Island. They were a mix of ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic levels— and so much more interesting as real, complex individuals than these limited descriptions can begin to touch! Did it matter that they were from different socioeconomic levels? It did not divide us, at least from my perspective. As I said in my post above, if there was elitism, I was oblivious to it.
@TheGreyKing, that sounds like my twin DD’s experience at Hamilton. They too are bringing home classmates that don’t have the $ to fly to the Wes Coast for the October break; they are all taking the bus to our home because that’s what college students do.
Oh boy. @twoinanddone . NESCAC kids i know are very wealthy, very poor and plenty in between.
Our state schools don’t meet full financial need so very few poor kids are there, other than at CCs and some regional campuses. OSU just announced this fall they will cover full tuition cost for instate Pell-eligible families, but that still leaves $10-15K or so in housing/food expenses (on campus required first two years), so we’ll see how that works out.
My kid’s NESCAC has more Pell-eligible students than our flagship and most of our state Us.
Fast forward 30 years and it will be very different now. Diversity wasn’t a priority then, but it is now at most top schools. And the schools with the bigger endowments are those that can afford to meet 100% need, be need blind and in many cases enroll w/out loans.
This stat is from NCES
The percentage of American college students who are Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native has been increasing. From fall 1976 to fall 2014, the percentage of Hispanic students rose from 4 percent to 17 percent, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander students rose from 2 percent to 7 percent, the percentage of Black students rose from 10 percent to 14 percent,