Yeah, I can definitely see why your comment about D3 athletes might have struck a nerve. These days, D3 athletes are also heavily recruited, just like their D1 and D2 counterparts. At many D3 schools, the athletes are hitting the gym and practicing - just minus coach presence in the off-season.
Many career-focused and high academic athletes choose the D3 route because it enables them to reach their academic goals while also being able to play the sport they love. Many could have played at the D1 or D2 level. Doesnât make them any less of an athlete if they choose that path.
Given how actively moderated this forum is, I am somewhat surprised that youâve been allowed to essentially extend an already closed thread on this topic.
Youâve rolled out almost every LAC trope in the book. All we need now is the âLACs are for the shy, retiring, nervous bookish kids who need a lot of hand holding,â for the trifecta. Your comment in the latter quote wasnât even thinly veiled my friend; and it was actually insulting of my two Ds, each of whom, in sharp contrast to the lazy stereotype, are fierce and brave young women.
Beyond my own kids, my first hand exposure to many, many other young adults at many and varied LACs the last several years of my life informs me directly that your description of the type of person who attends such schools is wildly inaccurate and uninformed.
I actually attended a large, public research powerhouse university, work as an adjunct there now, and as a parent sent two through LACs. I am pretty clear about what the two environments generally offer and what they generally donât. If anybody here is romanticizing anything, it is, IMO, you.
Btw, did it really make it any better for you to change it to âprivate prep high schoolâ? Would you honestly expect any normal student at a LAC to hear that and not take insult? Comparing a college experience to high school? That would be like someone describing the University of Texas as âWarehouse Education.â Thereâs only one reaction to that kind of comment. And then you say elsewhere that the LAC crowd is âsensitiveâ and âdefensiveâ. Wow.
Again, absolutely floored that this thread has taken this direction after the other one was closed.
Thank you for this! I completely agreeâI also found the assumption that students who choose small LACs are somehow less adventurous and explorative and just want a safe and cozy environment simply insulting. My daughter went to a small selective but PUBLIC high school and grew up in a college town where a huge major state research university is located and where my husband and I are both teaching. So, sheâs very well familiar with that environment, and so are we, of course; but it was her preference (which we supported) to study in a more intimate setting, partly because it would be much easier for her to take courses across majors at a LAC, as was mentioned above. Weâve lived overseas and she attended schools there, where all the subjects were taught not in English; sheâs now applying for a study abroad program in a major European city. Sheâs plenty adventurous, as Iâm sure many other LAC kids. And no, she doesnât drink or party in her small rural isolated LAC, nor does she feel suffocated or finds the environment cliquey. Itâs hard to know everyoneâs business in a school of 1,700 students (how is it even possible?). Sheâs enjoying her classes, expanding her horizons, having amazing friends, and participating in music and theater activities on campus. Itâs not âromanticizing LACs,â this has been her experience. Not to say itâs perfect, but itâs been incredibly rewarding and not because sheâs not interested in exploring a âmore complex and diverse environment.â Spreading stereotypes and misconceptions doesnât help anyone.
I appreciate your input, but it does not alter my well informed & experienced opinion & knowledge.
Neither LACs or National Universities are perfect; they are different.
@Motherprof; Thank you for sharing your thoughts & experiences about your daughter. Although I do not agree in general with your comments, I do respect your impressions about your daughterâs LAC experience.
In this thread OP presents a choice between two very different environmentsâa small LAC versus a large National University so my comments are on topic. Because I have a different viewpoint based on my knowledge & experience & on the shared experiences of others, does not justify the emotional & unkind remarks posted here no matter how ill informed a couple of posters wish they were. I respect your input even though I disagree.
P.S. Just after posting, I read a new post in the thread âWhich College Is Betterâ by a mother sharing her daughterâs complaints about attending a school of 1,900 students which bemoans the feeling that âeveryone knows your businessâ at such a small school ( Berry College which has the largest campus in the US).
Whether or not you agree or disagree with my posts, the concerns are real & quite common.
Please read âKenyon vs. Bryn Mawr vs. Columbiaâ thread started about 6 hours ago.
Might I remind members of the forum rules: âOur forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others."
and
âCollege Confidential forums exist to discuss college admission and other topics of interest. It is not a place for contentious debate. If you find yourself repeating talking points, it might be time to step away and do something else⊠If a thread starts to get heated, it might be closed or heavily moderated.â
Loans for a creative writing major are never a good idea. Even less so when there is a great affordable alternative. While Hamilton is a fine school, it is certainly not one of the handful of places I would consider incurring debt to attend.
Here is a counter to that. Many of these small LACs which are not parts of a consortium are also in the middle of large open spaces, with extensive areas where they can get away from other people. AT a large university like UT Austin, which is also in an urban area, you simply cannot get away from people. You have little to no quiet space. You share your room, your dorm is giant and noisy, every coffee shop, bar, restaurant, and store in the 5 mile radius is full of students from your university.
That can also becomes claustrophobic.
At a place like Williams, Colby, Midd, etc, there are dozens of places where you can get away from other people. In the worst case, there are shuttles and other transportation which allows you to get a few miles away, where you will likely not see a single person from your college.
As for âknowing your businessâ, thatâs really just another way of saying "people are looking out for each other. AT a large university, you can disappear from classes for a month, and nobody will even notice. Even you roommate will barely respond if something happens.
So you can have this double whammy of the pressure of constantly being surrounded by people while not actually having a personal connection with any of them.
Bottom line, it comes down to the way that a person socializes.
I have studied and taught at a number of large to very large research universities, and am likely much more familiar with the options and opportunities at these types of universities than the vast majority of people.
And in the interests of intellectual honesty, that is something I liked about attending a university with 35,000 of my dearest and closest best friends. There were days I didnât want to be called upon to participate. I was notorious for not keeping up on the reading, and did it when I felt like doing it, and made up for it by being a great note-taker. When I moved into the Philosophy department and starting taking upper-division classes, I knew I had to read before (most of) my classes or be prepared to say âIâve not done the reading for today.â This, of course, was good for me given that I was heading into law school, and reading the cases before class was critical (though even then I didnât always do it).
Also, again in the interests of intellectual honesty, I came from a small- to mid-sized town, and I liked walking around on my own in college and being alone without having to greet and make small-talk all the time. It wasnât that I wanted growth, diversity and new experiences more than my HS classmates who went off to UPS, Whitman and Reed. Had I made such a proclamation then, I would have been laughed out of my 10-year HS reunion. Truthfully, I just wanted to be left alone.
How can you possibly be notorious at a school with 35,000 people? That only seems possible at an idyllic small northeastern LAC where like the bar in CHEERS everybody knows your nameđ
My takeaway from these posts comparing larger unis verses small LACs is⊠it depends. So much of if depends on the individual. Which is why I have stated multiple times that posters, most especially the very active posters that come across as âexpertsâ, should be thoughtful in the verbiage and tone they use. Sweeping generalizations that read as absolutes are not helpful to the average reader on CC. We all have our biases and opinions, and it is absolutely okay to share those as long as it is clear that is the case. Embrace âIMOâ!
Edit: I wanted the anonymity of a large uni since I grew up in a small town. My D didnât mind a SLAC because she grew up in a city and attended small privates and was comfortable with that culture. It is all about finding the fit for the individual.
Since scale appears to be one aspect attracting your daughter to Hamilton, she might want to consider its residence halls, which in many cases remain representative of Hamiltonâs 19th-century roots. The below are open to first-year students according to Hamiltonâs site.
This dorm seems typical of Hamiltonâs larger residence halls, housing 126 students:
This isnât intended to contrast specifically with the post above on Austin, but the OP probably would like to know that Hamiltonâs surrounding town of Kirkland places among the safest areas in the nation, with zero violent crime recorded in a recent year.
Iâm am grateful for those who took the time to share their opinions; thank you. My daughter read all of them, and did (firmly) decide to apply ED to Hamilton. She prefers smaller classes, likes the tight knit community and is excited by the courses offered. I feel better knowing she has heard a variety of opinions and still feels secure in her choice; I hope she hears the news she wants in a few days.
She was also very intrigued by Plan2 at UT Austin and applied to that program as well (much thanks to those who brought it to our attention). We feel grateful that she even has a shot at such great opportunities: so many hard workers do not, just because of circumstances.
I really was not prepared for how nervous I would be about her application outcomes!
I wish the best to all of you waiting on your admission .
