Hamilton, Davidson, Middlebury, Colorado College [computer science and music]

I agree with @Tigerle (great post!) that the wealth divide exists on many campuses. Some set up a formal way for students to segregate along these lines by offering different tiers of housing and dining or through Greek life and clubs requiring connections and money to join.

On this front, you have pretty solid choices because so much happens on campus. Unlike a school in an urban area where off-campus entertainment options may be popular and impacted by affordability, this is not the case here. The rural LACs are, in this way, more egalitarian by virtue of giving students few ways to exhibit wealth.

Sure, your kid will meet kids who have taken exotic vacations, who fly private, etc. Pretty much every kid on Midd’s excellent ski team will have been well-funded to have had that level of success. And quite possibly, some of these will become great friends because everyone is still eating in the same dining hall, living in the same dorm, and accessing the same campus activities, etc.

I wouldn’t worry about this so much.

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However, with respect to Middlebury, I believe it offers the choice to applicants to apply for fall admission only. This wasn’t that long ago, so I’m not sure on what sound basis the OP could appeal.

The most interesting topics, in my opinion, are those in which a student has more than one great option and can choose without major financial considerations.

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Yes, my understanding of those admitted to something other than the Fall semester is that there was no space for them in the Fall class, and that they would have been rejected/waitlisted if that was the only option. So the answer is likely to be no to switching to Fall, but I agree that it doesn’t hurt to ask. There is always a chance that the numbers accepting the Fall offers are running lower than expected, and there just might be a possibility of a switch.

My daughter was able to do trial lessons at two small LACs, one in person and one virtual. It’s definitely worth asking! Also, I don’t know if your son wants to participate in an ensemble, but my daughter found it very helpful to look for videos of schools’ ensembles on YouTube. There was quite a difference in the quality of different schools’ ensembles.

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Thanks for all the input. At this point, we are leaning towards state flagship Honors. We took a closer look at the finances and realized that even with need based grants covering full tuition at each LAC, the other expenses (travel, housing, etc.) are quite a bit higher at the LACs compared to the state flagship (which has cheaper housing and optional meal plan). Inexplicably, one of the colleges budgeted just $400 for travel expenses- for a school that is located 1200 miles away from our home! No way to get 3 round trips (or even 2 roundtrips) to the school for that little! I actually reached out to the school to ask if this was a mistake, but was told that it was correct. Essentially, it’s a small travel subsidy to subsidize a portion of the travel expenses. So even though all the LAC’s claim to meet full need, all these little things are going to add up to a significant chunk of change compared to the state flagship (again, with Davidson’s no-loans package the lone exception) It’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but it is a factor.
Another small factor is that I selfishly would love to see him perform in musicals and other productions, which is only likely to happen at the state flagship 3 hours away. Again, the final choice is his choice though…less than 3 days left!

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With respect to costs, note that Forbes, in an article of several years ago, saw financial value in schools of the type to which your son has gained admission, even at full price:

Nonetheless, your state’s public univesity appears to offer good value, and, as you have posted, it may offer advantages in some respects.

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I agree with you on every point. In your shoes, I’d want to see him perform too.

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If you’re going to contact Midd, be sure to speak to his specific admissions counselor. I have found this can make a difference. Of course it may be a no, but he/she can help with concerns, etc.

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Update on CS at Middlebury: I just learned that there is a severe staffing shortage of CS faculty for this fall 2022 at Middlebury. Apparently, junior and senior majors are being restricted to taking only one CS course per semester, which could adversely impact some of their graduation plans. I know this wouldn’t affect my student necessarily, but moving forward, this could be a concern really at any small LAC with only a few CS faculty. Of course, I’ve also heard of similar staffing shortages happening at large state flagships, e.g., UNC Chapel Hill had to abruptly start rationing admission to the CS major last year. Still, I would think the impact of a temporary staff shortage would be more significant at a small LAC compared to a large university.
Right now, he is still leaning toward state flagship (which is not UNC by the way!) but he is feeling a bit sad and wistful at letting go of the prospect of the small LAC experience he was so looking forward to!

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As an opinion, I personally wouldn’t forgo the opportunity to attend one of the LACs from your son’s group in a similar situation, especially since the three remaining LACs are sufficiently different from each other to offer meaningfully different choices with respect to resources, general characteristics and atmospheres. Even considered superficially, your son got into two schools with acceptance rates of 12% and one of 15%. Opportunities like those available to your son tend not to arise very often.

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Agree with @merc81. There are some strong advantages to attending a top LAC that aren’t always apparent until you are matriculated. In the case of Hamilton, Midd, Davidson, the strength of the alumni network, career counseling and internship opportunities should not be overlooked. Since your S has already eliminated Davidson, and has concerns about Midd, I would go with Hamilton. It sounds like he would fit in there and it’s a really excellent place.

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The CS program at Middlebury has grown considerably over the last few years, and a record number of students are majoring in it. In fact, it’s now the 4th most popular major at Midd (after economics, environmental studies, and neuroscience). This is a good thing for the program, but there will be growing pains as the college hires up to accommodate the demand. More majors means more resources. Again, a good thing.

Reading between the lines, the OP really prefers the local option. I’m guessing that they are looking for reasons to justify that preference. OP, you don’t have to! I hope, though, that your son is of the same mind.

Wishing you the best as you come down to the wire…

Thank you for all the feedback. I told him it’s ultimately his choice, but he says he just isn’t sure about going so far away from home. I think that’s more of a factor than I realized previously. Having never been away from home on his own, he says he literally has no idea how he would adjust to being away. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, he wasn’t able to do an overnight visit at any of the Accepted Students’ events, so he hasn’t even set foot in a dorm. He’s so very different from me when I was his age- I couldn’t WAIT to get away from home, live on my own, be independent, etc. If I had gotten in to any one of those LAC’s and it were affordable, I would have committed in a heartbeat! Of course, I wasn’t just coming off 2 years of isolation during a global pandemic, either, so that has certainly had a major impact developmentally.
So since he can’t decide, it looks like he is most likely going to take the “safe” option, with state flagship honors program 3 hours away. He can live in the Honors dorm, come home weekends if he gets homesick (or not!), we can attend his musical performances, come to parent weekend, etc. And he won’t have to retake the 60 credit hours of dual enrollment transfer credit, so that will give him some latitude to explore academically. I’ll admit there will likely always be an element of regret in turning down these amazing opportunities, but alas, that’s life. And there really isn’t a bad choice here either way, so he is very fortunate to have these options. Thanks again for all the feedback and good luck to all!

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If the LACs would not allow him to take different or more advanced courses instead of repeating the courses he already had, that would be a significant drawback for them compared to the state flagship which would.

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Yes, I verified that the SLAC’s do not accept DE credit taken prior to high school graduation, so he would have to forfeit those 60 hours. I was told he could take a placement test to place into higher level math and foreign language courses, but he would still not receive credit for the waived calculus, statistics, and foreign language courses at any of the LAC’s. This wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker, since the level of rigor of these courses at the SLACs is quite a bit higher than at the local state college where he earned these credits. Nonetheless, it does pose some challenges for completing a double major within 4 years, so this was the one major point in favor at the state flagship, which will honor all the transferred credits to satisfy most of their general education/distribution requirements. He will be considered a junior for purposes of registration, but still plans to spend the full 4 years in college.

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Wishing your son well at his school of choice! Best of luck to him and you!

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Hamilton has very few requirements so it’s not too onerous to complete a double major there

Yes, this wouldn’t require much planning. This student simply would need to register for one (mostly) or two courses in each of his intended majors every semester.

sorry about this late reply but as an incoming hamilton freshman i’m actually told that hamilton is one of the most politically moderate among NESCAC LACs. i’m also told by many “politically incorrect” students that they’re content with the fact that hamilton isn’t filled with “social justice warriors”.

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