<p>I have the academics to get into Ivy League schools…test scores, class rank, extracurriculars, etc.</p>
<p>I’m also considering Little Ivies, including Bates. I found a site that shows the high school information for Bates students. Even though it is a test-optional school, the 75%ile at Bates were lower than my scores, which is not the case at any of the Ivies.</p>
<p>Do schools like Bates have a good number of students who could have or did get into Ivies or are they mostly made up of students who did not quite have the academics to get in?</p>
<p>Chances are if you got accepted into an Ivy school you are going to attend. If you don’t feel confident about your test score for Bates just don’t send it.</p>
<p>Yes, there are kids at Bates who could easily have been Ivy students, but unfortunately these days there are just twenty other identical kids for every Ivy spot available, and for whatever reason, it was just someone else who had a boost somewhere. One will never really know in most cases why it was one kid and not another.</p>
<p>I am sending my scores to Bates not because they are amazing but because they are OK, and more or less consistent with my GPA, which is OK but also kind of ordinary, and frankly I don’t want admissions assuming my scores might be even worse than they are, so I am not hiding anything.</p>
<p>If I get in, I will be in the bottom 25% of kids admitted to Bates.</p>
<p>I doubt anyone at Bates chose it over an Ivy League school (well maybe Cornell). Amherst or Williams are more comparable as far as student “credentials” go.
That doesn’t mean that the students aren’t as intelligent/interesting/talented though. It just means they don’t have the GPA or SAT scores, for whatever reason. That’s why it’s a much more down to earth place than any Ivy.</p>
<p>If you’re implying that admits to Amherst/Williams have lower stats than Ivy league admits (except Cornell), I strongly disagree!</p>
<p>Some kids just prefer one of the selective LACs. My D had the stats to be competitive at an Ivy, but she chose Middlebury, as an example. Bates was her #2 choice!</p>
<p>I think you may have misinterpreted what bro2baseball said. I think he was implying that Amherst and Williams are more comparable to Ivies (i.e., have similar stats), but Bates may be a step below.</p>
<p>(25th and 75th percentiles)
SAT Critical Reading 670 780
SAT Math 660 780
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class 92%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class 97%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class 100%</p>
<p>(25th and 75th percentiles)
SAT Critical Reading 670 780
SAT Math 680 780
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class 90%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class 97%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class 100%</p>
<p>yeah, I said that Amherst/Williams (and to a lesser extent Midd) ARE comparable to the Ivies. Bates is not, credential wise, which is what the OP asked.</p>
<p>I’ve met plenty of people who could have and did get into Ivy League schools and places like Oxford. All of my scores were above the 75th percentile and I still feel challenged here with a heavy workload. Bates is a great place to be and there’s so many opportunities and it has been only 1 month for me so far. Definitely visit.</p>
<p>I would never take anything away from Bates students. But I doubt many were accepted at Ivy League schools and chose Bates (at least, I didn’t know of any in my four years there). That may be because Bates students have different priorities than just getting the best grades. </p>
<p>The statistics show, though, that the Bates student body does NOT compare to the Ivies (or Williams/Amherst), credential wise. You can compare the stats to the ones posted above. </p>
<p>(25th and 75th percentiles)
SAT Critical Reading 630 670
SAT Math 630 670
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class 58.4%</p>
<p>These days, plenty of kids who would have been in any Ivy 20 years ago, don’t get in. You are now competing on a global scale and face other challenges as schools try to create a diversified and well rounded class. High school academic achievement is often not enough. It carries a certain cachet to have graduated from an Ivy or top liberal arts college, but this should not be the deciding factor in choosing where to spend 4 years. As a graduate of an Ivy in the 80’s, I felt I got a second rate education. Courses were large, professors were more interested in research than in teaching, and some were taught by grad students. I found most of my courses uninteresting and the professors impersonal. This is also a reflection on me. At the time, I was shy and somewhat intimidated. When it came time for my children to search for a college, they were only interested in small liberal arts schools, with small class size and no grad students. The quality of the education is difficult to compare and not necessarily better at an Ivy, though if you were interested in something specific such as business than you might want to consider Wharton. I am sure their are good and bad professors at all schools. On the average, kids at the top schools will be the kids who were in the top 1-2% of their high school and you will be competing with them grade wise. Bates kids were probably in the top 5-10% of their class. There can be a cutthroat environment in certain schools, particularly if you are pre-med, so that is something you might want to know going in. I would base your decision on if you feel that this is a good fit academically and socially for you. If you want to be in a city, a rural school may not be the place for you even if it is any Ivy. I hope this helps and good luck</p>
<p>Bro2baseball-
I have to apologize for a misread as well. I was responding to trekslxchick’s post.
My husband was one who turned down an Ivy (Cornell) for Bates, although it was for financial aid reasons. He was an international student who needed substantial aid and Bates offered more. I would not say this is common.</p>
<p>On the other hand, both DH and I felt very well prepared for grad school at Harvard. We were in different programs but neither of us felt at all out of step with our Ivy League fellow graduate students.</p>
<p>I personally know at least 3 people who turned down Ivy/Oxbridge to go to Bates and I’m a freshman. So its quite striking to see that there still is that competitiveness at Bates. And its just awesome academically without having the name of an Ivy.</p>
<p>Bates has plenty of kids who could thrive at an Ivy. To me, that’s the question, their quality, depth and drive. You get distracted when you alter this to “who turns down an Ivy?”</p>
<p>Bates can also run you through the academic and intellectual wringer. Last I heard, it is still known for grade deflation, though that is always a matter of perspective.</p>
<p>All the great schools that aren’t Ivies have plenty of quality kids who didn’t get one of the rare seats at an Ivy. You can be in very good company.</p>
<p>My son was recruited by three Ivy League schools and we chose Bates for ED because Ivies are not so great at undergraduate teaching and this is reflected in the fact that the NESCAC schools have equally good graduate school acceptances. </p>
<p>My H and I just were up in Lew a few weeks ago to take our Senior S an some of his friends out to dinner. Their thesis was the big topic of conversation. These kids are all Econ, Math & Pol Sci majors (some were double majors and doing two thesis.)</p>
<p>Let me assure you that the depth of their topics left us astounded (and both H & I went to top graduate schools.) No dummies are these kids. </p>
<p>I have no doubt that the courses and workload of students at Bates are any less than at any Ivy (or any other top school.) </p>