My son was pleased with the results of his LAC apps. In hindsight he may have applied to more than necessary, but who ever knows for sure with this whole process. He is hoping to visit Williams, Swat, Haverford, Hamilton, Wes U. and Tufts. He will be missing 4-5 days of school for what seem to be the 2 front-runners at this point, and another 2 if he visited Middlebury during their admitted students days. He doesn’t feel a strong connection to Midd (never had a chance to visit before applying) and isn’t sure how they stand out from the others already on his plate. Outdoor activities aren’t a make or break for him, but I know he would be open to it if he were there. He is leaning toward envi and poly sci, but might want to keep his options open. He did not play a sport in high school although likes being in shape and would maybe try for a club sport…possibly even try for cycling team?
He says he has to start eliminating at some point. Follow his lead?
Nice choices! I favor Swat as it’s my alma mater (and my son goes there now); neither of my kids were too fond of Williams simply because of the itsy bitsy town it’s in (one street long more or less) and nothing else nearby unlike Philly for Swat. I will say that the facilities are stunning there. My son visited Tufts on his “final check” tour and it impressed all of us but my son really fell in love with Swat (and is very happy there). Tufts is larger and has a “bigger feel” than the smaller schools. Hamilton is lovely (my son also applied, and was accepted there) but is also kind of in the middle of nowhere. People who go to H’ford love it-- it has a pretty unique “culture” which either turns you on or off (it turned my son off as it happens). Midd is known for languages, but I can’t say much more than that. I don’t know if that helps-- your son certainly has some great options! Congratulations to him.
Congrats to your son! A lot of great choices!
Middlebury has a very strong environmental studies program, so he probably should check that out since that is one of his areas of academic interest. All the schools will have solid poly sci departments. Midd will definitely have an outdoorsy vibe and a lot of students do partake in skiing, hiking and outdoor stuff (the outdoor club is a big thing there). Midd is also bigger than (tiny, tiny) Haverford, Swat, Hamilton and Williams, and though they are all classified as small schools, the extra kids at Midd do make a difference in the feel of the school.
Swat is really a very particular place. It’s either your tribe or it isn’t - so if he visits there he will know if it is for him or not. Both Swat and Haverford have great locations with access to main line towns as well as Philly. Hamilton, Midd and Williams a bit isolated.
Has he visited any of his choices in the past? What are his preferences away from academics? Location wise? Type of student body/vibe he feels he’d connect to? Crunchy, preppy, jocky, social justice issues, liberal, moderate, outdoorsy, artsy, whatever?
I’d give an edge to Swarthmore and Haverford for location. Tufts would be a runner up for location.
As far as academic areas, he’d find strong poli sci at any of his accepted schools but Middlebury is definitely the strongest in environmental studies.
I agree with @doschicos that if he’s interested in environmental science, it’s worth him looking at Middlebury. Midd is very strong in that and languages. If he liked Williams when he visited that, he’ll like Middlebury too, they have an awful lot in common. To me, the main difference between those two is that Williams is maybe slightly more intellectual and Middlebury slightly more preppy/athletic. But you’ll find plenty of preppy kids at Williams, and plenty of intellects at Middlebury.
I also agree that he’ll know right away if he likes Swat or not. Indeed, I would say of all those schools, it’s the one you almost don’t even really need to visit to know what the school is like and whether it’s a god fit. Definitely a unique tribe and vibe.
As for location, it just depends on what floats your boat. The thing my kid liked the least about Swat and Haverford was location. Suburbs of a major city was not his thing. And Tufts is totally different, in that it is actually in a city. Don’t be fooled, though, by the proximity to downtown Boston – in reality, Tufts kids don’t actually head into Boston very often, even though you can see the skyline from campus.
Congrats on the acceptances.As others have said, Midd is the strongest with regard to environmental studies.
The campus and its surroundings are beautiful.Yes, it is isolated.But the kids do drive into Burlington which is about 45 min away when desired.As far as the club sports go, their athletic facilities are amazing.It would be well worth the visit before taking it off of the list. Best of luck
though you can see the skyline from campus.
LOL both my kids visited Tufts in their Junior years and both tours made sure to stop at that spot where you can see the skyline 
SWAT along with UChicago, Reed, Cornell, MIT, etc is known for a higher than average academic rigor/workload compared with other colleges on the list. Might be something to consider.
A HS buddy who was accepted to Midd with an exceedingly low GPA for Midd, but strong interview had a great 4 years there as a Poli-sci/French double major despite being a fellow HS slacker like yours truly, being far from athletic(LOL!), and being quite anti-preppy(Largely due to his private HS school attending brother who was very preppy). He’s currently an attorney.
YMMV depending on preferences. If I had to choose on basis of location, I’d pick Tufts well above Swat or Haverford.
Swat/Haverford seemed to take more time to get into Philly and while I like Philly, it doesn’t compare as an area for college students/young professionals still in college mode to Boston*.
- This was one factor in why I spent 5 years in the greater Boston area right after college as a young professional.
Things much have changed radically from the mid-'00s.
Friends who attended Tufts in the '80s, 90’s, and '00s all recounted how they/their undergrad classmates frequently headed into Boston or Cambridge for the better campus parties(MIT threw the best ones in the Boston area when I lived there) or the restaurants, museums, music/art venues, and nightlife.
It was one reason why the Tufts campus seemed quieter(though not to suitcase school levels) on the college weekends compared to weekdays.
Of course, everyone’s preference varies on location. The reason why my kids and I preferred the location of Swarthmore/Haverford was a quick 20 minute commuter train ride into Philly and beautiful, bucolic campuses that are also both arboretums. Haverford, especially, has tons within walking/biking distance in terms of coffee shops, bagel shops, breakfast spots, pizza and restaurants with a full range of global cuisines, and even a really good microbrewery for when you are 21. Plus, easy train or bus access to NYC and DC. But, everyone has different tastes.
As far as your HS buddy and his Midd acceptance, @cobrat, I think admissions stats and such have changed quite a bit from your college days!
Tufts is two stops from Harvard Square, and David Square, which is blocks away, is one of the hottest scenes in the Boston area. Lots to do. I think the campus is lovely, and from what we know Tufts combines excellence with a personal touch.
I think of Swarthmore as pretty intense, much like U. Chicago and Reed, as someone else said.
I go out to the Williamstown area fairly often because MasMOCA is nearby. I think it is a cool area if you want to be in a more bucolic setting.
Have never been to Middlebury, but have heard it’s gorgeous and of course great for languages. Breadloaf for writing is there too, in the summer, but not sure how much that says about the college.
I would not be so quick to dismiss the area surrounding Williams as inconsequential and isolated. In particular Williams students get in free to Mass Moca in nearby North Adams, which is a vast treasure for modern art created from an old capacitor factory, plus if you’re at all into music, the concert lineup there is fabulous. The museum has slowly been making North Adams into a cool place. Middlebury has nothing like this.
I tried to get my D to apply to Williams merely because I am so biased toward the area. No sale.
My daughter is graduating from Midd this year. It is SO much more than languages. Most of my daughter’s friends are either pre-med or economics/political science majors. Middlebury the strongest in environmental studies of any of the schools you mentioned. It stands apart from all on your list except Tufts in terms of size - 2600 undergrads keeps it from getting “too small” (Most of the others you mentioned are in the 1200-1800 undergrad range).
Middlebury is plenty athletic but with only 1800 students, Williams is even more so. Many find Williams isolated. Midd does not feel isolated, and Burlington is “just up the road” about 45 minutes and can be accessed by bus. Middkids work very hard (“Students study the most” list) but Swarthmore - you better know what you’re getting into, it’s a whole different animal. There would be very little overlap between Swarthmore kids and Middkids.
Haverford, you can’t beat the location. Liberal, progressive tenor, heavily influenced by the Honor Code.
I am biased because I love Middlebury. Most beautiful campus of all the NESCACS and it was my D’s first choice. Reflecting on this, I realize that the education that she has received there is EVEN BETTER than I could have imagined. Her outcomes and those of her friends in terms of plans for post-graduation are pretty sweet too.
I think he is making a huge mistake not to visit Midd. I would have a look over Wes or Swarthmore any day.
I visited Williams with my son after he was admitted (but not on admitted students’ day). It was just too isolated for his taste, and the vibe was also too jocky for him (his strong interest in sports was purely as a spectator and statistics guy). Perhaps most problematic was the tininess of the town, so that there was no place where someone could be anonymous and get away from it all. So he turned Williams down. He attended the University of Chicago.
Although he didn’t apply to Amherst, he had a friend who attended there and after visiting he said he could have liked Amherst, more than Williams, because among other things it was a more diverse and larger population. More things to do off campus. This was partly b/c UMass Amherst brings a very large number of additional students into the city.
I think that, in terms of programs, Williams and Amherst are both excellent colleges, but with different on-campus and off-campus atmospheres. I haven’t seen Haverford but did visit a niece when she attended (and graduated from) Bryn Mawr. Swat appears to send more of their graduates on to doctoral programs than the other liberal arts colleges in the area but they’re all rather high up in “intellectual” strength by that criterion.
I think Wes and Midd are both very strong colleges but I can’t comment on the atmospherics or the surroundings.
My son attended Tufts – for Kindergarten – when I was on sabbatical leave for a year at Harvard. He attended the Eliot Pearson Lab School there. Tufts is definitely in the urban Mass. complex, and there are a ton of colleges and universities there. But by reputation alone, I think All of the ones I’ve mentioned above are stronger than Tufts.
In sum, congratulations to your son. So many great options!
Tufts is really different from the others on the list. It is a university (albeit a small one) rather than an LAC. It is about 5000 undergrads (I think Wes is the closest at about 3k). Unlike the other Tufts has some major grad schools although the medical, vet, and nutrition schools are not on the Medford campus. It has an art school (SMFA) downtown and a 5 year program with the NE conservatory. Lots of research opportunities. In addition, my DDs who went to Tufts went into Boston and Cambridge quite a lot, and spent significant time in Davis Square - particularly as upperclassmen. Tufts has a great campus with tons of sports, parties, performances, etc., but it also feels very much a part of the Boston/Cambridge scene, and most Jumbos my kids knew had a heavily used Charlie Card for the T.
Even academically top-notch schools may not in all cases be distinctive. However, this group includes some stand-outs (opinion):
Williams: Generally intellectual students with academic programs to match. Has adhered to the small college model. Exceptionally strong in visual arts. Bordered in at least two directions by mountains.
Swarthmore/Haverford: Collectively distinguished by consortium benefits, proximity to historic East Coast cities and relative deemphasis of sports. Area-wide collegiate gender imbalance could be a drawback.
Hamilton: History of having been two colleges of contrasting characteristics and attributes imparts a legacy of curricular balance in the context of architectural, spatial and, to an extent, cultural variation. Not limited to being a writers’ school, but can nonetheless serve as one of the country’s finest. Overlooks a valley.
Wesleyan: As an institution, willing to take risks. Students, at their best, can capably challenge conventional thought. Lack of traditional quads could be a factor for some.
Middlebury: Superb in languages and among the country’s strongest for environmental studies. Views of the Adirondacks from McCardell: http://rjohara.net/varia/middlebury/adirondack-sunsets/
The only thing I ever remember about Tufts is that it somehow was ranked the most dangerous campus in America a few years ago. Never visited, but remember that based on a friends child who was attending at the time. Boston is the college town in the US.
Middlebury is an interesting place right now, given their recent protests and physical injuries suffered by a professor when Charles Murray visited. I’d be interested to see if/how they address it on their accepted students day.
As a Swat / Haverford parent, I’m partial to the Philly schools. Loved Hamilton which was basically a coin flip for the Haverford student…but distance and a sibling with a shared experience carried the day. The one thing I will say that goes underappreciated for Swat…it’s about as good as it gets for airport access. Non-stops to most of Europe and the US all day, and the airport is 20 mins from campus on highways that rarely get slowed down (outside rush hour).
My Tufts son took a class at the MFA his freshman year, went to stuff on other area college campuses at various times, took a Krav Maga class that was somewhere inconveniently off campus. He liked it because it is in a pleasant residential neighborhood near a big city. (Very similar to what he grew up with.) Easy access to public transportation. Bigger than his high school. I think of it as a just right school. Not too jocky, not too preppy, not too nerdy, not too big or too small, not too frat heavy. He did not go off campus for parties, but he’s not much of a partier.
I have to say, I think your kid should look at Middlebury. Based on the other schools he applied to, it seems like he might like it a lot, and possibly the best of the bunch.
In response to @EyeVeee 's comment about Tufts being one of the most dangerous campuses, that is misinformation. It is possible, though, that you are thinking of the med school, which is located in a neighborhood that decades back earned the nickname of “the combat zone”. That is not the Medford Somerville campus where the undergraduates are.
And the Combat Zone of Boston is ancient history.
Tufts campus? Dangerous? Well…if you consider solidly middle class suburban towns to be extremely dangerous…but that will elicit a ROTFLOL from me considering I grew up in a formerly working class NYC neighborhood during the tail-end of the high crime era during the '80s and early-mid '90s when getting mugged was commonplace.
And that era was more in the late '60s to early-mid '90s according to friends whose families have lived there for decades. While vestiges of some seedy businesses remained when I first arrived in the Boston area after college, it was practically gone within a year of my arrival.
Had no issues with safety or anything else visiting my friends and their families living there in the early-mid '00s even when I left after midnight.
Heck, I had far more issues regarding feeling safe going around Southie/parts of Dorchester DURING THE DAYTIME while enumerating for the 2000 census. It was a reason why the local Census office sent us as a large group into each building rather than in individual or small groups of less than 4 people.