What’s the difference between one and another? Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Pomona, Carleton, etc. I mean, their “attributes” are not so clear or well-known as those of the top universities.
Suitable answers might depend on your tentative academic interests.
Well, I’m thinking about something like psychology, cause I’m interested in both politics and biochem.
Apply to a range if you can. Visit if you are accepted. Some are, of course, more selective than others.
Start with NESCAC which is the acronym for the New England Small College Athletic Conference, a very competitive, geographically compact, DIII sports conference that includes a lot of academic peers like, Williams, Wesleyan and Amherst. Ask yourself whether you really need a campus where up to 40% of the student body may be composed of recruited athletes, albeit very smart ones? Slightly more anachronistic choices like DI-level Davidson and Colgate, present themselves similarly.
If miniature tailgate parties don’t float your boat (and keeping in mind that a lot of these athletes are among the most likely to contribute to school spirit, organize social events and make big donations later in life), and you want to stay East, you may want to consider quirkier non-NESCAC alternatives like Swarthmore, Haverford, and Oberlin.
IMHO, once you get outside of the east coast the choices begin to reflect more local flavors like the frankly friendlier midwestern “progressives” like Carleton, St. Olaf’s, the sunnier Claremont Colleges in California (think, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, etc.), Occidental, and the iconoclastic Reed College if you prefer the Pacific Northwest.
Hope this helps.
There are definitely differences between the schools. You just have to do some research. Williams has tutorials, Pomona is part of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of very small schools. Amherst is part of a consortium too, but a different one. One school in Amherst’s 5 College Consortium (UMass Amherst) is roughly 5 times the size of the entire Claremont Consortium. Some, like Swarthmore, have engineering. Others offer it though their consortium or 3/2 programs. Some have a reputation for being more intellectual (Swarthmore), some sportier (Williams, Bowdoin). Some offer merit money, others don’t. Spend some time digging through their websites and the differences will start to emerge.
Get a Fiske guide. It’s very guide at explaining differences.
People who know LACs will tell you that these colleges are all very different. You’re asking a very broad question. Give us an idea of what you’re looking for. Vibe? Location? Sports? Outdoors? Greek life?
Virtually all NESCAC schools and the ones mentioned above will be great for psych.
for me personally, it was visiting the campuses that helped me decide. i toured all the NESCACs (with the exception of trinity), and the visits alone helped me rule schools out. at colby, amherst, and williams, something about the vibe just felt “off” for me personally, but to each his own! on the other hand, i fell in love with middlebury, bowdoin, and haverford (not a NESCAC). i applied to middlebury ED and was accepted, and i couldn’t be happier with my decisions!
- Until you get into the colleges you don't have to decide.
- If you don't have a definitive top choice I would advise against applying ED.
- When I visited LACs with my D each one had its own vibe. Some my D felt at home with, others she didn't. If at all possible I'd visit your top contenders next year.
- Some other ways you can get more information about the schools now would be: a) go through the websites extensively; b) get your hands on some good college guide books such as Fiske, Princeton Review and start reading; c) look at school newspapers online.
Remember that LACs tend to be small and enrollment are somewhat limited. They are after students from 50 states (preferably) and an equally large number of international countries. Hence, make sure you have a number of back-up schools in case your top choices don’t pan out. Despite a ACT 35, GPA 3.98 and APs of 5s, I got wait listed at Swarthmore and Pomona and got accepted at Georgetown, UCLA and WashU. Beware that these small LACs tend to “curate” their class and the admissions process can be somewhat random.
@redwag , your response may be why you didn’t get into Swat or Pomona.
Admissions at those schools is NOT random. It’s the opposite. It’s very deliberate because they are determining fit. There are 1500 students at Swat and 1680 at Pomona.With such small numbers, they want to get it right. Those schools are NOT looking for the same things that Georgetown and UCLA are.
Your stats are impressive, but maybe you didn’t show interest, or didn’t fit what they look for, or didn’t fulfill an institutional need at those schools. Likewise, Georgetown obviously felt you fit. Elite colleges are not one size fits all.
Yes, you are right that the LACs are looking for a specific fit. I did visit both Swarthmore and Pomona, and also sat in their classes. Definitely showed interest but I guess they are looking for more. If I was accepted, I would have seriously considered attending one of them but that’s no longer an option since wait lists only move after May 1st and I will have to enroll in an accepted college and not take a risk.
There are definitely some differences between these schools and looking through forums will help.
I fell in love with Swarthmores arboretum-style/ open campus and the quirky nature of the students. However, I was dedicated to a career in business/consulting/finance, and Swartmore simply didn’t offer those opportunities. Swartmore also has incredibly difficult classes.
I never visited Amherst but it offers INCREDIBLE job prospects in business (40% of the class goes into finance/consulting) so I ended up applying b/c I loved Swarthmore so much. It also is part of NESCAC and has a MUCH bigger party scene.
Overall, the LOCATION, CULTURE, and OPPORTUNITIES of these small schools will matter A TON b/c of how small the school is. You will not find the diversity of a large state school or even ivy leagues I would think.
Here’s my breakdown of Amherst/Swat:
Swarthmore- academic/ research based school, quirky students, difficult classes, beautiful campus, near Philly
Amherst- more fun, far from everything although town of Amherst may be nice, job prospects in more practical fields like business
You can do this analysis for a lot of other schools…
@Lindagaf I agree with what you are saying a lot. I believe that smaller liberal arts schools are looking for much different students than other top schools. Swarthmore students give off a very specific vibe to me… but that just may be my experience.
@redwag , yes, you must deposit before May 1. This year will be anyone’s guess though as to waitlist movement. I recommend letting one of those colleges know that they are your top choice and you will attend if accepted. Add any new info about achievements or developments since you applied. Then send another LOCI later in April to express your continued interest. This worked for my daughter who got off WL to one of her top choices.
For an opinion on several LACs, see post #12:
For the study of psychology, btw, Pitzer’s curriculum may be more appealing than Pomona’s.
Wow, I didn’t expect that you guys are so accommodating and give such elaborate advice. Really appreciate every answer above.
I guess I’ll just do more research on each school. I didn’t do so 'cause I just found out that I could filter out replies and only let it show threads when searching on this website. Before that, I was like lost in pages of replies from same thread after typing in key words and it was really hard to delve deeper in one topic. LoL.
I 100% agree that each LAC has its own characteristics and personality. Pretty much all of these colleges would provide a fantastic education and amazing experiences out of the classroom.
I would look carefully at issues such as
CURRICULUM. Amherst, Wesleyan, Smith, and Vassar have open curriculums (or very close to it). Some other schools have more distribution requirements. I would examine curricular requirements early in the process and see if they meet your needs and desires.
INTERNSHIPS I was quite impressed to learn that some schools provide students with substantial grants to enable them to take unpaid summer internships. Some schools also have a lot of hookups for internships.
SETTING/CAMPUS. Do you want an urban setting, a “college town” with independent bookstore(s) and an arthouse movie theatre and pizza available until the wee hours, or a rural setting…or does this not matter to you? Does access to a major airport or Amtrak station matter?
STUDENT BODY/VIBE. Some LACs are more artsy, while others are more athletic. Some have more a greater number of free spirits, while others have more preppy kids. Some schools have a high percentage of very intense students, while others are more chill. Some schools have a lot of outdoor adventurers, while others have people who prefer to stay in the library. Some schools have a thriving LGBTQ scene. Some schools have much more racial and socioeconomic diversity than others. Some schools have Greek life, and others do not. Don’t get me wrong: there are artsy kids even at schools that have a jocky reputation, and jocky kids even at the artsier schools, but there can still be palpable differences, and some of these things might matter to you.
Visiting when school is in session can be extremely helpful to prospective students. (I realize this is a supremely unhelpful comment to make under our present circumstances with the coronavirus, but hopefully it will again be safe to tour colleges sometime during the 2020-21 school year.)
“Open curriculum” is often used as a descriptor. Here is a comparison chart from 2018 of actual requirements of colleges often described as “open curriculum” (verify on college web sites in case they have changed the requirements):
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21830134/#Comment_21830134
Thank you for your advice. I think if I choose to enroll in a school I am committed to it. It’s hard to mentally switch schools once I commit. While I can see myself at Swarthmore and Pomona and I think I will enjoy my time there, I also like the other schools that admitted me. In some ways, these accepted schools “liked” me more and it’s better to go to somewhere that accepted me instead of placing me on the waitlist. Just thinking out loud.