I visited Swarthmore about a year and a half ago and it seemed…dour? To me, it felt like students didn’t seem particularly happy or friendly. It was a gloomy day, so perhaps that soured my outlook.
Amherst has very good CS, and of course, has access to Umass Amherst’s great program. I’ll look more into it to see if it’s a social fit. Funnily enough, Bowdoin, two states away, is a shorter drive.
I’ve also been looking a bit more into Middlebury. I know they’ve been expanding their program for the last few years- does anybody else know more about their program? I would think this would constitute a “safer” reach considering I’m at the top end of the mid fifty percent for both the sat and act.