<p>“Remember, there is no law saying you must attend the most selective school that admits you.” Now I get to agree with tk21769. Strongly.</p>
<p>One thing about LACs is that, because they are small, you want to make sure you are comfortable with the culture. At a medium or large school, you can easily duck the dominent culture and find a sub-group that fits. At an urban school, you can escape into the city. At a LAC, most of which are rural or suburban, the dominent culture is ‘in your face’ to a greater degree, so do your homework. It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit, but if a place is predominently preppy and preppy gives you hives, think twice, even if it’s more selective than ‘good fit’ school. </p>
<p>S liked the New England LACs well enough, but after checking out the midwestern ones, he realized that the culture of the north east was much less comfortable than the midwestern one. That was a surprize because he’s lived his entire life in the mid-atlantic region-no reason at all to expect the midwest to be his natural home-but I’m from California myself and I can see the appeal (in spite of the harsh winters).</p>