<p>The reasons that a fairly significant difference in total endowment doesn’t automatically make huge differences in the rankings are:</p>
<p>-the financial resources component is a tiny percentage of the total ranking formula
-that data point is calculated based on per-student spending, not total endowment, (that makes large differences in endowment less significant, since most annual spending comes from tuition, not endowment income)
-similarly, Conn’s higher cost of attendance reduces the difference in per-student spending even further
-the ranking doesn’t count capital projects like new buildings, which a large endowment helps to make possible
-schools with less money often try to compete on some of the indirect measures of financial resources like size of the faculty; in fact, Conn “beat” Lafayette in faculty/student ratio (9/1 vs. 11/1)</p>
<p>The reason Lafayette’s rank has changed is because President Weiss has smartly decided not to participate in the rankings surveys, hence it has cost Lafayette some in the ratings. USNWR took their marbles and went some place else to play.</p>
<p>My son is at Conn. He is a member of a minority group, a sensitive sweet young man and an artist. When he first went, to Conn he was very alienated by Conn’s toleration of heavy drinking, a pro-jock attitute and entitled trust-fund kids. </p>
<p>Eventually, he found his niche and really loves the school. They have been supportive of his individual needs and I think overall we are glad he went to Conn. Still, for a kid who was raised with modest financial means in a disciplined family where drinking isn’t tolerated and money is something you earn, expect culture shock when you arrive at Conn. </p>
<p>His friends are very nice kids, so we know there are a lot of terrific people there, but that first year may be hard. If you can tough it out, you’ll find a place and you’ll get a great education.</p>
<p>ConnMom666, Thanks for sharing your son’s experience. It’s good to know your son managed to find his way through and be true to himself. My feeling is that in every school, the kids exaggerate their personality traits in the beginning. They’re facing many changes and cling to familiar roles…I’m guessing my daughter will vibe out quirky/artsy girl! I guess the task is to find a comfort zone while figuring out some direction…not an easy thing to do. You should be proud of your son ( and relieved, too)!</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman at Conn/ I think living in the substance-free housing (Blackstone ) made a big difference as far as residential atmosphere and study . She is an athelete, but the “jock” atmosphee did not seem overwhelming (probably worse for men than women. She has been quite satisfied with school ( we are not rich, no trust funds here and not a “drinking” family). Everyone is different in how they adapt to an environment, but Conn is worthy of consideration</p>