Liberal Arts Schools and Close-knit Communities

Student Lounge College Life
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I was just at a fly-in program at Bowdoin and I realized that the atmosphere is very “chill” in a sense. Everyone at Bowdoin is extremely intelligent and most probably have the ability to get into Ivies and other top-notch schools. However, I noticed that what is different is that Bowdoin has a VERY close-knit community. Everyone loves to help each other and students and professors are very friendly, and everyone is just so supportive and people rarely use their own knowledge as a way to sabotage others (like what happens at many other top-notch schools).

I also visited Notre Dame (which I know isn’t a LAC) but is also VERY close-knit as a community. I know the school sizes between the two are very different and the atmosphers at both schools were different and unique. However, I absolutely love these close-knit and supportive school communities where everyone tries to be as open-minded and intelligently unique as possible.

My main question is: Is this hospitality and close-knit community a thing that EVERY LAC has or is it just certain ones? I have a friend who attended the Williams and the Pomona fly-ins but she said that she despised Pomona because everyone was just doing their own thing and no one really cared to support each other. She said that she LOVED Williams and it’s not her first choice because she loved the friendly and caring atmosphere of the school.

It’s relatively hard to do research on school communities without actually visiting the school for a few days… so if anyone knows the answer to this question, that’d be great! If it helps, the LACs that I’m most interested in are Reed, Colby, Colorado, Kenyon and Occidental… Also, can you guys tell me if the schools Stanford, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, USC and Brown have close-knit communities? Thanks a ton!! (:

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Can’t speak to Reed and Occidental, but you’ll definitely get a close-knit community at Colby, Colorado (very much so) , and Kenyon. If you like Colby and Bowdoin, have you considered Bates? A very friendly school with happy students.

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@doschicos I absolutely love Maine (I’m in fact in it right now). I have considered Bates for a while until I heard some very negative things about it. People told me that the students/faculty at Bates are pretentious and unaccepting. As someone who has never visited, I don’t know if that is true but if you can confirm/deny it, that would be great. Thanks!

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That’s a really surprising comment. I know MANY students there who are very, very happy. Bates was on the list for both my kids. One got accepted at another school ED and one got in but chose another school. I’ve never heard any talk of a pretentious or unaccepting attitude from anyone. Most people view it as the opposite which was the draw for my own kids as they were looking for a close-knit, noncompetitive but intellectually curious atmosphere. In fact, I consider it the least pretentious and most accepting of the 3 Maine LACs.

I’d highly suggest checking it out further.

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Not on your list, but we noticed that Haverford had a close-knit community.

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I think That you would also like Middlebury College
The students there are very tight knit and the campus is beautiful
Not a cut throat community at all

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This idea floats about in the ether, and is worth looking at straight on. Does anybody here know- first hand or directly- of students using knowledge (or anything else) to sabotage others at any of the top LACs? fwiw, I don’t- but my sample size is a few hundred enrolled students across 20 or so LACs, and that may not be representative.

The students that I know at Harvard, Princeton, JHU and other schools with the reputation of having competitive student bodies say that there is fierce competition but not sabotage (I have heard the most rumors about JHU, but nobody has given me a first-hand example)- but again, I don’t know enough students at those schools to say that with anything but anecdotal confidence.

As to your original question, OP,

the LACs are both more similar and more different than you might think. Given their size they are pretty much all strong communities, with a ‘feel’ or vibe that is likely to suit you- or not. That’s why visiting for yourself is so, so important.

The feedback you got about Bates being ‘pretentious and unaccepting’ is a great example: the students and 1 professor that I know/know of there are the opposite of ‘pretentious and unaccepting’ (and the raves I have heard about that professor are pretty amazing)- but that was clearly the experience of the person/people you know. Remember that sometimes what seems pretentious to one person doesn’t to another, and also that it is the rare place with no pretentious or unwelcoming people in it (I know at least 2 current Bowdoin students who are definitely pretentious- smart, nice, friendly, but definitely pretentious! One of them, now an upperclassman, started out pretentious and has become notably less so- there is a lot of evolving that goes on in college). The only important question is: how does the place feel to you?

Stanford, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, USC and Brown are all too big to have an LAC-type community feel, but they all have ways of breaking a big population down. Yale’s housing system is an obvious example. I will say that of all the ones we looked at Cornell came across as the most individualistic? socially fragmented? not sure how to describe it… of the schools on your list

IMO, Reed, Colby, Colorado, Kenyon, Occidental, Stanford, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, USC and Brown is a rather idiosyncratic list. Spend a little time with Fiske, (and cruise uni go and niche, but be aware that the quality & accuracy of their info is pretty variable) and get a better sense of the schools.

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I’ll definitely look into Fiske, Uni go and Niche for more info! And yeah, I am only judging the schools based on what I’ve seen, which is relatively limited considering I don’t get to spend too much time on campus as a prospie… but thanks so much for all the info! I’ll definitely look into Middlebury and Haverford!!

btw can any of you guys confirm what I heard about Pomona’s community? Thanks!

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I know students who did it in high school (sabatoged to get ahead at the expense of others), and I know what colleges they went to… they generally picked the schools with cutthroat reputations.

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@intparent would you say that LACs communities are less likely to do such things?

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Mm… To some extent, but not entirely. I will get flamed if I listed the ones I would avoid, though. :slight_smile:

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@blourring LAC admissions are geared to pick kids that like to play nice, which is a requirement when a school and the campus is small.

Also, many LACs have at least 30%, at least, playing sports, so those kids are used to teamwork.

Always exceptions but that is the goal and no guarantee against cliques.

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@intparent Can you please message me list of the ones you’d avoid? I’m actually really curious and I think I would enjoying studying at a LAC and would like to know more about them! :slight_smile:

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Having “survived” the JHU premed experience and having taken all the notorious premed classes (biochemistry, organic chemistry, neuroanatomy (for my program)), I can tell you in absolute confidence that I neither observed cutthroat antics nor heard of any student complaining of them while at Hopkins. Either that culture died out decades ago (since even students I’ve talked to from the late 90s couldn’t recall anything like that and med school has only become more competitive) or, what I more likely suspect, these rumors were just made up by individuals who never attended the institution. Even saying the competition was “fierce” I think mischaracterizes the school and the students. I found it to be very collaborative where group projects were often a component of intro-level and upper-level courses. Furthermore, when you’re attending such a small school (1200 students in a graduating class) such behaviors just won’t be tolerated and would definitely hurt the saboteur (or what have you) in the long run. By all means ask other posters on CC about their experiences at JHU (or Harvard and Princeton), and I highly doubt their responses would differ (definitely never saw anyone from JHU promote this cutthroat or fierce competition rumor).

As for searching for a tight-knit community, it all depends on your personality and the people who eventually form your friend circle. Unless you truly plan on going to such a small school (less than 300 in a graduating class?) where you can truly know everyone, ultimately the 50 or so people you interact with on a weekly basis will determine the community feeling of your school. I ended up studying with other students for every exam I had, etc. because I was able to find the right group of students whose personalities and interests clicked (or foiled well) with mine. It always helps if the school does a good job creating the right atmosphere by promoting community-building events that students want to attend, and I believe most top level schools like the ones OP listed all have the resources and the support to do this well (and I’m sure they do). But still, a community doesn’t just happen, it isn’t some contrived thing that administration can just will into being, it depends on the students - and they change every year! Unfortunately the weight of the task is mostly going to fall on you proactively meeting a lot of people the first few months you’re at school (wherever you end up going). Make sure you go to as many of the social events as you can early on to meet people when they too are more receptive to making new friendships, because many people naturally close the door or clam up after the first few months (unless they are always so bubbly and outgoing and not just forcing it out of terror of spending the next four years alone in a dark room studying).

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Back in my day i knew students at Reed. The students were highy intellectual very smart kids. It was at the time one of the most liberal schools in the US. Students there seemed happy and it was collaborative.

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My son attends Pomona, and he has found it to be a very collaborative and supportive environment. He has had a wonderful experience thus far, often working with other students on problem sets and homework. There are so many resources available to the students!

He has a close-knit group of friends as well, and I personally found Pomona to be a very caring and nurturing community, from the professors, to the administration, to the students.

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" I absolutely love Maine (I’m in fact in it right now). I have considered Bates for a while until I heard some very negative things about it. People told me that the students/faculty at Bates are pretentious and unaccepting. As someone who has never visited, I don’t know if that is true but if you can confirm/deny it, that would be great. Thanks!"

My son just graduated from Bates in May. He had a wonderful 4 years there. I don’t know the people who told you they are pretentious and unaccepting, but that was definitely not my son’s experience at all. I have also met most of his friends and none of them fit that profile, either. Some do come from extreme wealth, yet you wouldn’t know it by being around them.

The student who was asked to speak for the class at Commencements (voted by his classmates) was a URM/lower SES who ended up at Bates because he had no choice - it was the only college which gave him the financial aid he needed. He went not happy with having to go to Bates and not wanting to be there. Four years later he said it was the best thing that has ever happened to him and he couldn’t have imagined being anywhere else. His speech was quite moving as he spoke about his initial struggles and then how its was the collective Bates community throughout his 4 years that got him where he is today.

I think if you go to the Bates website and click on Commencement 2015 you watch his address.