<p>Amazingly, us seniors have a pretty good sense of most of the schools being discussed here. If you asked for student impressions, rather than giving selective facts--as is common with adults/parents in a fight to the death to validate the choice their child actually made--you will get e pretty good feel for the different schools. Most of these impressions would be seconded by the students in various forums on cc.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is known amongst the students I know as a heady place--not a fun place. It is also known as a hyper-liberal place. I know when I interviewed there with the head of admissions he'd mentioned that Swarthmore was in consideration for the presidential debates but he didn't think there was any chance of that happening considering Swarthmore's liberal rep. In many students minds (who are by and large liberal themselves) Liberal=PC. That's not a moral judgment, just a notion. Swarthmore is also known for hard work and harder grading, some will like that--many won't. Swat was in my top 3-4 choices so I have nothing against it, that's just the impression many students have. All the schools being discussed here are great schoolsthe best IMHO. But there is always an agenda to infer one of them is head and shoulders higher than the otherssuch is parochialism. </p>
<p>Dartmouth is a university, however, it is so like an LAC that its cross-admits are more likely to be found in LACs than at most universities. This is probably why it is known for the best undergraduate education offered at any university (often including Princeton, however, Princeton is not known for having a LAC feel). Dartmouth is known to be a fun campus and to some perhaps it is too fun. It is known for one of the best alumni networks amongst any schools in the country. Its known for its small classes but perhaps not all as small as you would find at a small LAC. Dartmouth is known for not having TAs give lectures, although there are graduate students at Dartmouth and they are on occasion used in addition to a professor, probably more so than many smaller LACs (however it is difficult to know why this may not be an advantage Dartmouth has unless you happen to believe that it is always bad to have additional help from an occasional TA).</p>
<p>Dartmouth, to me, represented the golden mean neither too far this way, nor too far that.</p>
<p>"Anyone know if Williams also funds students' visits? I've looked at pros and cons for these schools (given my interests) but what I think will really determine where I end up is the qualitative, uncategorizable (not a word, but you know what I'm trying to say) "feel/fit". But how can I determine that without visiting? Thoughts?"</p>
<p>Whew! That's a toughie. For my d., Williams was a clear choice until her visits. Then, for her, it fell to the bottom of the list. Smith moved from near the bottom to the top, primarily on academic strengths she never would have detected from reading the catalogs. Could work in the opposite direction for a different student. But without the visit(s), she never would have known.</p>
<p>I'm an Eph, and would have preferred Amherst for my d. She, however, didn't even apply. And in retrospect, with good academic reasons. The music department at Amherst is fine, but very small. The foreign language departments, while better than Williams, are positively anemic compared with Smith's. And, very much to surprise, being next to a real town, with an active off-campus Quaker Meeting, turned out to weigh heavily.</p>
<p>When you get down to schools of this caliber, unless there are specific academic strengths you are looking for, you really are looking at fit more than anything else. At the extremes, Swat would appear more "geeky" than the others, Williams more "athletic" than the others. If either of those two "feels" don't feel comfortable, or you don't like the extremes, you might be "safer" choosing one of those in the middle.</p>
<p>
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When you get down to schools of this caliber, unless there are specific academic strengths you are looking for, you really are looking at fit more than anything else.
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</p>
<p>I think it really helps to sit down at the kitchen table with a pad of paper, an interested parent, and a pot of coffee. Start trying to jot down what criteria are important.</p>
<p>For some students (such as Mini's D), very specific academic interests in "off the beaten track" fields could be top priorities that would eliminate many schools from consideration. However, for the majority of students who plan to major in the usual suspects), this really provides little in the way of differentiation.</p>
<p>Talk about location: what are the real-world logistics in getting from where you are to each of the colleges. Talk about what kind of off-campus activities you are interested in.</p>
<p>Talk about the "word on the street" about the social scene at each college. Frats, drinking, athletics, minority housing, gay students, preppiness, and so on and so forth. These are individual considerations. What may be the ideal social scene for one kid would be the worst for another. But, talk about YOUR likes and dislikes.</p>
<p>Talk about the overall academic experience. Big classes where you can be anonymous? Little classes where there is nowhere to hide? How hard to do want to work? Do you enjoy studying? Debating ideas? Or, would it make sense to select a school where you can focus more intently on extracurriculars?</p>
<p>Once you can verbalize what criteria are important to you, it's really not that hard to suggest which of many equal colleges and universities would be a likely fit. The hardest are the abstract questions: which school is better, without having defined the criteria.</p>