<p>I started this exact same thread in the Amherst section, but someone suggested I start it here too, which seems like a good idea. Anyways, my name is Todd. I got accepted to both these colleges, and I'm having trouble deciding. I will probably major in economics and/or political science while planning to go onto law school. Advice please?</p>
<p>S had the dilemma during the whole waiting process where he went back and forth #1/#2 for both of these schools. It certainly made the decision easier when he got waitlisted at Amherst. I went to a very small college myself… but not amidst 30,000 other college students within 20 miles. Still, from what I hear students pretty much don’t go to all these other schools with much regularity although that option remains.</p>
<p>Tough decision I think… but I do think they have distinct personalities. Have you visited both schools?</p>
<p>That I have. I liked both schools a lot, too. So I think I’d enjoy either, which I guess just makes the decision even harder (even though I won’t lose with whichever I choose.)</p>
<p>Go to the accepted student days they each put on and go with what feels right to you. Both good schools with a lot of people that would be very excited to to have your options. </p>
<p>And don’t be influenced by silly posts that claim “the people that matter” will be impressed if you go to [insert name of non HPYS school here].</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is only a handful of schools enjoy general name recognition for academic excellence and small New England LACs aren’t among them. </p>
<p>Finally, if it matters, Middlebury is much closer to Vermont’s quality skiing (Killington, Stowe, Mad River Glen) than Amherst.</p>
<p>Ncram65 makes a good point. If you don’t attend HYPS, then name recognition begins to really blur. Having lived on the west coast, the east coast and having spent significant time in the south, I quickly learned that having gone to Middlebury was no more valuable than having gone to Trinity, nor was it any less valuable than having gone to Amherst or Williams. The Ivies have greater name recognition, but so do the big UC schools, UNC and Syracuse. Here on CC we all can make easily the slight distinctions between the top 20 LACs, but outside of this “bubble” most people won’t be able to. The quality of education is going to be very similar at all of them. That is why so many people stress fit over reputation. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I attended Middlebury, a Large Pac-10 University, and a large Ivy. For me, my best educational experience was at Middlebury, by FAR, but people tend to be most impressed with my Ivy, which was, by far, the worst. When you visit these schools, I’m confident you’ll just know which feels right. If it helps at all, I LOVED Midd!</p>
<p>Hey Todd, I am also stuck in deciding between these school - with Bowdoin thrown in the mix - but have unfortunately not had a chance to visit yet. however, i will be visiting soon. it seems to me like you will be happy with either place, especially if you liked both campuses. i think the main difference is which lifestyle you prefer because both will offer AMAZING academic opportunities. which town did you prefer? would you rather be separated from the rest of the world or be able to go out any night of the week and meet new people? what about the student body itself? was one school more preppy/artsy than the other?</p>
<p>you will go wherever you are meant to go =)
good luck, and maybe i will see you this fall</p>
<p>My kid is in the lucky position of making this choice, too. How much should the following argument matter?</p>
<p>Amhert endowment: ~$1.7 billion
Amherst enrollment: 1685
Amherst endowment per student: ~ $987,000</p>
<p>Midd endowment: ~$936 million
Midd enrollment: 2500
Midd endowment per student: ~ $375,000</p>
<p>So, Amherst has significantly deeper pockets with which to finance facilities, faculty recruiting, and student quality of life activities. Important?</p>
<p>Absolutely, Amherst. In addition to the fact that it is a more famous school with a higher rating, it’s also part of the Five Colleges in a great college town.</p>
<p>HOPDad, I think those numbers are pre-crash. Both Amherst and Middlebury, like other colleges, took huge hits to their endowments in the stock market crash. As a result, Amherst has had to take on a $100 million taxable bond in order to meet its cash commitments. If you check the Amherst forum, you’ll find a thread about this with posts by many people who understand the financials - and their likely effects on the student experience - a lot better than I do.</p>
<p>Thanks, redandtheblack, for pointing me to that very useful (if acrimonious) discussion thread! Great information there. But even after one takes into account the financial downturn and any borrowing that the colleges have done against their endowments, the basic order-of-magnitude argument remains: Amherst is in a much stronger financial position and has significantly more endowment income at its disposal. And my question still remains: How important should this be to a kid trying to choose between the two schools?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that both Amherst and Middlebury have higher per student endowment numbers than Duke, Brown, and Columbia. Would you be asking the same question about those schools?</p>
<p>^ ^ ^ ^</p>
<p>Or Harvard.</p>
<p>“Harvard faces significant spending reductions—likely to affect both employees and perhaps even high-priority capital projects”</p>
<p>[The</a> Fiscal Crunch | Harvard Magazine](<a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/03/the-fiscal-crunch]The”>http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/03/the-fiscal-crunch)</p>
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<p>Unless a transfer was involved, I’m guessing that you went to Middlebury for UG and then the other two for grad school. UG is almost always going to be your best educational experience and the school you identify with most.</p>
<p>I get what HopDad is saying absolutely. And I think the question is a valid one. Beyond the fact that Midd has spend an excessive degree on their physical plant and Amherst is having to shelve a few of them (most notably the science bldg, although it remains the priority), one has to consider what the foreseeable budget is going to do to student services. I believe Amherst’s student union just gave a large sum to the school to secure some of it’s funding for student activities. Middleburys programming is student run and subsidized by the student activities fee (which ends up being a significant budget). College is more than a classroom and I think that’s where the intangibles comes in. Both of these schools are going to offer great classes. And I honestly think if you’re lucky enough to be in that position of both, well… you can’t go wrong…</p>
<p>The endowment issue is a valid one, but as pointed out, Amherst is struggling a bit, so it’s may be a wash at this point.</p>
<p>They are very different environments. I would think most students would prefer one to the other. Amherst/Midd is like Amherst/Williams.</p>
<p>If the few points difference in prestige is a factor, I say you should discount that.</p>
<p>Go to the one that makes you smile most when you say, “Next year I’m going to BLANK.”</p>
<p>If neither produces a better reaction read the course catalogues. You can tell a lot about a school by the descriptions it uses for its courses.</p>
<p>For example – my S had the choice of Vassar, Wesleyan and Williams after discounting the unis that accepted him. He thought Vassar’s descriptions in the Music Dept. too formal (for instance they required two foreign languages for the major), Wesleyan’s too loose (too much emphasis on world music, not enough on classics like Bach) and Williams in the middle.</p>
<p>He chose Williams. It was a kind of three bears scenario. For him, Williams was “just right.”</p>
<p>The irony is that now he’s a Classics Major and not a music major. Still, he does like the pedagogy at Williams.</p>
<p>Many students would choose Amherst as less remote and in a larger town. Some would choose Midd as being more in nature and having a stunning campus.</p>
<p>This is a choice for which there is no bad choice. These are both wonderful schools.</p>