<p>It is true that schools like CMC and Amherst get labeled “conservative” when they are probably more middle of the road on average, with a good mix of viewpoints. As opposed to many other campuses where the right has no voice or is drowned out.</p>
<p>I guess I am a little biased here as a fairly left of center individual. Also my Daughter and I went to two presentations in a week that included Carleton, Pomona, Grinnell and CMC.</p>
<p>She said Carleton seemed like a school “made” for her, and CMC sounded like 4 years of discomfort (using some weaker language so as to not offend). But that’s just her opinion. She also loves Brown and Wesleyan, and would love Pomona but it is too far away.</p>
<p>I would have to say if you took the top 20 USNWR LACs (excluding the military academies), Carleton and CMC would be the most different.</p>
<p>[edit: doing some research on Amherst sounds like I am wrong about it’s political culture. I have always known it as a haven for rich conservative prep school kids but maybe that’s an outdated view]</p>
<p>@kmart19 what about Kenyon as a safety/low match. I’d be real surprised if you didn’t get in. And it is generally similar in experience to some of the LACs you list. A little preppier than Carleton/Grinnell.</p>
<p>@kmart19 I will also say that we have heard from a current student and recent grad (AP Calc teacher no less) that WUSTL is very competitive- lots of pre-med GPA angst. We’ve heard the opposite about Carleton. Carls are very driven and it can be a self-imposed pressure cooker, but no one cares what your grades are or how you did on that test.</p>
<p>In fact the AP Calc teacher said she just went there because it was the best school she got into, not because she knew it was a good fit. I think this mistake is made a lot.</p>
<p>Ok I’m going to stop now but I wanted to share this page with overlaps (not sure how they figure this out) at Kenyon, it has a number of your schools on it:</p>
<p>“I have no idea what I want to major in (maybe science…idk) and don’t want to go to a huge school. My ECs/test scores (34 on ACT, etc.) are good”</p>
<p>I don’t think this fits CMC at all. Williams is larger than Bowdoin and Amherst and probably a better choice for a possible science major.</p>
<p>“Also, there are schools that admit solely on test scores and GPA?? Are there any good ones?” Reed, which is strong in physics and biology, tends to not care about non-academic factors.</p>
<p>Carleton prides itself on being a little quirky and having a sense of humor, in addition to being a really top notch school. To me, that is the opposite of what I have heard about CMC. I think that Pomona would be your best choice of the Claremont colleges by far.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification re Wheaton. </p>
<p>Too bad you can’t visit Bowdoin. It’s a lovely school in a cool town, with pretty easy public transportation to Portland (a mini Seattle, 30 min) and Boston (about 2 hours).</p>
<p>Hey thanks for the responses everyone. I’ve read everyone’s but I’m not gonna respond individually because there are just so many haha.</p>
<p>So I will check out Kenyon, Wesleyan, and Reed. They sound like they might overlap a lot of schools that I like.</p>
<p>Think I’m gonna cut CMC from list. Seems like a great school but I don’t get the “laid-back atmosphere” feel and I feel like that’s the type of school where a lot of kids come in knowing (or at least saying they know) what they want to do with the rest of their life, and that just wouldn’t be a good fit for me</p>
<p>Also, what does everyone think about Colby? General consensus would put it below Bowdoin and Amherst, correct? I’m not sure what to make of it…seems too selective to be a legitimate safety school but I’m not sure whether or not I can actually see myself attending there over some of these other schools I’ve visited</p>
<p>You guys are being really helpful. Thanks again</p>
<p>Small LACs have distinctive personalities that will become more apparent when you visit. If yuoou can spare the time, to get to the Maine Three: Bowdoin, Bates and Colby as well as the others on your list.</p>
<p>I agree that you could cut CMC. Brown seems to me to be out of line culturally with your top choices, but no harm in visiting. (Cornell might be a better fit among the Ivy League.)</p>
<p>Because your list is top heavy I don’t see that it makes much difference whether you have 10 or 12 or even more applications. If you’re comfortable with your safety, then it’s okay to compress the matches and expand the reaches. </p>
<p>If you’re not sure, then you should add more mid-range matches, like Colby, Kenyon (though its acceptance rates have dropped sharply recently), Skidmore, Conn College, Denison. You might also pursue some matches in the medium size category. </p>
<p>Do you intend to apply ED or SCEA? I believe that would give you a boost at some of the colleges on your list, but you’d really have to refine your preferences.</p>
<p>@momrath I am very comfortable with my safety of St. Olaf so I don’t think I really have to worry too much about not being accepted elsewhere. Also, I just found out that three schools on my list (Dartmouth, Vandy, and Wash. U.) have no supplement essays on their application, which is nice.</p>
<p>Current List:
Stanford
Wash. U.
William & Mary
Vanderbilt
Pomona
Carleton
Dartmouth
Amherst
Bowdoin
Grinnell
St. Olaf</p>
<p>Obviously this is liable to change based on school visits that I plan on doing before applying anywhere.</p>
<p>Also I don’t plan on doing any binding ED to any school, but I’ll probably apply early to Stanford cuz why not</p>
<p>I’d recommend starting the elimination with the schools you have not visited or have not thoroughly researched. Is there anything that attractive to you about the school that you’re willing to apply and write essays for one that you have not been to? Keep in mind there is a limited amount of time after acceptances are out to make a decision, and if you don’t have the will to visit those schools, then it’s hard to imagine you eventually going there.</p>
<p>Unless there is something very specific that you like about it that is not offered at any of the other schools you are applying to, I’d start there. As mentioned, some schools consider the level of interest as an admissions factor, so it is important to visit before deciding.</p>
<p>When I did my college applications, I started accumulating too many so I started eliminating ones I barely knew anything about or had a “slight” interest based off a recommendation from another person. In the end, I just stuck with the schools I visited and liked. More often than not, they had the things I wanted in a college that I felt the other applications were just “extra”</p>
<p>With your accomplishments I would hope a couple hundred words would not deter you from applying to a school you really like.</p>
<p>Sorry to harp on this, but Dartmouth is a very different social scene than Carleton (Quirky) and Grinnell (Activist). It is 2/3 Greek and is considered somewhat of a party school for smart, wealthy northeast prepsters. (I’m sure someone will try to argue this characterization, but whatever). </p>
<p>@ormdad a couple hundred words would definitely not deter me from applying to a school I’m interested in haha.</p>
<p>I’m going to cross Grinnell off the list. It’s location and its reputation for “social activism” doesn’t really appeal to me.</p>
<p>You say that Carleton is quirky and I agree, but this kind of brings me to another question…there are some relatively…normal, smart, friendly people on a campus like Carleton, correct?..I don’t mean to come off rude, because I love the quirkiness, but I’m just wondering if I would fit in there. I mean I have high test scores and do well in school, etc. but I would not consider myself a nerd really. Definitely prefer nerd over dumb jock or stuck-up snobs but I wouldn’t exactly categorize myself as one…</p>
<p>Also I’m beginning to doubt that Dartmouth is the place for me as well, as I have heard a lot of what you say about the school. I guess we’ll see what I think after I visit </p>
<p>I think “normal”, smart, friendly are all important aspects of Carleton’s image, especially friendly. And one possibly more important aspect is the ability to not take oneself so seriously. Take broomball for example. The point of the game is to have fun, not “crush” the competition, and the fact that everyone looks like a fool doing it is celebrated.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are other schools that have this sort of mindset but not many, and definitely not Dartmouth. And I guess my perception of Amherst may be a little outdated, but I do not see this attitude there, either. Mostly future McKinsey consultants/MBAs/CEOs, but that is probably unfair.</p>
<p>BTW, Wesleyan is pretty progressive/activist also, you should still visit if you can but just keep it in mind.</p>
<p>@ormdad do you know of any other schools with a similar atmosphere to Carleton? Honestly the closest thing I’ve found is William & Mary. All the students seemed really nice, quirky, and funny.</p>
<p>Also, kinda just took a hit to my ego as I just got rejected from Dartmouth’s summer bound program. Not so upset about not going to the camp (as I was beginning to decide that Dartmouth probably is not the place for me) but I am a little concerned about how my real college applications are going to turn out…I mean if I can’t get into a Dartmouth SUMMER CAMP then why am I even applying to Pomona or Amherst or Wash U?..I’m probably not looking at this the right way but I am a little nervous now to say the least…</p>
<p>Well the reason we found out about Carleton is because a recent Macalester grad said to take a look at it because it was similar but had a better CS major. Macalester is a common overlap I think.</p>
<p>Carelton is my Daughter’s first realistic choice but she is also looking at Yale, Brown, Haverford, Bowdoin, Grinnell, Vassar, Wesleyan and probably Oberlin and Kenyon. Whitman is too too far away but would be a good overlap. UMass and Beloit are her safeties.</p>
<p>Pomona is too far away but she said it didn’t have the right (Carelton) feel to her based on a presentation made alongside Carleton, Bowdoin, and Swarthmore (which is definitely not “laid back”).</p>
<p>I think she would like Bates, but for some reason she is resistant and there is no CS major.</p>
<p>Beloit and Earlham are <em>very</em> similar but no where near as difficult to get into, and do not really attract high stats kids.</p>
<p>Don’t take the Dartmouth thing too hard- it should not be an ego hit, but a dose of reality to get you ready for next spring. There are A LOT of really good students out there and for the top schools, Dartmouth included, it is a lottery ticket situation. Hopefully you have heard Harvard’s line that 80% of their applicants are qualified, they just only have room for 4% of them. It’s probably more like 25% but you get the idea. </p>
<p>And Dartmouth summer bound sounds more like a fly-in program than a summer camp. Maybe you didn’t take the application seriously enough. I know my daughter did not put in adequate time on the TASP app and she was shocked when she didn’t get an interview, but she’s more focused on the process now because of it.</p>
<p>As they say on CC, do not forget to apply to a safety, and top schools are a reach for everyone.</p>