<p>Just my two cents, but visiting is really the only way to assess the schools. If I had listened to some of this advice, my d would have a very different list, as we wouldn’t have visited some great schools. So here are some more impressions - take with a giant grain of salt.</p>
<p>Personally, I loved CMC, but it is very focused, and I think that they are killing for a very specific type of student - high achieving leaders. Pomona comes across as very science-y and very competitive (not in a good way).</p>
<p>Everyone I know who goes to WashU loves it - can’t say enough great things. Stanford is not at all laid back. Amherst is beautiful, and has the best dorms I’ve ever visited, but the vibe is just Wrong. The admissions office there was the worst I’ve seen in over 50 visits (followed very closely by Harvard, but that’s not on your list. )</p>
<p>My d loved Dartmouth - it was by far the most laid-back, friendly campus we visited (although Brown is a close second.)</p>
<p>@Sakacar3 I’m surprised to hear about your negative impressions of Pomona and Amherst. What is so wrong about the Amherst “vibe”?</p>
<p>I like Dartmouth too but I’m not really looking for a big Greek school so I don’t think it would be a good fit.</p>
<p>Basically what this thread has helped me to decide is that I like small liberal arts colleges and medium sized universities with a focus on undergrad liberal arts. Great academics along with a laid-back and friendly atmosphere/student body are what is most important to me. If anyone has any more suggestions for schools that match these requirements, Id love to
hear about them. Right now my application list looks like:
LACs:
Carleton
Bowdoin
Pomona
Amherst
St. Olaf</p>
<p>Unis:
Stanford
Wash U
Vanderbilt
William & Mary
Brown</p>
<p>I am also considering but do not know much about:
Johns Hopkins
Yale
Kenyon (low match/safety)
U Rochester (low match/safety)
Haverford
Macalester
Williams (will visit)</p>
<p>So if anyone is knowledgable about these schools Id love to hear how you think they line up with what I’m looking for.</p>
<p>People will disagree, but Greek life is not necessarily a negative. I went to W&M, was in a sorority, my husband was in a fraternity. The social scene is basically non-existent otherwise (this was a while ago, so YMMV). Brown has fraternities (I also went there) - they are an option, but not an overwhelming part off social life.</p>
<p>I’m not negative about Pomona - it’s a lovely campus and I think Claremont us awesome - but it isn’t laid back, and it is very heavy on science majors ( people will argue this, but visit and check it out). Amherst was just, IMHO, a negative environment. The police blotter in the school newspaper listed the number of incidents of people urinating in the quad (it was pretty high) and the school basically said “kids will be kids - if you don’t like it, don’t come”. Again, YMMV. :-)</p>
<p>17 schools is far too many to apply to, in my opinion. And for each of those schools that doesn’t have a supplemental essay, there’s another one that has enough to make up for it (i.e. Brown has 4, Yale has 4). That’s at least $1,000 in application fees, as well. I’d definitely take Stanford off the list. As @Sakacar3 said, it’s not at all laid-back, it’s very competitive. I read about someone who went there and hated it so much that she spent a year studying abroad and graduated a year early to try to minimize the amount of time she had to spend on campus. It’s not that Stanford has an awful atmosphere or is a bad school, it’s just that it’s more for people who are driven by competition. If a laid-back atmosphere is really the most important thing for you, as you said it is, Stanford would not be the best fit for you at all.</p>
<p>Keep Bowdoin, drop Colby. @intparent, your comment that Bowdoin, Amherst, and Williams aren’t comparable is embarrassingly ignorant. Bowdoin may be test optional but they still evaluate students as harshly as Amherst and Williams do. This past year, Bowdoin had the lowest acceptance rate out of the three. </p>
<p>@430ktk im not applying to 17 schools. I know for sure I’m doing the first 9 and then I’m thinking about adding 1 or 2 from the lower list but wanted to hear what you guys thought about them first</p>
<p>@ormdad yeah the Dartmouth thing was a fly-in and I did take the application very seriously. There was one essay and I had maybe 3-4 drafts before I thought it was just about perfect. Oh well, everything happens for a reason I suppose. Dartmouth didn’t sound like a great fit anyway so it might have just been a waste of time.</p>
<p>Also, your daughter’s list seems pretty similar to mine. I’ve heard Bowdoin is very laid-back. What do you know about Brown, Yale, and Haverford? I’ve been thinking about applying to those three as well. Think they’d be a good fit for me?</p>
<p>You listed the 17 on your “application list.” My bad. Still. Those essays aren’t going to write themselves and that’s a lot of essays (and don’t assume that shorter essays are easier to write). The kids I know who were most successful at getting into highly competitive schools applied to very few schools (Harvard admit only applied to 3, Northwestern admit only applied to 3) and those who applied to many highly competitive schools didn’t get into any (applied to 6 Ivies, rejected from all). And the application fees are still going to be cray cray (like $700 for 8 schools) plus the fees for sending official score reports. I’ve also heard JHU is pretty competitive and not very laid back, if that helps.</p>
<p>@Sakacar3 ugh that’s a bummer about Amherst. I’ll be visiting later in the summer and if I get the same impression it is definitely coming off the list</p>
<p>I would go with the last one, but I disagree with the other two. There is a pretty significant gap between the average Stanford and average Pomona student – just a level of “pop” that is missing there. And have never heard CMC and USC compared… CMC is the darling of right-leaning political students at the moment. USC is hot girls and great football. They are in the same state… but except for that, not sure how they compare personality-wise.</p>
<p>@kmart19 you have the same tools I’ve used to do the research (Fiske Guide, CC and Google). CC in particular can give you everything you need with just a little work.</p>
<p>But since I like to see my own worlds on the screen…</p>
<p>Yale is considered to be the “chill” Harvard. I grew up and still live in Cambridge and the kids I’ve known who went to Harvard would not call it “chill”. I only know two current kids who go there but they rave about it.</p>
<p>Check out this video, I just don’t see Harvard, Princeton, Amherst, etc doing anything like this:</p>
<p>The general perception is that Yale excels in “soft” majors like humanities and social sciences but lags in STEM. So they are pumping a bunch of money into STEM of course.</p>
<p>I feel like Brown is similar to Carleton culturally. Maybe less “quirky” though as students are smart, intellectual and driven but a little more urban and social. But also “laid back” and not super competitive. The open curriculum is a target for some ridicule from other Ivy students but was really compelling to my daughter.</p>
<p>Haverford is a smaller LAC with top-flight academics and in comparison to it’s neighbor Swarthmore, pretty laid back students, non-competitive, etc. It probably has the most cross-admits with Carleton.</p>
<p>I would consider Williams much like Carleton. Quirky as a descriptor can lead in many directions. I would characterize Williams’ students,as individualist: confident, outgoing, energetic, curious about the world, comfortable in their own skins. These are for the most part happy kids.</p>
<p>There is a high level of intellect and intellectual curiosity coupled with a high level of physical activity – sports or outdoorsy pursuits, plus a lot of artistic talent – art, music, theater.</p>
<p>They take academics seriously, but balance them with a commitment to whatever extracurriculars they’re involved with. Artist/athlete/scholar is fairly common combination. The student body leans left, but is not fiercely activist (except toward environmental issues).</p>
<p>Williams has excellent sciences, as good as or better than any of the names on your list with intensive research opportunity. It offers a nurturing academic environment and a superb track record for graduate and professional admissions. </p>
<p>My son was attracted by Williamstown’s natural beauty and accessibility to outdoorsy activities, but for sure, the insular, mountain village environment isn’t for everyone. (You’ll know when you visit.) </p>
<p>He looked at many of the schools on your list. In addition to Williams the ones he liked best were Kenyon, and Hamilton which were like Williams, and Wesleyan which was not. He eliminated Haverford and Amherst for various reasons. Never made it to Bowdoin, Pomona or Carleton, though in retrospect he might have considered them.</p>
<p>Is considered by whom? Yeah, I’ll argue with that. You are describing Hamilton and Colgate, not Dartmouth.</p>
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<p>And this is an excellent description of Dartmouth. I’ve known people from Dartmouth since the 70s. At D, it is considered uncool to blow your own horn. Students are very bright and accomplished, but being competitive with one another is not the way they roll. People leave their laptops in the library unattended. They are extremely friendly. The Greek scene is very open, and everyone is welcome to attend parties, affiliated or not. The school certainly has its issues–like many other schools, there is too much drinking–but unlike many other schools, they are actively engaged in addressing them, and definitely making some headway. Please do not let people peddling stereotypes turn you off. Go there and see for yourself. It may or may not be a fit for you, but go with an open mind.</p>
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