Among the NESCAC schools, what’s your totally unbiased opinion on the campus where students have the most fun, are most collaborative, most community-service oriented, and least likely to become investment bankers. You can only name one school.
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I’m totally biased but there’s no question you’re describing Wesleyan University (highest percentage of visual/performing arts majors, student athletes share social life but don’t dominate it, small city downtown within walking distance, largely untapped riverfront, trails, rock-climbing also nearby.)
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Bowdoin.
Do I know ? Nope.
Just published rankings
You can’t show niche here but at #114 it’s highest.
So two rankings and both list Bowdoin highest - although one doesn’t list them near the top
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Sounds dreamy! I went there too but open to other votes.
My DS is thoroughly living his best life and enjoying a true “life of the mind” experience at Bowdoin. He has no plans to be an investment banker (but there is nothing wrong with investment banking, IMO).
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One unapologetically biased vote for Bates. Not the most exciting location as far as cities go (but Lewiston is underrated in my opinion), but amazing outdoor recreational opportunities (and free skiing!). Community service and civic engagement are built into the undergraduate experience at every level (from orientation on, including course work, field work, and clubs), and the school has a reputation for encouraging collaboration. Students seem very happy overall. Investment bankers? I don’t know, but the school is far better known for environmental studies than econ.
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If you are looking for people to share their first hand experience, then it’ll likely be biased. No?
OMG! 
What will they do with their life then?!
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Nonetheless, based on faculty scholarship, Bates may offer the strongest economics program of the Maine NESCACs: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html.
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Hahaha, good luck with that! There are lots of rabid supporters of all the NESCACs here on CC.
My extremely biased opinion is that Bates has the best QOL.
Many reasons for my (not impartial) opinion, in no order:
- Bucolic, picturesque, and compact campus nearly devoid of ugly buildings.
- Consistently excellent food with varied local dining options.
- Easy access to a very nice small city.
- Friendly and noncompetitive students.
- Best chapel by far.
- The town provides a good counterbalance in many ways to the college. Both need each other to function better, even if there have been strained relations at times.
- Easy access to nature.
- Great, caring professors teaching interesting, engaging classes.
- Easy access to a decent airport, major city two hours away.
- Wonderful variety of events and clubs.
- Maple syrup. Moose. Lobster. Coast.
- Probably a lot more.
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I was joking about the unbiased part 
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Bowdoin and Colby both have many alums in our family who all think their respective alma mater has the best QOL. And actually, if you knew each of these folks, they’re all probably right!
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And I, about investment banking.
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They all have a great quality of life! And, most aren’t turning out a significant number of investment bankers. I’d say that among NESCAC schools Tufts is the outlier and doesn’t have as much in common with the others - it’s a university, for one, and much more urban seeming than the others (I like Tufts and I’m sure it has a great quality of life but it is definitely different).
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Wesleyan, with Bates a close second.
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OP: You asked posters to rank NESCAC schools in four categories:
Most Fun: (4 way tie) Tufts, Wesleyan, Middlebury, & Amherst (due to size, location, & variety)
Most Community Service Oriented: Bates College due to location/need
Least Likely To Become Investment Bankers: (2 way tie) Bates & Conn College
Most Collaborative: (would be easier to approach this from the other end–least collaborative) My guess for “most collaborative” would be Bates College.
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Okay, we also have a number of Jumbos in the family. None believe they had more fun than their relatives at Colby and Bowdoin, who seemed to have had A LOT of it. Tufts has plenty to recommend it but definitely not fun. There’s stuff to do in the area, and you can have fun friends, but it’s just not their mission!
The Colby cohort all reported high collaboration.
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My totally biased opinion is Tufts. So easy to get into Boston, yet it has its own little town and a beautiful campus. Students are really collaborative and my daughter has found the curriculum so flexible (she’s able to do a Major and two Minors, plus have many electives)…there is a real feel for community service and there are so many clubs and activities that are warm and welcoming. My daughter is so busy, but so happy. Plus there are many strong sports teams there!
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Flip it. Most likely to become an I-banker = Williams.
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Depends upon how one defines “fun”.
Defining fun as the freedom to be different / diversity and comfortable being different or diverse might produce results more in line with size of student body & location in a non-rural, non-isolated area.
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I’d give Wesleyan the edge for the fun factor too. I think kids at all the NESCACs have a lot of fun, but Wesleyan is probably a bit extra in that regard.
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