Agree with the BBC bond, and NESCAC in general. Was just at Bates parents’ weekend. Many, many parents there had connections at all of the Maine LACs. Examples: Mom went to Bowdoin, kid picked Bates. Kid got into Bates and Colby - both were top choices. Families with kids at Bates and Bowdoin, who are able to visit each other (short distance between the two). I met one parent who had 90 percent of the NESCAC covered with parents having met at Colby, daughters chose Bates and Middlebury, and cousins were at other NESCACs. There is so much overlap and true fondness for these schools. I think, in particular, the more “mountain/lake” schools seem to have a similar outdoorsy vibe while Tufts and Wesleyan are perhaps more city-focused. I also noticed that a lot of parents who came from Ivies in the 1990s went to either Brown or Dartmouth. Bates offers a bit of a blend of the outdoorsy feel of Dartmouth, and the community service-focused feel of Brown. It was also interesting to note that Bates and Bowdoin have new presidents, and they are talking about collaborating more in the future. CBB has already added some new resources for job networking, etc, so it will be interesting to see what else happens in the future.
I was at the Bates’ fly-in that overlapped with parent weekend, and approximately half of the admissions folks we met had either attended or worked for Bowdoin or Colby previously.
Amherst
In an email to the Amherst community on Wednesday, Oct. 11, College President Michael Elliott lamented Hamas’ recent attack in Israel and expressed his concern over the potential for further violence in the region. Though conceding that “any action we might take or statement we might make can do little to alleviate the tremendous suffering of innocent people,” Elliott wrote that the college remains committed to “student wellbeing” amid the reports of violence. He described the college as “a community in which we learn from one another” and cautioned students to avoid hate and misinformation on social media. “We need to be resolute that hate has no place at Amherst,” he wrote.
Mammoth Moments in Miniature: Oct. 4 to Oct. 11 (amherststudent.com)
A post was split to a new thread: Need help deciding between Midd and Bates for ED
My daughter is on a NESCAC athletic team and multiple teammates have siblings playing for other NESCACs (they’ve played against her teammates’ siblings’ teams multiple times) and many of the parents have gone to other NESCACs themselves. No one seems to care who plays for/attends/attended which NESCAC, but definitely a “bond” over the shared NESCAC experience; particularly for athletes.
Thank you for centralizing these NESCAC reactions/statements!
Here is Williams
I think that there is a bit more feeling of kinship among NESCAC LACs, compared to other LACs, but there is also the feeling of “kinship” between other LAC similarities - rural LACs, NE LACs, etc. Not more respect as much as something shared.
My daughter had two job offers before she graduated, and, in fact, that was the rule, rather than the exception. Now at four months post graduation, all of her friends who graduated are working or in grad school.
Not only that, but they tend to have very active parent groups, and a lot of networking goes on among these parents. While these networks dissipate after the students graduate, the months leading up to graduation are very active among parents of seniors.
Parents groups are definitely active and very helpful with the NESCAC schools. I know there are email groups and in-person welcome events for both Bowdoin and Bates in Northern California. It also helps with travel as the parents are able to share information on flights from SFO to Boston and/or Portland, Maine. Parents also offer job shadow opportunities.
Yes, parents were super helpful to Colby’s class of 2020 when many had job offers disappear as a result of the pandemic.
I think many schools do welcome events although the goal is really more for students to connect. But yes, I recall the host producing a mattress topper for all the new parents to gawk at (while the kids had gone out to the backyard to actually have fun!)
NESCAC offers excellent athletic facilities and top notch D3 competition. Football and hockey along with lacrosse seem to generate a lot of fan interest.
Rivalries are everywhere: Amherst/Williams, Wesleyan/Trinity and Bates/Bowdoin just to name a few. Athletic events are pretty well covered by the local New England media outlets probably cause of the league’s storied history while the league’s relatively small geographic footprint makes it a little easier for fans to attend away games.
Finally, NESCAC members seem to recruit heavily from New England prep schools so that might be one route to consider for athletes that want to play NESCAC sports.
I think you’re right about recruiting from NE schools for certain sports. For others, such as girls volleyball, teams seem to currently be recruiting heavily from CA, Hawaii, Texas, etc. We know Bates, Bowdoin, Colby all have volleyball players this year from the same 2-3 Bay Area volleyball clubs.
I like the mascots.
Let’s go ________!
My favorites are the Continentals, the Mules, and the Jumbos. lol
Ephs is pretty original too – and it’s a cow, which is endearing to my dairy-loving soul.
If I could change one, it might be the Cardinals of Wesleyan. For a school with such artistic talent, this one is kind of a dull “thud” for me: soooo many teams are called the Cardinals. How about the Wesleyan Warblers? They’d hardly have to change anything.
ETA:
I would love to see an interconference rivalry between Haverford and Hamilton. The Fords and Continentals could battle for the annual Car Cup.
Son texted me this statement from Bowdoin’s new President, she announced to staff when she 1st arrived over the summer that she would not be making statements on world/US events. I am fine with this as long as she is consistant. This is her response to the push back.
"I have hesitated to issue an institutional statement. I know that some of you have found this to be frustrating and disappointing, and a few of you have told me that this has added to your pain. I am truly sorry for that. I also believe this is the correct, if imperfect, approach.
“My hesitation about statements is not because of inattention, distraction, or indifference. It is because I believe these statements often don’t do what we want them to do. In some cases, they oversimplify issues and divide communities. They can also be parsed for clues to assumptions that are not there and can be read in ways that amplify and harden divisions within our community rather than opening up opportunities to grieve, think, and learn together.”
Hamilton, Amherst, and Trinity are the only teams without players from those 2-3 bay area clubs. The bay area has a combination of very high academic performance and high level volleyball which aligns well with the NESCAC.
SoCal is also heavily represented for the same reason.
How can you not love the Camels? The NESCAC really does have great nicknames.
Cigarettes were cool back in the 50s, but not so much today. hehe
Here’s the full statement:
https://www.bowdoin.edu/president/community-messages/2023/10-19.html
Thank you, I should have realized there was more.
Late to the party here, but my D applied to Umass largely for the option of taking a few small classes at Amherst and still having a big pond
It was The Bishops at one point in the early 20th century. A fixation on church hierarchies, I guess.