Yes, it does. Clearly. But I think the more nuanced point people in the LAC clan tend to discuss is how that large % of athletes affect said “vibe”. We all tend to push back against the narrative that all LACs are the same in this regard even though they all share similarly high % of athletes. Williams has a ton of athletes and takes sports quite seriously. You need to be very good at your sport to get their attention. And yet I have not in my quite extensive NESCAC travels with athletes heard that Williams’ focus on sports leads to a severe athlete/NARP divide on campus. Skidmore and Middlebury, as just two examples (there are others), carry this rep. It’s not just one or two random people. It comes up.
That is not to cast a shadow on either school, or onto the others who share in that rep. It’s just an oft-discussed aspect of the experience of being at those particular colleges.
That would get a big eyeroll from me. I guess the Amherst students are all fluent in Korean and Italian (to name two languages offered at UMass and not at Amherst College)?
I’m a professional college-tour taker, so I’ve had plenty of tour guide moments. I know how to forgive, but I couldn’t forget if I tried. At a minimum, they are good stories!
As the parent of a Smithie who has an Amherst student in one of her classes this term, I can pretty definitely say that yes–they DO in fact take classes at the consortium schools.
Yes, my Amherst daughter is taking a class at U-Mass right now. And she’s got her eye on a particularly brilliant philosopher at Smith, waiting for the chance to take a class with him
This post is in relation to a tour of Cornell in the town of Ithaca, as it was found to be off-topic on the other thread and removed.
In case you are not aware, overcast weather is more of an expectation in Ithaca than not. This graph below (source) shows that from November through May the weather is cloudier more often than it is clearer.
This website indicates that there are about 155 sunny days per year in Ithaca, while the U.S. average is 205 days.
Ithaca and the Finger Lakes area are absolutely beautiful. But in case an individual is impacted by climate/weather, particularly in relation to sunlight, I wanted to bring this up.
Interesting website. For Portland, Maine, it says:
"The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for the Portland area is 9.2 (10=best), which means it is more comfortable than most places in Maine.
9.2 / 10
A higher score indicates a more comfortable year-round climate. The US average for the comfort index is 7.8. Our index is based on the total number of days annually within the comfort range of 70-80 degrees, and we also applied a penalty for days of excessive humidity."
But SHHH! Keep telling people how horrible the weather is here.
My son was admitted to Amherst and attended admitted students’ day. At that point in his process, he was debating among the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Notre Dame, and Amherst. Many people say that the same kid would not be looking at LACs and schools like Penn and ND, but all those schools offer something special, and he was drawn to each for different reasons. Amherst had appeal because it offered high academics and small class size. We attended a tour, a panel session, and lunch, and he attended two classes.
The panel session confirmed our impression of Amherst (high-level academics, small classes), and the tour was fine. We were surprised that despite the number of admissions and faculty members at the luncheon, however, that not one single person approached us, introduced themselves, or asked about his interests. He introduced himself to them, but that was different from our experiences at ND and at Penn, where there seemed to be a lot of outreach. My son really liked the Science facilities and the classes, but picked up the athlete/non-athlete labels, and left with the impression that he would love Amherst if he was a team athlete there.
All this athlete vs. non athlete makes me worried about what my son should do. He is STILL deciding about ED school and he is a non-athlete, non-artsy, non-partier. He likes the LAC feel and likes rural schools, but I’m fretting that he won’t be able to find his people.
He will find his people! I went to a school with a huge Greek presence and I was worried I wouldn’t find friends as a shy, nerdy engineering student. I did, the very first day. There are all types of kids at college!
My daughter is so non-athletic that it’s funny. She’s in her first semester at Amherst. During the orientation week she found a great group of 7 friends that have been inseparable (at least so far), and indicates that there are lots of friendly people all around (including her room-mates friend group). @MaineLonghorn is right - there are all types of kids at college.
I wonder if my daughter counts as one of the club/intramural people? She and a few of her friends wanted to learn how to ice skate, so they joined the figure skating club. Some people in the club compete, but the others just skate around and have a good time during the “practices.” She bought an official team hoodie. Is this a sport? I kind of suspect that it is. SO take those 80% numbers with a grain of salt.
I actually think it is a good thing to have a norm in favor of some sort of organized, regular physical activity. Does not have to be competitive, of course, and ideally you can choose whatever would be low-key fun for you.
But I think that is usually good for physical, mental, and social health. And so to the extent a college has ample opportunities for participation in a variety of physical activities at a variety of levels, and most people do in fact participate, that to me is a positive.
As always, though, I would not insist everyone share that view.
Some schools such as Davidson College still have phys ed requirements. Davidson requires 2 phys ed classes and 1 team sport activity in order to graduate. Classes run the gamut from yoga, pickle ball, swimming, weight training to paddle boarding. Team sports include varsity, club and any number of intramural sports. Physical Education Requirement | Davidson
Not sure if they do anymore but W&L required 5 PE classes and a swim test when I was there in the late 90s. Pretty sure they still require the swim test.
Haverford and Williams have PE requirements as well. Both schools offer a lot of options that should make it relatively easy for most students to find appealing ways to fulfill the requirements. Haverford even has service options like working as part of the Arboretum Crew, taking CPR and EMT training, etc. Here’s a link to this semester’s options: Haverford Athletics
Here’s the link to classes that fulfill the requirement at Williams (not all available every semester). Note that they include Trail Crew, dance classes, and ski lessons.
Cornell also still has a PE requirement but the options seem endless, unless a student can’t pass the swim test, and then they need to take swimming for PE.
That would get a big eyeroll from me. I guess the Amherst students are all fluent in Korean and Italian (to name two languages offered at UMass and not at Amherst College)?
