<p>Maybe this will help for those of you who have parents who don't believe Smith is recognized nationally.</p>
<p>Take the ranking with a grain of salt :)</p>
<p>"The following prestige rankings were compiled by Brody counselors based upon their experiences at schools and counseling applicants, as well as after review of a number of primary and secondary source"</p>
<ol>
<li>Amherst</li>
<li>Williams</li>
<li>Swarthmore</li>
<li>Bowdoin</li>
<li>Wellesley</li>
<li>Carleton</li>
<li>Claremont McKenna</li>
<li>Pomona </li>
<li>Middlebury </li>
<li>Vassar </li>
<li>Colgate </li>
<li>Bates</li>
<li>Smith</li>
<li>Wesleyan </li>
<li>Davidson<br></li>
<li>Grinnell </li>
<li>Colby</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry if I missed any. I'm surprised that Claremont McKenna is above Pomona.</p>
<p>"These rankings are subjective! No one can rank colleges with any degree of certainty".</p>
<p>I was simply attempting to demonstrate Smith is indeed recognized nationally and as a top 50 college/university. It wasnt my intention anyone would take the actual order of the colleges seriously. :)</p>
<p>We could find hundreds of these rankings from different organizations, and they would all be different. Heck, I could make up my own. Subjective is the correct word here! However, I cannot understand why some parents do not see Smith as a prestigious college? Maybe they have an issue with the all-girls issue? We've discussed this on this board before, and after reading about many of the new acceptees, and after reading their pm's sent to me, it is evident that many will not attend :( because their parents do not see Smith as a worthy institution; or they just know so little about the school and are too reticent (read, lazy) to help their child out and visit. I understand that colleges that are all the way across the country from where you live may seem too distant, and do not have the same amount of familiarity to parents. But come on, Colleges in the Northeast, for the most part do have a substantial reputation worthy of at least visiting them to find out. When I compare Smith to other colleges in my area (Brown, Amherst, Tufts, Harvard, Midd., Bates, Colby, et al), Smith comes right into the top three for us. Now there's my subjective take on this; take it or leave it! The fact that their daughter got accepted to Smith should make their eyes light up with pride. I wonder how some of those more unfortunate girls who got deferred or waitlisted would feel about the lack of support from these parents; especially if their parents are supporting them all the way. Sigh...I get so frustrated by parents who don't see the good or value in their children, and who won't accompany them on this most important trek in life.</p>
<p>Sigh...I get so frustrated by parents who don't see the good or value in their children, and who won't accompany them on this most important trek in life.}}</p>
<p>Unfortunately, some selfish parents care more about what their friends, co-workers, relatives etc, opinion might be instead of what is best for or will make their daughter happy. I also have witnessed many parents who refuse to pay for /any/ of the top LACs b/c theyre not an Ivy League--so the poor kid ends up at a state U and the parents buy a new Beemer.</p>
<p>I realize hope springs eternal, but I have to wonder why these poor kids were allowed to apply in the first place. Better to never have been admitted than to have achieved the honor only be told they must refuse. Not to mention, they have taken a spot from someone who was waitlisted or denied.</p>
<p>If I sound p*****, I am. Nothing irks me more than to see a childs dreams be squelched.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I realize hope springs eternal, but I have to wonder why these poor kids were allowed to apply in the first place. Better to never have been admitted than to have achieved the honor only be told they must refuse. Not to mention, they have taken a spot from someone who was waitlisted or denied.
[/quote]
They were "allowed" to apply because their parents probably didn't know anyway! Or, worse, because they were able to apply free of charge (common app). What bothers me the most is what you already mentioned; the fact that if they are accepted they have taken a spot from someone else who would love to attend Smith. Sometimes these parents are their children's worst enemies. Hopefully, waitlisted students will get the chance to attend the school of their dreams.</p>
<p>They were "allowed" to apply because their parents probably didn't know anyway{}}</p>
<p>I thought of that. I guess my fiends and I live in a different universe. We knew every college our kids applied to, I think :)</p>
<p>Having given this more thought, I dont believe any of the women who applied to Smith thought about or realized they would take a spot from someone else should they be admitted. At times I fail to remember what is common knowledge for me isnt even on others radar screen.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I thought of that. I guess my fiends and I live in a different universe. We knew every college our kids applied to, I think
[/quote]
<em>LOL</em> We're pretty much the same here. My D's closest friends (both at high school and ballet) have parents like us; very much involved in this big decision. When the girls come over, they are constantly ragging on us and their parents about knowing more about the colleges they applied to than they do. However, those conversations usually end up with a "but we're very lucky to have you" scenario. We love it, they love it! win,win!</p>
<p>BJM, if you can do a "Search" (if it's working), you might find TheDad's "College Rankings" in one of the Fora. There was a quantitative methodology underlying the rankings but I'm not disclosing. Looking at the schools, you'd have to say that all of the top 50 were good colleges even if you disagreed with the rankings. I did disclose a couple elements of my paradigm, including:</p>
<p>a) if, when rankings are complete, Harvard is not #1, set #1 = Harvard and move down all other colleges accordingly.</p>
<p>b) move down Washington and Lee's ranking 15 spots just because you don't like the campus culture.</p>
<p>Otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward ranking if you tumble to the [not completely unreasonable, especially compared to USNWR)] methodology. It was a combined university/LAC ranking and Smith did quite well. :)</p>
<p>Where do I find this rankings list? You have soo many postings it would take me forever to find it. :)</p>
<p>Where do I find this rankings list? You have so many postings it would take me forever to find it}}</p>
<p>Take advantage of cheap child labor. I simply offer the yung'un 5 bucks and shell sit here for hours and search away.</p>
<p>{{move down Washington and Lee's ranking 15 spots just because you don't like the campus culture.}}</p>
<p>Yeah, well, I think the women at certain Ivy are less than attractive so my ranking criterion is questionable too.</p>
<p>I'm surprised that Wesleyan and Middlebury are so far down... I would expect to see them both around 20 or so, at least for Wesleyan. Vassar and Bates are a little too high I think... but that's just my .02</p>
<p>I'm surprised that Wesleyan and Middlebury are so far down... I would expect to see them both around 20 or so,}}</p>
<p>I agree :)</p>
<p>"Faced with the task of comparing liberal arts colleges to universities, we decideddespite the difficultiesthat the project called for a complete, unified rankings list. The result was that smaller liberal arts colleges, despite sometimes superior prestige within elite circles, sometimes fared worse in the general calculations (and particularly so for such lesser-known schools)."</p>
<p>BJM, I'll see if I can find it. </p>
<p>Btw, either you or I will win the CC basketball pool, depending on the UCLA vs. LSU game. Let's hear it for Smith parents.</p>
<p>WOOHOO!! Go Bruins (they're all I have left!)</p>
<p>Whups, I mis-read. We both have the Bruins for the Semi-Final, so that's a push. I have them to win it all, you had Villanova. So you win the tourney if UCLA doesn't win the whole enchilada. Either way, a Smithie parent wins. :)</p>
<p>Did I say "go Bruins!" I meant to say "go Gators!" <em>LOL</em> Of course a Smithie parent would win; we wouldn't have it any other way!</p>
<p>Btw, either you or I will win the CC basketball pool,}}</p>
<p>What basketball pool? Is that legal? If I remember correctly, didn't the coach at the U of Washinton get fired for doing the same thing? On second thought, he sued for being fired without cause and won millions. Carry on :)</p>
<p>I know thiS ranking would differ SIGNIFICANTLY today. No way Middlebury would be lower than Bowdoin, Claremont, Carleton, Wellesley. This just shows how ridiculous rankings are.</p>
<p>How times have changed! When I went to Smith, it was considered a highly prestigious college. One of the few surviving “Seven Sisters,” it has always rivaled Wellesley in excellence and prestige.</p>