<p>Listed A-Z Major - Undeclared</p>
<p>Clark
Fairfield U.
Hobart & Smith
Mount Holyoke
Providence
Stonehill
U. Vermont</p>
<p>Please feel free. Not looking for USNWR stuff, just what you CC parents think. Include any suggestions of similiar schools not listed. Thanks !!!</p>
<p>In my humble opinion:</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke
Fairfield U
Hobart
Providence
Clark
Stonehill
UVermont</p>
<p>Just so we're clear, that's based on NOTHING but living in New England for 20 years and having two college-age sons who both have lots of friends.</p>
<p>Not rankable. But Mount Holyoke has an endowment so much larger than the others, and taken together with the Five-College Consortium, just as so much more in the way of resources than any of the others, and it is likely to show.</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke</p>
<p>Hobart</p>
<p>Providence</p>
<p>UVermont</p>
<p>Clark</p>
<p>I know little about Clark, none about Fairfield and Stonehill although I have heard of both. I at least looked at all the others. I liked where I thought Providence was heading ( I read some masterplan doc on their website. Some longterm plan to kick it up a notch.) and it along with Villanova was considered in the medium merit school pool. William Smith was in the LAC merit pool. MHC was on my list but not D's. :(</p>
<p>I don't have enough knowledge about the schools to rank them, but Mount Holyoke is definitely the best, in my opinion.</p>
<p>ranking in terms of what? location? prestige? social life? school spirit?</p>
<p>That's a very odd collection of colleges -- big/small, urban/not, state/private/Catholic, single sex/coed, ones I've heard of and not. So it's really hard to compare; some of it is apples to oranges, not apples to apples.</p>
<p>That said:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I agree with everyone else that Mount Holyoke is the biggest name brand in the lot, for perfectly good reasons.</p></li>
<li><p>Hobart & William Smith is gorgeous, and I know people who loved it there (a very isolated there). It has a fine reputation.</p></li>
<li><p>My kids' guidance counselor loves Clark, although I'm not sure what the factual basis for his love is, other than it's a school where a decent education may be had but not so popular that it's very hard to get into. The child of an acquaintance is having a semi-hard time there right now, but his experience is not so generalizable because of severe pre-existing psychiatric issues (which the university has been very good about accomodating, by the way). Some of the issues, however, relate to the feeling that there is nothing to do in Worcester but drink.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know why everyone is ranking UVT so low. Seven or eight of my younger cousins have gone there and loved it, grown up, and even gotten some decent education in. It probably deserves its reputation as a party school, but the outcomes in my family have been great. One cousin is an administrator there, and he's a wonderful guy who loves the institution. </p></li>
<li><p>I have never heard anything about academics at Providence. I don't regard that as a good sign, but it's not very valuable information.</p></li>
<li><p>I have never heard anything at all about Fairfield and Stonehill. In fact, I still don't know for sure that there is a college called "Stonehill". So I can't insert them in the rankings much.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Psst. UVM. Not UVT. Those Green Mountain folks will skin you for that. Not to mention the Catamounts themselves. ;)</p>
<p>I really liked the school and what I learned about the Honor's Program. It is just so expensive OOS and there weren't that many merit opps for OOS. I love the location.</p>
<p>Nauseating.</p>
<p>Edit: Ranking, that is, without any criteria given.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stonehill.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.stonehill.edu/</a></p>
<p>US News has it ranked first in the "Comprehensive Colleges - Bachelor's/North" category. Several teachers in our district received their undergrad degrees in education from Stonehill (education is apparently one of its strongest majors). Small Catholic college (2400 students) with a strong core curriculum. </p>
<p>So it's there!</p>
<p>Fair point, Hereshopping.</p>
<p>I guess my criteria were, Smart people I know who've gone there; reputation of people who once went there; caliber of people who I know who are applying.</p>
<p>I do know people at Fairfield, Providence, Clark, Hobart, Mt. Holyoke, and UVM. I know someone applying to Stonehill. I know people who've graduated from Fairfield, Hobart, and UVM.</p>
<p>So those are my criteria.</p>
<p>My opinion
Hobart&Smith, Mt. Holyoke, UVM, Fairfield, Providence, Stonehill, Clark. Admittedly....I just don't like Clark but it is supposed to be a very good school....just haven't figured out what the attraction is!</p>
<p>UVM is the spoiler in the group for me because it is so different from the other schools, that I can't even place it. Being a flagship state U, it has opportunities and amentites the other schools do not have, but its size poses a disadvantage in a way I can't really measure. My opinion is: Mt Holyoke, Fairfield, Clark, Hobart&Smith, Providence, Stonehill.
Those in academia are very impressed with Clark. They feel that kids who go there learn a tremendous amount. I really would tie Fairfield and Clark, and could go either way on which is "better" in my eyes.</p>
<p>I've heard great things about Clark. Sure, the town is not so good, but there are plenty of on-campus activities and the academics are supposed to be incredible.</p>
<p>My "D" (a junior) is flexible as to where we should look. In fact, she is down right apathetic. I've done the reading and asked around a bit. These schools seem to surface a lot for someone not going Ivy in New England. We've visited the U Vermont area, but not the college... yet. The Burlington area seems really nice and apparently UVT has some good grad schools... OOS tuition is expensive and not much of a reputation for merit aid. As regards Clark, Worcester is a working class town, so you're right about that.. in short it isn't Boston. Clark does however have a really solid reputation and some nice programs. Mount Holyoke is the gem of the bunch. But D is really up in the air about single sex schools. Stonehill has a good "regional" reputation and is in close proximity to Boston for research, internships and the like. Hobart/Smith is beautiful and as someone said remote, but they have good rep. where merit is concerned. Providence is inner city but people who have gone there seem to have loved it and never seem to raise it's location as a roadblock. Fairfield is pricey as compared to some here, but worth a look. Sorry I couldn't be more specific as to 'D's wants but she is unsure and I don't want to push her in the wrong direction. She does want grad school too.. in something... eventually. Throw me a bone if you've got some different recommendations. We'll take a look. Here's what I do know- Top 10%, 3.75 WGPA, NHS, SAT 640 math 650 reading, three sport athlete (not a standout), band (two instruments), Student Council, and of course the volunteer work... Should I be looking lower tier if merit aid is criticle to attendence. I'll start the FAFSA next week but I think we'll have a high EFC.</p>
<p>While looking at UVM, you may want to look at St. Michaels. Comparable to Stonehill and Fairfield, but less preppy.</p>
<p>You are smart to start the FAFSA early, Nightingale. You can then see if you just miss some cut offs and start making adjustments so you'll be in good shape next year.</p>
<p>For merit aid, I have not seen much other than token amounts for kids at your D's level. To get merit money, it seems like you really have to be waaay up there. The kids I know who tended to get the big awards were ivy material. Though there may be some token amounts out there, I have not seen much in the way of generous merit money for kids not in the top echelons.<br>
My son is a junior too, and he is no where in the zone of seriously college hunting. We'll start looking at a few this spring. We are looking at the same types of colleges, though UVM is big for him. I'd like a smaller school. I have found that the schools in the south have much lower sticker prices, something I am watching since we are not going to get aid, and he doesn't have the numbers for merit, and we should not be paying out the huge sums many private schools cost. </p>
<p>What state are you from? In state tuitions are usually the best deal. Otherwise you want to look out state schools with low OOS tuition. The SUNYs are still a decent deal for out of staters, and some of them offer merit aid at your daughter's number range. Not large amounts but they can whittle down the cost. I have seen Iona College give money for kids at that range too. THe schools on your list do not seem that generous, and if you are from within their area, they are not usually interested in "buying" your student. Do ask your GC for those schools in your area or schools in general where merit aid was forthcoming for kids in your daughter's range. If it is a catholic highschool where she is going, they do tend to concious of college costs and track merit money. </p>
<p>The women's colleges can be generous. Wells has given out some merit money, and in the south there is Agnes Scott. Don't believe Holyoke gives out merit money, or if they do the standards are very high. </p>
<p>Yes, you should be looking for colleges with lower midrange stats if merit aid is needed. I think all of your schools are financial reaches though admissions wise, your D is in the ballmark and they are matches in that respect. What do you think your D wants to study?</p>
<p>Trinity College in Hartford
Connecticut College in New London
Ithaca
Union
Emerson
Wheaton
Roger Williams</p>
<p>Sounds like small LAC in New England is what she's/you're looking for. There's lots.</p>
<p>My D's list contained many of the same schools, except for the catholic colleges, which quickly fell by the wayside. My impressions are similar to others'. Mount Holyoke probably has the broadest name recognition and is slightly more selective than the rest. The others cluster, in my mind, roughly in the same tier. Here are some higly subjective observations:</p>
<p>I really liked MHC, but D was not interested in women's colleges; we had one of those "I'm not getting out of the car" experiences there.</p>
<p>Clark has a reputation for having high research expectations of faculty (they have grad students) and this translates into lots of hands-on research experience for undergrads. Many strong academic depts. with nationally recognized scholars. Some people can't stomach the location, though.</p>
<p>I was intially impressed by Hobart, until I saw the data from the National Survey of Student Engagement. It's hard to find a similarly ranked school where students say that they read, write, or study less. </p>
<p>UVM, like many large flagship institutions, has strong and weak departments. I would be hesitant to pay OOS tuition without knowing what areas of concentration were likely.</p>
<p>Also agree with cpt that none of these schools are great bets for merit aid with superb, but not Ivy-range credentials like your DD's.</p>
<p>I would echo the vote for looking at St. Michael's in Colchester, VT. I know some of the profs and they are really intelligent and really nice people.</p>