Recognition of Top LAC's?

<p>It seems as though the reputation of Pomona and the Claremont Colleges are rising among the general public as they become more selective. In general, my High School doesn't send many off to LAC's; graduates seem to prefer the Ivy League + MIT, Duke, etc., but this year more are choosing LAC's like Scripps and Swarthmore. I find that the adults I know have knowledge of Pomona and it's peers and recognize the academic quality at top LAC's. Is this just my perception, or is the general recognition of LAC's growing (possibly to surpass schools like Penn, Columbia, etc.)?</p>

<p>"Is this just my perception, or is the general recognition of LAC's growing (possibly to surpass schools like Penn, Columbia, etc.)?"</p>

<p>No, it's not just your perception...the name-value of the Claremonts is rising, and probably of many LACs in general. But I also don't predict the Swarthmore name to surpass the Columbia name anytime soon. More than anything, it's a simple issue of size (and for many larger univerisities, also an issue of sports, which is where "name recognition" starts for many people).</p>

<p>Good point.</p>

<p>Was anyone else suprised that CMC's acceptance rate dropped to 16%? Making it virtually tied with Pomona as the most selective LAC in the US?</p>

<p>ADDED QUESTION: This may seem random, but are there any colleges that would be considered a "match" for me that are similar to Pomona and CMC in atmosphere/personality?</p>

<p>From Pomona's April 1st campus newspaper joke issue, reportedly quoting their admissions director: <a href="http://tsl.pomona.edu/pdf/TSL-03-30-07.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tsl.pomona.edu/pdf/TSL-03-30-07.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"It's OK you haven't heard about Pomona, you wouldn't have gotten in".</p>

<p>I agree, national recognition for this school is definitely on the rise.</p>