<p>I have to agree with the suggestion of Sewanee. I always knew it as a good school, but that was about it, until I started dating an alum. She and her three siblings all attended. Now I know a lot about it. Interestingly, one of Middlebury’s best Presidents, John McCardell, just took the job as President at Sewanee. It’s a beautiful campus, definitely in the hills and has some great academic traditions.</p>
<p>how does bowdoin compare in culture to midd, williams & amherst? I have a son whose first choice is brown and most of the other schools he’s thinking of applying to are mid-sized research u’s but he also loves the outdoors (big hiker and likes to kayak). he’ll be a neuroscience major. we visited bowdoin last summer and he really liked the campus. but, he’s a quirky kid who loves shakespeare, reading novels as well as science and isn’t in any way a partier. he wonders whether he should take a look at dartmouth this summer. any thoughts?</p>
<p>Bowdoin seems (to me) to be somewhere between schools like Dartmouth and schools like Carleton on the spectrum - it definitely has an intellectual atmosphere, but there are plenty of athletes who drink and party. I ended up choosing Carleton over Bowdoin myself (I like to party occasionally, but intellectualism is far more appealing to me - I had to wade through way too many rich, privileged, intelligent-but-not-intellectual party animals in high school) but I have tremendous respect for Bowdoin as an institution. Your son sounds like he could fit in there.</p>
<p>^drought: actually, his college counselor at school suggested carleton and malcalester (sp?). he hasn’t yet looked into them. don’t want to highjack this thread but would love to hear in what ways u think carleton, malcalester and bowdoin are the same/different, particularly for a neuroscience major.</p>
<p>Carleton and Macalester are both only a couple hours away from me. Carleton is considered the better of the two, but they’re both very good LACs.</p>
<p>The thing I’m always wary of with Midwestern schools is whether the student can handle the cold. If they’re from the East coast or International, they’ll probably be fine. But if theyre from the South or Southern California, they’ll be totally blindsided by how cold it gets up here. Every year there’s a week where its -20 or -30, which is life-alteringly cold.</p>
<p>They’re reasonably nice LACs though, and while UW Madison and UM Twin Cities carry more prestige with your common boss in the area, they have some good name recognition with the people who really matter. Just make sure you visit.</p>
<p>Carleton and Bowdoin are small town LACs; Macalester is urban (St. Paul). Macalester is a tad less selective than the other two. All 3 are much more selective than Wisconsin or Minnesota.</p>
<p>chrisseitz11, I am curious, what are your safeties?</p>
<p>Here’s my college list so far:
1.) Williams - Early Decision
2.) Dartmouth
3.) Middlebury
Then in no particular order
-Bowdoin
-Cornell
-Swarthmore</p>
<p>My “safety” schools (It would be very weird if I didn’t get in):
-BC
-UT
-Vassar
-Colgate
-Bates</p>
<p>Vassar isn’t a safety</p>
<p>Middlebury and Amherst College</p>
<p>
For some students, Vassar could definitely be considered a safety, especially with its acceptance rate of 25%.</p>
<p>Vassar’s acceptance rate for females is 20% and for males is 35%. It also depends on the demographics – if it’s a female interested in theater and from MA or the tri-state area, then I’ll bet the acceptance rate is even lower! </p>
<p>If OP doesn’t interview for Bates, then the chances of getting in get smaller as well. they are very explicit about the importance of interviewing.</p>
<p>I also don’t think that ANY of these small liberal arts schools can be considered safeties, because it’s not just about the stats. It’s about what they’re looking for to round out the class.</p>
<p>i consider vassar a “safety” because I’m a guy, I’m German (born in Germany), and now live in Texas</p>
<p>Hah! You really think that is a hook for Vassar? Being a guy from Texas born in Germany?!
BC, no way is it a safety either!
Only one, UT.</p>
<p>^I used BC as a safety.</p>
<p>Holy Cross great school with nice campus similar to Boston College.</p>