<p>There are many great schools all over the country. The east coast is older, thus it has a greater number of highly ranked schools.</p>
<p>The midwest does often get overlooked. </p>
<p>S1 actually chose a school in Minnesota over ones in New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. Merit money and admissions officers making you feel very welcome play a major role. S2 actually likes states like Iowa, Kansas, and Alabama and is deciding between schools there. </p>
<p>Letting a student match up schools that are a good fit for them, then looking at the school even when the state is one you do not know much about gives your S or D so many great options. Take the time to look. You may find a great school with wonderful scholarship options.</p>
<p>"Graduation from an elite school is basically a guaranteed ticket to paradise."</p>
<p>Well, that MIT degree has really opened doors for my son. Big ones. Since his idea of paradise (at least this week) is a job in Western Australia, that international name recognition may (in fact) matter.</p>
<p>I didn't think EK4's premise was inflammatory: out here, it's a legitimate question. The question is "why would you consider east coast schools when there are good schools around here?"</p>
<p>I did not think EK's question inflammatory at all. A corollary, though, would be: why would East Coast students consider West Coast schools when there are so many good ones closer?</p>
<p>One answer might be: Some of the top schools, such as Berkeley or UCLA, are not only very large but also not much of a bargain for OOS students and thus less likely to attract students from the East Coast. If a student wants a small school, there are some very good ones on the West Coast, but not as many as on the East Coast. It is very possible that a student from the West Coast, looking for small schools, will need to consider schools on both coasts. Some of the same logic applies to schools in the Midwest, with the added complications of travel and cost of travel. It is easier to fly direct from coast to coast than from either coast to a Midwest location (and vice-versa).
The profile of the Harvard freshman class shows: 17% from New England, 17.9% from the Pacific, 25.2% from the Mid-Atlantic states, and only 9.6% from the Midwest.</p>
<p>Exactly right -- there aren't many LACs on the left coast. Pomona is highly selective and, like all privates, prefers geographic diversity so Calif residents aren't highly sought.</p>
<p>Well, Boston isn't going to break the record for snow in December. The sky has been a lovely clear blue for the last couple of days. The folks in VT, NH and ME are happy about the amount of snow that's fallen so far.</p>
<p>^no doubt, but Utah and Colorado are also getting pounded. Middlebury, UVM, and Dartmouth are fine schools, but for the kid who really likes mountains, it is no contest. Whether this should determine college selection goes back to matters of interest and "fit".</p>
<p>Williamstown has been snowy enough for skiing, and the winter study term gives ample opportunity. Its name might be ski-term. I'm sure can not complete with Utah for serious skiiers, but just right for those who want recreational skiing as a side for the main dish liberal arts. My non-skiing son has lessons with friends all lined up and very reasonable equipment rental from Outdoor Club.</p>
<p>Back to regular programming: Since many westerners are former easterners their kids have family waiting in east as a back up.</p>
<p>To OP: IMHO eastern opinion there is no reason to travel east just for college unless name recognition is a major factor, and even then Stanford and UChicago make it utterly unnecessary. </p>
<p>I am sure regional schools are reputable and serious in all regions, and all regions have schools of national rep: Duke, Rice, UWashington is coming along, Emory, Vandy, Big Ten, UC system. The little LAC's are virtually unknown, but as mini always points out, so are their east coast cousins.</p>
<p>Certainly on CC we hear about Grinnell, Rhodes, Reed et al and I hope are not provincial.</p>
<p>Agree about Duke, Rice, Grinnell, Rhodes, Reed, and the like. It really is not about quality but availability of slots. How many East Coast students want to attend Big Ten schools, especially if the COA is not competitive? On the other hand, lots of CA kids who are concerned about admission into Cal or UCLA will look not only at Stanford and Chicago but also at top East Coast schools. As well, students interested in LACs will apply not only to Pomona or Reed but also to East Coast LACs.<br>
S2 wanted a mid-sized research uni with a good math program and strength in the liberal arts. On the West Coast, Stanford fitted the bill. In the Midwest, Chicago.</p>
<p>^Agree. If you're from CA, most top kids apply to Pomona and Stanford. But the competitition is stiff. If you're not really the intellectual kind then Reed and Chicago are not for you. So you have to look to the East Coast for more schools.</p>
<p>Mini, you quoted me but you didn't include the part where I said it was REGIONAL as far as job hunting goes.Where we live in the Southeast (now) a degree from Yale means nothing compared to one from UF. On the other hand, you want to be an I-Banker and live in Darien? Best east coast school will help you, no doubt.</p>
<p>No - that was my point. My "regional" degree from #1 northeast LAC turned out to be useless to me (in terms of employment) in NORTHEAST U.S., no less anywhere else. I can't speak for future I-bankers, though (and wouldn't want to), though I believe recent graduate MikeyD discovered the same thing I had.</p>
<p>In my state, there are Cougs and Dogs, and some networking help might be forthcoming. The strongest networking by far, though, is actually from a school in a different region - BYU.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to see someone pair the top Northeast LACs with the tops in the West. It would be a short list because there just are not that many great LACs in the west. My son is applying to two from each coast, and I guess they seem reasonably "matched" in terms of prestige (judged from a regional perspective) - Pomona and Amherst, and Whitman and Middlebury. (He didn't want Williams, for some reason, or that would have been another analog to Pomona.) We talked about casting the net wider among the eastern schools, but I honestly didn't think he could beat the quality of Whitman - a school that most Northeasterners wouldn't travel for - and Whitman would be less expensive and better for networking if he ends up staying in this area. So I get exactly what EmeraldKity is talking about. There's a huge emphasis here on going back East for college, but in many cases it doesn't seem like the scales tip in favor of the garden variety East coast LAC.</p>
<p>But rainmama, the point is that for each Pomona, there is a Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore (the four being known together as AWSP). It's a 3 to one ratio.<br>
For Whitman, there is Middlebury, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Wesleyan,
Trinity, etc. Of course one does not have to go East to find quality LACs. There just are more of them on the East Coast than on the West Coast because of state policies and history.</p>
<p>Neither of my Ds even wanted to look at Whitman- I know it is a good LAC but something about Walla Walla being miles from a big city makes it less appealing than applying to school in Boston or LA.</p>
<p>Now I admit that I have heard of the east coast Lacs like Middlebury and Bowdoin- but I have no conception of what they are like. Reed is the only Lac that I am familiar with- but I also have the impression that it is fairly unique in personality.
Ive also visited Evergreen several times- which I know technically is like a lac but as it is public and alternative, I get quite a different feel from it as well.
My D really wants a diverse Lac- which is why she was interested in Occidental, even though their stats are quite a bit more than hers, but I also tried to explain to her that lacs in general do not seem to be very ethnically diverse.</p>
<p>You're right about lack of diversity at most LACs. Wesleyan, which is fairly diverse is nowhere near Harvard:
Wesleyan (from the website):
26% students of color in Classes 2008–2011 (7% Black or African American; 11% Asian or Asian American; 8% Latino or Hispanic, 1% Native American); 6% international students</p>
<p>Harvard:
African-American:10.2%
Asian-American: 21%
Latino or Hispanic:10.5%
Native American: 1.3%
international students: 9.1%</p>
<p>The differences between Whitman and Williams are really marginal (except Walla Walla is MUCH larger than Williamstown, and has a state prison.)</p>
<p>Occidental is VERY diverse. </p>
<p>On the whole, and in the larger scheme of things, LAC networks are just not as strong as larger universities. This is simply dictated by 1) the numbers involved; and 2) school "spirit", often associated with successful sports teams. Some of the older LACs (such as Williams) have stronger networks; on the whole, the women's LACs have stronger networks (because of "neo-feminist camaraderie"). Sometimes one can work to become part of the center of small networks (i.e. through helping to coordinate alumni fund drives and the like), in order to make them work for you, if that is the goal.</p>
<p>Diversity numbers can be somewhat deceptive. If half the student body is receiving no need-based aid, and fewer than 10% are receiving Pell Grants, there is likely to be more face-and-skin diversity than anything that goes much deeper than that. (Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of both kinds of diversity!) LACs, especially rural ones, have a harder time of it (and in their recruiting, many don't work particularly hard at it - you can tell simply by finding out where the stumping grounds of the admissions officers are year after year.)</p>
<p>From Oxy's website, it does not appear as diverse as Harvard (although I agree with Mini that face diversity is different from income diversity):</p>
<p>marite - you're right, I forgot about Swarthmore. It probably is a ratio of 3 or 4 to 1 when you compare east and west coast LACs. If you're willing to include the midwest, things widen considerably. But my position with my son was that if we have Whitman sitting in our backyard, is it really necessary to apply also to Wesleyan, Colby, etc.? I think there is sometimes too much of a push to get kids out of the northwest and into the Eastern schools. Whitman is a bargain and a school that really teaches a student how to write analytically. Good enough for me, even though it's a bit hard to imagine my son living in Walla Walla (mini - I love that you mentioned the huge perk of a state prison!! Maybe the chi-chi wine industry will counter that a bit over the next decade). </p>
<p>Concerning Occidental, I have a student who says that of the 3 kids in his family, his sister at Occidental had the most positive undergraduate experience, when compared to siblings at Stanford and UCSD. It sounds like a pretty great place. Reed is wonderful too, in its own special way. But I haven't pushed it on my son. Maybe I'm just bitter from the days when my boyfriend was being wooed by one of his male professors there. I'm not the type to hold a grudge, but that was a bit much! </p>
<p>Anyhow, I guess the bottom line is that I wish there were more attractive LAC options on the west coast, but at least there are a few very good ones. And some terrific public universities too, fortunately.</p>
<p>The Midwest also developed a strong public education system in its early days, hence there was no need to establish as many private colleges to meet the regional needs for higher education. In some ways it is unfortunate for the NE area that there were so many elite private schools that they did/do not devote their resources to making their public schools competitive with the elite ones. Attitudes vary based on what one is used to, and distances do matter.</p>