I’m an international student who’s been admitted to these three schools. (also GAtech which doesn’t give any scholarships to intl students)
Wesleyan left nothing to pay for me, but Swarthmore wants me/my family to pay around 1k per year and doesn’t cover my personal expenses as Wesleyan does (I may send an appeal letter but the difference isn’t a big deal).
Smith hasn’t sent me my award letter yet.
I’d like to major in CS; I’m also interested in Engineering a bit. I’m a heavy-math girl who has various interests including biology, cognitive science, literature, music, and visual arts. However, I want a degree which helps me in finding very good job positions in the tech industry as well as academics for pursuing my studies.
Is Swat very small and will it limit my social/academic opportunities?
Will offering graduate/Ph.D. degree at Wesleyan make a difference in course offerings and quality of CS program?
Are dual degrees with Columbia, Caltech, and Dartmouth in Wesleyan doable and should it affect my decision?
Could you give me information about the school’s locations?
I’m leaned toward Wesleyan and Swarthmore because Smith is all-girls and has a rural campus. Also, its acceptance rate is much higher.
I hope to get more acceptance letters this week because I’d really like to focus on my major and have numerous research opportunities which LACs seem to offer none in comparison with private universities.
First. let’s just get one thing out of the way: There are no bad choice here. Both LACs have deep resources that will launch you in whatever direction you’d like to go. Wesleyan does offer PhD programs in math and cs and its graduate level courses are open to undergraduates who burn through the regularly offered courses too quickly. That’s a real plus.
Swarthmore offers a B.S. in engineering that has its advantages. It blends into, and in some ways - complements - a rigorous liberal arts curriculum. But, if you want a specialty, you will still have to extend your studies to the graduate level… As you may have read on the Wesleyan website, you can gain a B.A./B.E. dual degree by attending Dartmouth for two years, then coming back to Wesleyan for a 5th year. Personally, I would find that preferable to the traditional 3-2 program which requires you to leave Wesleyan just when you are beginning to find yourself.
The locations are very different. Swarthmore is in an upper-middle class suburb; there are a couple of off-campus gathering places and a mall within walking distance. Wesleyan has grown over the years into a major player in the economy of central Connecticut with major investments in a fairly busy downtown area. There are four Asian restaurants (Szechuan, Thai, Vietnamese and Tibetan) all within walking distance and they are just the tip of the iceberg. It could easily take a busy college student an entire year to explore all the “food service establishments” in the immediate neighborhood.
Have you visited the schools? We live in Northampton (Smith), and have visited Middletown (Wesleyan) a few times. Northampton is a small and very hip/cosmopolitan city, and Smith is right at the center of things. It’s not in the least bit rural! Middletown is a small city, too, but not nearly as fun or accessible. The school is near but not in the city. They are both beautiful campuses, but quite different. I don’t know anything about Swarthmore.
Bottom line up front. I would focus on Wes and Swat.
These are just my opinions and certainly not statements of fact.
Wes is an all around liberal arts powerhouse. Arts sciences and a little sports scene to enjoy. It had a bit more of a laid back vibe to my family. But never met more kids on campus who said they were triple majoring. So academics is a real focus. Never knew triple majoring was a thing. Middletown CT is not ever going to be confused with Philadelphia. It’s a solid, if not pedestrian city/town (this means everyday and not too exciting, nothing to do with walking lol).
Swat is a fairly intense academic environment. World class students too. It seemed to us to be a very focused place and from a few short visits, not quite as laid back as Wes. Swathmore is more like the University of Chicago of liberal arts schools. As a way of comparison.
Smith, I would only recommend if you prefer and seek an all womans college. It’s just as academically focused as the others. But it’s known for and focused on those who want the single sex experience. Northampton is a cool little town and nexus point for social activism.
Congratulations on those amazing acceptances and FA packages!
The first is true but the second is not. Northampton is a cool little city and Smith is right in the middle of it.
You said you are interested in engineering. Smith has an engineering major. So does Swat. Wes does not. So if that is important, drop Wes.
Smith students can (and do) take classes at the other 4 colleges in the consortium, 3 of which are coed. But I agree you should want an all women education if you go there.
All 3 will allow you to explore these (except engineering).
I got that wrong. What I was trying to describe was a 2-1-1-1 program where you spend frosh and sophomore years at Wesleyan, then a year at Dartmouth, THEN spend senior year at Wes in time to graduate with your class. The 5th year is spent back at Dartmouth. Sorry for the brain freeze.