<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>I am interested in International Studies (or Political Science concentrating on international relations) or Anthropology, particularly with a focus on Latin America. Although I'm entirely down to have philosophical or political discussions into the late hours of the night, I am scared I may not be quite nerdy enough for Swarthmore. I'm Latina and love the culture, so I like to see strong diversity and active clubs that hold events like Carnaval at WashU. I'm also very liberal, but don't mind hearing and discussing other people's views.</p>
<p>I'm most attracted to:
- Midd's great International studies and languages, how friendly everyone I met was there, and how other people share my interest in other cultures (despite not being the most diverse)
- WashU's diversity and greater options (in terms of classes, internships, community service) that a larger campus right inside St Louis provides,
- Swarthmore's academic strength and how many students it sends to great grad schools
- Wesleyan's hipstery liberals and campus culture</p>
<p>Regarding the social scene, although I won't be going out three times a weekend getting ****faced, I do want to have different options to enjoy myself each week without having to join a sorority. I had the most fun visiting Wesleyan, but that may have been good luck with the people I was hanging out with.</p>
<p>I have a half-scholarship at WashU's which is tempting, but my parents say it's not a problem if I choose one of the others since they are fans of liberal arts schools.</p>
<p>I've never written one of these before and I hope I've given enough information. Any insight is appreciated, and let me know what else I should be considering! Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Most people don’t think of Middletown CT as an asset in the sense of having lots of museums and theaters to visit, but, when it comes to community service, I’d put it right up there with St. Louis. There are senior citizens centers, public housing, and a soup kitchen all within walking distance of the Wesleyan campus. And no, I don’t think you were just lucky the last time you visited: if you are looking for a party (and, you have proper photo i.d.) you will find it at Wesleyan. The trick, IMHO, especially frosh year, will be finding space <em>not</em> to party.</p>
<p>First, congrats! Good job!
Second, what do you plan to do after you get your BA? Will your parents pay for the other schools, or will you be incurring debt? If you are planning grad school, is it a field where you can get funding, or more debt?
If the cost to you is the same, I would go to one of the 3 LACS. For undergrad, I feel the personal attention you will get from the faculty is more valuable than the more diverse environment. There will be more mentoring, and if there are no grad students, the undergrads get all the internship/research opportunities.
If it’s on your dime and you are planning to get a grad degree in a poorly compensated field, go where the cost is less.
Between Midd, Swat, and Wesleyan with your interests, all the schools are strong and I actually don’t think you can make a mistake. There are plenty of hipsters at Swat and Midd. You just didn’t run into them.
Facilities are prolly newer at Midd and Swat.Midd students more outdoorsy, environmentalist than the other two.Sorority scene not big at Midd at all, lots of events on campus. And really, no one can beat the language programs. But you really have 4 excellent options.</p>
<p>Just be aware that none of these four schools will offer any advantage over any of the other three in terms of academics or admission to grad schools. The rest of it is up to you.</p>
<p>Kids at Midd have the most fun</p>
<p>Since you are Latina, however, I wouldn’t advise going there…
Very homogenous white New England bro culture</p>
<p>wavylays94 once again does not konw what s/he is talking about (do you even go to Midd yet?). The latino/a population at Midd is fairly large and very active. Alianza is similar to a latino student association and they run events frequently that celebrate latino culture and discuss problems facing the community. The Alianza cultural show (a showcase of Latino/a culture) is coming up and a large portion of the school attends. You shouldn’t be worried about coming to Midd as a Latina as the domestic and international Hispanic community is very active and quite large.</p>
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<p>Great thinking! Let’s discourage all minorities from going to Midd and make it LESS diverse! Yay! [note sarcasm]</p>
<p>Honestly, I can’t imagine there’s a HUGE difference in diversity among the three LAC’s (I’d be happy to admit it if I’m wrong though). I suspect WashU is probably the most diverse of all of them. It’s not like you could arrive at Midd and think, “Wow, it’s nothing but rich white kids here.” Middlebury can’t claim to be the most diverse, but it’s far from the least.</p>
<p>Wash U’s racial makeup
6% African American
15% Asian American
58% Caucasian
4% Hispanic American
7% International
10% Multiracial or unspecified
<1% Native American</p>
<p>Midd’s Racial Make-up
5% African American
8% Hispanic
10% Asian American
1% Native American
10+% International</p>
<p>There is really very little difference there</p>
<p>Thanks 2015, you provided the facts to verify my gut.</p>
<p>Something one might also consider is the diversity of the community in which the school is located. With roughly 5,000 undergrads and another 6,000 grad students WashU has large populations of students from all over the world. I live adjacent to the campus and many of my neighbors are internationals – both faculty and students. Plus StL is quite racially and ethnically diverse – around the campus and the city – and has many festivals throughout the year celebrating this fact, attracting thousands. If one were to get out of the campus bubble they would find themselves quickly immersed in Eastern European, Central and South American, Afro-American, Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and typical white midwestern cultures. Of course, within the campus bubble this school would resemble the others in the ways in which the administration prides itself on collecting the best from around the globe and providing resources for the benefit of those students. Trust your intuition and know you’ll get a fabulous experience at any of these great schools.</p>
<p>The students I’ve talked to at Midd say that if they were minorities, they wouldn’t have gone there, ESPECIALLY if they are looking for something besides Vermont culture.</p>
<p>wavylays94, you do not know what you are talking about. Wait until you get here to talk about the Middlebury experience, particularly as it relates to students of color and students of underrepresented backgrounds. You can’t really speak to that unless you are on campus.</p>
<p>It’s really a shame you are coming to Midd with such a bad attitude; I really hope you don’t take a spot from a waitlisted student who actually wants to be a Middkid</p>
<p>wavy, you are sadly underinformed. Midd has fewer students from Vermont than many states. Perhaps New York or Massachusetts culture is to be avoided?</p>
<p>98% of Midd graduates were happy at Midd, regardless of sex, race, nationality, socioeconomic status, or however you plan on slicing it. </p>
<p>I assume the remaining 2% would be unhappy anywhere.</p>
<p>The reasons a minority(or anyone, because it really doesn’t matter what you are to get a huge advantage from a Midd education)) shouldn’t attend Midd is if they don’t want to go to a small school in Vermont where it is cold in the winter, and major cities far away, or they don’t want to attend an academically rigourous school. All the OP’s choices are prestigious and academically rigorous, so we’re picking on the basis of location.</p>
<p>Just my two cents: I’m a racial minority/international student who ED’d to Midd because it’s always been my dream school. I couldn’t be happier at Midd honestly.</p>
<p>The only time I feel different from everyone else is when a picture is taken with flash, and I’m one of the few who aren’t washed out white. Other than that, I barely even see the difference in the way I’m treated from my high school. </p>
<p>There’s really enough diversity at Midd, and not having too many international/colored students can sometimes add to diversity. What I mean is, if there’s a lot of students from one culture, they’ll tend to stick together, and so to someone who’s not part of that culture, it might even seem like they don’t exist. But if there’s only a few people per culture, they’re more likely to interact with everyone else, and so everyone, including those international students experience more diversity.</p>
<p>Of course this isn’t true for every race/college, but this is based on what I’ve observed! :)</p>
<p>Another thing worth noting is that there are plenty of white students who come from backgrounds without privilege. About 50% of students receive financial aid, and many more take out independent loans and have independent scholarships. Moreover, many students on campus hold some sort of job in order to pay tuition, books or travel. So, while there are certainly a lot of people in the 1%, there are more people than you would expect who are not wealthy.</p>