<p>Augustana College
Macalester College
University of Chicago
Beloit College
Grinnell College
Kenyon College
Loyola University of Chicago
Carleton College</p>
<p>They range a bit, cough cough, but can anyone tell me about these schools? Campuses, academics, selectivity, merit aid, etc. I'll be grateful for any input whatsoever!</p>
<p>All are great (with Augustana and Loyola on a lower level than the others) with Chicago having the name-recognition prestige. Chicago is a medium-sized research university, the others are small liberal arts colleges. More resources, less personal attention at Chicago. Macalester is relatively rare for a top-levelo LAC in that it's urban. Grinnell's culture is as liberal and counter-cultural as it gets; you'd need to be of a certain political and behavioral mindset to feel a good fit there.</p>
<p>Those are all fine schools - how do they fit you? What field of study interests you?</p>
<p>In selectivity tiers:</p>
<p>U Chicago</p>
<p>Macalester, Carleton, Grinnell, Kenyon</p>
<p>Beloit</p>
<p>Loyola, Augustana</p>
<p>If you live in Chicago, you are a train ride away from Loyola and U of C, so get out there and do a campus visit. Loyola, BTW, is not a LAC. It's a medium-sized university, but their business, med and dental schools are on different campuses around the city. The Rogers Park (major undergrad) campus is not huge, and is in a very urban neighborhood.</p>
<p>University of Chicago is in a class by itself. The smartest people I know went there. Amazing departments in economics, math, linguistics, Eastern cultures, and more. Has a mandatory core curriculum that involves a lot of writing. You'll hear a lot about the campus and safety; it is an issue, but the area has turned around and is much better than, say, ten years ago.</p>
<p>Beloit is also easy to get to - an hour and a half from O'Hare. Liberal and intellectual, it's kind of an oasis in SW Wisconsin. Very strong in foreign languages. The city has been depressed for some time, but Rockford, a few minutes south, has some very nice areas.</p>
<p>selectivity:</p>
<p>U chicago</p>
<p>Carleton, Grinnell</p>
<p>Kenyon, Macalester</p>
<p>Beloit</p>
<p>Loyola, Augustana</p>
<p>i'd say U chicago is prob one of the best (if not THE best) schools for economics program, and if you're not looking at econ, actually U chi, Grinnell, Carleton, Kenyon and Mac are all really excellent schools, and you cant really go wrong with with your choices.</p>
<p>why dont you also look at colleges like Barnard (its in the city too, like U chicago and Mac), Pomona, Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, etc? you might find sth interesting but the choice really depends on what kinda environment you want and what you wanna major in.</p>
<p>If you want to stay in the Midwest, I would also maybe look at Knox?</p>
<p>Re gadad's statement that at U of Chicago, you might get less personal attention. That may not actually be the case. Although it is part of a large research university, the undergraduate college population numbers only about 4000. My daughter, who is a freshman there, confirms that the vast majority of the classes -- including freshman classes -- are taught by professors, and not teaching assistants, and that most of her classes have been under 20 students, with some as small as 12 or so. Chicago prizes itself on the attention that the faculty gives undergraduates, and it appears to be the case.</p>
<p>Selectivity:</p>
<p>University of Chicago</p>
<p>little drop...
Carleton College
Grinnell College </p>
<p>little drop...
Macalester College</p>
<p>Big drop...
Kenyon College </p>
<p>Big drop...
Beloit College
Augustana College
Loyola University of Chicago</p>
<p>i think kenyon is pretty much similar to mac actually</p>
<p>yeah, its a little drop, but it IS easier than Mac.</p>
<p>2005 US News National LAC selectivity ranking (one of the few rankings around that is reasonably accurate)</p>
<p>Carleton # 12
Macalester # 18
Grinnell # 27
Kenyon # 33</p>
<p>Kenyon and Grinnell might move up a tiny bit in the 2006 rankings but the basic relationships will stay the same.</p>
<p>Which Augustana? The one in South Dakota or the one in Illinois? </p>
<p>You have a nice list developing, with varying rates of selectivity. My daughter and I visited Beloit this spring and came away very impressed with the faculty and curriculum there. We also visited Knox and Earlham and liked them both as well (although only Earlham and Beloit ended up on my daughter's list). Beloit seemed like a very cozy school, the town isn't much, but my daughter sat in on classes and met with faculty who truly went out of their way to show her around.</p>
<p>I like your list. The only suggestion I make is that if you are from the midwest and these are all schools within a given distance from home, and many kids from your school apply to them, you might want to branch out. Your list would be perfect for an East Coast kid who would be avoiding the Northeast crunch. By using geographics to your advantage, you can crank up the selectivities a notch. Of course, if staying in the Midwest is important to you, by all means don't worry about it.</p>
<p>S used Loyola of Chicago as a safety. One of the great things was their Fast Track application-submitted by 11/1 with a decision by Thanksgiving. Having an acceptance in November took a lot of the pressure off the rest of the process. L of C was a safety he would have been happy to attend. Biology, Nursing and Business are some of their stronger depts.</p>