<p>Pixie, I believe that Amherst is need-blind for internationals. Not sure about Williams. I’m also not sure how good Pomona’s int fin aid is, but I’d assume its as good as most well-endowed schools. Colleges look to get money from internationals, which is the real reason it’s so difficult to get in if you need aid. If aid really is an issue, then you should apply to all the international need-blinds. </p>
<p>As for University advantages- there are more clubs, more majors, more classes, more events. There is the ability (and perhaps requirement) to have a large class where participation isn’t necessary. If your priorities are kinda screwed up like massgirl’s, then yes, there are more parties. There is a larger alumni network, so it’s possible that there is an employer that’s a Duke alum and prefers to only hire other Duke alums. </p>
<p>If you go to Pomona (or Amherst, CMC, etc), you’ll have access to 5-college clubs, 5-c events, 5-c parties, and several dining halls. The consortium is a major reason why Pomona is awesome.</p>
<p>There’s a bigger name-brand to Uni’s, but I don’t really believe that’s an advantage. People who have never been around Ivy grads (most of CC) seem to have the belief that there is a direct correlation between graduating from an Ivy/top Uni and landing a job. I know several Ivy grads that are having a ton of trouble landing a decent job. You have to understand that if you have more to your resume than simply grades, they’ll barely look at your GPA. Grades mean little when you’re looking for a job or internship. The real reason why Ivies have such great job/grad placement is that the STUDENTS are extraordinary, not the school itself.</p>
<p>With the exception of UVA and UMich-Ann Arbor, your comparison would look a bit absurd in parts to most kids at my high school or my area (NYC). </p>
<p>Mount Holyoke would be considered about on par with Tufts and sometimes a bit above it with the kids at the public magnet high school I attended. </p>
<p>Equating Mount Holyoke as inferior to Boston College would prompt a rotflol and a question about what kinds of drugs have you been smoking among most kids at my public magnet high school. Mount Holyoke is well-respected among most academically serious high school kids…including most Ivy-bound kids I’ve known. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Boston College was commonly viewed as a school for average to above-average students whose college priorities are more in the huge sport/party/drinking scene. This reputation was a big turn-off to many of the above-average and top students with Ivy-level stats and even those who were just slightly under them. </p>
<p>Also, LACs can and do have strong school spirit…they just don’t revolve around Division I sports and the excessive partying/drinking associated with it.</p>
<p>Nothing is wrong with party, but you can not equate the amount of partying with school spirit. Liberal arts colleges party plenty and are often more open about substances being used.</p>
<p>Partying to the extent I’ve seen with many Boston College and Boston University undergrads when I was living and working in the Boston area is often such a huge distraction for their own studies. </p>
<p>It is also a major headache for neighbors who have to put up with its side-effects such as vomit on sidewalks, overturned garbage cans/strewn garbage, loud noise from drunken students, and vandalism/damage to one’s car and house/apartment buildings.</p>
<p>Not that students at SLACs don’t party…but they seem to be much more mature and considerate in comparison to their larger university counterparts…especially those with Division I sports and excessively heavy drinking scenes.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with partying, but if you’re paying 50 grand to go to school, partying should not be your main priority. There is partying at every school, including LACs. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have fun at college. It’s really not something to worry about when choosing a school.</p>
<p>Sue me. Maybe Mt Holyoke is considered better than BC and Tufts at your HS. Not at mine. Nobody’s heard of Mt Holyoke unless they are explicitly “into” LACs. </p>
<p>As for the payscale thing, what does that mean? LAC people tend to get grad degrees uring therir careers, so of course the MID CAREER number will be relatively high (NOT as high as top Unis, you failed to admit). The only school that comes close to top unis is HMC. Which is an engineering school, so dur dur.</p>
<p>“*Nobody’s heard of Mt Holyoke unless they are explicitly “into” LACs. *”</p>
<p>Well said. Those who are into research, academia or advanced degrees are into LACs. Those who are into BA/BS jobs are into the big U. Gross generalizations. :eek:</p>
<p>I believe that has far more to do with the prevailing student attitudes and undergrad campus culture than the quality of the faculty and academic resources. Especially when my high school classmates and I were applying to college in the mid-'90s and when I lived in the Boston area in the early-mid aughts.</p>
<p>And yes, I did tour the campus several times.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I cant find anything to verify the “LACs have better undergrad teaching” point…
Is it an assumption based on the fact that most unis have better grad programs? What about big U without big grad programs, like Dartouth, Princeton, WM, etc?</p>
<p>Better teaching? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not believe I necessarily said anything about the quality of the professors.</p>
<p>“…liberal arts schools ‘emphasize education for its own sake rather than for job preparation’ in their mission statements. These colleges can certainly prepare students for graduate programs and real-world careers, but they also allow students to learn beyond the realm of their individual career path. This idea is evident in the “About Middlebury” section of the Middlebury College website; ‘The central purpose of a Middlebury education…is precisely to transcend oneself and one’s own concerns.’”</p>
<p>LACs tend to be filled with students motivated to become educated in a variety of fields, or to at least learn all they can about their selected field, even if the information does not necessarily aid them in their career path.</p>
<p>Never did I say it was true in all facets of the college, so please stop putting words into my mouth to try to make your own point without providing evidence. There are other, less productive forums to be obnoxious at if that is your overall goal.</p>
<p>Bzva, LAC professors tend to be teachers first, researchers second. Uni professors tend to be researchers first, teachers second. At Uni’s, the professor will lecture to a group of 100-500 students in a large auditorium, then leave. The class will be divided up into TA groups. This never happens at an LAC- there are no TA’s. At Uni’s, the tenure system is based solely on their research. At LACs, teaching ability is taken into account. Of course, there are bad teachers at LACs and good teachers at Uni’s, but that’s just not the focus of Uni’s. If the Uni focuses on their grad department, that’s where the professors will focus. Also, the classes are just smaller. The professor always knows your name. You get more individual attention and you pay the same amount. If you need help with a subject, it’s extremely easy to get that help. And keep in mind that there are ways to learn other than through a classroom. Research with a professor is one way, and at a large University, it’s difficult to impossible to do research with a professor as an undergrad. It doesn’t matter how much of a superstar the professor is or how important the research is if you aren’t going to be involved as a student. </p>
<p>This is true of “undergrad focused” schools like Brown and Princeton. At Brown, you have the opportunity to avoid TA’s through the open curriculum, but it’s still difficult to do research with professors or develop personal relationships without pushing. At Pomona, you regularly eat lunch with professors. It’s a different style. In my opinion, LACs win out for education, period.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is one of the few with engineering. This is why the big U can be better for BA/BS jobs, and LACs can be better if your goal is BA education, when grad school is the target.</p>