Vassar, Swarthmore, or Wesleyan?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,

It’s been a little while since I have posted and approaching the end of my high school career, I have decided that liberal arts is the best way to go! I have had the opportunity to narrow down my list to three amazing schools. I would like to be a Econ and Art History Major/Minor. I would love to be in NYC after I graduate and all three have decent access (Vassar probably a little better). I am in the recruiting process (early) at all of them. Which school would be best for Econ and how do the alumni networks stack up against each other.

Is Vassar and Wes just as “prestigious” as Swat? (I am trying to ignore the whole "prestige thing and go for the better fit though)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

And if you have any questions please let me know.

Also have any of you chosen Vassar or Wes over Swat and other “elite” schools?

2

Your three choices place closely when considered by faculty publishing in economics, though technically the order would be Wesleyan, Vassar, Swarthmore:

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html

After normalizing for department size, however, you might arrive at a different order.

If you have an interest in environmental economics, you might also be interested in this analysis in which faculty from Vassar and Wesleyan place well even when considered internationally:

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.env.html

3

Thank You @merc81 ! This was very insightful.