What makes the Little 3(Will, Ahm, Swarth) special?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
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<p>Coulda woulda shoulda
I am amused at these frequent Pomona boosts: Pomona should be the number 1 liberal arts college. It has to be the number 1 liberal arts college! Pomona!</p>

<p>I pity the poor Pomona student, sitting in some library basement posting on college confidential as his four years at college while away. My school - it should be number 1. Not Amherst, not Williams, not Swarthmore. Pomona! It has to be! Look at our scores, look at our money!</p>

<p>Well, I am sorry to tell you, it is not number 1. It has never been number 1. That's the nasty secret about this nasty thing called prestige - you can't buy it. Not with high SAT scores or with high endowments or whatever. </p>

<p>Case in point: Rice. </p>

<p>But be assured - Pomona students are the happiest in the nation! Not the most content, mind you, because unfortunately, they are not number 1. It is those pretentious east coast schools - the Williams, the Amhersts and the Swarthmores that are number 1. Q. What price happiness? A. US News #7 ranking. But the sunny California weather allows me to relax and not think about the US News rankings - drat! </p>

<p>One day you will graduate and realize that nobody in the world knows about Pomona, or about Williams, or about Amherst. They only know about Harvard or Yale or Princeton or, gasp, backups like Cornell. Then you will realize what a farce it was wasting your time on a website talking about SAT scores and endowments or whatever. </p>

<p>Which reminds me - somebody on this thread talks about sports. Pomona and Pitzer field joint teams. That that surprise anyone when they look at the Pomona SAT ranges? The 25th percentile is astronomically high, and has been ever since the rankings started. Why, for heavens sakes, all these Pomona posters fail to point that out, I don't know. Maybe it is because they either don't think about it or ignore it. </p>

<p>But then, that's what a liberal arts education is supposed to give you, right - the ability to reflect. Think about it the next time you are sitting in a consortium class with those students right down the road, or kicking the ball with those jocks who were unable to get into your school because of their oh so low SATs.</p>

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<p>I am amused and heartened by the passionate responses of HCAlum and SarahsDad. I think they typify the tremondous loyalty and appreciation that many alums have for their respective alma maters and parents have for the great LACs their children are fortunate to attend. Most top LACs have very high alumni participation rates for contributions and also have alums who find many other ways to give back to their colleges (mentoring, internships, etc.) Parents also provide a lot of support for their children's colleges, whether it be financial (hard with the high tuitions for most of us:)) or talking with prospectives or others here on-line. I could add ejr1 for Amherst, Momrath for Williams, and TheDad for Smith as some others who do the same for their children's schools. I certainly have enjoyed reading their posts. Rather than quibbling over differences, I think we are all saying that these are great schools. If fit is an important criterion for choosing LACs over universities, why not also emphasize that when students make their final choices among fine LACs?</p>

<p>I did not mean to make any value judgment on "mystique." I only tried to point out the public perception of WAW by a certain portion of the general public (mostly college-educated) that is even aware of LACs. As we all know, the man on the street probably does not know much, if anything, about these schools or other top LACs unless he (she) lives fairly close to them.</p>

<p>HCAlum, I will be meeting a renowned prof who will be giving a lecture at our medical school this Wednesday. When I looked at his c.v. I saw that he is a graduate of Haverford. I look forward to comparing notes with him!</p>

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<p>I do find some of discussmenot's points meritorious, although I do not appreciate his/her tone. Most students choose a top LAC for the quality of education over prestige. Most will have chosen over an ivy or top private/public university if they applied to a wide spectrum of schools. So it is ironic that we are contesting the prestige among these LACs when prestige played a secondary role in the original choice made by students. Still, I admire the passion....... and it does say something about how emotional we can get about places that played significant, and perhaps transformative, roles in our lives or our children's lives.</p>

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<p>I do not believe Pomona should be the no.1 LAC. I do think, that it is one of the best colleges (undergraduate) in the country.</p>

<p>But what does it matter? Pomona is good enough (quality) and prestigious enough to set yourself up well if you're in there. Make the best out of what Pomona has to offer and you will never be let down. Same goes for the Little 3 giants. As the previous poster said, Pomona has its strengths, and AWS has their strengths. Facetious jabs at sardonic realism or haughty belittlement does nothing to change that.</p>

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<p>Swarthmore isn't a member of the "Little 3" - those are Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan.</p>