While I typed the above, I thought about the problem of how does one even begin to “measure” the strength of an alumni network. However you choose to do that, I’d like to hear your thoughts on how helpful your DS and/or DD (or perhaps you) have found their LAC’s alumni network.
(BTW, I found a Princeton Review list and, at least for LACs, the ones described as having strong networks - Bucknell, Gettysburg, Union, etc - also seem to have strong Greek presence on campus. Is a college’s Greek Life participation a good proxy for the strength of a LACs network? Is there a different proxy for LACs that do not have a Greek system?)
My kid who attended Dickinson found her job through an alum, and is still active with the college in various capacities at the age of 27. She was not involved in Greek life. My youngest at Harvey Mudd knows quite a few older students who are out of college and room with other Mudders (lots work in Silicon Valley).
I’d say that the networks often are going to be strongest within the region where the school is located.
Wesleyan. The stories of different alumni reaching out and tapping each other for collaboration are pretty numerous: Bill Bellichick and Eric Mangini in the NFL; MGMT in pop music: Hickenlooper and Bennet in Colorado politics; and, the classic one of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail come to mind.
I don’t think strong Greek life is a proxy-- I think the strongest alumni networks in the country outside the service academies are Smith, Wellesley, SMU, Notre Dame, Princeton, Syracuse and Texas A&M.
A strong alumni network is a huge net positive BUT not if your kid doesn’t take advantage of it (people don’t come to your house and drag you to a networking event- you still have to have enough energy and gumption to actually go). And there are colleges with strong alumni networks which aren’t quite as helpful if your kid isn’t interested in what the network can do for you (Williams Art History majors comprise a “mafia” within the art world- auction houses, museum curators, publications which cover the fine arts, etc. But if your kid majors in math at Williams that incredible network may be less valuable over time.)
Williams has a strong alumni network in many areas… and no fraternities. See their website for details on the alumni network. As an alumna, I know they often reach out to alumni to invite them to recruit and to lend their expertise to both students and other alumni.
+1 on Amherst. A virtual niece graduated seven years ago. She has had a successful career so far in a field that has historically been closed to women – so much so that at 29 she’s actually the highest ranking woman in an operating role in the industry. She received critical help along the way from Amherst alums, starting back when she was a student, and she had no other ties or entree to them other than that.
One of the top reasons my husband and I wanted our daughter to choose both Bates and Kenyon is because they both have very good alumni networks. She is at Bates.
