Why are LAC's underrated?

<p>An education from Williams is just as good as any Ivy, yet many people don't seem to understand. </p>

<p>PS. Could you guys please help me think of colleges who would accept a 3.5 UW and 2200+ sat with only serious commitment in dance and one club in 9th and 10th grade? I was sick 10th grade and had tb 11th grade and my counselor mention them in her recommend, but I'm not sure if that would really help with the low gpa. I also messed up badly with a C in precalc honors junior year. I was thinking about occidental and smith, but in not sure if I could get in.
Thank you. (:</p>

<p>Bumpppppp.</p>

<p>I think that grad schools, employers, and people knowledgeable about colleges would not underrate LACs as a rule. I would guess that LACs are not as well known among the general public because the don’t have as many alumni and they don’t have big time sports. </p>

<p>I’m not much for chancing but those schools look reasonable for your stats. There are a ton of great LACs out there.</p>

<p>Nobody knows them because:</p>

<ol>
<li>they are not big on sports. </li>
<li>They are extremely small. (ex. freshman class has only 700 or so students)</li>
<li>Most of them are rural.</li>
<li>Most of them are not heavy on research.</li>
</ol>

<p>Grad schools know them. They’re feeder schools for the best grad programs.
However random people wouldn’t LACs if they know a college for its football team and don’t know about grad school admissions, cultural/social/symbolic capital, etc.</p>

<p>

[quote]
An education from Williams is just as good as any Ivy, yet many people don’t seem to understand. [/quote[</p>

<p>LAC’s aren’t “underrated.” They are simply less well known. But that’s not of any importance, since most people’s impressions of colleges are based off familiarity and sports, not off any true understanding of quality.</p>

<p>It’s more important to be known among the cognoscenti than among the average person, IMO. You can just smile quietly and know Williams provides an excellent education; you don’t need to be the kind of desperate person who needs everyone else shouting “yay Williams!” for you to feel good about it.</p>

<p>You might want to try applying at Scripps if you like both Oxy and Smith. They have holistic admissions and great fin aid.</p>

<p>

“Good” is defined by the individual, so I think everyone understands perfectly.</p>