<p>How would you personally rank the LAC's in the US ? No USNews, let's make our own alternative ranking of those we are familiar with...</p>
<ol>
<li>Tied (Amherst and Williams)</li>
<li>Swathmore</li>
<li>Wellesley</li>
<li>Bowdoin</li>
<li>Pomona</li>
<li>Middlebury</li>
<li>Haverford</li>
<li>Wesleyan</li>
<li>Vassar</li>
<li>Barnard</li>
</ol>
<p>this is arbitrary and stupid. if you want this to be at all meaningful, you should at least have people mention where they live and where they went to school.</p>
<ol>
<li> Swarthmore</li>
<li> Carleton</li>
<li> Reed</li>
<li> Williams</li>
<li> Amherst</li>
<li> Oberlin</li>
<li> Grinnell</li>
<li> Middlebury</li>
<li> Colorado College</li>
<li>Kalamazoo</li>
</ol>
<p>A list to remove east coast bias. Meaningless - yes, stupid - maybe, but fun for some.</p>
<p>Amherst
Williams
Swarthmore
Reed
Bowdoin
Pomona
Middlebury
Colgate
Oberlin
Wesleyan</p>
<ol>
<li> Amherst</li>
<li> Williams</li>
<li> Swarthmore</li>
<li> Pomona</li>
<li> Wesleyan</li>
<li> Bowdoin</li>
<li> Carleton</li>
<li> Washington & Lee</li>
<li> Middlebury </li>
<li>Colgate</li>
</ol>
<p>To put the women's colleges on there, when 50% of the people can't apply to them, seems stupid to me.</p>
<p>"To put the women's colleges on there, when 50% of the people can't apply to them, seems stupid to me."</p>
<p>That sentiment seems stupid to me. Before the 1970s, women couldn't apply to a lot of your precious coed schools.</p>
<ol>
<li>Amherst</li>
<li>Williams</li>
<li>Swarthmore</li>
<li>Pomona</li>
<li>Haverford</li>
<li>Middlebury</li>
<li>Carleton</li>
<li>Bowdoin</li>
<li>Wellesley </li>
<li>Wesleyan</li>
</ol>
<p>
[quote]
That sentiment seems stupid to me. Before the 1970s, women couldn't apply to a lot of your precious coed schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Can you say irrelevant?
Way to be an asshat. </p>
<ol>
<li>Amherst</li>
<li>Williams</li>
<li>Swarthmore</li>
<li>Pomona</li>
<li>Reed</li>
<li>Haverford</li>
<li>Middlebury</li>
<li>Wesleyan</li>
<li>Bowdoin</li>
<li>Oberlin</li>
</ol>
<p>ecape, I was thinking the same except that women weren't that close to 50% of the applicant pool in the 1960's, were they? There were no rankings back then, anyway.</p>
<p>You asked me to "personally" rank them, so I will! This is based completely on my experience with these schools (which I have spent an immense amount of time researching/visiting). And its not really based on academics, more on overall feeling that I have of these places.</p>
<p>I go to swarthmore, but I am from California, way north, pretty close to Oregon.
I tend to go with SB dad</p>
<ol>
<li>Swarthmore - great (diverse) people, excellent education, crazy amounts of work</li>
<li>Carleton - great people, pretty great education, bad weather</li>
<li>Bowdoin - nice (preppy) people, pretty campus, bad weather, not sure about academics</li>
<li>Reed - great (nerdy) people, great education, good location, lots of work</li>
<li>Middlebury - nice (preppy) people, gorgeous campus (more like a resort than a college!), lots of international students, good language department</li>
<li>Williams - preppy people, crappy location, okay campus, great education</li>
<li>Amherst - snobby (preppy) people, I know there academics are good throughy ranking, not through personal experience </li>
<li>Pomona - california type people who think highly of themselves (I've only heard second-hand), laid-back work load, good academics</li>
<li>Wesleyan - bigger, more laid back/drug culture, not sure about academics</li>
</ol>
<p>Honerable mentions (I just don't know enough to rank):
Earlham, Bates, Harvey Mudd (I'd only go there if I were engineering/Comp. Sci.), Claremont McKenna, Oberlin (esp. music!), Grinnell, Haverford, Occidental, Colby, Colorado College, Vassar, Wellesley</p>
<p>I know I ranked my school first, and I wouldn't agree with this always, but its the only school I've really experienced, so I can't really put anything in front of it. </p>
<p>I really hate the ranking system in general and the ranking system just perpetuates itself. Top schools get more applicants and high ranks becuase they are at the top in the first place. </p>
<p>For example, U.S. news heavily favors the east, and yes, there are more LACs there, but Reed and the Claremont colleges are great. I just think they need more credit than they currently get. Also, I kind of have a grudge becuase I wish I hadn't listened to rank so much....I want to be on the west.</p>
<p>"Can you say irrelevant?
Way to be an asshat."</p>
<p>"I was thinking the same except that women weren't that close to 50% of the applicant pool in the 1960's, were they?"</p>
<p>Aren't you two at least indirectly implying that the women at those schools don't count? You haven't stated on what basis you're ranking schools.</p>
<p>here is my very personal ranking:</p>
<p>wesleyan - big, laid back intellectual atmosphere. close to nyc/boston.</p>
<p>reed - intense, probing, enlightening. located in the rugged northwest.</p>
<p>swarthmore - top-notch in every field, quirky but grounded.</p>
<p>pomona - spectacularly close to la, healthy mix of scholars and preppies.</p>
<p>kenyon - artistic, mysterious, a hidden gem.</p>
<p>grinnell - well-rounded, extremely rich but not a desirable location.</p>
<p>carleton - attractive and intelligent student body.</p>
<p>amherst - impressive academics and opportunities, most recognizable name, close to boston.</p>
<p>wellesley - see above for women.</p>
<p>berea - solely dedicated to educating the lower classes. hard work and civic virtue from the student body.</p>
<p>honorable mention to haverford, hamilton, oberlin, st. olaf, beloit, bucknell, macalester, sweet briar, guilford, colorado, cornell, evergreen state, geneseo, franklin and marshall, and earlham.</p>
<p>I'm not saying the women at those schools don't count. I just think it's hard to compare the all-women schools to co-ed schools and they should have their own separate category akin to NUs and LACs. It was hard to compare Hamilton to Smith in 1968 and to me it's still hard to compare them today, since I'm not allowed to go to Smith. I think it's more proper to compare Dartmouth to Williams than Williams to Wellesley and don't understand the discrepancy by USN&WR. </p>
<p>My criteria was for schools that I thought were the most academically respected for job and grad school prospects as well as trying to incorporate in a social and environment component. Basically, which schools would I most like to be at and say I was from. Being from the mid-Atlantic, I recognize that Pomona and Carleton are considered good schools that have a lot going for them, but were too far away for me to want to go to before Middlebury and Colgate.</p>
<p>dwincho, I don't quite see how you can give HM to St. Olaf, Beloit, Sweet Briar, Guilford and leave Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Colgate and W&L off completely.</p>
<p>I think he's ranking on the basis of the schools he/she likes, kind of like you, gellino</p>
<p>Just for fun:</p>
<p>Swarthmore
Amherst
Pomona
Williams
Wesleyan
Carleton
Haverford
Bowdoin
Vassar
Middlebury</p>
<p>i personally feel that Kenyon College is extremely underrated as an LAC. Probably one of the best english/creative writing depts in the country. Beautiful campus. Very strong and rising in the sciences (for and LAC). Just an all-around great school, in my opinion.</p>
<p>i dont believe in individual rankings; tiers are much more accurate. with that in mind, based on academic quality, selectivity, and people that i know that were accepted/rejected at the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona</p></li>
<li><p>Wellesley, Bowdoin, Haverford, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Reed</p></li>
<li><p>Carleton, Davidson, Vassar, W&L, Colgate, Hamilton, Colby, Bates, Grinnell, Oberlin, Macalester, Trinity, Barnard, Connecticut College</p></li>
<li><p>Claremont McKenna , Smith, Bryn Mawr, Mt Holyoke, Lafayette, Scripps, Holy Cross, Kenyon, Whitman</p></li>
<li><p>Bucknell, Colorado College, Sewanee, Richmond, Union, Bard, Franklin & Marshall, Skidmore, Dickinson, Rhodes</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I like the above best.....</p>