Is there a huge difference in prestige between Williams and Bowdoin?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:To me, knowing the differences between Bowdoin and Williams (the differences are pretty tiny) is a sign of cultural literacy. It is a sign of mixing in elite circles.

There is nothing wrong with not knowing this. Most people don't. But if you are someone who manages to make the leap from a random state school to an elite law school but then go interview at elite law firms and don't know what these liberal arts colleges are that many partners attended, it will hurt you.

I know I sound like a snob.

I’m a professor at a private R1. When I see Williams on a grad application I do think, oooh Williams. (I also feel that way about Yale and Princeton, in terms of the intellectual rigor I feel the students bring.) I don’t have that reaction to Bowdoin. But truly at the end of the day it’s the quality of the applicant that matters and each applicant is very seriously considered on their own merits. Where they went to school doesn’t really play into the final decision.

Also a professor and I’m not that impressed by Williams. Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore, or Reed are rigorous to me. Williams is just another liberal arts college.

I can tell you when I see a response like this I can quickly ascertain that the poster isn’t impressed by Williams because they weren’t able to get into a NESCAC LAC. They instead attended non-selective schools for their entire education. How do I know this? Because, nobody with a working brain cell in education would make such a statement because they know it is foolish. That means we have three choices; poorly educated, bitter, or just a common troll. Which one shall it be my little turd blossom?

I went to Middlebury and then did grad school at Princeton and Yale for history. I really don’t need lectures about how educated I am when you have not shown to know much of anything, at all.

Not buying. Anyone who went to Midd wouldn't refer to Williams as "just another liberal arts college." They know better. None of those schools are better than Williams and Williams isn't better than any of those schools. You can add 10 more schools (including Midd) to that group and there would be zero discernable difference in student quality and if your background is what you imply you would know that. Are you somehow bitter towards Williams? Or are you just trolling? Based on your response we've narrowed the list.

You're reading into a situation that doesn't exist. I don't put Williams on any pedestal, just cause USNews puts it at the top spot. To me, academic rigor shows in other institutions. Nothing bitter about it.

How do you feel about academic rigor at Middlebury relative to the others? There are people here that feel Middlebury is unfairly ranked relative to WASP.

I wouldn’t say fair/unfair. I think it’s up to USNews to do whatever it wants with its magazine publication. I will say middlebury has had a few financial changes, which may have hurt them, and it doesn’t have the same endowment as WASP colleges do. It’s a great college for the social sciences and humanities, and I particularly love this article describing a solution to what you’re hinting at: https://www.middleburycampus.com/article/2024/09/the-customer-is-wrong-middlebury-is-failing-us-by-listening-to-us

I wholeheartedly agree with the premise of the authors.

[Anonymous]

I think, but do not know, that on-campus recruiting options for banking and consulting would be decent at Williams and non-existent at Bowdoin. This is the only factor I can think of that might differentiate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think, but do not know, that on-campus recruiting options for banking and consulting would be decent at Williams and non-existent at Bowdoin. This is the only factor I can think of that might differentiate.

Good thing a majority of students at both institutions don't touch banking a day in their life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re going through all the trouble of getting into a top lac just to worry about prestige, go to a damn Ivy or top research university.

This.
Most people do not know these schools from Adam, so if it’s the approval of randos you’re after, go to an Ivy and drop it into conversation every chance you get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re going through all the trouble of getting into a top lac just to worry about prestige, go to a damn Ivy or top research university.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do people have such fine-grained and confident opinions about stuff like this? I taught at Bowdoin for two years at the beginning of my career, and I've taught at two other LACs mentioned in this thread. I haven't taught at Williams, but my kid is now making a down-to-the-wire decision whether to go there (which is why I clicked on this thread). I've chaired grad admissions committees with quite a few applicants from both schools over the years. But I have no idea -- couldn't begin to tell you -- whether Williams or Bowdoin is generally better. Given my kid's interests, Bowdoin looks less good -- for him. So he didn't even apply there. Is Williams therefore the better school? In my own academic field, Bowdoin is better than Williams. You'd think I'd have a more general opinion, but I have no idea which school is 'more prestigious.'

If, by contrast, the question is about the attitudes of people who know little about the schools apart from rumor and branding impressions, why care about that?

Thank you for being the voice of reason and experience. My kid applied to Williams and Bowdoin and was accepted to Williams and dinged by Bowdoin. As it happens, Williams is stronger in my kid's interests, studio art and math, but if they were interested in Environmental Studies, for example, Bowdoin is superior. They are both outstanding, and trying to parse differences in overall prestige seems futile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people have such fine-grained and confident opinions about stuff like this? I taught at Bowdoin for two years at the beginning of my career, and I've taught at two other LACs mentioned in this thread. I haven't taught at Williams, but my kid is now making a down-to-the-wire decision whether to go there (which is why I clicked on this thread). I've chaired grad admissions committees with quite a few applicants from both schools over the years. But I have no idea -- couldn't begin to tell you -- whether Williams or Bowdoin is generally better. Given my kid's interests, Bowdoin looks less good -- for him. So he didn't even apply there. Is Williams therefore the better school? In my own academic field, Bowdoin is better than Williams. You'd think I'd have a more general opinion, but I have no idea which school is 'more prestigious.'

If, by contrast, the question is about the attitudes of people who know little about the schools apart from rumor and branding impressions, why care about that?

Thank you for being the voice of reason and experience. My kid applied to Williams and Bowdoin and was accepted to Williams and dinged by Bowdoin. As it happens, Williams is stronger in my kid's interests, studio art and math, but if they were interested in Environmental Studies, for example, Bowdoin is superior. They are both outstanding, and trying to parse differences in overall prestige seems futile.

+1 I would say nonsensical

[Anonymous]

Just chiming in to say I can't believe we're eight pages in and everyone is still agreeing that the top four SLACs are Williams, Midd, Bowdoin and Amherst?
Ahem - Swarthmore is always one of the top three!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just chiming in to say I can't believe we're eight pages in and everyone is still agreeing that the top four SLACs are Williams, Midd, Bowdoin and Amherst?
Ahem - Swarthmore is always one of the top three!!!

No one said this and it’s also just not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just chiming in to say I can't believe we're eight pages in and everyone is still agreeing that the top four SLACs are Williams, Midd, Bowdoin and Amherst?
Ahem - Swarthmore is always one of the top three!!!

Yes, Swarthmore, Pomona, Carleton.. these are all really strong school…among many others.

[Anonymous]

Swarthmore has the highest test stats of WASP so maybe many rejects/parents of rejects in this thread lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just chiming in to say I can't believe we're eight pages in and everyone is still agreeing that the top four SLACs are Williams, Midd, Bowdoin and Amherst?
Ahem - Swarthmore is always one of the top three!!!

No one said this and it’s also just not true.

Give me one ranking where Midd or Bowdoin is above Swat. USN always has AWS as the holy trinity of SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Midd is nowhere near the others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore has the highest test stats of WASP so maybe many rejects/parents of rejects in this thread lol

Actually Williams and Amherst are both higher. Just saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just chiming in to say I can't believe we're eight pages in and everyone is still agreeing that the top four SLACs are Williams, Midd, Bowdoin and Amherst?
Ahem - Swarthmore is always one of the top three!!!

No one said this and it’s also just not true.

Give me one ranking where Midd or Bowdoin is above Swat. USN always has AWS as the holy trinity of SLACs.

2017 USNWR they were both tied at 4