I find all these SLACS to be so similar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine paying $80-90k for any school. And all of these SLACs sound exactly the same.

That’s why they offer Mercedes, Hondas and Kias. Options for all price points, some better than others. For those with the means, or the ability to qualify for merit or financial aid, SLACs can be amazing experiences. I have kids at two different SLACs and have seen the benefits firsthand.

I have a kid at one of the SLACs mentioned upthread. She's a first year. All of her classes are taught by full profs and they have 20 students or fewer. Profs grade her work (there aren't any TAs), they know her by name, classes are interactive. Even her lab is staffed by a professor. Spouse and I are downright floored at how different this is from our own education (at a top Ivy and top public univ).

Love this type of LAC bolstering post which never names any of the alleged schools. This is done so that those with actual recent knowledge of a named school cannot correct the bs in the LAC sales-pitch.

Would it not be less conspiratorial to conclude they mean what they say and happen to believe other LACs are similar? If they name the school they would be viewed as school boosters. If you understand the LAC model, you understand what they are saying applies elsewhere. It certainly applies to ours. All their claims are very basic, known attributes of LACs.

No, because that poster dissed "a top Ivy" and a "top public university". Typical LAC hucksterism.

This is such a weird take. Who thinks like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine paying $80-90k for any school. And all of these SLACs sound exactly the same.

That’s why they offer Mercedes, Hondas and Kias. Options for all price points, some better than others. For those with the means, or the ability to qualify for merit or financial aid, SLACs can be amazing experiences. I have kids at two different SLACs and have seen the benefits firsthand.

I have a kid at one of the SLACs mentioned upthread. She's a first year. All of her classes are taught by full profs and they have 20 students or fewer. Profs grade her work (there aren't any TAs), they know her by name, classes are interactive. Even her lab is staffed by a professor. Spouse and I are downright floored at how different this is from our own education (at a top Ivy and top public univ).

Love this type of LAC bolstering post which never names any of the alleged schools. This is done so that those with actual recent knowledge of a named school cannot correct the bs in the LAC sales-pitch.

Would it not be less conspiratorial to conclude they mean what they say and happen to believe other LACs are similar? If they name the school they would be viewed as school boosters. If you understand the LAC model, you understand what they are saying applies elsewhere. It certainly applies to ours. All their claims are very basic, known attributes of LACs.

No, because that poster dissed "a top Ivy" and a "top public university". Typical LAC hucksterism.

No, they didn’t. They said they were “floored at how different this is.” That doesn’t mean that the LAC is superior in every way or that Ivies or state schools as categories are getting disrespected. I went to a top state too. Based on my experiences and what I know about my kids, I think they are enjoying their LAC more than they would a university. That doesn’t mean there weren’t advantages at universities that would make them better fits for some. LACs are different in the ways the PP described (among other things), and for some those differences are a better educational match, but not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

My kid loved Bowdoin and hated Williams. I really disliked Williams as well. I also am not a fan of both of these schools having huge (40%) student athlete populations. Those athletes stick with their teams making the social scene for non-athletes quite small. Anyone else?

Most Williams College students socialize pretty broadly. The curriculum and general ethos of the college stress collaboration. Have never heard of a athlete/ non athlete divide of any kind among students or alumni. Why just make things up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a first year at Amherst. I could not be happier. I had some of the worries about small school, athlete/non-athlete split, etc. but all of the great things about the SLAC environment have proven to be true (and not the downsides). What makes me so happy, is that my kid and (the other kid she knew that went) are the happiest amongst their friend group from HS. Easy to get involved in activities, great professors, and most importantly just a great group of kids and the school fosters community (kids eat together, lots of school events, etc.). We looked at a lot of the SLACs and liked a number. Could not be happier with the choice that was made. Whether something is worth the tuition is a personal decision. From my perspective, totally worth the money.

My sophomore son at Amherst is having a similar positive experience - he absolutely loves it. Not a recruited athlete though plays club ultimate frisbee, and they travel to tournaments all over New England. Active in the outing club which does hikes, ice climbing, ziplining, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, etc. We just returned home from Family Weekend last night. Everywhere we walked with him, he routinely stopped to greet friends crossing paths. We watched the soccer game vs Connecticut, and he cheered on his friends on the team. We went to the annual a cappella show, and he cheered on his friends performing with various groups. The goodwill all appeared genuine to me, which was a relief because I was also concerned about the notorious recruited athlete vs NARP divide. We sat in on some classes - they were small and intimate, and the professors were enthusiastic and engaged - no grad students teaching the undergrads.

YMMV but we are thrilled with Amherst College - Go Mammoths, Tusks Up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LACs were much easier for me to see where my kid did and did not fit into Than universities. Almost every single one has a personality.

Was that personality obvious when you visited or did you figure it out a different way?

My '25 kid had very specific criteria that made it easy to narrow to a short list. My '27 kid thinks he wants a SLAC and I think that will be more difficult.

They tend to spill their guts about it on the websites, but also, attending in person makes it very very clear.

Williams kid had an intensity to them while also being very committed to their majors-reminded me a lot of my undergrad at Harvard, to be frank, the personalities certainly aligned. Could not stop hearing "#1 LAC" from students and from admissions.

Bowdoin is the friendliest and has the vibes of a nice athletic, nature-loving student body. There aren't that many kids who think "Maine" for dream college destination, but, for those students, it is the perfect place.

Swarthmore had less of the intensity of Williams but attracted the type of person who wants to get away from the consulting and prestige frenzy at other top colleges. Much more "do it for learning sakes" than most other LACs

Claremont Colleges, specifically Pomona, had an exploratory, diverse crowd, where students gushed about all the things they do off campus before even talking about school. Students take advantage of the consortium, and it gives them an amazing amount of courses to pick around.

While none of these are antithetical to each other, looking around and talking to students at LAC's and seeing how they promoted themselves made it far easier to determine fit than any university DC was looking towards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LACs were much easier for me to see where my kid did and did not fit into Than universities. Almost every single one has a personality.

Was that personality obvious when you visited or did you figure it out a different way?

My '25 kid had very specific criteria that made it easy to narrow to a short list. My '27 kid thinks he wants a SLAC and I think that will be more difficult.

They tend to spill their guts about it on the websites, but also, attending in person makes it very very clear.

Williams kid had an intensity to them while also being very committed to their majors-reminded me a lot of my undergrad at Harvard, to be frank, the personalities certainly aligned. Could not stop hearing "#1 LAC" from students and from admissions.

Bowdoin is the friendliest and has the vibes of a nice athletic, nature-loving student body. There aren't that many kids who think "Maine" for dream college destination, but, for those students, it is the perfect place.

Swarthmore had less of the intensity of Williams but attracted the type of person who wants to get away from the consulting and prestige frenzy at other top colleges. Much more "do it for learning sakes" than most other LACs

Claremont Colleges, specifically Pomona, had an exploratory, diverse crowd, where students gushed about all the things they do off campus before even talking about school. Students take advantage of the consortium, and it gives them an amazing amount of courses to pick around.

While none of these are antithetical to each other, looking around and talking to students at LAC's and seeing how they promoted themselves made it far easier to determine fit than any university DC was looking towards.

I generally agree with this assessment. Williams is obviously a great school, but your description isn't super appealing. Part of the reason DC picked Pomona over a couple Ivy options was to avoid that type of student in favor of kids who are highly intelligent but more humble and/or laidback. Pomona's workload is no joke though. Bowdoin strikes me as having a similar vibe to Pomona.

[Anonymous]

There are dozens of great LACs. Saying there are only 3-5 is a bit like saying there’s one good university (in terms of headcount.) USNWR or Princeton Review are good sources for more ideas and takes on each school’s “personality.”

[Anonymous]

I don't know how someone could look at Macalester, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, and Swarthmore and see the same college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how someone could look at Macalester, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, and Swarthmore and see the same college.

Thank you! Just say you’re not open to the small college experience. Don’t embarrass yourself by suggesting they’re all the same. Just visited Vassar, Colgate, and Hamilton over a few days with my DC a few weeks ago. They were like three totally different countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine paying $80-90k for any school. And all of these SLACs sound exactly the same.

It could be said that large state schools all seem the same too and out of state prices for those aren’t cheap either.

+1 this is a DC board, and we don't get state tuition anywhere. Private schools are essentially the same price for us, and many of them give merit making them cheaper than your generic, impersonal, giant state school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine paying $80-90k for any school. And all of these SLACs sound exactly the same.

It could be said that large state schools all seem the same too and out of state prices for those aren’t cheap either.

+1 this is a DC board, and we don't get state tuition anywhere. Private schools are essentially the same price for us, and many of them give merit making them cheaper than your generic, impersonal, giant state school.

Not true.
A) This is DMV board, heavily affluent
B) most DC parents move to VA or MD by the time their kid is in high school because the DC schools are awful
C) in my time living on Cap Hill most move to VA to take advantage of the VA public colleges and universities;
D) but even those who stay behind can do VA OOS (UVA) at $68k OOS or MD at $51k with DCTag, which is a lot better than private at $90k +++. DCtag does not apply to privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how someone could look at Macalester, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, and Swarthmore and see the same college.

Thank you! Just say you’re not open to the small college experience. Don’t embarrass yourself by suggesting they’re all the same. Just visited Vassar, Colgate, and Hamilton over a few days with my DC a few weeks ago. They were like three totally different countries.

How were they different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is at a WASP school, but I consider Bowdoin, Wellesley, and Carleton to be peers. WASP has more traditional prestige for whatever that's worth, but I could see how one of those three schools might be better for some kids in the same way that some kids might prefer Brown or Duke over Yale and Harvard. If I were a high school student, my personal preference would be Pomona, Bowdoin, and Williams in that order.

Thank you, PP! This information is helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine paying $80-90k for any school. And all of these SLACs sound exactly the same.

That’s why they offer Mercedes, Hondas and Kias. Options for all price points, some better than others. For those with the means, or the ability to qualify for merit or financial aid, SLACs can be amazing experiences. I have kids at two different SLACs and have seen the benefits firsthand.

I have a kid at one of the SLACs mentioned upthread. She's a first year. All of her classes are taught by full profs and they have 20 students or fewer. Profs grade her work (there aren't any TAs), they know her by name, classes are interactive. Even her lab is staffed by a professor. Spouse and I are downright floored at how different this is from our own education (at a top Ivy and top public univ).

Love this type of LAC bolstering post which never names any of the alleged schools. This is done so that those with actual recent knowledge of a named school cannot correct the bs in the LAC sales-pitch.

PP here. What on earth would motivate me to make a sales pitch for an LAC? I'm sharing our family's experience. If you don't believe me then that will be less competition when my next child applies, likely to LACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how someone could look at Macalester, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, and Swarthmore and see the same college.

Thank you! Just say you’re not open to the small college experience. Don’t embarrass yourself by suggesting they’re all the same. Just visited Vassar, Colgate, and Hamilton over a few days with my DC a few weeks ago. They were like three totally different countries.

Can you say how these three are so different? I've been to Vassar, not Hamilton or Colgate yet. thanks!