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

[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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Midd is nowhere near the others

How do you say "I'm stupid" without actually saying it....by making a comment like the one above.

[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!!!

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

They are great schools, all of them. And, that is the point. They are all great schools, their student academic profiles virtually overlap and it is nonsensical to try and granularly rank them yet here we are watching the monkeys fling crap once again.

[Anonymous]

Facts Us News 2025. Williams 1 and Middlebury 19. Based on that differential Trinity and Midd are close.

[Anonymous]

Trinity College 36

[Anonymous]

I think they were talking about top NESCAC SLACS. Top national SLACS are definitely

Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Carleton, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Claremont McKenna, Vassar

In terms of academic rigor and teaching excellence I would say top five are—Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Carleton, Pomona