Which selective liberal arts schools are really difficult/cutthroat once you are in?

[Anonymous]

Seems like an odd question but my son has ADHD and works non stop. He will likely be recruited and get a little boost as a very good athlete (which takes up lots of studying time in HS and college).

He wants a small liberal arts school (Hamilton, Lafayette, Kenyon) type school. I worry for him because while he has good grades (SAT unknown) he works constantly and it's only high school.
I know his many AP classes are about as tough as college classes in a lot of cases but I really worry that he will be overwhelmed in college.

I'm not looking for some college that hands out As at all. Just trying to avoid anywhere that is cutthroat. A friend told me about a niece who dropped out of a SLAC after 2 months because it was just too tough.

That really got me thinking that I don't want to overwhelm him but I still want him to have the experience he wants at a good school where he can balance athletics (likely D3), studying and life.

Bates is one he's looking at but I'm reading it's pretty difficult (hard to judge with student reviews). My son just needs more time to learn than most and athletics make that tough. And no - he refuses to give that up at this point and it should help with admissions so I'm tabling that discussion. Sports will go if academics become too tough.

Any suggestions for schools to look at or stay away from?

[Anonymous]

DC at Bates as an athlete. It’s a wonderful community. Not cutthroat at all. DC has a non athlete roommate and gets along great. And has many friends from the team. Classmates are great. After being in DC, was surprised at how cooperative kids were. They all want to do well, but not at the expense of others.

[Anonymous]

I really haven’t heard of any “cutthroat” liberal arts schools. Certainly some are considered very academically rigorous but I feel like that is not competition between the students but between the class itself and the student. I’ve looked at a lot of SLACs and pretty much all of them specifically talk about this.

But that said, there are some SLACs that are considered grind schools. Swarthmore would be one…just discussed on another thread.

[Anonymous]

Are you saying you don’t want classes that are too hard? If so, I’d maybe focus on open curriculum schools where you child can focus on what he really likes or maybe go down the rankings list a bit to less selective schools.

[Anonymous]

Swarthmore for sure. Sounds like Williams is a lot of work, as is Davidson. Wesleyan more flexible curriculum would help I think and bates seems nice as PP posts. I’d guess Kenyon and Lafayette would more be manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really haven’t heard of any “cutthroat” liberal arts schools. Certainly some are considered very academically rigorous but I feel like that is not competition between the students but between the class itself and the student. I’ve looked at a lot of SLACs and pretty much all of them specifically talk about this.

But that said, there are some SLACs that are considered grind schools. Swarthmore would be one…just discussed on another thread.

OP here. Yes - the thread on Swarthmore inspired me to post but I've been thinking about this a lot recently.

Swarthmore was always a bit too tough to get into so it won't be on our list but I'm wondering if schools that are even a little easier to get into are so rigorous that kids (especially athletes with less time) are often overwhelmed? College needs to be more than just studying all day and night.

So I guess I'm asking - what are the other "grind schools" like Swarthmore that kids got into but felt like it was just too much work?

[Anonymous]

Some of this will depend on his major and not just the school. Also there is a difference between cutthroat and academically challenging. Like Carleton kids work really hard because the ten week quarter system is intense, but the students and faculty are really nice and supportive. So he might have to grind, but only for three classes and with a lot of help.

I’d look for somewhere without a lot of core requirements so he can pick his classes and play to his strengths and balance his schedule. Like maybe don’t take a foreign language if it’s not required because those classes require grinding because they are memorization heavy. Also look for places that allow a certain number of classes to be taken pass/fail.

Maybe Colorado College? They have a fairly unique block schedule where they take one class at a time. I think Cornell College does that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore for sure. Sounds like Williams is a lot of work, as is Davidson. Wesleyan more flexible curriculum would help I think and bates seems nice as PP posts. I’d guess Kenyon and Lafayette would more be manageable.

I have heard this from the parent of a kid who went to Williams. Kid was a top performer at our fairly competitive public high school. He got to Williams and was shocked at the intensity of the environment. He liked it, it just took some adjusting.

[Anonymous]

I would look at Trinity College in CT and Wesleyan. Trinity has a great campus, great athletics, hard working but also know how to have fun kids, great city internships and is not too far/not too close.

[Anonymous]

I went to Wesleyan and thought it was academically and intellectually intense.

Just mentioning because I often see it as a recommendation on this type of thread. It is possible that it has changed. To be clear, students were not cutthroat or competitive. But the workload was heavy and students talked about their classes and work all the time.

[Anonymous]

You might want to dip down under that top tier a half a notch or a full notch. Maybe Union College in NY, Connecticut College, Gettysburg, Clark (listed as a research university but probably more similar to liberal arts colleges). DePauw is really nice.

[Anonymous]

The advice from our college counselor was to look at schools where our kid was a median admit. Meant our kid turned down more competitive schools for a better fit/less stressful college experience. (I went to Swarthmore and was v supportive of this approach!)

[Anonymous]

Bates, Kenyon and Lafayette would all be great environments for your son, OP. There are a few LACs known to be intense but these aren’t it.

[Anonymous]

Bates or Oberlin

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The advice from our college counselor was to look at schools where our kid was a median admit. Meant our kid turned down more competitive schools for a better fit/less stressful college experience. (I went to Swarthmore and was v supportive of this approach!)

+1 Sent DC to a median admit even though they received acceptance to more competitive schools. (Wash U, Emory).

Has anxiety and was exhausted from high school. I didn't want a nervous breakdown. Felt badly at first, but DC seems to be thriving in a less crazy environment.