Changes in LACs

[Anonymous]

Agree, Holy Cross is very popular in our full pay town. By contrast Colgate has lost some of its appeal. Not many kids find Hamilton NY as a pull. Worcester while not Beverly Hills has improved and only 1 hour to Boston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The Maine LACs are all on the rise - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Midd.

Also, Hamilton is becoming the new Amherst.

Midd is in Vermont and none of those schools are “rising” any different than years prior, other than maybe Colby.

Hamilton is completely different than Amherst and wants its future to be in tech and AI.

Also, can any of the NESCACs really be described as “on the rise?” Are any of them lacking in respect? Top to bottom, they are the standard on which all other SLACs are judged/compared. Obviously not saying those are the “best” schools, but people take shots at Amherst, Williams, Wes, Hamilton, Mid, Colby, etc. on this board for a reason. I don’t see many Bowdoin people, for example, puffing their chests about how they’re better than W&L.
-NESCAC alum, parent & spouse

What a bunch of New England garbage. NESCAC is the standard for mediocrity.

OK, thanks for your input Dennison mom.

[Anonymous]

Hobart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I think more LACs need to strengthen in engineering and CS in order to rise in popularity.

Harvey Mudd is well positioned to rise. And other STEM-oriented LACs like Carleton. Swarthmore too. Wes is also strong in STEM.

Way too behind. Starting a school in engineering right now is completely useless- you can never have enough faculty for specialities nor get the research funding/grants that top universities and state schools have. Both mudd and swarthmore hardly have that many engineering majors compared to cs or math. LACs have a niche, and that niche is served well. For every lac, you run the issue that there a finite amount of lab space and research funding you can spend on STEM.

I don’t get people on dcum. They’re hellbent on every lac just becoming a research university. It’s okay to decide against an LAC and go on with life.

It’s funny. I was going to say that I don’t get the people on DCUM who jump on threads about LACs to tell people the LACs are inferior. Not everyone wants to go to Purdue or whatever, and kids do choose LACs to pursue stem fields. To your point it is their choice and there’s no need to “well actually” them. Feel free to start another thread about how awesome R1 engineering programs are.

LACs, basically by definition, presume their students will be going to a graduate program, particularly applicable to those who study sciences at an LAC. In a similar way prep schools expect you to be going to college. These are small institutions focused on doing undergrad well. But undergrad to them isn’t the end of the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hobart

I really like Hobart. Not nearly as selective but so what. I know a couple of kids who went there, did well and really liked it.

[Anonymous]

They shouldn't. A vast majority of lac grads don't go to graduate school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree, Holy Cross is very popular in our full pay town. By contrast Colgate has lost some of its appeal. Not many kids find Hamilton NY as a pull. Worcester while not Beverly Hills has improved and only 1 hour to Boston.

However, by recent analysis, Colgate placed as the 42nd most selective school in the nation and Holy Cross placed 32 spots lower, at 74th:

College & University Rankings in 2025 https://share.google/iBW3ao4Vegt2hR2z5

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The Maine LACs are all on the rise - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Midd.

Also, Hamilton is becoming the new Amherst.

Midd is in Vermont and none of those schools are “rising” any different than years prior, other than maybe Colby.

Hamilton is completely different than Amherst and wants its future to be in tech and AI.

Also, can any of the NESCACs really be described as “on the rise?” Are any of them lacking in respect? Top to bottom, they are the standard on which all other SLACs are judged/compared. Obviously not saying those are the “best” schools, but people take shots at Amherst, Williams, Wes, Hamilton, Mid, Colby, etc. on this board for a reason. I don’t see many Bowdoin people, for example, puffing their chests about how they’re better than W&L.
-NESCAC alum, parent & spouse

I wouldn't say the NESCAC are the standard at all... WASP are. I can see an argument to include Wellesley or Harvey Mudd, but Wesleyan? Hardly even discussed on this forum, same with Hamilton. Middlebury is often talked about with the context of it falling from a top 4 lac and Colby...meh.

OMG. This is a very typical DCUM response in that it acknowledges the existence of only 4 liberal arts colleges. My point is that the NEACACs are the standards at their relative tiers. They are the known names. Even poor Trin and Conn College who are only pariahs in the context of this hyper elitist, striver obsessed, Ivy Plus or nothing board. The point remains that they are known brands and frequent comparators to lesser known lacs in vibe or experience if not “prestige.” And all that said, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you can get an elite education at Wes, Hamilton, Midd, etc. Those schools are far more similar to Amherst and Williams than they are different.

This is a lot of words to say “I can’t handle that some liberal arts colleges are better than my personal favorite.”

One of the WASPs IS my personal favorite! Or at least one of them. Which is why I can confidently say the sun does not rise and set in the Pioneer Valley. Love to discuss the profiles of the SLACs, far down the US News top 100 than most people on this board would care for. But if you come at me with the anointed 4 or nothing, you’re a clown and your opinion means nothing.

Yeesh, Amherst is a $hithole, but glad someone out there likes it.

Williams grad? Wes? I am amused by the amount of smoke that the Mammoths get on this board. I don’t think the community is in a panic that there are haters out there. Those who know, know, and the clout chasers will always hold it on a pedestal for all the wrong reasons. Sadly in this space it’s a school like Hamilton that you have to debate the striver NoVa moms is worthy of not just consideration but also celebration. Even if it’s more expensive than W&M and even if Morgan Stanley doesn’t direct hire from there. (I don’t know that but according to this board if you don’t go to one of five schools you basically can’t work in finance.)

For the curiious, Hamilton grads do notably well at Morgan Stanley, Citi and Goldman Sachs, and Amherst grads do notably well at J. P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs ans Stifel Financial Corp.:

Top Feeders to Wall Street https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-banking

W&M does not appear to represent a prominent feeder-school to Wall Street firms.

The vibe at W&M is not one of lots of Street-bound kids. Feature not a bug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hobart

I really like Hobart. Not nearly as selective but so what. I know a couple of kids who went there, did well and really liked it.

This is on our list for DC #2 (DC #1 at a WASP).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Maine LACs are all on the rise - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Midd.

Also, Hamilton is becoming the new Amherst.

Midd is in Vermont and none of those schools are “rising” any different than years prior, other than maybe Colby.

Hamilton is completely different than Amherst and wants its future to be in tech and AI.

Also, can any of the NESCACs really be described as “on the rise?” Are any of them lacking in respect? Top to bottom, they are the standard on which all other SLACs are judged/compared. Obviously not saying those are the “best” schools, but people take shots at Amherst, Williams, Wes, Hamilton, Mid, Colby, etc. on this board for a reason. I don’t see many Bowdoin people, for example, puffing their chests about how they’re better than W&L.
-NESCAC alum, parent & spouse

I wouldn't say the NESCAC are the standard at all... WASP are. I can see an argument to include Wellesley or Harvey Mudd, but Wesleyan? Hardly even discussed on this forum, same with Hamilton. Middlebury is often talked about with the context of it falling from a top 4 lac and Colby...meh.

OMG. This is a very typical DCUM response in that it acknowledges the existence of only 4 liberal arts colleges. My point is that the NEACACs are the standards at their relative tiers. They are the known names. Even poor Trin and Conn College who are only pariahs in the context of this hyper elitist, striver obsessed, Ivy Plus or nothing board. The point remains that they are known brands and frequent comparators to lesser known lacs in vibe or experience if not “prestige.” And all that said, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you can get an elite education at Wes, Hamilton, Midd, etc. Those schools are far more similar to Amherst and Williams than they are different.

This is a lot of words to say “I can’t handle that some liberal arts colleges are better than my personal favorite.”

One of the WASPs IS my personal favorite! Or at least one of them. Which is why I can confidently say the sun does not rise and set in the Pioneer Valley. Love to discuss the profiles of the SLACs, far down the US News top 100 than most people on this board would care for. But if you come at me with the anointed 4 or nothing, you’re a clown and your opinion means nothing.

Yeesh, Amherst is a $hithole, but glad someone out there likes it.

Williams grad? Wes? I am amused by the amount of smoke that the Mammoths get on this board. I don’t think the community is in a panic that there are haters out there. Those who know, know, and the clout chasers will always hold it on a pedestal for all the wrong reasons. Sadly in this space it’s a school like Hamilton that you have to debate the striver NoVa moms is worthy of not just consideration but also celebration. Even if it’s more expensive than W&M and even if Morgan Stanley doesn’t direct hire from there. (I don’t know that but according to this board if you don’t go to one of five schools you basically can’t work in finance.)

For the curiious, Hamilton grads do notably well at Morgan Stanley, Citi and Goldman Sachs, and Amherst grads do notably well at J. P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs ans Stifel Financial Corp.:

Top Feeders to Wall Street https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-banking

W&M does not appear to represent a prominent feeder-school to Wall Street firms.

The vibe at W&M is not one of lots of Street-bound kids. Feature not a bug.

Feature...really? Even though one of its most popular major is Economics and a lot more students majoring in Finance, Business Analytics, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Maine LACs are all on the rise - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Midd.

Also, Hamilton is becoming the new Amherst.

Midd is in Vermont and none of those schools are “rising” any different than years prior, other than maybe Colby.

Hamilton is completely different than Amherst and wants its future to be in tech and AI.

Also, can any of the NESCACs really be described as “on the rise?” Are any of them lacking in respect? Top to bottom, they are the standard on which all other SLACs are judged/compared. Obviously not saying those are the “best” schools, but people take shots at Amherst, Williams, Wes, Hamilton, Mid, Colby, etc. on this board for a reason. I don’t see many Bowdoin people, for example, puffing their chests about how they’re better than W&L.
-NESCAC alum, parent & spouse

What a bunch of New England garbage. NESCAC is the standard for mediocrity.

OK, thanks for your input Dennison mom.

Williams mom, but thanks for showing you can't handle an opinion that isn't your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hobart

I really like Hobart. Not nearly as selective but so what. I know a couple of kids who went there, did well and really liked it.

As a comment on the academics at HWS, notable programs include those in architectural studies and environmental studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Maine LACs are all on the rise - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Midd.

Also, Hamilton is becoming the new Amherst.

Midd is in Vermont and none of those schools are “rising” any different than years prior, other than maybe Colby.

Hamilton is completely different from Amherst and wants its future to be in tech and AI.

While it appears that Hamilton's tech facilities will represent the best in Hamilton's class of colleges (https://share.google/KD7zZ4OifSoZhgVYu), I believe Hamilton overall will remain academically balanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree, Holy Cross is very popular in our full pay town. By contrast Colgate has lost some of its appeal. Not many kids find Hamilton NY as a pull. Worcester while not Beverly Hills has improved and only 1 hour to Boston.

Is Worcester a pull? Haven't heard the best things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LAC’s located in or near cities are very popular like Holy Cross near Boston and Davidson near Charlotte.

Holy Cross isn't that near to Boston