Swarthmore/Wes VS Williams/Bowdoin
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Anonymous
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This thread is an excellent suggestion:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1027917.page I really suggest you visit while there are students on campus. Even though the schools each have their own vibe, there's a lot of overlap and there are certainly students who would be happy at more than one but that will narrow your choices down, particularly for ED purposes. You will want to visit additional schools though, to have your list ready to go in case your student is deferred ED. What attracts your kid about these schools? If he is interested in Swarthmore, I might recommend looking at Reed. If he is interested in Williams or Bowdoin, I might recommend Colby, Middlebury, Skidmore, Hamilton. If he is interested in Wes, maybe look at Vassar and Oberlin. |
Anonymous
I agree. Your kid's list is a bit 'crunchier'. Others along the line might include Vassar, Earlham, Bard, Oberlin, Bates. (And even Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, or Hampshire ...) |
Anonymous
I mean, I guess -- Carleton and Grinnell may be more "crunchy" but academically they're far superior to the schools you just listed and more much aligned with the schools on OP's list. |
Anonymous
I was thinking the same. My kid applied to Williams, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Vassar. Not Swarthmore. Not that there is anything wrong with Swarthmore! She has enough of a competitive grind in her magnet hs. The others seemed more collaborative. |
Anonymous
Idk... I had the kid who was admitted to Wes and Bowdoin and my kid loved Vassar. I tried to list a range of schools that would be of interest to someone looking for lac with a crunchier feel and I think Vassar is just as strong, Oberlin probably a hair below and Bates then Bard are still quite competitive. Earlham is more of safety. The other three schools are also quite crunchy but have their own issues. |
Anonymous
| Amherst is the school the most Williams applicants apply to, and vice versa. Amherst is more similar to Williams than Bowdoin is, IMO. |
Anonymous
Here you go: Carleton - 21% admitted, V: 660-750, M: 670-770 Grinnell - 19% admitted, V: 670-750 M: 683-788 Vassar - 25%, V: 680-750, M: 680-770 Bates - 14% admitted Oberlin - 35% admitted, V: 650-690, M: 620-670 Bard - 57% Earlham - 59%, V: 560-670, M: 550-660 The figures are from the Natl Center for Education Statistics. No test scores are listed for Bates or Bard. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks for all of these very useful replies. Fwiw we didn’t come up with the teaming of Swathmore and Wesleyan, this is what we read in Fiske. This thread actually makes me re-think our approach of starting with those books for guidance on where DC wants to look. Of course we were taking them with grain of salt anyway, but DC finds it impossible to get any sense of a “vibe” from each college’s individual website (they all look nice and they all tout their caring profs, friendly students and great resources), so where else to start?! |
Anonymous
US News rankings: Carleton 9 Grinnell 13 Vassar 22 Bates 25 Oberlin 37 Bard 62 Sarah Lawrence 71 Bennington 79 Earlham 92 Hampshire 141 |
Anonymous
Yes, as I said, a range of selectivity in a crunchier slac. As far as the difference in ranking, I'm not that fond of US News rankings except to say roughly where most schools rank. Vassar was dropped 9 or 10 points in one year recently and it's still basically the same school. I personally don't find a big difference between Vassar and Grinnell and I think a lot of kids would be happy and get a good education at several of these schools. I think the average student at Bard is academically weaker than a kid at Oberlin but I am sure there's plenty of overlap, particularly since they both have strong conservatories within a slac setting. |
Anonymous
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One of those guidebooks is a starting point. Then you have to do your own homework. Visiting is ideal, but if that is not possible, I suggest you check out UNIGO (a website), where current students answer questions about the "vibe" (like who fits in here, who does not). You can also compare survey answers (by school) to questions like how dominant is greek life on campus, how prevalent is drinking, how accessible are teachers, how manageable is the workload, etc.
Vassar is a little more artsy than some of your other choices, though also strong in science. Amherst has the advantage of other colleges nearby. Again, they are all strong, but different. |
Anonymous
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Both of my parents went to Swarthmore, and my grandfather was a professor there. I grew up wandering their campus when we visited my grandparents, and I still think it's the most beautiful campus in the country (it's registered as a national arboretum).
My mother is an intense scholar, my father was a laid-back intellectual. She loved it, he hated it. I'm more similar to him, and he talked me out of even applying. He was right. |
Anonymous
Our Swarthmore guide was VERY intense. When one of the parents asked what the kids do to relax (on school breaks), he responded "Swatties don't relax." Really turned me and my DC off, but that might appeal to some super driven kids. |
Anonymous
Ignore anyone who tries to get you to think that admit rates or USNWR rankings are a good way to make your decisions. The median SAT scores at Carleton and Grinnell are in the 99th percentile. At Oberlin, it's the 96th percentile. Bard doesn't make their Common Data Set public, but they're ranked very close to Rhodes College, whose Median SAT score is also in the 96th percentile. How much of a difference do you think there will really be between a school with the average score in the 99th vs. the 96th percentile? The distances between colleges in USNWR rankings appear much larger than they are. There are many colleges that are very close to one another academically. |
Anonymous
| DC graduated from Wes and had a fantastic four years. It’s a very cooperative, down to earth and diverse culture.with a robust arts scene. Campus isn’t isolated like many LACs and Middletown offers a nice assortment of restaurants and other retail. I was impressed with the research opportunities and the level of interaction with professors. Mandatory on campus housing progresses from traditional dorms to single family homes and I think it fosters a strong sense of community. |