SLAC vibes - Middlebury, Wesleyan, Vassar....

[Anonymous]

Definitely not Vassar or Wesleyan extremely not middle of the road. For combo of sports, active dating vibe middle of road Midd, Colgate, Richmond, and Holy Cross. Would also rule out Bates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were really surprised how much we all liked Vassar. We just visited recently. I thought it might be too artsy for my son (he’s centrist politically and interested in culture, but he’s not artsy nor quirky). It was beautiful and is strong in social sciences. The kids were also notably good looking and well dressed. It was quite striking after certain other schools we visited.

Also adding- Middlebury is so remote and really works best if you ski. My son would much rather go to NYC than go hiking. He is not interested in the SLACs that feel very remote or where outdoorsy activity is a major draw.

[Anonymous]

If your son is playing a sport, I don't think you have to worry about this. I would think he would have stuff in common with teammates.

Vassar, is the tough one. Just not a lot of males on campus.

[Anonymous]

We’ve done a deep dive into all these schools and others that are similar. If he wants to be in the northeast, consider larger SLACs with good outdoors clubs (skiing). Middlebury and Colgate are top choices, then Lafayette, and though not technically a SLAC, Lehigh. My senior is STEM focused, so looking for large SLAC in the NE with good STEM.

We were also pleasantly surprised by Skidmore. We got a “full pay” vibe at Bates much more than the “too woke” myth you read on DCUM. Bates seemed fine tbh and maybe had the friendliest students and admissions staff. Haven’t visited Wesleyan yet. Since they don’t track demonstrated interest,
we will visit if he gets in. It’s a larger SLAC with very strong STEM. Because of how strong Wesleyan STEM is, I’m interested to see the culture firsthand. I suspect the overly “woke” thing there is also more myth.

[Anonymous]

Richmond would be a great fit. It’s about 3000 kids in an urban setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your son is playing a sport, I don't think you have to worry about this. I would think he would have stuff in common with teammates.

Vassar, is the tough one. Just not a lot of males on campus.

And even fewer straight males and even fewer who would be into fantasy football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not Vassar or Wesleyan extremely not middle of the road. For combo of sports, active dating vibe middle of road Midd, Colgate, Richmond, and Holy Cross. Would also rule out Bates.

Lots of opinions from people about Wes who obviously have no connection to the school. Wes has many popular arts programs, so yes, there are many artsy students. But there are also lots of stem kids, and lax bros, and dudes who play fantasy football. Lots of different kinds of kids. Great school worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not Vassar or Wesleyan extremely not middle of the road. For combo of sports, active dating vibe middle of road Midd, Colgate, Richmond, and Holy Cross. Would also rule out Bates.

Lots of opinions from people about Wes who obviously have no connection to the school. Wes has many popular arts programs, so yes, there are many artsy students. But there are also lots of stem kids, and lax bros, and dudes who play fantasy football. Lots of different kinds of kids. Great school worth looking at.

These different types of kids might exist on campus but woke predominates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not Vassar or Wesleyan extremely not middle of the road. For combo of sports, active dating vibe middle of road Midd, Colgate, Richmond, and Holy Cross. Would also rule out Bates.

Lots of opinions from people about Wes who obviously have no connection to the school. Wes has many popular arts programs, so yes, there are many artsy students. But there are also lots of stem kids, and lax bros, and dudes who play fantasy football. Lots of different kinds of kids. Great school worth looking at.

These different types of kids might exist on campus but woke predominates.

What does “woke” mean? Can you use more descriptive, specific language?

[Anonymous]

Based on your description, I'd nix Vassar and Wesleyan. Middlebury seems to tick all your boxes, but a tough admit. Good sports programs. If he has the grades, he should also look at Williams. I think he'd also like Colgate.

[Anonymous]

People here are obsessed with their own warped view of colleges. A massive portion of the Wes student population is STEM or economics. They are known to have some of the best stem programs in physics and economics of liberal arts colleges. It’s only “super artsy” to you if you eschew all art.

[Anonymous]

My kids were interesting the same kind of schools, as were many of their friends. Between them and close friends we know boys similar to your son, as well as boys more into the arts, at: Lafayette, Tufts, Vassar, Wesleyan, Franklin & Marshall, Denison, Holy Cross, Skidmore, Davidson, Richmond, Carleton, Bates, Kenyon, Connecticut College, Gettysburg, and Haverford.

They are all surprisingly similar in the social ways that matter to kids, and a boy playing a sport will have no trouble finding a group of friends at any of them. So IMHO, if he is going to play a sport, then the most important question will be which team and coach he feels happiest about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were really surprised how much we all liked Vassar. We just visited recently. I thought it might be too artsy for my son (he’s centrist politically and interested in culture, but he’s not artsy nor quirky). It was beautiful and is strong in social sciences. The kids were also notably good looking and well dressed. It was quite striking after certain other schools we visited.

Also adding- Middlebury is so remote and really works best if you ski. My son would much rather go to NYC than go hiking. He is not interested in the SLACs that feel very remote or where outdoorsy activity is a major draw.

I’d add Tufts then. Apply ED if seriously interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an athletic, straight son who is politically progressive and socially very tolerant (volunteers with kids who have disabilities, befriended the trans kid in his class who couldn't find a partner for a project, etc). He's considering some SLACs at which he could play his sport. We have visited F&M and Dickinson, both of which seem like decent fits vibe-wise.

What are the student bodies like at Middlebury, Wesleyan, Trinity (CT), Haverford, Occidental, and Vassar? Maybe the Maine ones as well (Colby, Bates, Bowdoin)?

I don't think a super artsy crunchy place will be the best fit for him....he is going to want to find friends who want to watch professional sports, join a fantasy football league, etc, and girls who are interested in dating men. I feel like at a smaller school you really have to make sure it's the right fit.

Oxy sounds like a great fit for what you're DS is looking for. What is his sport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your son is playing a sport, I don't think you have to worry about this. I would think he would have stuff in common with teammates.

Vassar, is the tough one. Just not a lot of males on campus.

And even fewer straight males and even fewer who would be into fantasy football.

I would be so much more interested in hearing from people with actual knowledge rather than people slinging old stereotypes. I'm the one who really liked Vassar from a visit. On the first point, while it has a somewhat smaller share of men than some of the others, it's also larger than many SLACs, so I don't think the absolute number of guys is so different. Secondly, while I know the reputation for attracting gay guys, it seemed like there were plenty of straight guys, or at any rate, guys that looked like people my son would be perfectly happy to be friends with. The vibe seemed academic, interesting and the kids seemed polished, not excessively theatrical or whatever you seem to think.