How would you describe students at these colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Wellesley is a great school but every adult I've met in recent years who went to Wellesley has been off the charts entitled and unpleasant.

Not my experience, at all. Great education and the women I know are not unpleasant at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can only tell you about Barnard as two very close friends attended and I visited / stayed over in dorms many times.

It was a mix of women from NY/NJ/CT with both public and private school backgrounds. Down to earth jeans and tee shirt girls as well as the arty farty and always in black dresses brigade.

They generally worked very hard, were totally relaxed about being in an all female environment, had access to the city - in terms of going out and drinking in bars, or attending concerts and other events. It was a slightly smaller Columbia experience. Most were very independent people one way or another. Confident and happy to be there.

There were a few girls who weren't sure if they wanted to come out of the closet. I'm sure its more relaxed and open on that side now, a few years down the line.

At the time, the dorms were huge apartments with bedrooms for 2-4 girls, very spacious with plenty of shared bathrooms and a large shared kitchen. It was possible to not see room mates or apartment mates other than the occasional passing in the mornings.

And just how in the world would you know who is and who isn't coming out of the closet? And why would they disclose that b to you, a stranger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're trying to get a sense of what schools to consider but don't have the means to travel to them. For those who're familiar with any or all of these colleges, could you please give a sense of what the average student attending is like (personality and academic profile)? Or where one could look into that? The challenge with viewbooks and college information is that it all blends into the same cliche profile and makes it difficult to identify characteristics. As is apparent, we're looking into LACs and LAC-like universities; any other suggestions would be wonderful too.

(LACs)
Barnard College
Colorado College
Claremont Colleges
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Grinnell College
Kenyon College
Smith College
Wellesley College

(Universities)
Brandeis University
Tufts University
University of Rochester
Wake Forest University

With the LACs they all seem blend into the same cliche profile precisely because they all are pretty much indistinguishable from one another.

No. Only people who flunked sociology think that.

Not a nickel's worth of difference between most of them - if you believe otherwise please say how and be specific.
OP's observation is right on - i.e., "the same cliche profile [that] makes it difficult to identify characteristics."
And no, I didn't flunk sociology. I have a rising senior so it is so frustrating to try to distinguish among the Colbys, Bates, Hamiltons, Haverfords.

Have you been to these schools? There's a huge difference between Haverford and Colby. You might not have flunked sociology, but you aren't very observant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're trying to get a sense of what schools to consider but don't have the means to travel to them. For those who're familiar with any or all of these colleges, could you please give a sense of what the average student attending is like (personality and academic profile)? Or where one could look into that? The challenge with viewbooks and college information is that it all blends into the same cliche profile and makes it difficult to identify characteristics. As is apparent, we're looking into LACs and LAC-like universities; any other suggestions would be wonderful too.

(LACs)
Barnard College
Colorado College
Claremont Colleges
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Grinnell College
Kenyon College
Smith College
Wellesley College

(Universities)
Brandeis University
Tufts University
University of Rochester
Wake Forest University

With the LACs they all seem blend into the same cliche profile precisely because they all are pretty much indistinguishable from one another.

No. Only people who flunked sociology think that.

Not a nickel's worth of difference between most of them - if you believe otherwise please say how and be specific.
OP's observation is right on - i.e., "the same cliche profile [that] makes it difficult to identify characteristics."
And no, I didn't flunk sociology. I have a rising senior so it is so frustrating to try to distinguish among the Colbys, Bates, Hamiltons, Haverfords.

Are you saying the students are similar or the programs they offer? We visited several of these and they each had a unique campus feel and often approach. For example CC has the block program so it has students taking one class at a time and my daughter was very intrigued by that. Grinnell and Hamilton have no core curriculum or required courses, making it easier to double major and focus only on your area of interest. The campus culture of Barnard is totally different at Barnard (connected to Columbia and in Manhattan) than Kenyon (far out Ohio with one restaurant in town) so that alone makes them different. We were looking for schools with great writing departments so my daughter did research on that aspect and I can tell you that some (Hamilton, Barnard and Kenyon) stood out but she ultimately chose another school with an equally great writing program and unique campus culture.

So IMO there is a lot of difference in LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're trying to get a sense of what schools to consider but don't have the means to travel to them. For those who're familiar with any or all of these colleges, could you please give a sense of what the average student attending is like (personality and academic profile)? Or where one could look into that? The challenge with viewbooks and college information is that it all blends into the same cliche profile and makes it difficult to identify characteristics. As is apparent, we're looking into LACs and LAC-like universities; any other suggestions would be wonderful too.

(LACs)
Barnard College
Colorado College
Claremont Colleges
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Grinnell College
Kenyon College
Smith College
Wellesley College

(Universities)
Brandeis University
Tufts University
University of Rochester
Wake Forest University

With the LACs they all seem blend into the same cliche profile precisely because they all are pretty much indistinguishable from one another.

No. Only people who flunked sociology think that.

Not a nickel's worth of difference between most of them - if you believe otherwise please say how and be specific.
OP's observation is right on - i.e., "the same cliche profile [that] makes it difficult to identify characteristics."
And no, I didn't flunk sociology. I have a rising senior so it is so frustrating to try to distinguish among the Colbys, Bates, Hamiltons, Haverfords.

Have you been to these schools? There's a huge difference between Haverford and Colby. You might not have flunked sociology, but you aren't very observant.

Specifics please. Put up or shut up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can only tell you about Barnard as two very close friends attended and I visited / stayed over in dorms many times.

It was a mix of women from NY/NJ/CT with both public and private school backgrounds. Down to earth jeans and tee shirt girls as well as the arty farty and always in black dresses brigade.

They generally worked very hard, were totally relaxed about being in an all female environment, had access to the city - in terms of going out and drinking in bars, or attending concerts and other events. It was a slightly smaller Columbia experience. Most were very independent people one way or another. Confident and happy to be there.

There were a few girls who weren't sure if they wanted to come out of the closet. I'm sure its more relaxed and open on that side now, a few years down the line.

At the time, the dorms were huge apartments with bedrooms for 2-4 girls, very spacious with plenty of shared bathrooms and a large shared kitchen. It was possible to not see room mates or apartment mates other than the occasional passing in the mornings.

And just how in the world would you know who is and who isn't coming out of the closet? And why would they disclose that b to you, a stranger?

Well it was the case for one of my two close friends and she talked about it, ok? She also talked about how she sensed she was not the only one facing the dilemma. It was not me "passing judgment" on total strangers, much like you have done here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're trying to get a sense of what schools to consider but don't have the means to travel to them. For those who're familiar with any or all of these colleges, could you please give a sense of what the average student attending is like (personality and academic profile)? Or where one could look into that? The challenge with viewbooks and college information is that it all blends into the same cliche profile and makes it difficult to identify characteristics. As is apparent, we're looking into LACs and LAC-like universities; any other suggestions would be wonderful too.

(LACs)
Barnard College
Colorado College
Claremont Colleges
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Grinnell College
Kenyon College
Smith College
Wellesley College

(Universities)
Brandeis University
Tufts University
University of Rochester
Wake Forest University

With the LACs they all seem blend into the same cliche profile precisely because they all are pretty much indistinguishable from one another.

No. Only people who flunked sociology think that.

Not a nickel's worth of difference between most of them - if you believe otherwise please say how and be specific.
OP's observation is right on - i.e., "the same cliche profile [that] makes it difficult to identify characteristics."
And no, I didn't flunk sociology. I have a rising senior so it is so frustrating to try to distinguish among the Colbys, Bates, Hamiltons, Haverfords.

Have you been to these schools? There's a huge difference between Haverford and Colby. You might not have flunked sociology, but you aren't very observant.

Specifics please. Put up or shut up.

The the OP but I agree that there are substantive differences in the campus cultures at most of these schools. Colby attracts a very outdoorsy, down to earth, UMC student body that's fairly preppy. Haverford attracts a more intensely academic student and has a more intellectual vibe. You really do have to go visit these schools to get a sense of the culture. But as a general rule, the larger the school the more likely you will be to find kindred spirits. Also if the school is near or in a city and in close proximity to other colleges you're going to have a greater chance of plugging into a community that you'll find welcoming. Personally, I think Tufts is a great choice because it's large enough to have a very diverse student body and benefits from its suburban Boston location which provides easy access to loads of off campus opportunities, social and otherwise.

[Anonymous]

They're all the same - just focus on geographical location and size. For ex. You can get a decent education at Grinnell but boy is it in the middle of nowhere. Maybe you're cool with that but I know my kid would just hate it.

[Anonymous]

to say they are all the same is just dumb, very dumb

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to say they are all the same is just dumb, very dumb

o.k., not the same, but verrrry similar is all ways: size of student body, small town locations, white UMC students, liberal, similar class size, curricula. Hard to really see much of a difference in these names except where they're located.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to say they are all the same is just dumb, very dumb

o.k., not the same, but verrrry similar is all ways: size of student body, small town locations, white UMC students, liberal, similar class size, curricula. Hard to really see much of a difference in these names except where they're located.

well the differences are going to come down to the people in my opinion. despite appearances, every professor / lecturer and student is an individual, and that is going to shape your college experience as much as anything.