SLACS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a regional phenomenon. They're national LACs drawing from most states, but they're more well-known among the private-HS group than the public-HS. And private HS's are not especially a Florida/South thing- more of a Northeast/West Coast phenomenon. You'll see that relative to its size as the third most populous state, Florida is not especially well represented.

You can see geographic background of students at several LACs:

https://admission.williams.edu/student-profile/

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-2016-17-profile.pdf

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/geogstates.pdf

https://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/apply/requirements/profile/ (For 2021; you can view other classes in the sidebar)

Of course they'll draw more from their respective regions, but that's true for any school in the country. Stanford is 35% students from California, while Harvard is 38% students from the Northeastern USA.

This. They are expensive so most public school parents can't afford them. It's an extension of private HS into college so to speak. Expensive, small class sizes, etc. One of the reasons for the high success rate of the students is that most are part of some sort of selection process over time - Elementary, MS, HS so the bottom of the pile aren't there. SLACs probably also don't cater to all the social engineering whims of society that large public schools are obligated to. Hence the higher student success rate.

This is a misconception. Yes, their sticker price is expensive, but they have very generous financial aid. A student with a household income under 60K can expect a full ride from most top LACs, while a student with a household income under 100K can expect at least full tuition. Several are no-loan schools as well: Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Davidson, Colby, Washington and Lee. Some are no-loan for low income students, like Vassar, Wesleyan, and Wellesley. The hardest part is getting in, but these colleges will do what they can to bring you there affordably.

The issue is that the public isn't aware about need-based aid, and the families who'd benefit the most balk immediately at the sticker price. These LACs and other private universities need to work on their communication and outreach to target high-achieving students from all walks of life.

There is also the fact that many of the SLACs are in small towns in remote areas. I went to one and loved it but I knew what rural NE is like having grown up skiing there. I can see why someone coming from another part of the country would not want to go to school in rural, mostly very white areas. Sure, many state flagship schools are nowhere but the towns are big, fun university towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The link for Williams is a bit hard to read, but I find it interesting for the others that the Florida numbers are so low. I'm going to avoid a comparison with the regional states and look at other states.

Swarthmore (in Pennsylvania) says 36 students are from Florida while 180 are from California. Florida has half the population of California, so it's severely underrepresented.

Pomona (in California) says 42 students are from Florida and 80 are from New York. Both states have similar populations...again, underrepresented.

Carleton (in Minnesota) says 5 from 2021 are from Florida while 61 are from California- the most stark discrepancy yet.

I found Bowdoin (in Maine) as well- https://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/entering-first-year-class.shtml- 7 from Florida, 53 from California. As stark as Carleton.

For whatever reason, LACs are not popular by Florida high school students.

Most of those listed here are in places where it's way too cold to live!

Too cold for soft Floridians, maybe. That explains a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a regional phenomenon. They're national LACs drawing from most states, but they're more well-known among the private-HS group than the public-HS. And private HS's are not especially a Florida/South thing- more of a Northeast/West Coast phenomenon. You'll see that relative to its size as the third most populous state, Florida is not especially well represented.

You can see geographic background of students at several LACs:

https://admission.williams.edu/student-profile/

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-2016-17-profile.pdf

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/geogstates.pdf

https://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/apply/requirements/profile/ (For 2021; you can view other classes in the sidebar)

Of course they'll draw more from their respective regions, but that's true for any school in the country. Stanford is 35% students from California, while Harvard is 38% students from the Northeastern USA.

This. They are expensive so most public school parents can't afford them. It's an extension of private HS into college so to speak. Expensive, small class sizes, etc. One of the reasons for the high success rate of the students is that most are part of some sort of selection process over time - Elementary, MS, HS so the bottom of the pile aren't there. SLACs probably also don't cater to all the social engineering whims of society that large public schools are obligated to. Hence the higher student success rate.

You must be joking. Schools like Oberlin, Middlebury, etc. are one big social engineering experiment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The link for Williams is a bit hard to read, but I find it interesting for the others that the Florida numbers are so low. I'm going to avoid a comparison with the regional states and look at other states.

Swarthmore (in Pennsylvania) says 36 students are from Florida while 180 are from California. Florida has half the population of California, so it's severely underrepresented.

Pomona (in California) says 42 students are from Florida and 80 are from New York. Both states have similar populations...again, underrepresented.

Carleton (in Minnesota) says 5 from 2021 are from Florida while 61 are from California- the most stark discrepancy yet.

I found Bowdoin (in Maine) as well- https://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/entering-first-year-class.shtml- 7 from Florida, 53 from California. As stark as Carleton.

For whatever reason, LACs are not popular by Florida high school students.

Not surprising......we’re talking about Florida after all.

I worked in Florida and was regularly asked if I attended Florida or Florida State. Other schools just didn't seem to be on the radar, especially schools without well known football teams.

[Anonymous]

Well a lot of it is that the state schools in the Northeast are not great. The private schools came before the state schools and so they’re more established. I’m from NJ and the general feeling among my classmates was “anywhere but Rutgers.” Whereas UF and FSU are very desirable even to top students in FL.

Weather probably has a lot to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The link for Williams is a bit hard to read, but I find it interesting for the others that the Florida numbers are so low. I'm going to avoid a comparison with the regional states and look at other states.

Swarthmore (in Pennsylvania) says 36 students are from Florida while 180 are from California. Florida has half the population of California, so it's severely underrepresented.

Pomona (in California) says 42 students are from Florida and 80 are from New York. Both states have similar populations...again, underrepresented.

Carleton (in Minnesota) says 5 from 2021 are from Florida while 61 are from California- the most stark discrepancy yet.

I found Bowdoin (in Maine) as well- https://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/entering-first-year-class.shtml- 7 from Florida, 53 from California. As stark as Carleton.

For whatever reason, LACs are not popular by Florida high school students.

Not surprising......we’re talking about Florida after all.

I worked in Florida and was regularly asked if I attended Florida or Florida State. Other schools just didn't seem to be on the radar, especially schools without well known football teams.

This......and second tier students go to USF or UCF. If you’re rich you go to Miami. If you’re a complete rebel and buck the trend you might go to Clemson or Alabama......but never Tennessee.

[Anonymous]

Because they have historically done a good job teaching undergraduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well a lot of it is that the state schools in the Northeast are not great. The private schools came before the state schools and so they’re more established. I’m from NJ and the general feeling among my classmates was “anywhere but Rutgers.” Whereas UF and FSU are very desirable even to top students in FL.

Weather probably has a lot to do with it.

Clearly your friends had more money than my friends - most of whom went to Rutgers and went on to lead productive lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well a lot of it is that the state schools in the Northeast are not great. The private schools came before the state schools and so they’re more established. I’m from NJ and the general feeling among my classmates was “anywhere but Rutgers.” Whereas UF and FSU are very desirable even to top students in FL.

Weather probably has a lot to do with it.

This. In states with very strong state schools, there is a much smaller trend of kids going to private schools especially LACs.

[Anonymous]

If you grew up in South Florida - one of the most diverse places in the country, great weather, etc...I can't imagine going to some tiny LAC in the middle of (very homogeneous) no where.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are small colleges like Colby, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. such a draw? Before I moved here from Florida I’d never heard of them. Mix of my H.S. classmates went to the state flagships and those who didn’t went to UM or out of state to the likes of Auburn, GA Tech, Davidson , UVA and William & Mary. A few went to Boston College, Georgetown and Catholic University, but that’s to be expected when you graduate from a Catholic high school. Do people outside the NE bubble really know these small, unknown schools?

They're not, actually. At least not in MoCo. Take a look at Bethesda magazine. Class of 2017 from top public high schools, there are not that many students applying to them, at least compared to places like state flagships and private Us.
Bowdoin: 12 from Whitman BCC, 3 from Montgomery Blair, 6 from RM, 2 from Wootton, 9 from Whitman, 6 from WJ, 0 from Churchill.
Colby: 13 from BCC, 6 from Blair, 6 from RM, 0 from Wootton, 13 from Whitman, 5 from WJ, 0 from Churchill.
Middlebury: 11 from BCC, 4 from Blair, 4 from RM, 2 from Wootton, 18 from Whitman, 4 from WJ, 5 from Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are small colleges like Colby, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. such a draw? Before I moved here from Florida I’d never heard of them. Mix of my H.S. classmates went to the state flagships and those who didn’t went to UM or out of state to the likes of Auburn, GA Tech, Davidson , UVA and William & Mary. A few went to Boston College, Georgetown and Catholic University, but that’s to be expected when you graduate from a Catholic high school. Do people outside the NE bubble really know these small, unknown schools?

They're not, actually. At least not in MoCo. Take a look at Bethesda magazine. Class of 2017 from top public high schools, there are not that many students applying to them, at least compared to places like state flagships and private Us.
Bowdoin: 12 from Whitman BCC, 3 from Montgomery Blair, 6 from RM, 2 from Wootton, 9 from Whitman, 6 from WJ, 0 from Churchill.
Colby: 13 from BCC, 6 from Blair, 6 from RM, 0 from Wootton, 13 from Whitman, 5 from WJ, 0 from Churchill.
Middlebury: 11 from BCC, 4 from Blair, 4 from RM, 2 from Wootton, 18 from Whitman, 4 from WJ, 5 from Churchill.

I don't think Bowdoin especially wants a ton of applications. They're already under 15% and projected to hit 10% this year. Small schools, smaller applicant bodies, but sustained interest.

[Anonymous]

What 06:09 said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but as I said the specific schools mentioned above were not on my radar as a kid in South Florida. The service academies, yes. State flagships? Yes. Catholic universities? But small, northeastern liberal arts colleges? No. Some Southern one, like Davidson and Wake Forest? Yes. I guess, what I am saying, is that this appears to be regional and there are schools that end up on a student's list b/c of the are of the country they grow up in.

There are SLACs all over the country. It is true that there are a lot of them in New England, maybe because historically speaking, the model was established there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_college#In_North_America

In general, the SLAC offers an educate for privileged students, because their purpose is to educate, not to train for a profession/job. They are a stepping stone to graduate and professional programs. A SLAC education is a luxury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The link for Williams is a bit hard to read, but I find it interesting for the others that the Florida numbers are so low. I'm going to avoid a comparison with the regional states and look at other states.

Swarthmore (in Pennsylvania) says 36 students are from Florida while 180 are from California. Florida has half the population of California, so it's severely underrepresented.

Pomona (in California) says 42 students are from Florida and 80 are from New York. Both states have similar populations...again, underrepresented.

Carleton (in Minnesota) says 5 from 2021 are from Florida while 61 are from California- the most stark discrepancy yet.

I found Bowdoin (in Maine) as well- https://www.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/entering-first-year-class.shtml- 7 from Florida, 53 from California. As stark as Carleton.

For whatever reason, LACs are not popular by Florida high school students.

It is at least partly a class and culture issue.