SLACs for intellectual, well grounded student

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I just can't look at all these replies but I wanted to put a plug in for Bates. I know OP suggested it as one of the possibilities and as an alum I can tell you it sounds like a good fit. Students there are much more grounded and not as much the type that were gunning for an Ivy but decided on a LAC. That being said, plenty of incredibly bright and gifted students but not as much anxiety that can come from constantly being in an environment that is hyper competitive.

It gets a lot of things right these days. My child is going to another excellent LAC this fall because she was a recruited athlete but in so many ways I wish she could have attended Bates instead.

I'll put in a plug for Bates, too. My DS loves it - for the most part, kids are really friendly and down to earth and he's made a lot of friends with students of all years (dorms are mixed). Just the other day he was helping one of his senior friends bind their thesis - a Bates tradition for seniors to ask a freshman to help. His fellow students are for the most part smart, engaging and hardworking (of course there are always a few "knuckleheads" he tells me). Students also work together a lot - these definitely a collaborative type of atmosphere. He's had great classes already as a freshman since Bates allowed him to waive many of his intro classes with AP test scores. Some people look down on Lewiston but he loves it for its grit. He's gotten involved with the immigrant community through a club project at Bates and learned a lot about Lewiston this way. He loves the proximity to Freeport and Portland and then the opposite direction to the mountains and skiing at Sunday River. Bates has a different "vibe" than Colby and Bowdoin (which are also great schools and different in their own ways) but it was the favorite of the three for him. In a year of upheaval, we are so happy he picked Bates. Despite the challenges, he's having a really good experience.

The median family income at Bates is $225,000 a year and nearly 80 percent of the school is rich kids. It's one of the wealthiest student bodies in the US and will always be second fiddle to Bowdoin. No thanks.

There was no negative comments about Bowdoin at all and yet you were completely triggered. No one said that Bates doesn’t have a wealthy student population (as do most of the NESCACs and many other SLACs). No one said Bates was ranked higher. Not everything is about rank (oh wait, this is DCUM so maybe it is). Just one person’s opinion. Take a deep breath.

I have no connection to Bowdoin or Bates. None. Zero. What I was reacting to was the ridiculous suggestion that Bates had a "down to earth" student body when in fact they're all a bunch of rich kids. You want "down to earth?" Go to a place like VCU.

Geez you are wound tight. For someone who doesn't have any connection to Bates or Bowdoin you sure seem to have reacted very strongly to an anonymous post. Down to earth doesn't mean "not rich." It was just meant to convey that the students were friendly, outgoing, collaborative, supportive of one another, etc. Is this everyone on campus? No, but being rich or not doesn't need to be the determinative factor of being this type of person. Honestly my kid hasn't asked his friends what their parents' annual incomes are. He doesn't know who is rich and who isn't, nor does he care. He went to public school (and not in NoVa or MoCo) and he's perfectly comfortable on a campus with a "bunch of rich kids" as you've put it. Btw, I went to a rich-kid competitive SLAC (even though I wasn't rich) and VCU. I must be some sort of mythical creature in your mind.

+1. PP clearly has deeper issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like your kid may have already written off the West, except SoCal, but just in case:

Colorado College
Whitman
Reed
Willamette

For the love of God, don't recommend any more schools to the obsessive OP!!

Davidson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard terrible reviews of the W&M/St. A program. Please do your research before applying.

Ideally, she will get top grades this year and have a chance to visit schools in person. There is a big difference in location between the VT/ME schools and Boston schools. Does she want to be close to or in a city, or would she be fine in a more isolated setting?

W&M/St Andrews is a really good option for the right person. You just have to determine if you are really OK pulling up stakes and going to school in another country a couple of times in your college years. You'll have to leave friends behind who aren't in the same cycle in the program.

[Anonymous]

It's much more expensive too.

[Anonymous]

This thread sums up so much about why I hate-love thee, DCUM.

I hope you all realize that to the majority of adults in the U.S., and I include college educated people in that, ALL of these colleges are interchangeable! Yes, I know that OP wants to hyperanalyze the minutia of “differences” among them but come on, they are all way more similar than different. And before I am lambasted for knowing nothing about SLACs, I graduated from one, DH graduated from a different one, and many close relatives went to others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread sums up so much about why I hate-love thee, DCUM.

I hope you all realize that to the majority of adults in the U.S., and I include college educated people in that, ALL of these colleges are interchangeable! Yes, I know that OP wants to hyperanalyze the minutia of “differences” among them but come on, they are all way more similar than different. And before I am lambasted for knowing nothing about SLACs, I graduated from one, DH graduated from a different one, and many close relatives went to others.

You might be right but I’m fascinated about why you’re on this site.