Which among WASP would you choose to ED and why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

yes, I think WASP is alive and well as top 4. I also think Midd and Bowdoin are really just a half a step behind. Very tough admits, really nice environments, great career outcomes. I personally would pick Bowdoin and Midd over Amherst. If a kid liked the vibe of one over the others, that's the way to go. They're that close in prestige etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

yes, I think WASP is alive and well as top 4. I also think Midd and Bowdoin are really just a half a step behind. Very tough admits, really nice environments, great career outcomes. I personally would pick Bowdoin and Midd over Amherst. If a kid liked the vibe of one over the others, that's the way to go. They're that close in prestige etc

Maybe I would consider Bowdoin, but definitely not Midd with it financial issues and very remote location and small surrounding town

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

yes, I think WASP is alive and well as top 4. I also think Midd and Bowdoin are really just a half a step behind. Very tough admits, really nice environments, great career outcomes. I personally would pick Bowdoin and Midd over Amherst. If a kid liked the vibe of one over the others, that's the way to go. They're that close in prestige etc

Maybe I would consider Bowdoin, but definitely not Midd with it financial issues and very remote location and small surrounding town

okay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

yes, I think WASP is alive and well as top 4. I also think Midd and Bowdoin are really just a half a step behind. Very tough admits, really nice environments, great career outcomes. I personally would pick Bowdoin and Midd over Amherst. If a kid liked the vibe of one over the others, that's the way to go. They're that close in prestige etc

Midd is nowhere close — and declining. The only schools a 1/2 step behind WASPB are Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, and Wellesley. Harvey Mudd and Claremont McKenna, though, are on the upswing, while Wellesley is on the downswing.

If Midd continues its decline it will be on the Colgate, Hamilton, Bates, Holy Cross, Reed tier. The focus should be on avoiding that, not pretending it is something it isn’t.

[Anonymous]

hi Midd hater! hope all is well with you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

Swat is among great school and not less prestigious than Williams, Amherst, Pomona, and Bowdoin. It has a slightly lower percentage of athletes than the NESCAC schools (though higher than Pomona) and has a reputation for the pure intellectuals which is changing. 1/3 of the student body is first gen and they tend to be very pre-professional. Add that to Swat’s having an engineering program and lots of CS and STEM students to begin with, and it has become too STEM-y.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand people who come here and truly hate on a school. One can provide data to offset those who go a bit overboard in their positivity (because they are also annoying), but the nastiness is childish and pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Williams and Amherst boosters typically punch up and highlight comparisons to ivies; Bowdoin Wes Middlebury punch up with comparisons to Williams and Amherst. Rarely if never do you hear Williams or Amherst booster saying “we are just as good as Bowdoin or Middlebury!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hi Midd hater! hope all is well with you!

? Midd is a great school on the very prestigious Davidson, Colby, W&L, Carleton, Wesleyan, Vassar, CMC, Harvey Mudd, Wellesley, Barnard, Haverford, Grinnell rung. Wouldn’t call it the worst school on that rung, or the best. Somewhere in the Midd, so to speak. WASPB it is not. Don’t get greedy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved Amherst when I visited a million years ago, so I'd ED there. Although I didn't see Swarthmore and I think I might have loved it too.

But if I had a kid who had so little opinion on geography etc . . . that they were asking this, I'd have them ED to a SLAC that was also excellent and a little easier to get into. Grinnell or Middlebury or something. (I don't have a kid who wants SLAC so I am not that knowledgeable). Why pick a WASP?

Absolutely. Go down a rung and ED might actually help. (Bowdoin is not down a rung.)

Bowdoin’s stats are nearly identical to Middlebury’s. Biggest difference is that Middlebury is much larger.

Latest admissions cycle:
Bowdoin acceptance rate: 6.8%
Middlebury acceptance rate: 13.99%

Bowdoin ED acceptance rate:14.8%
Middlebury ED acceptance rate: 30.5%

Bowdoin's acceptance rate is artificially deflated because of their need blind policies for international students. They get about 3000 excess applications from international students because of this policy. The same issue holds for Williams, Amherst, the Ivies and other need blind for internationals schools. About 42-45% of Bowdoin's applications are international in a typical year. Domestic applicants have a 12% acceptance rate.

If you normalize of financial aid you will find that all of the top SLACs have a 10-12% admissions rate and the rate for the Ivies is 7-10%.

[Anonymous]

The Bowdoin boosters are out in full force today? It's not WASPB, and never will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williams and Amherst boosters typically punch up and highlight comparisons to ivies; Bowdoin Wes Middlebury punch up with comparisons to Williams and Amherst. Rarely if never do you hear Williams or Amherst booster saying “we are just as good as Bowdoin or Middlebury!”

One thing about Pomona boosters: they don’t go there at all. They don’t need to, being in California. That’s part of the reason Pomona is so on the rise, with no end to that trajectory in sight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I have a kid looking at Swarthmore. Is it not considered similar to Williams/Amherst in these conversations (most of which center on WAP and Bowdoin) bc of perceived intensity or something else?

yes, I think WASP is alive and well as top 4. I also think Midd and Bowdoin are really just a half a step behind. Very tough admits, really nice environments, great career outcomes. I personally would pick Bowdoin and Midd over Amherst. If a kid liked the vibe of one over the others, that's the way to go. They're that close in prestige etc

Maybe I would consider Bowdoin, but definitely not Midd with it financial issues and very remote location and small surrounding town

The Midd hater has finally arrived. Please don't start because we will bat you around as typical when you start thread hijacking with your nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williams Amherst Swarthmore, but trying to figure out P. Pomona, really? One of these things is not like the others.

You seem out of touch. One of these is being picked over the others, consistently. Go talk to young people and see which they prefer. Hint: it is not a tired old northeast SLAC but the one that is “different.”

I love your enthusiasm but the application numbers quickly disprove your hypothesis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved Amherst when I visited a million years ago, so I'd ED there. Although I didn't see Swarthmore and I think I might have loved it too.

But if I had a kid who had so little opinion on geography etc . . . that they were asking this, I'd have them ED to a SLAC that was also excellent and a little easier to get into. Grinnell or Middlebury or something. (I don't have a kid who wants SLAC so I am not that knowledgeable). Why pick a WASP?

Absolutely. Go down a rung and ED might actually help. (Bowdoin is not down a rung.)

Bowdoin’s stats are nearly identical to Middlebury’s. Biggest difference is that Middlebury is much larger.

Latest admissions cycle:
Bowdoin acceptance rate: 6.8%
Middlebury acceptance rate: 13.99%

Bowdoin ED acceptance rate:14.8%
Middlebury ED acceptance rate: 30.5%

Bowdoin's acceptance rate is artificially deflated because of their need blind policies for international students. They get about 3000 excess applications from international students because of this policy. The same issue holds for Williams, Amherst, the Ivies and other need blind for internationals schools. About 42-45% of Bowdoin's applications are international in a typical year. Domestic applicants have a 12% acceptance rate.

If you normalize of financial aid you will find that all of the top SLACs have a 10-12% admissions rate and the rate for the Ivies is 7-10%.

If you think you know math and want to “normalize” admit rates, you need to normalize for percentage of class filled ED. If you actually know how to do that — I am will find that the % filled ED effect is much greater.