Most prestigious SLAC in the Midwest?

[Anonymous]

Oberlin? Carleton? Kenyon? Grinnel?

[Anonymous]

At all these schools you'll find bright, motivated kids and excellent educational opportunities. They vary, however, in campus culture, with Kenyon and Carleton skewing more preppy side and Grinell and Oberlin more on the crunch side. As far as prestige goes, no question that Carleton's the one whose window decal you want.

[Anonymous]

Who are you trying to impress? Which is the best school for your child?

I have a very "prestigious" background (prep school/Ivy grad) and I've only ever heard of one of those schools. Not that I really care what school your child goes to, but putting a Carleton sticker on your car would get a polite "oh, so where is that?" reaction out of me. Many people who care about the label on the degree are only going to focus on HYP anyway.

Focus on the school that best suits your child - which one has the program that works for your child's interests and future plans. Don't fixate on "prestigious".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are you trying to impress? Which is the best school for your child?

I have a very "prestigious" background (prep school/Ivy grad) and I've only ever heard of one of those schools. Not that I really care what school your child goes to, but putting a Carleton sticker on your car would get a polite "oh, so where is that?" reaction out of me. Many people who care about the label on the degree are only going to focus on HYP anyway.

Focus on the school that best suits your child - which one has the program that works for your child's interests and future plans. Don't fixate on "prestigious".

Very well said......can't add anything to this post!

[Anonymous]

Carleton is for sure the most prestigious SLAC east of the Cannon River in Northfield MN.

People have generally heard of Carleton now but not sure if that equates to most prestigious.

[Anonymous]

Thorstein Veblen graduated from Carlton.

[Anonymous]

If I were going to rank those, I'd probably say

Grinnell
Oberlin
Carlton
Kenyon

But I work in higher education and my viewpoint is skewed away from who's "prestigious" towards "which is actually a good school"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carleton is for sure the most prestigious SLAC east of the Cannon River in Northfield MN.

People have generally heard of Carleton now but not sure if that equates to most prestigious.

I have never heard of Carleton. The others I know by name. I don't think Carleton has the same name recognition or cachet as Oberlin or Kenyon, e.g.

[Anonymous]

You work in higher Ed but can't spell Carleton? Your ranking is a little off too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton is for sure the most prestigious SLAC east of the Cannon River in Northfield MN.

People have generally heard of Carleton now but not sure if that equates to most prestigious.

I have never heard of Carleton. The others I know by name. I don't think Carleton has the same name recognition or cachet as Oberlin or Kenyon, e.g.

Well it's been ranked in the top 10 SLACs by US News for at least a decade.

[Anonymous]

LOL. This is 22:44. Too tired to catch my own typo.

How they rank in terms of "prestige" is pretty subjective. My ranking is my opinion. You have a different opinion. USN&WR has a flawed system, so their ranking is frankly somewhat just opinion too.

[Anonymous]

What about Washington University in St. Louis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Washington University in St. Louis?

not a SLAC -- "selective, liberal arts college"; Wash U is too big and offers grad/professional degrees to fit this concept, though it's certainly a fine school and the window decal will impress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are you trying to impress? Which is the best school for your child?

I have a very "prestigious" background (prep school/Ivy grad) and I've only ever heard of one of those schools. Not that I really care what school your child goes to, but putting a Carleton sticker on your car would get a polite "oh, so where is that?" reaction out of me. Many people who care about the label on the degree are only going to focus on HYP anyway.

Focus on the school that best suits your child - which one has the program that works for your child's interests and future plans. Don't fixate on "prestigious".

ITA on the complete irrelevance of prestige to finding the right school for your kid, and I, too, am an Ivy grad for both college and law school. That said, however, I certainly know where Carleton is. If you live in this area and have kids who are college or high-school students, you certainly have heard about Carleton, which is becoming increasingly popular with bright and capable students here and elsewhere along the east coast. There's only so much dorm space at Swarthmore, Bowdoin and Wesleyan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Washington University in St. Louis?

not a SLAC -- "selective, liberal arts college"; Wash U is too big and offers grad/professional degrees to fit this concept, though it's certainly a fine school and the window decal will impress

I think SLAC usually means Small Liberal Arts College. Although I have heard Selective, and even Secular.