Why are LACs so popular now? What do you like about LACs?

[Anonymous]

Remote location LACs like Colgate, Bucknell and Middlebury seem less popular. Very tough to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like SLACs are less popular now, with kids wanting large state schools, southern schools, USC and Vandy type schools etc. It seems like only a small percentage of kids (including mine) are open to the 3000 and under campuses

I think this is true. --SLAC parent

+2 My area is full of high-achieving immigrants, who are generally unfamiliar with LACs. Which is fine with me, keeping them as the (somewhat) hidden gems they are. And many kids do simply prefer larger schools, which is great. Whatever works best for a given kid.

[Anonymous]

Maybe popular on DCUM, but niche at best in the real world. The top 100 LACs have about the same number of undergraduate students as five or six Big Ten schools. There is nothing wrong with niche, but people that like LACS certainly are prolific posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like SLACs are less popular now, with kids wanting large state schools, southern schools, USC and Vandy type schools etc. It seems like only a small percentage of kids (including mine) are open to the 3000 and under campuses

I think this is true. --SLAC parent

+2 My area is full of high-achieving immigrants, who are generally unfamiliar with LACs. Which is fine with me, keeping them as the (somewhat) hidden gems they are. And many kids do simply prefer larger schools, which is great. Whatever works best for a given kid.

I think the benefits of a SLAC within the context of a highly accessible consortium is part of the growing appeal of the Claremont Colleges - Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps...particularly true for Pomona and CMC. We did not appreciate how integrated these colleges truly are physically, academically and socially until we visited. With more than 8k students, it feels more like a mid-size college in a good way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like SLACs are less popular now, with kids wanting large state schools, southern schools, USC and Vandy type schools etc. It seems like only a small percentage of kids (including mine) are open to the 3000 and under campuses

I think this is true. --SLAC parent

+2 My area is full of high-achieving immigrants, who are generally unfamiliar with LACs. Which is fine with me, keeping them as the (somewhat) hidden gems they are. And many kids do simply prefer larger schools, which is great. Whatever works best for a given kid.

I think the benefits of a SLAC within the context of a highly accessible consortium is part of the growing appeal of the Claremont Colleges - Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps...particularly true for Pomona and CMC. We did not appreciate how integrated these colleges truly are physically, academically and socially until we visited. With more than 8k students, it feels more like a mid-size college in a good way.

CAS: Pomona
B school: CMC
SEAS: Mudd
Women's college: Scripps
Lackluster: Pitzer
Yes, it does feel like a mid-size college with separate admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe popular on DCUM, but niche at best in the real world. The top 100 LACs have about the same number of undergraduate students as five or six Big Ten schools. There is nothing wrong with niche, but people that like LACS certainly are prolific posters.

Private feeder schools are also very niche in the real world. But, people who know search them out for their benefits. Same goes for top SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remote location LACs like Colgate, Bucknell and Middlebury seem less popular. Very tough to get there.

Colgate and Middlebury have acceptance rates between 10 and 15%. They aren't hurting in the popularity realm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cancellation of NSF and NIH grants are affecting every R1 university, definitely including Northwestern and Cornell.

Both schools have also been specifically targeted by the administration on top of that: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/us/politics/cornell-northwestern-university-funds-trump.html

Ummm. Have you been on r/northwestern? Faculty are freaking the f8ck out. They are CUTTING everything.
I mean, they even changed benefit programs (from BCBS to UHC).

Whoever the PP was is out of touch. Read the school newspapers - both schools are expecting MASSIVE cuts to student life, research, faculty benefits and more this fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bc the well-funded LACs won't be cutting budgets for student life, faculty, and everything in between for the next 4 years?

Just look at schools like Northwestern, Cornell, and Vanderbilt - the cuts will be enormous (as reported in their school newspapers). Endowment taxes, research cuts, DEI "fines" - all of it has to be covered by other funds or things get cut. Meanwhile, Amherst & Swat get a tax cut?

Every private college counselor out there is talking about the resurgence of top SLACs right now. If you aren't, you're missing something.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawhitford/2025/07/05/these-26-rich-private-colleges-just-got-a-tax-cut-from-republicans/

Please link the articles that express this. While Vanderbilt will be hit hard by the endowment tax, neither Northwestern nor Cornell will be. However, all National Research universities may experience cutbacks in Federal grant research funds. So far, I do not believe that this has hit Northwestern, but NU might engage in some cutbacks as a fiscally prudent cautionary move.

The National Universities which will be hit by the endowment tax are:

Hardest Hit (subject to highest endowment tax) will be Princeton, Yale, & MIT.

Next hardest Hit will be: Stanford, Harvard, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Rice, Vanderbilt, and the University of Richmond.

The final group of National Universities hit by the endowment tax will be: Emory, Duke, WashUStL, U Penn, & Brown.

Cornell & Northwestern will not be harmed by the endowment tax.

We weren't just talking endowment, babe.
I'm not your Google engine. Do the work yourself. it's easy.

[Anonymous]

One thing I noticed is that no one talks about ivies on dcum-Cornell being the only exception. You either have the chops or you don't, nothing to talk about, parents know their kids.

LACs are a lot more ambiguous. Even the top ones are looking for something slightly different. Parents don't have that kind of certainty whether or not their kids can get in a good lac. Hence the questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like SLACs are less popular now, with kids wanting large state schools, southern schools, USC and Vandy type schools etc. It seems like only a small percentage of kids (including mine) are open to the 3000 and under campuses

I think this is true. --SLAC parent

+2 My area is full of high-achieving immigrants, who are generally unfamiliar with LACs. Which is fine with me, keeping them as the (somewhat) hidden gems they are. And many kids do simply prefer larger schools, which is great. Whatever works best for a given kid.

I think the benefits of a SLAC within the context of a highly accessible consortium is part of the growing appeal of the Claremont Colleges - Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps...particularly true for Pomona and CMC. We did not appreciate how integrated these colleges truly are physically, academically and socially until we visited. With more than 8k students, it feels more like a mid-size college in a good way.

CAS: Pomona
B school: CMC
SEAS: Mudd
Women's college: Scripps
Lackluster: Pitzer
Yes, it does feel like a mid-size college with separate admissions.

Pitzer is awesome for environmental sciences, public service, and community-based careers. It’s why their fellowship attainment is so high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like SLACs are less popular now, with kids wanting large state schools, southern schools, USC and Vandy type schools etc. It seems like only a small percentage of kids (including mine) are open to the 3000 and under campuses

While there is a noted increase in popularity of the SEC schools in this region, I’m not sure that’s at the expense of SLACs. The top 20 ish SLACs aren’t getting any easier to get into. Anywhere college admissions is bloodsport the NESCACs and Claremont Colleges (to name a few) will ring out.