SWAMP or WAS-B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you arriving at the conclusion that Bowdoin is a step above? Teaching--it's ranked #5. Study abroad--nothing outstanding that i know of. Facilities--food and dorms--I agree are very good.

It's not a step above or down from Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore.

These are all virtually the same school in this day and age. Same student body, same outcomes, similar financial resources, similar experiences, etc.

In fact, Bowdoin has by far the largest yield of the bunch- or any of the top 10 LACs for that matter. Even accounting for ED rates.

None of the schools in the top bucket of the USNWR rankings are meaningly different form each other. The academic profiles are very similar and at this point in time the differences in rankings are driven mostly by endowment size.

Peer assessment also drives the rankings and this promotes consistency as well because nobody can actually explain why any of the top schools are meaningfully different than each other so inertia is the rule.

People who think that any of these schools are better than the others are just fooling themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

You were doing great until you couldn't resist adding your that last sentence where you went total fail. Obviously they are incredibly interesting based on their acceptance rates, the caliber of their students, and the amount of conversation on places like DCUM. Are they right for everyone, no. Are they incredible places for the vast majority of the very fortunate kids who end up there? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

Ours is. What’s your problem? DD is applying to both for math. We are aware they’re different, but she enjoys both. Just because they are modeled after the New England LACs doesn’t mean they’re anything like them or are subservient to them.

Plus, my comment wasn’t directed at New England lacs in the first place, you pulled that out of your bum. DD doesn’t like Pomona just as much, because it’s so grad school heavy. CMC has things like the Ath and an active, growing TPUSA chapter, and a majority liberal student body. Meanwhile at most of these liberal arts colleges, they have a meltdown any seemingly conservative speaker comes to campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

Why not? 3 of the 5 are top 10 lacs and they are better than other colleges at many things. Why give them a lesser role?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

Why not? 3 of the 5 are top 10 lacs and they are better than other colleges at many things. Why give them a lesser role?

DCUM believes that every west coast institution needs to be worse than any east coast college cause…reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

What you never heard of SWAMP as the acronym for the most well regarded SLACs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

Ours is. What’s your problem? DD is applying to both for math. We are aware they’re different, but she enjoys both. Just because they are modeled after the New England LACs doesn’t mean they’re anything like them or are subservient to them.

Plus, my comment wasn’t directed at New England lacs in the first place, you pulled that out of your bum. DD doesn’t like Pomona just as much, because it’s so grad school heavy. CMC has things like the Ath and an active, growing TPUSA chapter, and a majority liberal student body. Meanwhile at most of these liberal arts colleges, they have a meltdown any seemingly conservative speaker comes to campus

You don't seem to make any sense or know what you're talking about. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

well this thread derailed fast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a Phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

You need to stop, you are an embarrassment to the 5C consortium none of whom would ever claim to be superior to the NE SLACs which they are mostly modeled after (Mudd is an exception). CMC and Mudd are two very different places, two great schools. However, it is not likely that the same kid is applying to both of them.

Ours is. What’s your problem? DD is applying to both for math. We are aware they’re different, but she enjoys both. Just because they are modeled after the New England LACs doesn’t mean they’re anything like them or are subservient to them.

Plus, my comment wasn’t directed at New England lacs in the first place, you pulled that out of your bum. DD doesn’t like Pomona just as much, because it’s so grad school heavy. CMC has things like the Ath and an active, growing TPUSA chapter, and a majority liberal student body. Meanwhile at most of these liberal arts colleges, they have a meltdown any seemingly conservative speaker comes to campus

You don't seem to make any sense or know what you're talking about. Sigh.

I'd talk if you actually made a point. It gets really disappointing when everyone here just tries to make the other person sound dumb, but doesn't actually write out their opinion.

[Anonymous]

much in the same way the williams and amherst boosters luv to compare their schools against HYP in a failed effort to make them seem like pseudo peers, the Bowdoin Pomona and Middlebury boosters luv to punch up and ridiculously compare themselves to A & W. It’s the DCUM striver culture at its best (or worst), always wanting to make their situation seem better..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Highly doubtful assertion.

I know of kids from our West Coast feeder who in the past two years turned down Pomona and CMC for NESCAC schools. I know another who turned down Pomona for Swat. They all wanted to experience the East Coast for college and they obviously saw no difference in the schools quality.

Why can’t people just accept here that others are different? DD would rather die than go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts with nothing to do; clearly there are many students who’d adore that. These tiny lacs aren’t really that interesting.

+1, for DD, she wants to optimize her ROI and knows that a lucrative career matters to her. For us, CMC or Mudd, who top rankings on ROI, makes a lot more sense than Swarthmore or Williams. It's great some people need their kid to get a phd and be professors, but most families have no need to place their kids into pre-PhD training sites like the top LACs claim to be.

This is certainly reasonable and what many families prioritize. No reason going to a top liberal arts college and paying $90k/year to study art history; you'd frankly have more resources and access to professors at a state school.