SLACS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a regional phenomenon. They're national LACs drawing from most states, but they're more well-known among the private-HS group than the public-HS. And private HS's are not especially a Florida/South thing- more of a Northeast/West Coast phenomenon. You'll see that relative to its size as the third most populous state, Florida is not especially well represented.

You can see geographic background of students at several LACs:

https://admission.williams.edu/student-profile/

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-2016-17-profile.pdf

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/geogstates.pdf

https://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/apply/requirements/profile/ (For 2021; you can view other classes in the sidebar)

Of course they'll draw more from their respective regions, but that's true for any school in the country. Stanford is 35% students from California, while Harvard is 38% students from the Northeastern USA.

This. They are expensive so most public school parents can't afford them. It's an extension of private HS into college so to speak. Expensive, small class sizes, etc. One of the reasons for the high success rate of the students is that most are part of some sort of selection process over time - Elementary, MS, HS so the bottom of the pile aren't there. SLACs probably also don't cater to all the social engineering whims of society that large public schools are obligated to. Hence the higher student success rate.

You must be joking. Schools like Oberlin, Middlebury, etc. are one big social engineering experiment.

The social engineering "experiment" has been underway for a few hundred years at many of these schools.

[Anonymous]

The under-representation of Florida is not a SLAC issue. It's a non-Southern elite private school phenomenon.

Princeton (https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/admission-statistics) has the same pattern as the LACs mentioned. When Stanford (http://mathacle.blogspot.com/2010/08/stanfords-geographic-distribution-of.html) used to post geographic distribution, same issue. Florida severely underrepresented.

The Southern elites, like Duke (http://admissions.duke.edu/images/uploads/process/DukeClass2021Profile.pdf) and Vanderbilt (https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/), do fine. Florida students stick within state, and if they want to go out of state, they go to the South elite schools over those in the Northeast, Midwest, or West Coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are small colleges like Colby, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. such a draw? Before I moved here from Florida I’d never heard of them. Mix of my H.S. classmates went to the state flagships and those who didn’t went to UM or out of state to the likes of Auburn, GA Tech, Davidson , UVA and William & Mary. A few went to Boston College, Georgetown and Catholic University, but that’s to be expected when you graduate from a Catholic high school. Do people outside the NE bubble really know these small, unknown schools?

What do you think this is, genius?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a regional phenomenon. They're national LACs drawing from most states, but they're more well-known among the private-HS group than the public-HS. And private HS's are not especially a Florida/South thing- more of a Northeast/West Coast phenomenon. You'll see that relative to its size as the third most populous state, Florida is not especially well represented.

You can see geographic background of students at several LACs:

https://admission.williams.edu/student-profile/

https://www.pomona.edu/sites/default/files/pomona-college-admissions-2016-17-profile.pdf

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/geogstates.pdf

https://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/apply/requirements/profile/ (For 2021; you can view other classes in the sidebar)

Of course they'll draw more from their respective regions, but that's true for any school in the country. Stanford is 35% students from California, while Harvard is 38% students from the Northeastern USA.

This. They are expensive so most public school parents can't afford them. It's an extension of private HS into college so to speak. Expensive, small class sizes, etc. One of the reasons for the high success rate of the students is that most are part of some sort of selection process over time - Elementary, MS, HS so the bottom of the pile aren't there. SLACs probably also don't cater to all the social engineering whims of society that large public schools are obligated to. Hence the higher student success rate.

This is a misconception. Yes, their sticker price is expensive, but they have very generous financial aid. A student with a household income under 60K can expect a full ride from most top LACs, while a student with a household income under 100K can expect at least full tuition. Several are no-loan schools as well: Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Davidson, Colby, Washington and Lee. Some are no-loan for low income students, like Vassar, Wesleyan, and Wellesley. The hardest part is getting in, but these colleges will do what they can to bring you there affordably.

The issue is that the public isn't aware about need-based aid, and the families who'd benefit the most balk immediately at the sticker price. These LACs and other private universities need to work on their communication and outreach to target high-achieving students from all walks of life.

There is also the fact that many of the SLACs are in small towns in remote areas. I went to one and loved it but I knew what rural NE is like having grown up skiing there. I can see why someone coming from another part of the country would not want to go to school in rural, mostly very white areas. Sure, many state flagship schools are nowhere but the towns are big, fun university towns.

Not to mention that the winters are long, dark, and cold--can be hard if you come from the Deep South or CA. I saw issues with this quite a bit when I was in college in Maine, in my friends from CA and GA.

[Anonymous]

Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

PP I think your math is fuzzy on Amherst enrolled students combined SAT scores but still they are quite impressive.

[Anonymous]

The top SLACs still appear to be a popular destination among top HS students. Ex, Bowdoin just reported a 25% increase in applications this year: https://bowdoinorient.com/2018/01/26/number-of-applications-hits-all-time-high/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Amherst is very sneaky about testing. They only report the highest submitted between the ACT and SAT by each student (you'll see the total for scores submitted adds up to exactly 100%). The other Ivies and SLACs report every test score when students report both instead of cherry-picking the highest, bringing their numbers down. And then some universities only report the highest single setting score, instead of a superscore. Amherst has done this starting from last year to do well on US News's "selectivity" benchmark. I'd be careful about making a statement that their testing is inherently higher- it probably isn't. The fact that only 83% ranked in the top 10%, while every other Ivy besides Cornell is at 92%+, is telling.

[Anonymous]

And if you're wondering, yes, it is significant. Stanford's total % of scores for instance adds up to 128%. Being able to remove 28% of lower scores at whim would do a lot to their reported selectivity, but at least they're honest. https://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/pdf/stanford_cds_2017.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Well, I can sure wipe my a** with that info. It would be great if they share that with the entire student body. Almost all donut-hole families a.k.a. middle class get nothing out of this. It's a meaningless statistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Well, I can sure wipe my a** with that info. It would be great if they share that with the entire student body. Almost all donut-hole families a.k.a. middle class get nothing out of this. It's a meaningless statistic.

NOT middle class. Firmly in the upper-middle class category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Well, I can sure wipe my a** with that info. It would be great if they share that with the entire student body. Almost all donut-hole families a.k.a. middle class get nothing out of this. It's a meaningless statistic.

NOT middle class. Firmly in the upper-middle class category.

That's just a play on words. My rules (don't care about others') Income under 100K - Poor; 100-250 - Middle class; 250-500 upper middle class; > 500K- Rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Well, I can sure wipe my a** with that info. It would be great if they share that with the entire student body. Almost all donut-hole families a.k.a. middle class get nothing out of this. It's a meaningless statistic.

NOT middle class. Firmly in the upper-middle class category.

Agree. I went to a SLAC. Not worth the $72K to $81K a great now and far too SJW - liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Amherst is very sneaky about testing. They only report the highest submitted between the ACT and SAT by each student (you'll see the total for scores submitted adds up to exactly 100%). The other Ivies and SLACs report every test score when students report both instead of cherry-picking the highest, bringing their numbers down. And then some universities only report the highest single setting score, instead of a superscore. Amherst has done this starting from last year to do well on US News's "selectivity" benchmark. I'd be careful about making a statement that their testing is inherently higher- it probably isn't. The fact that only 83% ranked in the top 10%, while every other Ivy besides Cornell is at 92%+, is telling.

That's a result Amherst's commitment to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these SLACs are just as difficult as the Ivys to get into. Pomona has a sub 10% acceptance rate and top ranked schools like Amherst are getting close with record applications this year.

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C%2520Admission_1.pdf

The middle 50% SAT range for ENROLLED students at Amherst is higher than many of the Ivys: 720-770 Verbal and 710-790 Math. The top 25% of enrolled Amherst students have SATs higher than 1560/1600.

And the endowments of the top SLACs are higher on a per student basis than many Ivys (but behind Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford):
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/EndowmentPerStudent

Well, I can sure wipe my a** with that info. It would be great if they share that with the entire student body. Almost all donut-hole families a.k.a. middle class get nothing out of this. It's a meaningless statistic.

NOT middle class. Firmly in the upper-middle class category.

That's just a play on words. My rules (don't care about others') Income under 100K - Poor; 100-250 - Middle class; 250-500 upper middle class; > 500K- Rich.

And if I call myself a Clydesdale horse, that doesn't mean I am one.