SLACs for intellectual, well grounded student

[Anonymous]

What about High Point U, the life skillz university?

[Anonymous]

OP, based on what you said about urban, etc., when you visit Hamilton be sure to show your daughter that New Hartford is less than 10 min away (and there is a shuttle for students). There you can find Starbucks, make your own pizza places, Target, a bunch of restaurants, movies, etc. My DS initially thought Hamilton was too rural, then saw all this and ended up loving the school. Academically, it checks your boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW everyone I know at Carleton is rich and from NYC—it’s in the Midwest but I’m not sure how different it really would be from a Middlebury.

Median family income at Carleton: $172,400. 68% are from top 20% of earners.

This is right below W&M ($176,400), Johns Hopkins ($177,300), Oberlin ($178,000), Tulane ($180,700) and George Washington ($182,200), and right above Northwestern ($171,200), Holy Cross ($170,700), Haverford ($168,700), Lehigh ($167,600), and Pomona ($166,500).

By comparison, median family income at Middlebury is $244,300, and 76% come from the top 20% of earners. (And Middlebury has more students from the top 1% than from the bottom 60%.)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/

I’m the op of a separate Middlebury thread and this is very useful, thank you!

You're welcome. It's useful for comparing schools on your own list. It's obviously just one piece of the equation, but it's an interesting online tool nevertheless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW everyone I know at Carleton is rich and from NYC—it’s in the Midwest but I’m not sure how different it really would be from a Middlebury.

Not to start another Carleton thread, but that is absolutely not true. I went there and knew no one from NYC. Not that there's anything wrong with being from NYC. My friends were from all over the country, and were mostly public school kids. And I didn't know anyone rich either, though I'm sure some rich kids go there. There's definitely a strong midwestern vibe there, which feels wholesome and friendly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, seriously consider Wesleyan in CT. It’s a bit larger for SLACs. My daughter applied to a couple of the schools you referenced and ended up going to Wesleyan.

Not on our radar. Can you tell me more about why you think it’s a good fit?

DP DC graduated last year from Wes and had a wonderful experience. It’s a diverse student body that while intellectually engaged isn’t competitive at all......very collaborative. At 2,800 students it’s an unusually large LAC which can make a difference when compared to schools with 1200-1400 students. There’s a very robust arts community.....both fine and performing.....with hundreds of exhibitions and performances on campus every year. The location is also different from the usually more remote locations. Middletown is a short walk away with many restaurants and stores. The progressive housing plan was a great way to keep students on campus which enhanced the community. Many research opportunists and my DC built strong relationships with many of his professors. My other DC attends an Ivy and the Wes experience in my opinion is vastly superior.

[Anonymous]

American University of Paris

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard terrible reviews of the W&M/St. A program. Please do your research before applying.

Ideally, she will get top grades this year and have a chance to visit schools in person. There is a big difference in location between the VT/ME schools and Boston schools. Does she want to be close to or in a city, or would she be fine in a more isolated setting?

She’s concerned about being too isolated. I love Kenyon. We visited with her sibling and It’s too isolated for her. Macalester and Carleton/ St. Olaf appeal because they aren’t super urban, but are suburban (Mac) or cute town can shuttle into city. I visited these schools with her sibling (not her) and I think they are what she is going for. But, we are going to wait until early fall to visit to give her the best view of campus possible. In the meantime, spring break is getting he at Vasser, Hamilton, a tufts, Middlebury and seeing what she things. BC and NE seem like good compare and contrast things.

And yes, I’m overthinking. But this process was so much easier with kid 1. This kid has a strong sense of what she wants. And translating “not Lax Bro feel” to virtual visit is tough. Hence hive mind. Our ability to really get a good feel is limited. I was hoping for feedback.

But yes, hunting for SLACs during COVID is a mess.

And, it’s a lot of factors. But, I hate in when people post “smart kids, top scores, good grades and ECs, likes science”. I did the SLAC search once.

I agree, OP. SLACs are all about fit and it's really hard to discern that without visiting. We also looked only a LACs that offered merit due to financial considerations. However, also looking back, there were really only two other LACs we would have put on our list if financial considerations weren't an issue. We also felt that many of them had a wealthy feel to them. We focused on the midwestern schools that we felt were a better fit and I don't think that would have changed even if money weren't a consideration.

Ditto. What two would you add? From a distance, it seems like Vasser, Carleton and maybe Hamilton.

It’s hard to get a sense of the students from a campus with no tour and no kids. And, even schools in the city are often dead.

PP here. I would have added Wesleyan and Vassar, potentially. But, I can't imagine that she'd like them any more than where she is now.

[Anonymous]

Is this level of involvement/knowledge normal? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely curious. My oldest is a college freshman (and my younger is in 8th grade). I knew what her GPA was, and that she was much more into math and science, and I knew what she got on the ACT. But I definitely wouldn't be able to rattle off that that she got "4As, and a B+ in an AP" that "skewed her GPA" or the exact number of APs she took and her scores. Or what lab sciences she took.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this level of involvement/knowledge normal? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely curious. My oldest is a college freshman (and my younger is in 8th grade). I knew what her GPA was, and that she was much more into math and science, and I knew what she got on the ACT. But I definitely wouldn't be able to rattle off that that she got "4As, and a B+ in an AP" that "skewed her GPA" or the exact number of APs she took and her scores. Or what lab sciences she took.

No, it's not normal. I am exhausted just reading it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW everyone I know at Carleton is rich and from NYC—it’s in the Midwest but I’m not sure how different it really would be from a Middlebury.

Carleton’s class of 2024 has 19 students from NY and 87 from Minnesota so you what do you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this level of involvement/knowledge normal? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely curious. My oldest is a college freshman (and my younger is in 8th grade). I knew what her GPA was, and that she was much more into math and science, and I knew what she got on the ACT. But I definitely wouldn't be able to rattle off that that she got "4As, and a B+ in an AP" that "skewed her GPA" or the exact number of APs she took and her scores. Or what lab sciences she took.

I am with you on the gist, but you really wouldn’t know what lab sciences your kid took? My kids took bio, chem and physics- just like spouse and I did so it really required no sleuthing on my part. And they both took/are taking APES senior year. To me this is as basic as knowing they take spanish not french. I think it would be kind of weird to not know your kid’s school schedule. Do you never discuss school? We discuss school and work at dinner each night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this level of involvement/knowledge normal? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely curious. My oldest is a college freshman (and my younger is in 8th grade). I knew what her GPA was, and that she was much more into math and science, and I knew what she got on the ACT. But I definitely wouldn't be able to rattle off that that she got "4As, and a B+ in an AP" that "skewed her GPA" or the exact number of APs she took and her scores. Or what lab sciences she took.

I am with you on the gist, but you really wouldn’t know what lab sciences your kid took? My kids took bio, chem and physics- just like spouse and I did so it really required no sleuthing on my part. And they both took/are taking APES senior year. To me this is as basic as knowing they take spanish not french. I think it would be kind of weird to not know your kid’s school schedule. Do you never discuss school? We discuss school and work at dinner each night.

I think we should all admit that if we’re on this site we’re not remotely “normal” when it comes to college choice. But yes, knowing all the classes and grades is a category of its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this level of involvement/knowledge normal? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely curious. My oldest is a college freshman (and my younger is in 8th grade). I knew what her GPA was, and that she was much more into math and science, and I knew what she got on the ACT. But I definitely wouldn't be able to rattle off that that she got "4As, and a B+ in an AP" that "skewed her GPA" or the exact number of APs she took and her scores. Or what lab sciences she took.

I am with you on the gist, but you really wouldn’t know what lab sciences your kid took? My kids took bio, chem and physics- just like spouse and I did so it really required no sleuthing on my part. And they both took/are taking APES senior year. To me this is as basic as knowing they take spanish not french. I think it would be kind of weird to not know your kid’s school schedule. Do you never discuss school? We discuss school and work at dinner each night.

I think we should all admit that if we’re on this site we’re not remotely “normal” when it comes to college choice. But yes, knowing all the classes and grades is a category of its own.

Lol!! This could apply to most DCUM forums!

[Anonymous]

Sure, I know all this. School is my kids’ life. I know a ton of details. And they know a lot about the case I’m working on and my colleagues and wins or losses at my work. Why do people need to criticize something as abnormal just because it’s not what they do? That’s the part that seems abnormal, actually.

[Anonymous]

Dual degree program between Columbia and Sciences Po?