Why are WASP so elite?

[Anonymous]

Kind of condescending to suggest kids are at state U’s for financial reasons only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kind of condescending to suggest kids are at state U’s for financial reasons only.

Don’t be so sensitive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kind of condescending to suggest kids are at state U’s for financial reasons only.

Settle down and take a breath.

It wasn't a suggestion and it wasn't talking about all kids. It was a factual statement about DD's good friends who are at state schools; in this case, we know for sure that they are there for financial reasons. One literally only applied to state schools because of finances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t imagine spending more than 4 hours at Colby, Colgate, Hamilton, or Midd. But their boosters will tell us there is a Walmart and a Panera 15 minutes away assuming it’s not snowing.

I went to Harvard and don’t really remember dining out or going shopping in Cambridge or Boston. Yes, there were outings on weekends on the T, but social life was on campus, not outside. Partly, Boston seemed so small and insular, having gone to high school in Manhattan.

My DC is a city kid but will be attending one of the SLACS in the middle of nowhere. I’m actually happy about it. I’d like to imagine there will be more bonding and community unlike places like NYU or BU or USC, schools initially favored by DC. Plus, a lot of money saved on DoorDash! DC can work in NYC or Boston or LA after college.

hm did you actually go to harvard? probably not. many people there including when i was there ventured into harvard square a lot

I’m PP. I simply meant, I can’t name one memorable cafe or restaurant hangout out, not that I did not venture out into Harvard Square and beyond. It wasn’t very exciting to me. Harvard Square is more lively now, but in a mall-like way. Mostly chains, like Tatte, Blue Bottle, Shake Shack. Meh. I miss Herrells Ice Cream, RIP, but that’s about it. Maybe Harvard Book Store. Whether a college has a one-street Main Street or a big town, all a college student needs is one cafe, one bar, and few late-nite eats. If I were a grad student, sure I’d want to be in a city.

One concern I have for DC is real winter weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but that would require PP to actually know what those are.

True. Agree. Like knowing a cold fork from a salad fork. That Creek is a club not a stream. That Jackson is a town not a ski resort. Jupiter is a town not a planet for us. The list could go on and on. Fitzgerald nailed it yet it still continues.

Bless your heart! My goodness, this thread is high entertainment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The hatred of HC is really interesting. Why is this? Is the school that overrated? Is it the catholic version of Trinity College as it was for Episcopal schools? As for HC I never knew it existed till living in NY. It was always Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Haverford Swat, Pomona, Kenyon…..that were tossed around as places to go.

I think folks are trying to agitate the prolific Holy Cross booster who shows up in every thread mentioning SLACs, trying to convince everyone that HC is somehow better than the rest. His most recent calling card is digging at rural schools, thinking somehow that HC’s location in Worcester is a draw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can’t imagine spending more than 4 hours at Colby, Colgate, Hamilton, or Midd. But their boosters will tell us there is a Walmart and a Panera 15 minutes away assuming it’s not snowing.

This is a forum through which people exchange information. If people convey that such amenities are in proximity to a particular college, and if such a statement is accurate and of potential interest to others, then they've contributed to the forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Bless your heart! My goodness, this thread is high entertainment.

Don’t forget Everglades is not a national park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Significant drop off after Bowdoin among NESCACs. Middlebury is a pauper compared to Amherst, Williams, and Bowdoin. Times change and Colby might also soon pass Midd and definitely Hamilton.

Colby did something very smart. It brought in a Hamilton grad as its president.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ignore stagnant or declining applications at Colgate, Hamilton, and Middlebury. Also google WSJ feature article on exodus of kids to SEC.

Applications to Colgate were up 103% in a single recent year. Some regression toward the mean should be expected after such a remarkable increase. And, currently, Hamilton and Middlebury report even lower acceptance rates than that of Colgate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tradition, selectivity, outcomes, endowment.

That's applicable to almost any college??

Just look at the respective ranking for outcomes, selectivity (i guess you mean acceptance rate) and endowment (i.e. endowment per student).. that will give you 20 30 good colleges. Isn't it?

I seriously don't understand on how to measure tradition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Significant drop off after Bowdoin among NESCACs. Middlebury is a pauper compared to Amherst, Williams, and Bowdoin. Times change and Colby might also soon pass Midd and definitely Hamilton.

Colby's endowment is 2/3 of Middlebury's as someone pointed out earlier. Colby is similar to Hamilton in terms of endowment.

By endowment per student, this site places these schools in the order of Hamilton, Colby, Middlebury:

Rankings | Largest college endowment per student - Highest endowment per student https://share.google/zjv4XzjEcwcoDgTLw

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like the stock pick analysis with some tweaks. Move Wesleyan to a sell for same reason as listed for Trinity as Hartford is not a big draw. Upgrade Haverford access to Philly and Holy Cross access to Boston. Debating rating on W&L would twea to sell as its southern location is very rural as opposed to Davidson’s access to Charlotte. But overall great picks!

This is the stock poster. You may be right about Wes: I was on the fence. But Middletown is really not bad, has a walkable downtown, proximity to urban areas. Plus it has had a major downswing the last generation or two and is now holding its own.

Haverford also was on the fence. Hard to be such a second fiddle to Swat and be a buy, but you may be right.

W&L also on the fence but they have so much money and are in the south. Not many people even know they give a full ride, including room and board, to 10% of students. I stick with my “hold” on that one.

Haverford is a dreamy little storybook school and I can see it appealing to kids. If I was a counselor and I had a artsy, "alt" kid, I might put it on a list and see what kind of FA they offered. But for full pay? I dont see the value, at all.

Haverford has a strong math department.
https://maa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2024-William-Lowell-Putnam-Competition-Announcement-of-Winners.pdf

[Anonymous]

Who said they are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Significant drop off after Bowdoin among NESCACs. Middlebury is a pauper compared to Amherst, Williams, and Bowdoin. Times change and Colby might also soon pass Midd and definitely Hamilton.

Colby's endowment is 2/3 of Middlebury's as someone pointed out earlier. Colby is similar to Hamilton in terms of endowment.

By endowment per student, this site places these schools in the order of Hamilton, Colby, Middlebury:

Rankings | Largest college endowment per student - Highest endowment per student https://share.google/zjv4XzjEcwcoDgTLw

Per NACUBO the correct order is Hamilton, Middlebury, Colby.