Narrowing down LACs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising jr is interested in small liberal arts colleges. Obviously fit is important and so we need to visit. But there are so many -- how do we begin narrowing it down to a reasonable list? His preferences: no large divide between athletes and everyone else, leaning liberal without constant emphasis on identity politics, and students leaning more toward PhD programs than finance/wall street.

Avoid NESCAC due to high athlete percentages.
Carleton sounds about right.

Do not avoid NESCAC, these are wonderful LACs. Look at your school's Naviance or Scoir data and see what looks likely. Then visit a few to see how they feel and talk to the tour guide about athlete/student divide. It's not a big deal at many schools. More of an issue on DCUM.

+1

The whole Athlete/NARP divide is a DCUM reality, not a campus reality. My athlete student has a big friend group which includes many non-athlete. They hang out together, they come to visit during breaks, overall pretty normal. Athletes do spend a lot of social time with their teammates but people here on DCUM play things like they are two different worlds and they aren't.

The athlete/NARP divide is definitely campus reality at Amherst & Middlebury, but not at Bowdoin.

I have a daughter at Middlebury and a nephew who graduated from Middlebury. One is an athlete the other isn't and neither would agree that there is a athlete/NARP divide. I just asked my daughter (she's home for summer) and she said that freshman tend to be a bit more divided but it changes as you get deeper into your academic major and just grow up a bit.

[Anonymous]

My kid is an athlete at a NESCAC and very much feels there is a divide. He is encouraging his non-athlete sister to go to a bigger school.

[Anonymous]

At Middlebury, around 27% of students participate in varsity sports. That means that nearly 3/4 do not. What's the issue here? If you're an athlete, you'll have your people. If you're not an athlete, you'll have your people.

[Anonymous]

Since you have all next year to research schools, start with some virtual info sessions and see which ones resonate. Don't worry too much about the athlete/non-athlete ratio and sign up for a bunch of sessions and see what he leans towards. Then start tours early- once school starts it will get more difficult to take time off. Reddit and College Confidential are good places to get more info and learn about the vibe of a school, but in-person tours, if you can swing them, will really help narrow things down. Check out the Colleges that Change Lives list- some really great schools on there, many give good merit $ or can be likely admits. Of course, you'll see the most competitive schools (Williams, Carleton, Swat, etc) thrown around on DCUM, but take a look at ones a bit farther down in the rankings- places like Beloit College, Muhlenberg, Rhodes, Lafayette, etc- all will provide top-notch academics and caring, vibrant communities of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since you have all next year to research schools, start with some virtual info sessions and see which ones resonate. Don't worry too much about the athlete/non-athlete ratio and sign up for a bunch of sessions and see what he leans towards. Then start tours early- once school starts it will get more difficult to take time off. Reddit and College Confidential are good places to get more info and learn about the vibe of a school, but in-person tours, if you can swing them, will really help narrow things down. Check out the Colleges that Change Lives list- some really great schools on there, many give good merit $ or can be likely admits. Of course, you'll see the most competitive schools (Williams, Carleton, Swat, etc) thrown around on DCUM, but take a look at ones a bit farther down in the rankings- places like Beloit College, Muhlenberg, Rhodes, Lafayette, etc- all will provide top-notch academics and caring, vibrant communities of students.

+1