SWAMP or WAS-B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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..

These are both weird comparisons. No William person is comparing themselves to Princeton, because they're different schools, and it isn't unreasonable to compare top lacs to Williams and Amherst, because they're all objectively peers of one another:
Williams College list of peers |

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=168342

Amherst College list of Peers |

Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC)
Concordia College at Moorhead (Moorhead, MN)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)
Drew University (Madison, NJ)
Eckerd College (Saint Petersburg, FL)
Emmanuel College (Boston, MA)
Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)
Gustavus Adolphus College (Saint Peter, MN)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)
Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
Saint Anselm College (Manchester, NH)
Saint Norbert College (De Pere, WI)
St Lawrence University (Canton, NY)
The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)
The University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Union College (Schenectady, NY)
University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=164465

Pomona College list of peers|

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=121345

These are all according to the schools themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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..

Truly, all these LAC threads are a mess. Just a biased rumble between haters and boosters. I'm happy I don't care about any of them so I don't have a dog in this silly fight!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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..

These are both weird comparisons. No William person is comparing themselves to Princeton, because they're different schools, and it isn't unreasonable to compare top lacs to Williams and Amherst, because they're all objectively peers of one another:
Williams College list of peers |

wake up my friend - Williams and Amherst are constantly being touted as the HYP of SLACs and the JV team of Middlebury and Bowdoin think they can play with the big boys - give me $20k of merit from Bucknell and I would take it over Middlebury or Bowdoin every day of the week!

[Anonymous]

wake up my friend - Williams and Amherst are constantly being touted as the HYP of SLACs and the JV team of Middlebury and Bowdoin think they can play with the big boys - give me $20k of merit from Bucknell and I would take it over Middlebury or Bowdoin every day of the week!

[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.

So... she's "pre-professional" like a gazillion others. Harvey Mudd is great for the engineering track if she has the chops for it. Tough major with a lot of smart kids. CMC is good for finance in California - but not NY. Good for the West Coast bros. Swarthmore is definitely the best for the PhD route. But Williams opens the most doors - both for the brainy and the pre-professional.

[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.

So... she's "pre-professional" like a gazillion others. Harvey Mudd is great for the engineering track if she has the chops for it. Tough major with a lot of smart kids. CMC is good for finance in California - but not NY. Good for the West Coast bros. Swarthmore is definitely the best for the PhD route. But Williams opens the most doors - both for the brainy and the pre-professional.

Number 1 post college destination for Claremont McKenna is NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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..

These are both weird comparisons. No William person is comparing themselves to Princeton, because they're different schools, and it isn't unreasonable to compare top lacs to Williams and Amherst, because they're all objectively peers of one another:
Williams College list of peers |

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=168342

Amherst College list of Peers |

Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC)
Concordia College at Moorhead (Moorhead, MN)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)
Drew University (Madison, NJ)
Eckerd College (Saint Petersburg, FL)
Emmanuel College (Boston, MA)
Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)
Gustavus Adolphus College (Saint Peter, MN)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)
Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
Saint Anselm College (Manchester, NH)
Saint Norbert College (De Pere, WI)
St Lawrence University (Canton, NY)
The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)
The University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Union College (Schenectady, NY)
University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=164465

Pomona College list of peers|

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=121345

These are all according to the schools themselves

It's worth noting that Amherst did not select those peers. IPEDS selected those colleges because Amherst didn't respond to the question.

Bowdoin selected these peers:
Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Brown University (Providence, RI)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA)
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, CA)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

Middlebury selected these peers:
Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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..

These are both weird comparisons. No William person is comparing themselves to Princeton, because they're different schools, and it isn't unreasonable to compare top lacs to Williams and Amherst, because they're all objectively peers of one another:
Williams College list of peers |

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=168342

Amherst College list of Peers |

Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC)
Concordia College at Moorhead (Moorhead, MN)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)
Drew University (Madison, NJ)
Eckerd College (Saint Petersburg, FL)
Emmanuel College (Boston, MA)
Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)
Gustavus Adolphus College (Saint Peter, MN)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)
Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
Saint Anselm College (Manchester, NH)
Saint Norbert College (De Pere, WI)
St Lawrence University (Canton, NY)
The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)
The University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Union College (Schenectady, NY)
University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=164465

Pomona College list of peers|

Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2023/ReportHTML.aspx?unitId=121345

These are all according to the schools themselves

It's worth noting that Amherst did not select those peers. IPEDS selected those colleges because Amherst didn't respond to the question.

Bowdoin selected these peers:
Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Brown University (Providence, RI)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA)
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, CA)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

Middlebury selected these peers:
Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)

You can tell who is truly elite and who wants to prestige chase. Williams and Pomona select very few peers, while these other colleges call everyone their peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is with these incessant threads??

+100

[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?

I never said that they should accept a lesser role they shouldn't. But they also aren't superior and those who run them would never imply that they were. They are all part of a fantastic group of undergrauate oriented schools who are the best at what they do.

[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.

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?

I never said that they should accept a lesser role they shouldn't. But they also aren't superior and those who run them would never imply that they were. They are all part of a fantastic group of undergraduate oriented schools who are the best at what they do.

You definitely implied that they should be in a lesser role. In terms of ROI, it is just a fact that going to CMC- a majority economics college- and HMC- a STEM college- will on average net you better pay than going to other lacs. They’re superior at that specific metric, and that’s okay. If it doesn’t apply to your student, great, but it doesn’t negate that they are excellent.

[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.

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.

Agreed! A middle ground approach that addresses the noxious cost of these institutions. I’m always for the liberal arts, but you have to be practical with some matters.

[Anonymous]

lol Carleton is every school’s peer.

Very likable.

[Anonymous]

DCUM can bicker all they want. But Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore and Williams have their own little six college consortia and consider one another close peers. They advertise together for admissions events. They even list their names in alphabetical order rather than fighting over rank.

https://www.sixcolleges.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol Carleton is every school’s peer.

Very likable.

Amazing college that knows how to excel in the sciences without diminishing the humanities. https://www.carleton.edu/ira/carleton-peer-data/peers/