Williams vs. Carleton vs. Middlebury vs Pomona vs Swarthmore

[Anonymous]

Williams. Pomona is great (and yes, the name is well recognized), but so far away.

[Anonymous]

I give my vote to Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Based on recent events, Middlebury is off the list.

[Anonymous]

One of my children went to Carleton, and I can't rave enough about it. He totally flourished and prospered. The environment was intense yet supportive and friendly. I met many of his brilliant classmates, kids who turned down ivy league schools to attend Carleton and never looked back. He's now finishing up a top PhD program at a major university. Highly recommend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on recent events, Middlebury is off the list.

Because of a handful of jerks, many of whom are not students?

Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my children went to Carleton, and I can't rave enough about it. He totally flourished and prospered. The environment was intense yet supportive and friendly. I met many of his brilliant classmates, kids who turned down ivy league schools to attend Carleton and never looked back. He's now finishing up a top PhD program at a major university. Highly recommend!

+1, no personal experience but I've never heard a bad word about Carleton--just fantastic stuff.

[Anonymous]

One thing that strikes me about this list of schools is that it seems to be a list generated by adults who look at school rankings and acceptance rates. Perhaps adults who are not really familiar with these schools and did not attend any of them or know of them over a period of time. An actual 17 year old who had visited these campuses and gone on the tour would not have applied to this list in its entirety. Many of the schools are markedly different from each other. The feel on the campus is quite different. The sense of intensity or warmth in the student body is different. A teen would pick up on this immediately and this list would have been culled earlier. If the family had allowed the student to be part of a more discerning process on the front end of the admissions cycle, the student might not have chosen to apply to this total list..... and would not be in the situation of rushing to make a decision in 6 weeks that could have been made with more thoughtfulness over the many months leading up to the application deadlines. These schools sit next to each other in a US News ranking list, but other than that, they are very different and most teens would feel that by spending any amount of time on these campuses.

Everyone does the process differently. I am sure it will work out fine whatever this kid decides. I just hope she has the time to make a good decision for herself. The OP seems to be culling the list based on the kind of things that matter less to a kid and more to a parent.

[Anonymous]

Williams or Pomona depending on weather preference
Amherst over Williams if student gets in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on recent events, Middlebury is off the list.

Because of a handful of jerks, many of whom are not students?

Okay.

Don't think its necessarily the jerks. But the response from the administration has been non existent other than an apology from the president. Now if you expel the jerks, that's doing something about it instead of talking in groups trying to figure out "what went wrong"!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that strikes me about this list of schools is that it seems to be a list generated by adults who look at school rankings and acceptance rates. Perhaps adults who are not really familiar with these schools and did not attend any of them or know of them over a period of time. An actual 17 year old who had visited these campuses and gone on the tour would not have applied to this list in its entirety. Many of the schools are markedly different from each other. The feel on the campus is quite different. The sense of intensity or warmth in the student body is different. A teen would pick up on this immediately and this list would have been culled earlier. If the family had allowed the student to be part of a more discerning process on the front end of the admissions cycle, the student might not have chosen to apply to this total list..... and would not be in the situation of rushing to make a decision in 6 weeks that could have been made with more thoughtfulness over the many months leading up to the application deadlines. These schools sit next to each other in a US News ranking list, but other than that, they are very different and most teens would feel that by spending any amount of time on these campuses.

Everyone does the process differently. I am sure it will work out fine whatever this kid decides. I just hope she has the time to make a good decision for herself. The OP seems to be culling the list based on the kind of things that matter less to a kid and more to a parent.

I agree with this. The schools are completely different.

OP - your daughter should visit these colleges and see for herself. The differences will be apparent when you go visit.

[Anonymous]

I think Carleton would be the least favorable option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Carleton would be the least favorable option.

I would pick Carleton over all but Pomona. Think Middlebury would be great too. I would not send a kid to the other two unless I was confident they'd done their research and thought the schools were a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Carleton would be the least favorable option.

Exactly what is your opinion based on? Please tell us all about your personal experience with Carleton.

[Anonymous]

16:37. Should've been more clear with my response. *I* personally would consider Carleton the least favorable option (certainly others would feel otherwise).

Carleton, while a very good school, doesn't have the same presence or name recognition on either coast. The academics at all five will be top-notch, but in terms of the validation/confirmation of the existence of great academics at these schools in the form of pathways to higher-paying jobs/alumni networks, Carleton seems to lag behind the others.

Granted, this is just based on my experience. But Williams, Middlebury, Pomona, and Swarthmore have that bit extra status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a close relative deciding between these three schools as of now. She got admitted to Williams/Carleton yesterday and Pomona/Swarthmore/Middlebury last week. She only applied to LACs and not universities (beside her safety/match schools). She didn't apply for aid, so costs are similar.

Does anyone have experience with these five colleges and deciding between them (or a number of them) so I can pass the information to her?

(for those curious, Bowdoin and Colby waitlisted her....weird admissions process, I know).

Not reading other responses as Pomona is her best choice, hands down.