Little Ivies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if anyone here is very familiar with Northeast liberal arts colleges. My son is a recruited athelete and has 4 very good opportunties. Three at NESCAC's and 1 one at another school. The three NESCACS are Williams, Conn College and Trinity.

He also has been offered a spot at Vassar which we have pretty much ruled out. He liked Conn College and Williams the most but he is waiting on the coaches. I hope a decision will be firmed up in the next week or two (for all our sakes). I know these are referrred to as "little ivies" however for a kid who will likely come back to the MD/VA area to work, are these looked at as highly in this area as they are in the Northeast (NY, CT,etc...)? Thanks-

Hi do not know much about them but Trinity, my niece went there, it was a little too preppy for her taste and she transferred to NYU, much more her speed. I think the other two are similar but I do know Williams is very removed and remote (son had a debate there a few years ago) and it felt like we were in timbuktu, of course i am sure the academics make up for it. There was a great article in magazine (might have been The New Yorker but not sure how old it was) about the NESCAC'S and how they are the next step down from the Ivies, it painted them in a very favorable light. Sounds like you cannot go wrong with any of them. Of course the athletic angle I am sure distinguishes them to your son, which sports (or for the sport that he is playing) is the strongest? It has to be a good balance. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So agree about US News and World Report rankings..bogus. Many schools do not even acknowledge them!

Did you see the five schools that misreported their scores....

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-06/local/36940782_1_scott-jaschik-admissions-data-rankings

This are just the schools that out and out lie. There are others like Washington U in St. Louis that have everyone taking a tour fill out a FREE "preliminary application." Shazam! They have a high application rate and low acceptance.

Do you know how much weight is given to "low acceptance rate" by USNews? Very little. I'm amazed by those who criticize the USNews rankings without even minimal effort to understand them. Then there are those who infuse the various rankings. HINT: liberal arts rankings aren't the same as National University rankings and regional rankings are a different animal. The USNews rankings aren't perfect, but if you take time to understand the rankings and methodology, they are the best rankings out there and a useful tool. They are the only rankings that almost all colleges and universities in the US provide information for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So agree about US News and World Report rankings..bogus. Many schools do not even acknowledge them!

Did you see the five schools that misreported their scores....

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-06/local/36940782_1_scott-jaschik-admissions-data-rankings

I believe the WaPo reported that GW admissions office hired back its own grads in some form so they could artificially boost its "employed graduates" figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#41 out of hundreds sounds good to me My D just visited Conn College and absolutely loved it. They still have a median SAT score of I think close to 2000 and we know plenty of kids who didn't get in so its quite selective and even for her with a 1990 and a 3.95 she is considered to be "iffy". She also loved Amherst, did not care for Williams, very remote and kind of worn out looking and we still have Bowdoin and Trinity to look at. She also saw Dartmouth which is her reach school and she loved the campus. I was however ,a bit put off by recent news of the major partying that takes place there with a big emphasis on their Greek system coupled with the fact that they are very remote, but still its Dartmouth

All the NESCAC's are superb schools, don't know much about Trinity but I am sure its also great. Good luck.

Sure #41 is really good, but Williams and Amherst are at the top and even though they are small, most people have heard of them. Connecticut College? Not so much. If it is a fit for your DC go for it, but don't pretend it is on par with Amherst.

ANY school in the top 50 gets my respect. I am not that familiar with many of the "little ivies" but what I do know is that any school that makes the top 50 heck the top 100 earns my respect and is a far better school than I went to!

Thankfully my kids far surpassed me, USC and Notre Dame. [/quote]
]





Californian here. Graduated SLAC in Cal. Then Ivy law. I don't understand why posters on this site think so highly of USC. I know it well. It's a party school. Horrible location. The standing joke was when registereding for classes kids compared dates they were turned down by UCLA. Big Greek system (negative). Other than a lot of graduates in Los Angeles area (jobs), I don't get it. I spent a term teaching there. not impressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#41 out of hundreds sounds good to me My D just visited Conn College and absolutely loved it. They still have a median SAT score of I think close to 2000 and we know plenty of kids who didn't get in so its quite selective and even for her with a 1990 and a 3.95 she is considered to be "iffy". She also loved Amherst, did not care for Williams, very remote and kind of worn out looking and we still have Bowdoin and Trinity to look at. She also saw Dartmouth which is her reach school and she loved the campus. I was however ,a bit put off by recent news of the major partying that takes place there with a big emphasis on their Greek system coupled with the fact that they are very remote, but still its Dartmouth

All the NESCAC's are superb schools, don't know much about Trinity but I am sure its also great. Good luck.

Sure #41 is really good, but Williams and Amherst are at the top and even though they are small, most people have heard of them. Connecticut College? Not so much. If it is a fit for your DC go for it, but don't pretend it is on par with Amherst.

ANY school in the top 50 gets my respect. I am not that familiar with many of the "little ivies" but what I do know is that any school that makes the top 50 heck the top 100 earns my respect and is a far better school than I went to!

Thankfully my kids far surpassed me, USC and Notre Dame. [/quote]

From this East Coasters perspective USC is harder to get into than UCLA though both are very difficult for an out of stater. We know so many kids rejected from both.





Californian here. Graduated SLAC in Cal. Then Ivy law. I don't understand why posters on this site think so highly of USC. I know it well. It's a party school. Horrible location. The standing joke was when registereding for classes kids compared dates they were turned down by UCLA. Big Greek system (negative). Other than a lot of graduates in Los Angeles area (jobs), I don't get it. I spent a term teaching there. not impressed.

From this East Coasters perspective USC is harder to get into than UCLA though both are very difficult for an out of stater. We know so many kids rejected from both. Are you possibly bitter that you didn't get in? It is by all accounts considered to be a good school, no one said its Ivy good but good nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Hell No, not bitter at all (why oh why do all women on DCUM immediately default to that position; it's so petty and childish, like pointing fingers on the playground: "I bet your jealous about Layla?)? No i was accepted to Stanford, Pomona, Scripps, Occidental, Pepperdine and UCLA. Lots of friends out of my public high school went all over So. Cal., including a few to USC. My niece went to USC. It's called "University of Spoiled Children" for a reason. And why would I be bitter if I taught there? Really the school is way below me at my academic point in life. I'll admit the film school is good. But that's about it. My relatives couldn't get jobs after graduation and they paid full freight (big bucks).

USC is completely private so there should not be the in-state versus out-of-state issue as there is with the U.C. system and the Cal State Univ. system.

[Anonymous]

"It is by all accounts considered to be a good school, no one said its Ivy good but good nonetheless."






No it isn't. Party School no. 1 or 2, just as I said, confirmed by Playboy.

[Anonymous]

Surprised no one has mentioned Villanova. If you can afford it, it's a great education. High rank, especially the business school. Great alumni network. Puts a lot of emphasis on important life experiences like volunteering and community service. Something like 55% of students study abroad. Located in one of the wealthiest areas of the country (the main line). Great faculty, most with PHDs. Solid football and basketball programs. All around 10/10 experience for me.

[Anonymous]

Google: USC Party School: No. 1 or 2, pages and pages. https://www.google.com/search?q=usc+party+school+reputation&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS509US509&oq=usc+party+school+reputation&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0.9606j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So agree about US News and World Report rankings..bogus. Many schools do not even acknowledge them!

Did you see the five schools that misreported their scores....

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-06/local/36940782_1_scott-jaschik-admissions-data-rankings

This are just the schools that out and out lie. There are others like Washington U in St. Louis that have everyone taking a tour fill out a FREE "preliminary application." Shazam! They have a high application rate and low acceptance.

Do you know how much weight is given to "low acceptance rate" by USNews? Very little. I'm amazed by those who criticize the USNews rankings without even minimal effort to understand them. Then there are those who infuse the various rankings. HINT: liberal arts rankings aren't the same as National University rankings and regional rankings are a different animal. The USNews rankings aren't perfect, but if you take time to understand the rankings and methodology, they are the best rankings out there and a useful tool. They are the only rankings that almost all colleges and universities in the US provide information for.

It doesn't matter how much weight is given, my point was to give an example, just one example, of how the factors they consider (and this is a factor they consider) can be manipulated. You can assume colleges manipulate any and all. This is just one example.

The rankings also lead schools to spend money on the items the rankings count, which may or may not be wise for them. Colleges should decide what to spend money on based on their own assessment and not the factors created by this outside company. There is some evidence that this is a factor in the rising costs of a college education, which is why Washington Monthly does a best bang for the buck ranking. And this is why I despise the US News rankings. They distort colleges, their priorities, and they distort the whole process of applying to college. And all they really tell you is how well colleges do on the US News rakings.

US News has chosen certain factors to evaluate. Colleges seeking to enhance their standing are manipulating (and lying about) those factors. And the real shame is that the factors they choose are not tied to your child. Your child should have his or her own interests. For example, University of Indiana has one of the best Russian departments in the country. If you were fixated on US News, though, you probably wouldn't look at that school even if you were driven to study Russian.

Think for yourself. Better yet, have your DS or DD think for him or herself. If they are bright enough to attend these schools they are bright enough to come up with their own rankings.

[Anonymous]

How did a post about little ivies end up being a battle of what Playboy deems a party school

Getting back to the point, my son is a serious lacrosse player (please refrain from any jabs) and is looking at the NESCAC down the road (he is a junior) has already started communicating with some of the coaches as he hopes to play for a NESCAC. I am going to read back to see what people have to say about them. From what I know they are all fantastic institutions and all great at lacrosse.

It has gotten very competitive for athletes at the NESCAC level, especially for his sport. I do think some of the more remote campuses could be a problem for him, because he loves proximity to the city and all the offerings of a big city/town. OP has your son decided where he is going and what is his sport?

[Anonymous]

And to me US News and world reports rankings do not even make my radar.......you need to do your own research in my humble opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did a post about little ivies end up being a battle of what Playboy deems a party school

Getting back to the point, my son is a serious lacrosse player (please refrain from any jabs) and is looking at the NESCAC down the road (he is a junior) has already started communicating with some of the coaches as he hopes to play for a NESCAC. I am going to read back to see what people have to say about them. From what I know they are all fantastic institutions and all great at lacrosse.

It has gotten very competitive for athletes at the NESCAC level, especially for his sport. I do think some of the more remote campuses could be a problem for him, because he loves proximity to the city and all the offerings of a big city/town. OP has your son decided where he is going and what is his sport?

You realize of course that the NESCAC school are Division III sports schools (all of them). So, no matter how good he is in the sport, there's not much advantaage you gain when applying to these schools. Don't be fooled by people telling you its the absolute key to admission. Its not. There are A LOT Of guys going down that same path and the coach really only gets a few spots to use in the admissions process. To get one of the spots, one must be REALLY SUPER DUPER GOOD

(op, I'm not saying you son isn't good just making the point).

[Anonymous]

I hear you. My son is a current junior but got tons of inquires from Div 1 just doesn't want to play Div 1, he is a serious student so Div 3 works well for him. We are both confident he is good enough to secure a spot on a NESCAC team, time will tell!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"It is by all accounts considered to be a good school, no one said its Ivy good but good nonetheless."






No it isn't. Party School no. 1 or 2, just as I said, confirmed by Playboy.

You are dating yourself. There was a time when USC was ranked below UCLA, but those days are gone.