“Hot Colleges” (2018 admissions cycle)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:<<Not every TJ parent is gunning for the most prestigious college sticker to put on their car. Some of us are looking hard at kids interest, talents, needs and fit. You do you. My kid will be fine.>>

Yah, I want to hang out with this other parent: he/she is reflecting our family's approach exactly.

We would just substitute MoCo for TJ in the quoted passage! My child selected the least prestigious of the 7 schools he got into. And I totally support his decision: it was clearly the best fit all around.

What is your kid like and which school proved to be the best fit? Curious how he researched and found this school. Our priorities are similar to yours. Our kids might be different but would love some insight into how you researched schools and your decision making process once he had 7 acceptances
FWIW my kid wants a LAC (small or mid sized) which has a strong biology program. Wants a Northeast/mid Atlantic college where kids are serious and intellectually curious but does not want a pressure cooker. It does not have to be a top 20 school but He wants a school that places students into top graduate schools. He has excellent stats and very good ECs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:<<Not every TJ parent is gunning for the most prestigious college sticker to put on their car. Some of us are looking hard at kids interest, talents, needs and fit. You do you. My kid will be fine.>>

Yah, I want to hang out with this other parent: he/she is reflecting our family's approach exactly.

We would just substitute MoCo for TJ in the quoted passage! My child selected the least prestigious of the 7 schools he got into. And I totally support his decision: it was clearly the best fit all around.

What is your kid like and which school proved to be the best fit? Curious how he researched and found this school. Our priorities are similar to yours. Our kids might be different but would love some insight into how you researched schools and your decision making process once he had 7 acceptances
FWIW my kid wants a LAC (small or mid sized) which has a strong biology program. Wants a Northeast/mid Atlantic college where kids are serious and intellectually curious but does not want a pressure cooker. It does not have to be a top 20 school but He wants a school that places students into top graduate schools. He has excellent stats and very good ECs

Haverford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bates had a huge jump in applications, I think they went up 45% and admit rate went way down as a result.

How odd.

Why is this odd? Bates is an amazing school and they are investing a LOT in the campus - so many new buildings from dorms to a new science center coming up. Bates was also the number one producer of Fulbright award recipients this past year for LACs. The jump was largely due to the fact that they dropped their extra essay - which is something their peer schools did ages ago - so it will now be on par going forward. Many other schools in NESCAC are test flexible or optional so that's not a big deal and Bates has been like that since the 80's.

If Bates wants to be a top LAC, then dropping the essay is the wrong way to go. Most of the top 10 LACs require an essay.

For an example of a school which was actually hot despite not changing much, Bowdoin with its 25% app increase stands out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pitt seems inordinately popular!

As does USC (S. Carolina).

USC (S. Carolina) surprises me every year - but USC gives LOTS of merit aid to kids in the donut hole - so it shouldn't be that surprising.

Yes, I was going to write the same and see someone beat me to it. South Carolina came hard at my high-stats kid, sending him several letters unsolicited offering all sorts of aid and perks, including a free computer. For some goofy reason, the free computer offer triggered my kid and he was suddenly hell-bent on applying, until he remembered that he had no desire to be in South Carolina.

I believe Alabama is also famous for offering buckets of merit aid to northern kids.

Not surprised about SC. We used to live there. The school is academically fine, and it is the only place to go if you plan to live in SC at lot of networking and everyone knows everyone else going on. But wow. Your kid needs to want a conservative, Southern frat culture to really fit in. I’m glad to hear they are try to diversify.

There is also Clemson.

Good engineering school. Not Georgia Tech. And not top ten. But very solid. If I was in NC or SC, I would send my kid there. I would not send a kid there over VT, particularly instate VA tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Davidson
Macalester
Pitzer
Occidental
Reed
USC

Lots of interest of going west!

Going west for these two powerfully second rate CA schools on your list and one that is vastly overrated and still has an inferiority complex?

Since you raised it, I'm curious to learn about your personal rating system, since US News rates Southern Cal as a Top 25 school, tied with UCLA and Berkeley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Villanova

+1

This would have been a safety school for my DS, but I am not so sure anymore!

Their final 4 appearance put them on our list two. Not because I GAF about a basketball school, but because it made me say— hey, what about Villanova? And look into it. It looks good on paper. I hope we are able to visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bates had a huge jump in applications, I think they went up 45% and admit rate went way down as a result.

How odd.

Why is this odd? Bates is an amazing school and they are investing a LOT in the campus - so many new buildings from dorms to a new science center coming up. Bates was also the number one producer of Fulbright award recipients this past year for LACs. The jump was largely due to the fact that they dropped their extra essay - which is something their peer schools did ages ago - so it will now be on par going forward. Many other schools in NESCAC are test flexible or optional so that's not a big deal and Bates has been like that since the 80's.

If Bates wants to be a top LAC, then dropping the essay is the wrong way to go. Most of the top 10 LACs require an essay.

For an example of a school which was actually hot despite not changing much, Bowdoin with its 25% app increase stands out.

Was at Swathmore where admissions said they used to require an additional essay but dropped it when applications dropped i.e. school no longer looked exclusive. Dropped essay, applications increased, school looked difficult to get in, ranking increased!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bates had a huge jump in applications, I think they went up 45% and admit rate went way down as a result.

How odd.

Why is this odd? Bates is an amazing school and they are investing a LOT in the campus - so many new buildings from dorms to a new science center coming up. Bates was also the number one producer of Fulbright award recipients this past year for LACs. The jump was largely due to the fact that they dropped their extra essay - which is something their peer schools did ages ago - so it will now be on par going forward. Many other schools in NESCAC are test flexible or optional so that's not a big deal and Bates has been like that since the 80's.

If Bates wants to be a top LAC, then dropping the essay is the wrong way to go. Most of the top 10 LACs require an essay.

For an example of a school which was actually hot despite not changing much, Bowdoin with its 25% app increase stands out.

Was at Swathmore where admissions said they used to require an additional essay but dropped it when applications dropped i.e. school no longer looked exclusive. Dropped essay, applications increased, school looked difficult to get in, ranking increased!

They still require an essay- they went from 2 essays instead of one. Unfortunately for LACs, it's a competitive market with prospective applicants unlike the Ivies/Stanford/etc. which can put 4 essays and students will still apply. If a student sees that Swarthmore has 3 essays, they'll say- why bother- and apply to Williams and Amherst instead.

A quick look at how the essays work at each top 10 LAC:

Williams- Essay optional
Amherst- Submit either a supplemental essay or a graded assignment from a class project
Swarthmore- Required 150-250 word Why Swarthmore supplement
Pomona- Required essay with no suggested word limit, but complex topics (can't see an applicant writing 250 words or fewer and tackling the question). Coalition app has substantial writing (2 essays with at least 400 words)
Carleton- Why essay of 150 words, 3 short sentence statements
Bowdoin- Easy essay (pick a line which resonates with you from mission statement) + optional opportunity to elaborate
Middlebury- No essay
Wellesley- 2 paragraph essay on a Wellesley 100 (good way for applicants to learn about Wellesley IMO)
Davidson- Why Davidson (250-300 words), list of books read, elaborate on an EC (up to 200 words)
Washington and Lee- Same as Davidson without the book requirement

The writing considerations aren't that significant at the LACs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:<<Not every TJ parent is gunning for the most prestigious college sticker to put on their car. Some of us are looking hard at kids interest, talents, needs and fit. You do you. My kid will be fine.>>

Yah, I want to hang out with this other parent: he/she is reflecting our family's approach exactly.

We would just substitute MoCo for TJ in the quoted passage! My child selected the least prestigious of the 7 schools he got into. And I totally support his decision: it was clearly the best fit all around.

What is your kid like and which school proved to be the best fit? Curious how he researched and found this school. Our priorities are similar to yours. Our kids might be different but would love some insight into how you researched schools and your decision making process once he had 7 acceptances
FWIW my kid wants a LAC (small or mid sized) which has a strong biology program. Wants a Northeast/mid Atlantic college where kids are serious and intellectually curious but does not want a pressure cooker. It does not have to be a top 20 school but He wants a school that places students into top graduate schools. He has excellent stats and very good ECs

Haverford.

Thanks
Looked at Haverford (he liked it) but was confused by the biology program. It sounds like they focus on microbiology while Bryn Mawr focuses on Macrobiology. Not sure how that works if ds discovers he really prefers Macrobiology. Technically students can take courses at either college but not sure how that works in practice and whether there are any downsides to having to take courses at two colleges. Also not sure what it means for research opportunities if you want to work with a professor at Bryn Mawr whether you would find it harder since you are not a Bryn Mawr student.
I suspect if ds wants to study biology seriously he would be better off at a bigger research university but I know he would be happier at a liberal arts college. Still hoping to find a wonderful liberal arts college in PA, MA, CT, NY or MD with a strong biology program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:<<Not every TJ parent is gunning for the most prestigious college sticker to put on their car. Some of us are looking hard at kids interest, talents, needs and fit. You do you. My kid will be fine.>>

Yah, I want to hang out with this other parent: he/she is reflecting our family's approach exactly.

We would just substitute MoCo for TJ in the quoted passage! My child selected the least prestigious of the 7 schools he got into. And I totally support his decision: it was clearly the best fit all around.

What is your kid like and which school proved to be the best fit? Curious how he researched and found this school. Our priorities are similar to yours. Our kids might be different but would love some insight into how you researched schools and your decision making process once he had 7 acceptances
FWIW my kid wants a LAC (small or mid sized) which has a strong biology program. Wants a Northeast/mid Atlantic college where kids are serious and intellectually curious but does not want a pressure cooker. It does not have to be a top 20 school but He wants a school that places students into top graduate schools. He has excellent stats and very good ECs

Juniata.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:<<Not every TJ parent is gunning for the most prestigious college sticker to put on their car. Some of us are looking hard at kids interest, talents, needs and fit. You do you. My kid will be fine.>>

Yah, I want to hang out with this other parent: he/she is reflecting our family's approach exactly.

We would just substitute MoCo for TJ in the quoted passage! My child selected the least prestigious of the 7 schools he got into. And I totally support his decision: it was clearly the best fit all around.

What is your kid like and which school proved to be the best fit? Curious how he researched and found this school. Our priorities are similar to yours. Our kids might be different but would love some insight into how you researched schools and your decision making process once he had 7 acceptances
FWIW my kid wants a LAC (small or mid sized) which has a strong biology program. Wants a Northeast/mid Atlantic college where kids are serious and intellectually curious but does not want a pressure cooker. It does not have to be a top 20 school but He wants a school that places students into top graduate schools. He has excellent stats and very good ECs

Haverford.

Thanks
Looked at Haverford (he liked it) but was confused by the biology program. It sounds like they focus on microbiology while Bryn Mawr focuses on Macrobiology. Not sure how that works if ds discovers he really prefers Macrobiology. Technically students can take courses at either college but not sure how that works in practice and whether there are any downsides to having to take courses at two colleges. Also not sure what it means for research opportunities if you want to work with a professor at Bryn Mawr whether you would find it harder since you are not a Bryn Mawr student.
I suspect if ds wants to study biology seriously he would be better off at a bigger research university but I know he would be happier at a liberal arts college. Still hoping to find a wonderful liberal arts college in PA, MA, CT, NY or MD with a strong biology program

Bryn Mawr and Haverford are functionally one school- https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/haverford-and-bryn-mawr-college-presidents-sign-historic-agreement

Bryn Mawr is within biking/walking distance and there's a shuttle that goes there every day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Davidson
Macalester
Pitzer
Occidental
Reed
USC

Lots of interest of going west!

Going west for these two powerfully second rate CA schools on your list and one that is vastly overrated and still has an inferiority complex?

Since you raised it, I'm curious to learn about your personal rating system, since US News rates Southern Cal as a Top 25 school, tied with UCLA and Berkeley

No serious person feels that way about USC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GT is a good school but it’s no mit.

Well DUH. MIT is the best engineering school in the country with an acceptance rate of about 7%. I don’t know what exactly your point is.

Yeah, might as well insult Yale by saying it is a good school but it's no Harvard. Or insult Harvard by saying it is a good school but it's no Stanford (bc Stanford is harder to get into these days so...).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe some of the "jabs" on here by disgruntled moms.

Well, honestly - yes, I can......

Lol, exactly! "How dare X University reject my precious -- & GIFTED!!!--- Larlo?! I must now make it my mission in life to bash it on every available forum at every available opportunity!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Davidson
Macalester
Pitzer
Occidental
Reed
USC

Lots of interest of going west!

Going west for these two powerfully second rate CA schools on your list and one that is vastly overrated and still has an inferiority complex?

Since you raised it, I'm curious to learn about your personal rating system, since US News rates Southern Cal as a Top 25 school, tied with UCLA and Berkeley

No serious person feels that way about USC.

Ah, well argued! Who needs US News and its silly data when you have your "no serious person feels that way" argument! Thank you.