Reply to Swarthmore/Wes VS Williams/Bowdoin

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]i don't think I've ever heard any knowledgeable person describe the vibe at Swarthmore and Wesleyan as similar.  Previous posters have outlined the differences pretty well.

When my kid was applying to SLACs, they applied to Wesleyan, Carleton, and Grinnell.  The dream school was Brown, which didn't happen. Wesleyan is closer in vibe to these schools than it is to Swarthmore.[/quote]

I agree. Your kid's list is a bit 'crunchier'. Others along the line might include Vassar, Earlham, Bard, Oberlin, Bates. (And even Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, or Hampshire ...) [/quote]

I mean, I guess -- Carleton and Grinnell may be more "crunchy" but academically they're far superior to the schools you just listed and more much aligned with the schools on OP's list.[/quote]

Here you go:

Carleton - 21% admitted, V: 660-750, M: 670-770
Grinnell - 19% admitted, V: 670-750 M: 683-788
Vassar - 25%, V: 680-750, M: 680-770
Bates - 14% admitted
Oberlin - 35% admitted, V: 650-690, M: 620-670
Bard - 57%
Earlham - 59%, V: 560-670, M: 550-660

The figures are from the Natl Center for Education Statistics. No test scores are listed for Bates or Bard. 
[/quote]

US News rankings:

Carleton 9
Grinnell 13
Vassar 22
Bates 25
Oberlin 37
Bard 62
Sarah Lawrence 71
Bennington 79
Earlham 92
Hampshire 141 [/quote]

Ignore anyone who tries to get you to think that admit rates or USNWR rankings are a good way to make your decisions. The median SAT scores at Carleton and Grinnell are in the 99th percentile. At Oberlin, it's the 96th percentile. Bard doesn't make their Common Data Set public, but they're ranked very close to Rhodes College, whose Median SAT score is also in the 96th percentile. How much of a difference do you think there will really be between a school with the average score in the 99th vs. the 96th percentile? The distances between colleges in USNWR rankings appear much larger than they are. There are many colleges that are very close to one another academically.[/quote]

Thank you. I'm the parent who originally listed these schools as of interest to a the same kind of student. Carleton, Grinnell and Vassar have the same SAT range, despite a 9pt difference. The Bowdoin kid I know applied to Bates. The Oberlin kid I know also applied to Bard. The Grinnell kid I know also applied to Earlham.

Hampshire, Bennington and Sarah Lawrence are all a bit different but it has to do more with culture (and they probably merit a look at financial stability which I think has been an issue with both Hampshire and Bennington but maybe I'm remembering wrong). [/quote]

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