Amherst really felt tired. Not at all a value at 90k

I liked Bowdoin a lot. New great facilities, but def noticed a lot of athletes in the (great) dining hall

Swat looked tired and stressed, but the dining rooms were the best of all.

Haverford didn't feel aspirational for 90k, but lovely.

haven't seen mid, cmc, or Davidson

Davidson and CMC

Anonymous wrote:Is there one that has it all: academics, facilities, internships, dorms, food, happy kids, good outcomes, traditions?

That you feel okay about paying 90k .. like, at least I see where the money is going

Prefer east coast

It’s an unanswerable question. Every decent SLAC has kids who are happy and getting a great experience, and every school has struggling kids who aren’t. Whether you feel ok about spending $90k comes down to how much $90k matters to you. I am spending nearly that for my son’s SLAC. The dorms and food are nothing to write home about but he likes the school and I think he’s getting a pretty good education. I don’t expect the school to produce a particular outcome. He’ll have to hustle and figure it out like we all do.

Anonymous wrote:All the above plus Haverford, Wesleyan, Vassar, Hamilton, and Washington and Lee.

If female, add Wellesley, Barnard, and Smith.

There are probably more depending on the student.

Not sure I'd feel good about paying $90k/year for Haverford.

Bucknell if your desired outcome is finance/Wall Street.

Anonymous wrote:I liked Bowdoin and Williams.

My kid loved Bowdoin and hated Williams. I really disliked Williams as well. I also am not a fan of both of these schools having huge (40%) student athlete populations. Those athletes stick with their teams making the social scene for non-athletes quite small. Anyone else?

All the above plus Haverford, Wesleyan, Vassar, Hamilton, and Washington and Lee.

If female, add Wellesley, Barnard, and Smith.

There are probably more depending on the student.

Middlebury

I would say Bowdoin.

Davidson, Williams, Amherst

I also liked Williams but it was a hard NO from my kid. Sadly. Too remote. Maybe Amherst has it "all"?

Williams was too remote for my taste. We liked Swarthmore.

I liked Bowdoin and Williams.

Anonymous wrote:Is there one that has it all: academics, facilities, internships, dorms, food, happy kids, good outcomes, traditions?

That you feel okay about paying 90k .. like, at least I see where the money is going

Prefer east coast

There are many that would fit that description. I would recommend getting a copy of Princeton Review’s best colleges guide. Or the one from College Transitions. Or Fiske. Or even USNWR. A list would depend on the student’s specific interests and qualifications.

Is there one that has it all: academics, facilities, internships, dorms, food, happy kids, good outcomes, traditions?

That you feel okay about paying 90k .. like, at least I see where the money is going

Prefer east coast