Middlebury has a pretty significant international student percentage (15%), perhaps because of its strengths in languages and international relations, and the students generally seem to lean crunchy/outdoorsy/socially involved rather than Vinyard Vines preppy. My public school albeit white DD has not felt in any way out of her element there. The fact that there are no sororities or fraternities really helps I think keeps things relatively fluid socially, plus nowhere much to spend money in rural Vermont, so my DD said nice that no one has much idea who does or does not have money. Even a season ski pass is so cheap ($200 for Sugarbush, less for the Middlebury Snow Bowl) that this notoriously expensive pastime is not limited to those with lots of money.

I went to Hamilton. I have noticed that there is much more diversity both racial/ethnic and SES than when I was there. There are definitely more pubic school students. I think all of these schools are becoming more diverse due to large endowments.

I loved my non-Amherst NESCAC school as a white graduate of a very diverse MoCo public school. Some of the NESCAC schools can actually be cheaper than many other options for kids from families that need financial aid (like mine did) because they will meet 100% of demonstrated need and minimize loans.

I went to a NESCAC school as a white public school kid. I got a great education, but spent the entire time feeling like an outsider and I have zero affection for the place.

The only reason I didn't transfer was that study abroad was my #1 priority.

I went to a NESCAC school. I'm not white, but went to a private high school. I had a pretty diverse group of friends (both in terms of race and schooling), and really enjoyed my experience there. If you do some digging, you can probably find the % of private/parochial school students for the different schools online. The school I went to is about 65% white, 40% private/parochial.

Any have a smart but nice vibe?

I know my NESCAC Alma Mater would love to have a more diverse student body but it's location - like many of the others - scares away students of color who don't particularly want to go to college in very white states e.g. Maine, VT, Upstate NY. Amherst is relatively more cosmopolitan than most of the others and near UMass which may help in its recruitment.

Amherst has more money than some schools so can support more variety in students. Good for them! Any others that offer great education with more diversity? I know some of the women's colleges do; lots of international students.

Amherst has made a concerted effort to recruit first-generation college students, so there's definitely more diversity there in many respects -- racial, ethnic and SES.

I went to Amherst as a poor public school kid, and didn't feel like I had any trouble fitting in.

I went to a NESCAC school. There is a mix of private and public school kids, but it was predominantly white. I didn't notice it at the time because I was coming from a hometown with almost no racial diversity. They still offer a great education.

+1 as to Amherst. The rest really are for the private white school kids. They'll deny it (and there's some public school attendees) but primarily its a carry0ver from prep school. That's not to say that one doesn't get a decedent education at many.

Anonymous wrote:While I can look up the data on diversity, when I visited, it felt like the setting of a Vineyard Vines look book shoot.

I have a son who is looking at colleges. Amherst seems to be the exception, or at least the most diverse of the NESCAC schools. They have a higher than usual number of American minorities and take and offer aid to what seems to me to be a large number of international students. Amherst, Harvard, Yale are among a small handful of schools that have needs-blind admissions for international students.

There are plenty of white public school kids too.

While I can look up the data on diversity, when I visited, it felt like the setting of a Vineyard Vines look book shoot.