Anonymous wrote:Can’t imagine spending more than 4 hours at Colby, Colgate, Hamilton, or Midd. But their boosters will tell us there is a Walmart and a Panera 15 minutes away assuming it’s not snowing.

I went to Colgate, and there was nothing around back then and it not much better now. But we made our own fun, and being in the middle of nowhere with 3000 people in the same boat adds to the camaraderie and connection.

It’s definitely not for everyone. One of my DCs didn’t want to look there, and the other loved it. He considered ED but ultimately chose Carleton as an athletic recruit—similar climate, different state.

Anonymous wrote:this is a hopeless thread about some small and niche schools ...

we are in the throws of college admissions with #2 now and both of our kids have never bothered to tour or look into these colleges smaller than most high schools.

good luck to few thousand families who are fixated on these small schools.

do you go onto cooking sites and comment on every recipe that doesn't appeal to you? do you think people enjoy your comments?

Anonymous wrote:this is a hopeless thread about some small and niche schools ...

we are in the throws of college admissions with #2 now and both of our kids have never bothered to tour or look into these colleges smaller than most high schools.

good luck to few thousand families who are fixated on these small schools.

Your post says more about the limitations of your children and nothing about the schools under discussion.

The hate on LACs I think is a reaction the ever-increasing want of a pre-professional college with a pre-professional major that has a moderate to well paying career waiting for their child at graduation. And while I understand that in economic times like these that ROI can be #1 on priorities for a college, I don’t believe in the bashing of LACs and the notion of “it’s a small college who cares?”

Contrary to popular belief some people don’t want a pre-professional education or are worried about ROI. And that’s okay. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to care about ROI but I also agree that education is important and what may work for others might not work for someone.

If your kid doesn’t like a small college in a rural area: that’s okay! It’s not for everyone. I rarely see LAC parents evangelizing LACs like I do university parents when an LAC is even mentioned. It boggles my mind that people get so worked up over a college that a stranger’s child goes to. Our kids are all getting an education. End of story.

Anonymous wrote:this is a hopeless thread about some small and niche schools ...

we are in the throws of college admissions with #2 now and both of our kids have never bothered to tour or look into these colleges smaller than most high schools.

good luck to few thousand families who are fixated on these small schools.

Why comment if you aren't considering? It just comes off weirdly bitter.

this is a hopeless thread about some small and niche schools ...

we are in the throws of college admissions with #2 now and both of our kids have never bothered to tour or look into these colleges smaller than most high schools.

good luck to few thousand families who are fixated on these small schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People (general public and academics) consider these four the LAC equivalents of Ivy-tier signaling.
The next tier of schools Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, substantively have no difference.
Why do they give less Ivy-tier signaling power?

None of your next tier give less signaling power.

Reed has its own nuclear reactor. How’s that for signaling power!

Anonymous wrote:I get the feeling this thread generally consists of the Bowdoin booster (wtf is WASP-B?), Colby booster, the infamous Holy Cross booster, the Middlebury hater, the Middlebury booster, and the Williams booster talking amongst themselves while the rest of us sit here laughing at them. Embarrassing indeed.

Pretty sure that this is a swing and a miss.

Sounds pretty spot on to me.

That says alot about you. None of it good.

Anonymous wrote:People (general public and academics) consider these four the LAC equivalents of Ivy-tier signaling.
The next tier of schools Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, substantively have no difference.
Why do they give less Ivy-tier signaling power?

None of your next tier give less signaling power.

Anonymous wrote:This is such a dull navel-gazing thread.

These small schools are fine, safe bubbles for a certain kind of student to be coddled in. Kind of similar to a boarding school or academic summer camp for older kids. I agree that the locations are mid for most of them. But college is a time to push boundaries and experience life, not stay protected in a small coddling bubble.

My kids are city kids and couldn't be less interested.

Can this phrase be trademarked?

I would definitely see a horror movie entitled “Small Coddling Bubble.”

I am sure your city kids will be equally urbane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People (general public and academics) consider these four the LAC equivalents of Ivy-tier signaling.
The next tier of schools Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, substantively have no difference.
Why do they give less Ivy-tier signaling power?

I don’t even know what WASP stands for, so there’s that.

But do you know what WASP-B (pronounced waspy) stands for? WASP is so passé.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get the feeling this thread generally consists of the Bowdoin booster (wtf is WASP-B?), Colby booster, the infamous Holy Cross booster, the Middlebury hater, the Middlebury booster, and the Williams booster talking amongst themselves while the rest of us sit here laughing at them. Embarrassing indeed.

Pretty sure that this is a swing and a miss.

Sounds pretty spot on to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williams for a rural experience
Amherst for a college town experience
Swarthmore for a suburban experience
Pomona for a west coast experience
Barnard/Reed for the urban experience

You aren't better than others for choosing one over the other.

West coaster checking in! I'd hardly call Pomona or any of the 5Cs providing a true "west coast" experience. The 5Cs are firmly in what we call the "Inland empire". Nowhere near the coast or a city. Please don't think of it as being even within 30 minutes from a beach or major city. You need to fly into Ontario airport not LAX and it's easily 1-2 hrs (depending on how bad the traffic is) away from anything fun in LA. You're essentially just in an affluent suburb in the inland empire with a new-ish town area that's more interesting to professors and the parents of 5C students than teens or adults in their early 20s. There's no club, bar or music scene. The most laudable things about Claremont town is its farmer's market. It is very dull which is why the campus becomes a bubble for those students.

Say you have never been to rural SLACs without saying you have never been to rural SLACs….

Anonymous wrote:People (general public and academics) consider these four the LAC equivalents of Ivy-tier signaling.
The next tier of schools Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, substantively have no difference.
Why do they give less Ivy-tier signaling power?

I don’t even know what WASP stands for, so there’s that.

Anonymous wrote:I get the feeling this thread generally consists of the Bowdoin booster (wtf is WASP-B?), Colby booster, the infamous Holy Cross booster, the Middlebury hater, the Middlebury booster, and the Williams booster talking amongst themselves while the rest of us sit here laughing at them. Embarrassing indeed.

Pretty sure that this is a swing and a miss.