Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

I know 2 kids personally who did just that in the last admit cycle!

Anonymous wrote:Wellesley remains popular at our school—consistently sending 2-3 each year. And it’s not exclusively for lesbians or bi.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

I think majority of kids would turn down AWS for Pomona .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My assessment of Bowdoin from our visit, was that it lacks the intellectualism and rigor that you find at LACS such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wellesley, Carleton, Harvey Mudd. Whoever started WASP-B--I'm not buying it.

Bowdoin is a step above other non-WASP schools, including Wellesley (the decline of which will only accelerate with the diminishing popularity of all-female schools). It deserves to be in the acronym (and WASP-B pre-dated the latest silly US News rankings).

What decline is Wellesley on? They have one of the top endowments of any LAC.

Agree that Wellesley is a prestigous school with lots of $$$. But Wellesley's problem is that women's colleges are not as popular as they once were. Exception is women's colleges that don't feel like they are women's colleges because they are tightly integrated with mixed gender colleges. Like Barnard or Scripps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?

I'm a Pomona alum and I've never heard of the original 5 being what you said.

It has always been AWS, with Pomona, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Middlebury swapping around the other ranks. Now Middlebury is not as highly ranked, and Carleton/Claremont McKenna come close to those 6 LACs.

I believe Pomona, Wellesley, and Bowdoin have ranked 3 exactly once or twice. Otherwise very consistently in the 4-7 range.

US News has very consistently put AWS on a different league. It has nothing to do with whether or not Pomona, Bowdoin, Middlebury, etc. deserve to belong in the same rank. I think they do (in fact I turned down AS myself), and they're all very close peers alongside several others. But USNews does think otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My assessment of Bowdoin from our visit, was that it lacks the intellectualism and rigor that you find at LACS such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wellesley, Carleton, Harvey Mudd. Whoever started WASP-B--I'm not buying it.

Bowdoin is a step above other non-WASP schools, including Wellesley (the decline of which will only accelerate with the diminishing popularity of all-female schools). It deserves to be in the acronym (and WASP-B pre-dated the latest silly US News rankings).

What decline is Wellesley on? They have one of the top endowments of any LAC.

Um, it is losing cross-admit battles? It might need to start offering merit like some top all-female schools. It’s not nearly as selective…straight women are not applying anymore….

Sorry, based on what exactly?

https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Williams+College&with=Wellesley+College
https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Swarthmore+College&with=Wellesley+College

Anonymous wrote:How are you arriving at the conclusion that Bowdoin is a step above? Teaching--it's ranked #5. Study abroad--nothing outstanding that i know of. Facilities--food and dorms--I agree are very good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My assessment of Bowdoin from our visit, was that it lacks the intellectualism and rigor that you find at LACS such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wellesley, Carleton, Harvey Mudd. Whoever started WASP-B--I'm not buying it.

Bowdoin is a step above other non-WASP schools, including Wellesley (the decline of which will only accelerate with the diminishing popularity of all-female schools). It deserves to be in the acronym (and WASP-B pre-dated the latest silly US News rankings).

What decline is Wellesley on? They have one of the top endowments of any LAC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My assessment of Bowdoin from our visit, was that it lacks the intellectualism and rigor that you find at LACS such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wellesley, Carleton, Harvey Mudd. Whoever started WASP-B--I'm not buying it.

Bowdoin is a step above other non-WASP schools, including Wellesley (the decline of which will only accelerate with the diminishing popularity of all-female schools). It deserves to be in the acronym (and WASP-B pre-dated the latest silly US News rankings).

What decline is Wellesley on? They have one of the top endowments of any LAC.

Um, it is losing cross-admit battles? It might need to start offering merit like some top all-female schools. It’s not nearly as selective…straight women are not applying anymore….

Anonymous wrote:I understand the original 5 most prestigious LACs were Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Pomona. Now that USNWR has become ubiquitous, our kids are thinking that it's Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I'm old enough to recall the "little three" was Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan.

What are the old, venerable "top 5" LACs with the strongest global name recognition now and strongest expertise across all subjects or disciplines?