Anonymous wrote:Pomona hands down. Wonderful beautiful campus, great academics, unbeatable weather. Most selective SLAC in the country at less than 10% admission rate (versus 16% for Williams e.g.). Go visit.

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Pomona hands down. Wonderful beautiful campus, great academics, unbeatable weather. Most selective SLAC in the country at less than 10% admission rate (versus 16% for Williams e.g.). Go visit.

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on what you mean by "athletic", i.e. does she want to play on an actual varsity team? And in what sport (i.e. Hopkins lacrosse for instance is D1)?

In terms of difficulty of getting in, Pomona then Hopkins and Vanderbilt, then Wellesley, Barnard and then Smith.

But this is really quite a bizarre list in terms of location (NYC vs middle of nowhere desert i.e. Pomona) social feel (very Greek all the way to so politically correct many kids would go nuts i.e. Smith), academic strengths (engineering/sciences to very liberal arts with no emphasis on science) etc.

I can't believe there is any DD out there that would fit in socially at both Vanderbilt and Smith, they are incredibly different and your daughter should definitely actually go stay overnight at either of those before applying early or before deciding to go.

Do you actually know anything about Pomona...? Claremont, CA isn't is far from the middle of the desert

Hopkins has really strong departments outside the sciences as well. And small classes.

Depending on academic interests and sport/level of commitment to it, it could be a good fit. I knew some smart kids on teams who might not have pulled that off (or wanted to try) at a different school where academics were more cutthroat or athletics were more intense.

None of these kids were pre-med. That part of JHU did seem to be as cutthroat as it gets. I was in a social science and mostly knew kids in that field or some type of humanities.

I attended Wellesley and hated being at a girls-only college, so I transferred to Amherst. Big difference, but I loved Amherst. So, I would put Smith and Wellesley at the bottom of the list.

Social: Vandy, but only if she wants to be in the south and likes Greek life.
I know a wonderful kid who just graduated from Pomona. She's a big tennis player, and a super-brainy, very well-adjusted, social kid. She loved Pomona.

If it were me, I'd choose Barnard because it's in NYC. It's a women's college, but it's so closely tied to Columbia that it might as well be co-ed. What's not to like about NYC? It's a huge playground for a kid in college -- she can be anything she wants to be at Barnard!

Hopkins? Not social, not athletic, pretty nerdy, intense, academically-oriented school, but there are some kids who are all of these things and social. They do have a lot of sports, it's just not Hopkins' emphasis. Very urban, just doesn't seem like a fun school.