Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vassar is a much more selective school than the other 3 you have listed...

No, it's in the same selectivity range as Bates and Kenyon.

Correct. Skid ore is a shade lower.

How does she feel about location? Kenyon and Bates are much more remote and in much smaller towns than the others.

I’d say skidmore is an entire level below the other three. We visited Bates and liked the campus and the town, whilst gritty, was actually a pleasant surprise both in terms of size and features. If DC is planning on settling in the northeast I think there is a benefit from having graduated from a Nescac college as all of those grads will instantly recognize the value of the education. I’m not sure I would say the same for Kenyon. Vassar is a lovely school and its proximity to NYC is a plus.

You know, as an American you can just say "while". Unnecessary Britishisms are pretentious.

Anonymous wrote:My DD has decided she wants to apply ED 2 to one of these schools and is really torn as to which she likes best. She wants to study History and Studio Art. Thank you for any thoughts. They all seem to have an even split of pros and cons, IMHO. Help!

OP, if you are still out there, which school did your DD pick?

Anonymous wrote:Skidmore may be lower in the rankings overall, but it’s great for an art major and has an overall artsy vibe.

Kenyon seems like the odd one out to me, and a bit removed from the world of museums that she may be destined for with a history and art major.

I think the opposite. Columbus has a growing art scene with a lower cost of living and easier "ins" than the east coast. She could always do a DC internship at a museum to get some valued experience but it would probably be easier to find a niche in Columbus for shows etc. If she's planning on doing an MFA, Skidmore might offer a bit more intensive preparation though.

You must visit Kenyon before deciding! Literally the middle of nowhere - not for everyone!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vassar is great, but all of my DCs' friends who attended swear there isn't a straight guy on campus. As a result, none of my DCs' friends enjoyed their time there and would not recommend the school.

Can confirm. When I visited in 1996 I was told half the women leave on weekends to visit out of town boyfriends. Great school but not a balanced social scene.

Your information is nearly a quarter-century old. Like many of the "back in the day" posts, it's not that helpful.

Not this again :::eye roll::: alum here:

Yes, about half the men are gay, but half are not. Also about a quarter(ish) of the women are gay or bi as well. It is a very open and accepting community. But if you are straight there is definitely a dating scene and many of my friends had boyfriends throughout their tenure. If Vasssar boys don’t suit, West Point is not far and those men often come hang out in Poughkeepsie...

My Vassar grad daughter met her boyfriend at Vassar, so, not a complete wasteland for straight men.

Anonymous wrote:Vassar is great, but all of my DCs' friends who attended swear there isn't a straight guy on campus. As a result, none of my DCs' friends enjoyed their time there and would not recommend the school.

Can confirm. When I visited in 1996 I was told half the women leave on weekends to visit out of town boyfriends. Great school but not a balanced social scene.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vassar is great, but all of my DCs' friends who attended swear there isn't a straight guy on campus. As a result, none of my DCs' friends enjoyed their time there and would not recommend the school.

Not recommend it based just on their belief they should have, what, dated more? Or are you one of the DCUM posters who sees college as a marriage market? (Many threads lately on going to college to find a spouse etc.) Why say Vassar is "great" if your DC's friends were miserable? Did they get anything out of it academically? Because...that's kind of the main point of the privilege of a college education--right?

College has many purposes. Sociologically speaking, having a lopsided ratio of women to men or vice versa greatly changes the social atmosphere of the campus. I'm going to encourage DD to seek a relatively balanced school.

Anonymous wrote:Vassar is great, but all of my DCs' friends who attended swear there isn't a straight guy on campus. As a result, none of my DCs' friends enjoyed their time there and would not recommend the school.

Not recommend it based just on their belief they should have, what, dated more? Or are you one of the DCUM posters who sees college as a marriage market? (Many threads lately on going to college to find a spouse etc.) Why say Vassar is "great" if your DC's friends were miserable? Did they get anything out of it academically? Because...that's kind of the main point of the privilege of a college education--right?

Anonymous wrote:FWIW my kid got into Bates ED1 last year. 1450 SAT, 3.9UW, 4.6 weighted. Top public.

You don't mention if your kid is male or female but I did want to add that being female (and white) makes it even harder to get into several of these schools RD. My daughter is at a different SLAC but we looked at all of these and the admissions director at Kenyon told me directly that if you're a white female and really want to attend Kenyon it's important to apply ED. My daughter chose another ED and got in so I will never know how it would have turned out but I appreciated her candor. And my daughter had a 32 ACT and an unweighted 3.7 from a "Big 5" school.

Hope your child loves Bates - my daughter has a good friend who is a freshman and she's thrilled so far. (she was ED1 as well)

FWIW my kid got into Bates ED1 last year. 1450 SAT, 3.9UW, 4.6 weighted. Top public.

Bates grad here. Loved it and had several friends who majored in history. Art I’m not sure, but I loved the Olin art center. With that GPA Bates is a reach so if your DD is serious I’d encourage ED2. Last year Bates had a huge increase in applications and admit rate went down a good but. Also, I’ve heard several students at top privates are applying ED 1 this year (I do alum interviews and have a list). It will be even more competitive than last year. It’s a hard decision I know but Bates will be tough so if she’s seriously thinking she wants a shot I’d look at ED2.

Vassar is great, but all of my DCs' friends who attended swear there isn't a straight guy on campus. As a result, none of my DCs' friends enjoyed their time there and would not recommend the school.

I would have put Vassar at the top of that list also, in terms of it being the most prestigious. But that is not relevant if the course is not as strong in the other colleges.