Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 20:07     Subject: Re:Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:Wesleyan, Union college. Consider both.


A kid who likes one of these schools would hate the other. They're as different as can be. Woke culture vs. bro culture.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 20:02     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Totally insane to think Amherst would be less competitive/less intense than top tier universities

Sorry OP but if you want less competitive, you will need to look at those “second” and “third” tier SLACs. Good news though: They’re excellent schools. Surprise!
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:59     Subject: Re:Less stressful SLAC
Wesleyan, Union college. Consider both.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:55     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Depends what you mean by less stressful - do you mean less cutthroat or less intense academic work? My DC loves Bates and I think it tends to attract nice kids. But they work hard too. I'm sure that's true for many/most of the more competitive SLACs.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:55     Subject: Re:Less stressful SLAC
Kenyon. Occidental. Reed.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:50     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:Davidson is laid back, although academically rigorous. The student body is extremely collaborative and the teachers are supportive and readily available. Agree that Dartmouth is not.


Is Dartmouth not collaborative?
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:37     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:OP, you haven't given us your kid's stats to know where her reach/target/safety range might fall.

But looking at the list of top-50 SLACs (taking out the military academies & women's colleges), some with a reputation of being non-cutthroat but still academically respectful include:

Pomona, Carleton (some find its trimester system challenging), Grinnell, Wesleyan, Davidson, Vassar, Haverford, Bates, Macalester, Berea, Lafayette, Occidental, Skidmore, Denison, Kenyon, Pitzer, Connecticut, and Whitman.

And several ranked lower than 50 are great, too, and may give decent merit aid.

Is there a part of the country she's hoping for? Is she interested in Greek life? Club sports, or more artsy things like theater?


Between my two kids, they applied to nine of these. One attends one of these, and the other another school in this thread.They were looking for (and found) academically rigorous schools that didn’t have a cutthroat vibe.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:36     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Davidson is laid back, although academically rigorous. The student body is extremely collaborative and the teachers are supportive and readily available. Agree that Dartmouth is not.

Yeah Dartmouth is hyped and way too crowded with internationals, especially Asians


We are against xenophobia and anti-Asian rhetoric.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:32     Subject: Re:Less stressful SLAC
Assumption University
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:30     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t consider Davidson or Dartmouth to be low-key schools (admissions alone to both is quite cut-throat). Someone recently posted asking for SLACs with a supportive/mellow vibe. That thread may be more along the lines of what your child is after. Link below. What other applications have already been made and what area of study interests your child?

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1165913.page


OP: Thank you. Unfortunately this list is mostly not SLACs but second tier schools. I liked the suggestion of Smith College above (I'm actually an alum and think it is exactly the right speed - excellent classes but not stressful) but DC is not interested in a women's college.


Huh? Did you read the entire 16 pages? There are tons of SLACs suggested throughout. Some SLACs are also “second tier” schools. I didn’t realize your kid was too good for those.


+1
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:30     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t consider Davidson or Dartmouth to be low-key schools (admissions alone to both is quite cut-throat). Someone recently posted asking for SLACs with a supportive/mellow vibe. That thread may be more along the lines of what your child is after. Link below. What other applications have already been made and what area of study interests your child?

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1165913.page


OP: Thank you. Unfortunately this list is mostly not SLACs but second tier schools. I liked the suggestion of Smith College above (I'm actually an alum and think it is exactly the right speed - excellent classes but not stressful) but DC is not interested in a women's college.


Hmm. Most on that linked list — Bard, Vassar, Union, Franklin & Marshall, Kenyon, Bucknell, Lafayette, and Haverford — are SLACs, and if you think Vassar and Haverford are "second tier," what is your cutoff for what you'd accept?

Top-10 SLACs like Amherst won't be any less stressful than top universities, though.


+1
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 19:05     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Davidson is laid back, although academically rigorous. The student body is extremely collaborative and the teachers are supportive and readily available. Agree that Dartmouth is not.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 18:47     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
I went to a SLAC an my boyfriend went to Yale. I actually think my academic experience was more intense.

And Davidson and Dartmouth are not laid back.

And the higher ranked a college you go to, the less high your college GPA needs to be.

So I think all of your reasoning is flawed.
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 18:46     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:College of Wooster, Haverford

You got to be kidding, right?
Anonymous
Post 01/02/2024 18:28     Subject: Less stressful SLAC
Anonymous wrote:OP wants top-tier but also laid back? lol.

And then finds the extensive list of laid back SLACs from a prior thread unacceptable.