Anonymous wrote:So far this thread has mentioned a bunch of LACs that are stressful and then other LACs that aren't even in the Northeast.

Why do you disagree with the post listing Bates, Skidmore, Mt Holyoke, and Conn College?

So far this thread has mentioned a bunch of LACs that are stressful and then other LACs that aren't even in the Northeast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people not saying the t5 lacs? I see them as non-competitive Ivy-like schools, so it would fit since they’re pretty mellow

Because OP asked for schools with "a more mellow academic vibe in terms of rigor, workload, grading," and AWS are no "more mellow . . . in terms of rigor, workload, grading" than any of the Ivies.

+1
Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore are basically ivy-intensity.

Dickinson?

What about St. Joe’s in Philly area?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore, in my experience, is not collaborative. It’s both rigorous and cutthroat — the students tend to be overly stressed. Just visit the campus for a taste of the vibe.

I'm curious about your personal experience. The stress part, I totally get. There can be crushing expectations, self-imposed or not. And I think Swarthmore needs to do a better job of getting their students to relax. But "cutthroat" or "competitive" are not adjectives I've ever heard used by actual Swatties to describe their school. We toured, and DC did an overnight for Swatstuck.

That wasn't my post, but I'm the poster with the DD at Swat now. She does not find it to be cutthroat so to speak . . . it's more that the school is very academic, the students are accordingly serious, and they put a lot of pressure on themselves. The kids on the sports teams tend to be more social and may have a better overall experience in that sense, but they are also a bit exclusive.

Davidson is rigorous and collaborative. It’s practically their calling card. And, it’s not in the NE.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from WASP for sure. Potentially Connecticut College could be a good fit.

This makes no sense

What about it doesn’t? Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Pomona are places you’re gonna have to bust your butt to do well.

Although Pomona is definitely not in the Northeast, and Swarthmore is more mid Atlantic than Northeast. Probably would have been clearer if the PP didn't try to use the dumb acronym and just said Williams and Amherst.

Get over yourself.

Thanks for the suggestions. Will check out the out. How are the academics at Hobart and William Smith and StLawrence? Not looking for a super competitive lac to get into. Kid doesn’t want to go further south thanDC or further west than central PA . Lots of nice little schools outside the northeast but these are the preferences . Would love to find a nice little school. Don’t think Bucknell is on the table , but anyone know anything about academic vibe at Lafayette or Trinity?

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore, in my experience, is not collaborative. It’s both rigorous and cutthroat — the students tend to be overly stressed. Just visit the campus for a taste of the vibe.

I'm curious about your personal experience. The stress part, I totally get. There can be crushing expectations, self-imposed or not. And I think Swarthmore needs to do a better job of getting their students to relax. But "cutthroat" or "competitive" are not adjectives I've ever heard used by actual Swatties to describe their school. We toured, and DC did an overnight for Swatstuck.

Swarthmore, in my experience, is not collaborative. It’s both rigorous and cutthroat — the students tend to be overly stressed. Just visit the campus for a taste of the vibe.

I want to distinguish between two aspects that can but don't necessarily overlap: Rigor and competition. For many students, there is a meaningful difference between (a) rigor (having demanding professors and a lot of homework) and (b) working in a competitive atmosphere (grade-conscious students competing against one another).

For example, school like Swarthmore has a huge amount of rigor (course workload). But its students are extremely collaborative and tend to be the opposite of competitive with one another. As others have indicated, part of the workload is self-imposed. Putting a positive spin on it, students study hard because they are genuinely interested in the subject material as opposed to maintaining a high GPA as a prerequisite to Yale Law.

Pomona is very similar. And I'm guessing Williams and Amherst and other top LACs are as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from WASP for sure. Potentially Connecticut College could be a good fit.

This makes no sense

What about it doesn’t? Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Pomona are places you’re gonna have to bust your butt to do well.

Although Pomona is definitely not in the Northeast, and Swarthmore is more mid Atlantic than Northeast. Probably would have been clearer if the PP didn't try to use the dumb acronym and just said Williams and Amherst.

Anonymous wrote:Why are people not saying the t5 lacs? I see them as non-competitive Ivy-like schools, so it would fit since they’re pretty mellow

Because OP asked for schools with "a more mellow academic vibe in terms of rigor, workload, grading," and AWS are no "more mellow . . . in terms of rigor, workload, grading" than any of the Ivies.

Anonymous wrote:Amherst is very chill

💯