Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

This. Sure, a minority of kids *need* to be in a particular environment to thrive at college, but the smartest and most discerning students understand that what matters is the intellectual rigor of a given school, such that once a school hits a certain threshold, the choice, assuming finances aren't an issue, should be about fit. If what you're after is a liberal arts education, there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding between Williams, Pomona, Yale and Chicago. People who think that Yale would be the obvious choice because it's an Ivy or that universities are superior to LACs just reveal their own lack of intelligence and critical thinking skills.

This feels true until you realize there’s a dearth of resources in certain programs and fields at Williams or Pomona compared to Yale or Uchicago. It’s just the reality of these tiny schools with departments of 10 faculty.

I went to Yale and encouraged both of my kids to go to SLACs. One of them was actually quite tempted by Yale but ED'ed to her favorite SLAC instead and got in. So we'll never know if the Yale gods would have smiled on the next gen too. Yale is great but she's a place that's a much better fit for her. Obviously Yale has more resources, but the resources of a SLAC are so much more accessible to an undergrad that it more than makes up for that. I had world renowned professors yes, but saw a lot of them from afar in a lecture hall. Yes I had a good share of seminars too, but my kid at a SLAC has ALL small classes and all her profs know her. They grade her papers, not TAs. It's a remarkable education.

OP, ignore the weird hater who seems obsessed with your list. We hired a consultant to develop an initial list for my kids then I added to it. My kids were free to add or subtract to it. One added a school then took it off later. The other just went with the list. It's overwhelming for a 16-17 year old to come up with a list themselves of the thousands of colleges out there.

But we started with their preferences. Took them to visit a few different types of colleges in different types of locations, then used their wish list and major interest to make a list.

I absolutely thought both kids would do best at SLACs. Kid number 1 got there right away. Kid #2 initially liked a school that was huge and where he would have gotten lost in the mix. He came around after visiting some more schools and is also going to a SLAC.

You know your kid and you also know the world better than they do. It's their choice but you can guide them a lot. I don't get the parents who won't do that for their kids. I find it sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

Did your DD ED anywhere?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

This. Sure, a minority of kids *need* to be in a particular environment to thrive at college, but the smartest and most discerning students understand that what matters is the intellectual rigor of a given school, such that once a school hits a certain threshold, the choice, assuming finances aren't an issue, should be about fit. If what you're after is a liberal arts education, there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding between Williams, Pomona, Yale and Chicago. People who think that Yale would be the obvious choice because it's an Ivy or that universities are superior to LACs just reveal their own lack of intelligence and critical thinking skills.

This feels true until you realize there’s a dearth of resources in certain programs and fields at Williams or Pomona compared to Yale or Uchicago. It’s just the reality of these tiny schools with departments of 10 faculty.

And that factors into the fit part of the equation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

This. Sure, a minority of kids *need* to be in a particular environment to thrive at college, but the smartest and most discerning students understand that what matters is the intellectual rigor of a given school, such that once a school hits a certain threshold, the choice, assuming finances aren't an issue, should be about fit. If what you're after is a liberal arts education, there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding between Williams, Pomona, Yale and Chicago. People who think that Yale would be the obvious choice because it's an Ivy or that universities are superior to LACs just reveal their own lack of intelligence and critical thinking skills.

This feels true until you realize there’s a dearth of resources in certain programs and fields at Williams or Pomona compared to Yale or Uchicago. It’s just the reality of these tiny schools with departments of 10 faculty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

This. Sure, a minority of kids *need* to be in a particular environment to thrive at college, but the smartest and most discerning students understand that what matters is the intellectual rigor of a given school, such that once a school hits a certain threshold, the choice, assuming finances aren't an issue, should be about fit. If what you're after is a liberal arts education, there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding between Williams, Pomona, Yale and Chicago. People who think that Yale would be the obvious choice because it's an Ivy or that universities are superior to LACs just reveal their own lack of intelligence and critical thinking skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

Yale and Uchicago are objectively better schools. Williams is nice though, good job.

Williams is objectively better than UChicago for every major except Econ. Nice try, though.

Uchicago is superior to Williams in Physics, Mathematics, History, Philosophy, Anthropology, public policy, political science, computer science, and economics. I actually think Williams would be better compared to Yale if you wanted to do boosting- Chicago is An academic powerhouse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

Yale and Uchicago are objectively better schools. Williams is nice though, good job.

Williams is objectively better than UChicago for every major except Econ. Nice try, though.

Took DD on tours of most of the NESCACs as well as the Pennsylvania LACs, along with larger urban schools like NYU, Emory, BC and BU. DD loved the LACs best, ended up ED1'ing to Middlebury and is headed there in the fall. DD couldn't be happier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

Yale and Uchicago are objectively better schools. Williams is nice though, good job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

I put "better" in quotes because it's absolutely subjective, but the other schools she got into were Pomona, Yale, and UChicago. She got into Chicago EA so trimmed her list down a lot for RD. My point was basically that the same kid can love very different schools.

Yes. When older sibling came home after his 1st semester and casually mentioned there were 400 students in his intro CS class, D26 immediately said ‘I would hate that, I’m definitely going to a smaller school’. She only looked at LACs and is headed to Vassar this fall.

Anonymous wrote:Yes and yes (now at Williams). We encouraged her to look at a wide variety of schools - public/private, small/med/large, rural/urban/suburban, college/university. She loved many schools, of differing sizes, and in the end went with her gut, despite being accepted by what her counselor and peers thought were "better" schools.

Curious which larger schools appeal to a kid who also likes Williams and are considered “better” schools? We’re rising senior putting list together. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, applied mostly lac. Ended up getting into Williams, Swat, Pomona, Smirh, Haverford, and Oxy. She’s off to Pomona

Mind sharing stats? How do your DD get into so many top LACs in RD? Hooked/FGLI?

Anonymous wrote:Was sure kid would LOVE LACs. Toured most of the NESCAC plus Davidson etc. The core of his list is now NYU, BU, USC. Kids are funny.

we also toured several NESCAC’s plus Davidson and Richmond, thinking those were good fits for our kid. Kid ended up liking William and Mary and a couple other bigger universities more.