Anonymous
07/18/2025 07:23
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
OP back again! Thanks to everyone for the additional suggestions and advice.
Yes, DC has a great spreadsheet going where they have indicated the variables most important to them on one axis and the schools on the other. So far it’s very useful to notice where certain schools shine and where they fall short. I will suggest some modifications based on what I’ve learned here. DC’s college counseling class at their non-DMV private school also starts this fall and this spreadsheet is a key component of that course.
PP did read correctly that DC is considering mid-sized schools, ideally schools with an undergraduate student population of 2000-8000. W&M currently is among their favorites. We’ve toured several larger schools and state flagships, and they did not like them — even considering the possibility of an honors college within that larger school.
The additional suggestions of schools that seem to have this studious vibe but have more accessible admissions was much appreciated. It’s nice to have feedback here on some of the schools on the CTCL list, where you find many of those. To be honest, it’s tricky to get a sense of what they offer from the schools’ websites, so useful to see mention of them here!
I appreciate everyone’s input and thoughts. Good luck to everyone else going through this — no matter where you are in the process.
Yes, DC has a great spreadsheet going where they have indicated the variables most important to them on one axis and the schools on the other. So far it’s very useful to notice where certain schools shine and where they fall short. I will suggest some modifications based on what I’ve learned here. DC’s college counseling class at their non-DMV private school also starts this fall and this spreadsheet is a key component of that course.
PP did read correctly that DC is considering mid-sized schools, ideally schools with an undergraduate student population of 2000-8000. W&M currently is among their favorites. We’ve toured several larger schools and state flagships, and they did not like them — even considering the possibility of an honors college within that larger school.
The additional suggestions of schools that seem to have this studious vibe but have more accessible admissions was much appreciated. It’s nice to have feedback here on some of the schools on the CTCL list, where you find many of those. To be honest, it’s tricky to get a sense of what they offer from the schools’ websites, so useful to see mention of them here!
I appreciate everyone’s input and thoughts. Good luck to everyone else going through this — no matter where you are in the process.
Anonymous
07/18/2025 06:52
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
My kid with very similar wants has narrowed list to U of Chicago, Wash U, Willam & Mary, Williams, Grinnell, Haverford.
Anonymous
07/18/2025 06:49
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Anonymous wrote:Should you be interested, these subjective comments on some popular LACs appeared in another forum in 2020:
Anonymous wrote:
Bates. Egalitarian founding principles still appear in student culture. Huge Fulbright producer in recent years. Former-mill-town Lewiston can be overlooked or embraced.
Colby. Classic LAC size. Relatively new president has added dynamism. Prominent and popular environmental studies programs. Central campus fairly far from Waterville. Winter cold suitable for the adventurous.
Middlebury. NESCAC in Grandma Moses country. Views of Adirondacks from Bicentennial Hall. Academically notable for environmental studies, languages, economics. Recent vandalism not inconsistent with an entitled segment among the student body.
Colgate. Beautiful campus, appealing small village. Beyond its popular social sciences programs, offers interesting course choices in physical sciences and humanities. Division I sports and residential Greek organizations.
Vassar. English major and performing arts veneer laid over a generally intellectual liberal arts college. New science building supports continuing academic ambitions.
Williams. Intellectually capable, academically engaged students. Noteworthy athletic presence. Excellent for visual arts. Perhaps too many economics majors. Mountains form backdrop that impressed Thoreau.
Amherst. Strong programs in areas such as literature and government, to name just two. Sufficienty deep to have changed its mascot. Consortium benefits, though with associated gender imbalances. Campus itself, excepting the new science building, might fall a bit short of rarefied academic rating.
Hamilton. Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, architectural and spatial dimensions and balance. Beautiful campus, access to suburban amenities, proximity to Adirondacks. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill.
These schools are all one big blur of sameness.
Anonymous
07/18/2025 05:32
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Bard is not a hard admit and has a real focus on learning for the sake of learning. Visit and see what you think.
A sure safety is Beloit, though it might not be quite rigorous enough. A very nice feel, happy students and engaged professors.
Oberlin is wonderful.
Ithaca and Lawrence, in Wisconsin, struck us as some what career do used, though Lawrence seemed pretty rigorous and like an easy admit.
We looked at Knox, Depauw and Kalamazoo and did not like them.
Carretón sounds like the best for if you kid wants rigor and commitment to the pleasures of the intellect. Bard strikes me as a more laid back and dialed down Carleton. Great professors and students excited about learning but lees much less stress.
A sure safety is Beloit, though it might not be quite rigorous enough. A very nice feel, happy students and engaged professors.
Oberlin is wonderful.
Ithaca and Lawrence, in Wisconsin, struck us as some what career do used, though Lawrence seemed pretty rigorous and like an easy admit.
We looked at Knox, Depauw and Kalamazoo and did not like them.
Carretón sounds like the best for if you kid wants rigor and commitment to the pleasures of the intellect. Bard strikes me as a more laid back and dialed down Carleton. Great professors and students excited about learning but lees much less stress.
Anonymous
07/18/2025 00:59
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Anonymous wrote:After a few visits, DC is narrowing preferences to LACs/mid-sized schools and likes an studious vibe with a friendly, collaborative, and unassuming culture where the students and faculty love to learn and are engaged in the classroom. Prestige does not matter to DC or us, though T20 seems to be shorthand to find studious vibe and challenge. Can anyone share how they assessed LACs/mid-sized schools for the studious vibe (other than selectivity/T10) as they went about building a balanced list with a variety of acceptance rates? Thanks so much!
Wellesley students are intellectually engaged, collaborative and studious.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 05:33
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Open curriculum is great for the kids who are scared of math and even better for the quantitatively-skilled students who struggle to write a paragraph. All in all, it’s a terrible idea.
I went to Brown, which has the most open of the open curricula schools. I (and all my friends) took both writing and math classes. We got a better education than the finance bros doing the bare minimum at other schools, regardless of distribution requirements.
Brown has no different open requirements than Amherst, so not really “most open.”
Brown requires two writing courses, Amherst one.
This thread is about SLACs and Brown isn't in this category.
That’s not how I read the initial question. OP asked about LAC/mid sized, but seems to be getting mostly responses about SLACs. OP - are you looking at schools the size of SLACs (where enrollment is almost always under 3,500) - or mid sized (I generally think of 7-11k)? Many students have a clear preference as to size.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 00:43
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Should you be interested, these subjective comments on some popular LACs appeared in another forum in 2020:
Anonymous wrote:
Bates. Egalitarian founding principles still appear in student culture. Huge Fulbright producer in recent years. Former-mill-town Lewiston can be overlooked or embraced.
Colby. Classic LAC size. Relatively new president has added dynamism. Prominent and popular environmental studies programs. Central campus fairly far from Waterville. Winter cold suitable for the adventurous.
Middlebury. NESCAC in Grandma Moses country. Views of Adirondacks from Bicentennial Hall. Academically notable for environmental studies, languages, economics. Recent vandalism not inconsistent with an entitled segment among the student body.
Colgate. Beautiful campus, appealing small village. Beyond its popular social sciences programs, offers interesting course choices in physical sciences and humanities. Division I sports and residential Greek organizations.
Vassar. English major and performing arts veneer laid over a generally intellectual liberal arts college. New science building supports continuing academic ambitions.
Williams. Intellectually capable, academically engaged students. Noteworthy athletic presence. Excellent for visual arts. Perhaps too many economics majors. Mountains form backdrop that impressed Thoreau.
Amherst. Strong programs in areas such as literature and government, to name just two. Sufficienty deep to have changed its mascot. Consortium benefits, though with associated gender imbalances. Campus itself, excepting the new science building, might fall a bit short of rarefied academic rating.
Hamilton. Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, architectural and spatial dimensions and balance. Beautiful campus, access to suburban amenities, proximity to Adirondacks. A writers’ college, for those who wish to enhance this skill.
Anonymous
07/16/2025 23:22
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Anonymous wrote:After a few visits, DC is narrowing preferences to LACs/mid-sized schools and likes an studious vibe with a friendly, collaborative, and unassuming culture where the students and faculty love to learn and are engaged in the classroom. Prestige does not matter to DC or us, though T20 seems to be shorthand to find studious vibe and challenge. Can anyone share how they assessed LACs/mid-sized schools for the studious vibe (other than selectivity/T10) as they went about building a balanced list with a variety of acceptance rates? Thanks so much!
Middlebury
Anonymous
07/16/2025 17:37
Subject: Finding LACs with intellectual vibe for balanced list
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate this conversation about open curricula. To clear things up first, DC is not interested in this path to avoid either math or writing — the opposite, in fact. They do just fine in both disciplines and are having a hard time with the constraints of having to fit their academic curiosity into the parameters of a major. One thing they know is that engineering likely is not the path for them. And, they have brought up Brown, so mention of that school also is not off the mark. But we are being realistic about admissions — hence the question about building a balanced list and finding schools where acceptance is more reliable.
Wesleyan is a school we had briefly considered but not in depth. We are exploring it more thoroughly now and will add it to our “to visit” list. Thanks for the resounding suggestion of that and other open curriculum schools!
Thanks again for this discussion—I appreciate it!
I graduated from Wes almost 30 years ago and am kind of delighted to see that the core classes requirement remains exactly the same as it was back in the day!
I am a physician but majored (& did my thesis) in chemistry. I have very fond memories of most of the non-science classes I had to take at Wes - I think I took 1 extra class in each of the the non-science categories (so 4 “arts & humanities” and 4 “social and behavioral sciences” classes). I still think about those classes today: social psychology, a philosophy course on good and evil, intro to govt, sociology, prose writing, American art from ~1700-1945, and the plays of Ibsen and Shaw.
I also took maybe 40-50 science classes, so no problems hitting my “natural science and mathematics” quota.
I think that it was a high quality education, too. And my government prof apparently had a crystal ball, since in the early 90s he was really agitated about gerrymandering and the emerging influence of PACs, and, sadly, all of his concerns have come to pass.
One awesome thing about Wes is the lack of a foreign language requirement. I am simply terrible at memorizing and foreign languages, and it was a huge relief to not get stuck wasting time and making myself miserable by taking a foreign language.
Someone is way overselling themselves.