Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:asking as DH is saying these LA schools are equal prestige and education to at least the lower T20s and I disagree - think they should be lower. Yes great intimate educational experience, but can’t compare to a Vandy Rice Or WashU - should be lower imo -

I think the thread consensus is that you are definitely wrong.
Hubby is probably wrong.
You both underestimate top SLACs.
WASP hovers around non-HYP Ivies (but all above Cornell). Definitely all above Chicago.

You guys are nuts.

This is like asking where you would rank butter pecan as an ice cream flavor.

But if you were going to do it based on what people choose when given a choice, SLACs are not comparable to non HYP ivy.
It's probably not quite as desirable as Vanderbilt/Rice/Emory.
It's probably more desirable than NYU/USC/Northeastern.

For some people Williams is the perfect college because it is a SLAC but most people would take Vanderbilt over Williams
For others Annapolic is the perfect school
But the ivy draw is real and it is hard to ignore. Even Cornell/Brown/Dartmouth are generally more desirable than SLACs

Anonymous wrote:Two highly respected publications--the Wall Street Journal and the Times Higher Education--used to rank LACs and National Universities together. The 2022 rankings were the last published joint rankings to the best of my knowledge.

The methodology used 15 factors to arrive at an outcomes based ranking. Based on this methodology, the top two LACs were #22 Amherst College and #23 Williams College, followed by #25 Pomona College, #29 Swarthmore College, #30 Wellesley College, and #35 Carleton College.

Haverford was ranked at #36, followed by #38 Bowdoin College, #39 Smith College, and #40 Middlebury College.

Based on my knowledge and experience, I agree with a poster who above who wrote:

"A[n] SLAC is more comparable to a top notch boarding school...."

FWIW Ours attended a Top 10 National University after 4 yard at a super elite boarding school. Our entire family--student & parents--would have been thrilled if the student spent 4 years at Middlebury College rather than at a Top 10 National University, however the education would have been a different and lesser academic experience than experienced at the Top 10 National University due to the breadth/variety, depth, and greater number of faculty & students in each of the three majors undertaken. Additionally, the academic facilities were far superior at the Top 10 National University than at any of the top ranked LACs.

Anonymous wrote:leTs aRGuE aBoUT LaCS

Anonymous wrote:If you're into the best lacs- aka Williams, Pomona, Bowdoin, Swarthmore- it's just up to the student to determine what environment is right for them. Some choose Brown over Williams, but I've also seen students struggle between Pomona and Yale. It really depends on what the student wants out of their college experience. Overall, it doesn't really matter since these are the top of the top and they will end up fine whether at a top lac or an ivy.

Anonymous wrote:asking as DH is saying these LA schools are equal prestige and education to at least the lower T20s and I disagree - think they should be lower. Yes great intimate educational experience, but can’t compare to a Vandy Rice Or WashU - should be lower imo -

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you are chasing prestige and trying to find a one-size-fits-all super ranking to help your student make their choice.

Anonymous wrote:hear all this banter about WASP schools being comparable to ivies, but are they really? where should Williams, Amherst, and Pomona fall on an overall list - somewhere in the mid 20s after Georgetown, UVA, USC, Lehigh, etc?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One data point - 30ish years ago I was waitlisted then ultimately did not get into Williams and Amherst but got into multiple Ivies. I would have definitely attended Williams over the Ivies, unclear about Amherst.

Williams competes with all Ivies but HYP, and might even occasionally win one of those battles, but that is not often.

Based on parchment survey student selects williams over harvard about 24% of the time a bit more for yale at 27% and a bit more for princeton at 33%. If you want a slac, and you know you would drown at a place like princeton,...

But all things being equal, you don't pick slac over any ivy+