| I think that a lot of the Pennsylvania LACs get thrown together in people's minds: F&M, Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Lafayette, etc. when really each is distinctly different and draws different individual students who can't appreciate the distinctions between the campuses by reading college guides, only by visiting. I, too, know that Muhlenberg is not at all an easy admit. Perhaps that is because of the school's heavy favoring of ED applicants which may be a bit of a trick to make the school appear more competitive - or it may be a way the admissions dept. has developed to ensure that it is admitting students who know the school and want to be there. I haven't been on that campus, but my husband took one of our kids there on a college tour and he said the place has a real buzz. He liked it a lot. This particular child is at a different LAC in PA that was the right fit for her. I think comparing F&M (which I did visit) with Muhlenberg is like comparing apples and oranges. But then, the whole ranking thing bothers me. Drew might be a better fit for a student than Bard (they are quite different), but if a student is accepted at Bard, just because it's ranked higher in US News and World Report, should that student go there? I just don't think so. |