Schools similar to Colgate - Page 2

OldbatesieDoc · 11-06-2009, 05:35 PM

Actually so does Middlebury, and Bates doesn't require SATs. If she wants great facilities, and an excellent, accessible faculty, William Smith is a great option. The colleges(Hobart) are not merged, and each has their own Dean and Admissions.They share facilities and the faculty. It's a unique arrangement which preserves the autonomy of each school.What do you think your daughter would like to study?

cadence76 · 11-06-2009, 10:59 PM

CollegeMom08--we're not "local' to Tufts in any way, except by being in the same state--though we're out in the Western Mass. sticks! Still saying, they must accept Mass. kids at a higher rate--we tend to think of Tufts as "fairly hard" to get in, but not anywhere in the same league as top LAC's.

DadofB&G · 11-07-2009, 08:54 AM

oldbatesieDoc - There are plenty of SAT optional schools around - Hamilton, mentioned by the OP, is one of them. But I wasn't aware of this other alternative - the 3 SAT subject tests. Maye it's more common than I thought.

My main point was that when a school offers these alternatives for testing, the Common Data Set doesn't consider them. The average SAT scores on the CDS for a SAT optional school are always inflated, because it's the low scoring student who doesn't submit them.

As I said before, the 3 subject test option may or may not skew the numbers the same way.

And Tufts is selective, no doubt about it. It's a bit more selective then Colgate, but not in the same league as the "top LAC's": Williams, Amherst, or Swarthmore.

rodney · 11-07-2009, 09:04 AM

"The average SAT scores on the CDS for a SAT optional school are always inflated"....

unless the SAT optional school requests the scores AFTER admission for the purposes of recording accurately (as Muhlenberg does)....

CollegeMom08 · 11-07-2009, 03:38 PM

I agree completely, DadofB&G. Tufts accepted 26% of its Class of 2013 and Colgate accepted 31.5% of its Class of 2013. So Tufts is slightly more selective than Colgate. SAT scores are also slightly higher at Tufts.

However, do not tend to put Tufts in the "LAC" category, in the first place. With 5,000 undergrads, I put Tufts in the "medium-sized, research university" category. Therefore, generally, I don't compare it with places like Colgate or even Williams, Amherst and the like. Different animal. Students are looking for a different, overall experience.

Disclaimer: D at Tufts. H went to Colgate. D would not apply to Colgate, though she did visit. Not her cup of tea. Husband sad. LOL.

SJTH · 11-07-2009, 03:55 PM

Selectivity comparisons aside, I found it very interesting that about 90% of my son's friends at Colgate also applied to and/or were accepted at Tufts. Tufts was my son's 2nd choice, if he hadn't gotten into Colgate ED three years ago.

DadofB&G · 11-08-2009, 03:52 PM

rodney - Re SAT optional schools- that's interesting about Muhlenburg - do they make a note of it in the CDS, or how would one know? I'd be interested in other what schools might do the same.

And I do agree that Tufts is not a LAC - I was just responding to the selectivity comment above (be careful using acceptance numbers to measure selectivity; it's not reliable, based on the applicant pool - I prefer test stats) - but I also agree with SJTH that when my D was at Colgate, she knew an awful lot of kids who also applied to Tufts. For some reason, they seem to appeal to the same kids, albeit my information is anecdotal.

hudsonvalley51 · 11-08-2009, 04:05 PM

"Lafayette (SAT "recommended") = Union (SAT optional)"

Not sure what you mean by this. Lafayette is NOT SAT "recommended". SATs (or ACTs) are required at Lafayette. Perhaps you are confusing the SAT I with SAT IIs which indeed are "recommended. The SAT middle 50th at Lafayette is 1190 -- 1370, while at Union, among those who submit SAT scores, it is 1140 -- 1370. Union is an easier admit than Lafayette, which in turn is an easier admit than Colgate. If financial aid is a requirement, be aware that about 32% of Colgate students receive financial aid while slightly over half the students at Lafayette receive financial aid. I believe both Colgate and Lafayette meet 100% of need (or what they define is a student's need). Union does not.

rodney · 11-08-2009, 04:19 PM

Dad of B&G: there was an article on another admissions blog which has since slipped my mind at the end of last admissions year that talked about test optional schools; it was there that I learned about Muhlenberg's policy (and subsequently when we visited a few weeks ago)...yes, the numbers on college board and CDS include ALL test takers including those who did not submit for admission purposes....I do not recall any other school who practice this policy; in fact, I recall the whole gist of the article as being a criticism of the SAT reporting practices of test optional schools....

You may try to search on The Choice Blog of the NYTImes if you subscribe; I think that they discussed it....