Holyoke made it under the wire, but the window for making edits may be closing soon.
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Ditto.
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They are up there, but I think that title might belong to Antioch. In 1960, it is in the same SAT testing tier as Duke, Northwestern, Penn, and so on. In subsequent decades, it basically completely changed its institutional mission, and in 2008 the portion that traced back the 1960 college actually closed. Some alums then got together and bought the college campus and name from the rest of the university. They’ve been operating it as a very small college (like around 125 students at a time), but I think it is fair to say it has been a financial struggle.
Not as dramatic, but I think another important story has been the partial relative decline of non-Ivy Northeast private research universities like Brandeis, Lehigh, and Rochester (note in absolute terms these have all been improving institutions in almost every important way, but it is a very competitive field). For various reasons these universities have not necessarily done as well in terms of wealth building (again, relatively), and they also started feeling the squeeze from the nationalization trend (like their student supplies in the Northeast started being invaded more by competitors in other regions), and recently the improved social perception of various Northeastern publics. I think they are still great options for the right students, but you can see a bit of a drop from 1960.
What else–Vanderbilt is sort of the opposite story in terms of successfully building wealth and using it to gradually compete for more and more students outside its region. WashU isn’t even on this list, it was basically a commuter school in 1960 (albeit a well-regarded one), and then similarly transformed itself through some extremely successful fundraising efforts. Emory, same deal, not on this list in 1960, then a bunch of Coca-Cola money (not kidding) and such helped transform it into a top “national” research university. CMU has a broadly similar story, although it might have been excluded for the same reasons as MIT or Caltech. Arguably also Georgetown and Notre Dame, although I suspect exclusion in 1960 was also a Catholic thing. But anyway, the upward movement of what became this sort of “tier” of private research universities in other regions is part of what has driven down some non-Ivy Northeastern private research universities (again, purely in relative, not absolute, terms).
LACs, though–in some sense a less dynamic story overall, which kinda makes sense because institutional wealth and doctoral-level research has arguably a more dynamic relationship, including potentially strong feedback cycles that can work either way.
Still, there is one big exception to that observation–the Claremont Colleges. Not on this 1960 list at all, but they sure came along strong in subsequent decades. Really a general story there about how the center of gravity of US elites was moving west, not least into California, with a lot still to come as we started accelerating into the Information Age, aka Third Industrial Revolution.
So Stanford, Cal, and interestingly Occidental made the list in 1960. But today, California would rightly have a lot more representation on a similar list.
The snarkiness of some of those comments is awesome. And sometimes still kinda applicable, as long as you don’t take it too seriously.
And there is no way the US News could get away with that today, of course, which I guess helps explain why social media is killing off traditional media outlets.
And that is why I linked it here, in fact. Based on the tone set by the OP, this feels to me like that sort of conversation (hopefully not in a mean way, but perhaps with a little more humor and sometimes frank opinions than US News will provide).
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And Barnard—another seven sister school. I think it qualifies.
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Done.
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Likewise.
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On Occidental, my kid is currently a freshman there and chose it in lieu of a few of the schools on OP’s National LAC list that she was admitted to. The majority of Occidental students come from out of state, but I didn’t suggest it for this list because it still seems pretty regional in terms of reputation (as Pitzer and Scripps probably are as well despite being part of the Claremont Consortium).
And, while I do not know what the definition of “national” LAC OP is using is, I do think national vs regional is an important distinction. D26 seriously considered Agnes Scott College, which is a great women’s liberal arts college in the Atlanta area. A big factor against in the end was that it was very regional. The vast majority of students are from Georgia and the neighboring states. Which as what would have been one of a few students from the west, turned D26 off from it as a place she wanted to commit to.
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So, Holy Cross doesn’t make the list?
Oh, it definitely belongs there. I just couldn’t improve on the description you supplied. But I’ll give it a reference.
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As much as it pains this Haverford alum to credit Swarthmore, they have a commuter rail station on campus. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from Haverford to the train station.
On a more serious note, Haverford has an academic and social Honor Code that is a cornerstone of the community. While no longer formally affiliated with the Society of Friends, the College’s Quaker values run deep. https://www.haverford.edu/quaker-affairs
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University of Richmond–a LAC that also has an undergraduate business school and the nation’s first dedicated School of Leadership Studies. Collegiate Gothic campus is consistently ranked among the most beautiful in the country and the school also fields Division I athletic teams–very uncommon for a liberal arts institution. It is the only school in the US with a Spider for a mascot.
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I’ll bite too: one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, one of the (if not the) best med-school post doc programs around and as good a place to study the classics as you’ll find.
Please don’t feel compelled to read the thread. Some of us like this sort of banter and so, for us, that is a service.
Feel free to start a thread.
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I note I think one of the reasons why SoCal, Boston, and so on remain durably popular areas among the national/international markets is that it is basically a feedback loop. Lots of students from all over go, students from all over want to be there but not only with students from there, and that feeds back on itself.
And honestly, I see nothing wrong with that per se. But it can also mean admissions to academic peers in these areas can be more selective, or at least less predictable. It may also mean they may have higher COAs, and less or no merit.
This leads to a basic recurring concept sometimes known as geographic arbitrage. If you really value being in one of these areas, and can afford it, then great, you can make it a priority. But, if you are more indifferent, or actually might even prefer something else, then you can potentially benefit for looking for the sorts of colleges you otherwise like in less generally popular areas.
That said, though, you might not want to compromise on the geographic diversity, meaning lots of students from not-there, thing. Which is sort of a narrow request, but potentially doable.
Like one of the benefits of Grinnell being kinda in the middle of nowhere is that means really not that many kids are local. In fact, I think usually only around 10% are from Iowa, and this despite Grinnell sort of wanting more kids from Iowa. Around twice as many are International, and then while Illinois and Minnesota are more represented than usual, they also get a lot from California, Texas, and so on.
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I mean this in the best way–Richmond has done a great job combining excellent wealth accumulation with identifying somewhat undersupplied LAC submarkets to rapidly move up in the world. Of course that has to be your submarket, but if it is? Potentially great choice.
I’d also nominate Trinity in San Antonio for another LAC that is following its own version of such a path.
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Recently, Barnard College has experienced serious financial challenges. To address this matter, 77 employee positions have been eliminated and access to some intro courses at Columbia have been restricted in addition to other measures.
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Truman, Wheaton, Beloit, Earlham, Stonehill, Providence, Muhlenberg, Goucher, Seton Hall, Farleigh Dickinson, Rowan. 11 off the top of my head. Varying degrees of selectivity and size of the student body, price tag. A few lean pre-professional but have solid departments in Arts and Sciences. The abundant choices in higher ed in the US is really a marvel.
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But there’s also social optionality-- very important to some kids who did not find their “peeps” in HS. A young woman who worries that her classmates at Wellesley will be too “geeky” can end up at parties at BU, BC or Tufts every weekend. A gay student who worries that Brandeis is too small is likely to have friends from five different colleges.
The rural colleges make it harder to have these social relationships outside of campus.
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Colorado College - The Rocky Mountains’ foremost entry into the upper echelon of LACdom, this college appeals to proponents of the block schedule, hiking, and skiing. Though the first likely precludes the latter two.
University of Richmond - A bit of a cross between Davidson (D1 sports) and Washington & Lee (pre-professional opportunities), this beautiful college offers a bit of something for (just about) everyone.
Reed College - Situated in suburban(ish) Portland, Reed combines the rigor of Swarthmore and Carleton with the political and party culture of Grinnell.
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Absolutely, for some the idea of a smaller, more intimate community sharing an experience in a relatively rural area is appealing, and for others it is very unappealing.