In comparing Hamilton with Haverford, it might be interesting to consider their differences in varsity sports. Hamilton offers football, ice hockey and swimming & diving; Haverford, uniquely in the U.S., offers cricket. Though sports, obviously, haven’t been central to your concerns, I think you can glean a bit about the general atmospheres at these colleges based on their athletic programs.
Kelsey, after reading many of your essays now (7?) and seeing some of your drawings, I absolutely think you’re quirky and should put Carleton on your list. Carleton is almost like the LAC equivalent of U Chicago in some ways, as it’s trimester system is pretty intense and kids are academic and focused, but also original thinkers. Yes, it’s liberal, but it’s not “Liberal.” It’s not politically active and it’s got a very good mix of all types of students. Grinnell is a lot less rural than Hamilton. Yes, Swat is quite intense. Not sure you’d like the vibe. Amherst is fantastic and less rural than Hamilton, being much closer to a major city. I do not think it’s particularly outdoorsy in the same way Bowdoin is.
It’s in your best interest to let go of the idea that you need to be near an urban area. Firstly, as far as a job, your job is nearly certain to be on campus. Any of these colleges will restrict you to working probably no more than ten hours a week. 8 is common. You are going to have a LOT of school work and you need time to study. Grades are king, even in college. Why find a job off campus when a job on campus is more readily available?
Secondly, your bed, friends, food, and entertainment are going to be on campus. Each of these schools is going to offer plenty of fun stuff to do on campus, and despite thinking you’re just going to nip into the city whenever you like, that is going to be an uncommon event. Why? See the first sentence of this paragraph, plus being in cities is EXPENSIVE. College kids, especially ones in your shoes, don’t have a lot of spare cash. It’s well known that kids who go to college in cities (Northeastern and Boston U being good examples, probably Chicago too) spend more money. What are you going to do when your friends at, let’s say, Chicago all want to go out on the town and you don’t have any money to go with them? This is a legitimate question.
Now for some rah rah, sis boom bah, go LAC spirit!
There is a good reason many LACs have very high freshman retention rates. Kids are happy and they like being on campus. Yes, of course plenty of universities have good retention rates too. But again, if your goal is research opportunities right from the start and getting to know professors well (who help with research opportunities) then you should more strongly consider LACs. I don’t think you will hear anyone on this thread deny that it’s much easier to get to know professors at LACs than at research U’s.
From the experiences of my (senior) daughter and her friends, many of whom are at LACs, I can tell you the following: jobs on campus are plentiful. My own kid (who is by no means exceptional) has had several campus jobs, one as a prof teaching assistant, two as a tutor, one as a test grader. Her friends are also tutors, RA’s, tour guides, and various other jobs on campus. Summer jobs/research positions/internships have included one girl at Top 3 LAC doing research freshman summer, another friend did research at Ivy U this past summer, my kid did research at Big Public U this past summer, internship at NYC fancy advertising agency, prestigious government-sponsored critical language program, political internships, investment banking paid internships, and a lot of other things that are getting these students prepared for life post-grad.
Yes, of course students at big U’s can do these things too. But, I can say with confidence that the students at big U’s will not be getting critical professor recommendations quite as easily as the kids at LACs do. And as someone interested in research, you are going to need a lot of professor recommendations to do what you want to do. My daughter has a number of professors who she knows well, and they’ve written her recommendations for all kinds of things. She’s on a first name basis with her profs. My son, currently at a big public U, sees his profs once a week at lectures and classes are taught the rest of the time by grad students. This will change as he goes through college, but right now, he hardly knows any of his professors and will have to use his own initiative to get to know them. And believe me, he will have to make the effort because it’s more cut-throat at bigger schools.
Anyway, you didn’t know much about LACs, but you have more information now. LACs have their limitations, but I say with certainty that doing research as an undergrad isn’t one of them.
LACs are well known by people who need to know. Profs at LACs are HIGHLY regarded. A couple of years ago, Kenyon College (population about 1800) had more top rated professors in Princeton Review, as rated by peers, than Harvard. True. Everyone thinks the thing they’ve heard of is great, but it’s often true that the thing that is less well-known is even better. LACs appeal to a certain type of person. In your shoes, I might consider taking Emory or Wash U off your list and replacing it with Carleton.
Re prestige. I hate that word, because it’s really a euphemism for fame, in this context. And anyway, all of these colleges are prestigious.
With respect to academics, Carleton offers a broader curriculum in the sciences than either Grinnell or Davidson. Note as well that Carleton’s student profile measures highly in areas such as standardized scoring when compared to many other LACs, and its ACT range (31-34), in particular, comports nicely with where you may want to find yourself. You might want to be aware of Northfield’s climate, though. Of the top 20 USN LACs, Carleton registers as the coldest.
It’s not possible to add colleges at this point for the QB match.
I’m sorry I didn’t realize Kelsey is quirky - she sounds very intensely intellectual, focused, and creative. Her fascination for Vanderbilt and her self-declared conservatism made me miss it. However, Kelsey, you can add Carleton during the QBRD round if need be.
I have a feeling you’ll get in through QB Match though - wishful thinking ;).
When is the Hamilton fly-in?
It’ll tell you more about campus life.
What Merc and lindafaf say above is true: residential campuses provide a lot of options to their students, often at low cost of for free. Students rarely need to leave campus. They may want to from time to time but it’s not a necessity. Most high school students overestimate how much time they’ll spend off campus.
Following up on the bit about cities, you probably learned at the Haverford fly-in that they make all campus events free to all students so that there isn’t a have vs have-not dichotomy. (At least they used to do this!)
I would not let that alone drive a decision but I would look at this as at each school as it’s a way of understanding how they manage inclusion. Not only can you do things but you can do them exactly the same way as other students (no different colored ticket, special line, etc.)
To add on to that, some people really do want to be near a city. It was important to my D, and she has made the most of it. The school has free events in the city and she’s gone on her own. She’s plenty active on campus, and there are tons of free things to do, but sometimes she craves the bustle of a city.
Considering the attributes of your own choices, you might appreciate this candid response in the context of a Proust Questionnaire interview in the Boston Globe:
@merc81 , it seems to be behind a paywall, but I’ll paraphrase. Charlie Baker, gov of Massachusetts and Harvard grad, said his biggest regret was not going to Hamilton College.
Aw, man. I had an instinct that I should have thrown in Carleton. I do feel quirky myself, I was just unsure of the “degree” of quirkiness the students possess and if it really dwarfed my oddities in comparison, making me say “Wow, these guys are really weird.”. I probably would have been a good fit. It was a signal flare stuck right in my face and I missed it. No use in grieving, though; I’ll make good use of what I’ve ranked. I’m sure these other LACs aren’t any lesser in comparison to Carleton and have some of their own tricks up their sleeves, right?
How do you think my universities match with me? I’m actually considering Vandy less and less now compared to the other schools. I was unsure about how the size of the campus resonated with me, as I felt like a minnow in an ocean. I got the impression that it would be difficult to snatch good opportunities due to the competitive students, grad and undergrad, especially for research opportunities. Are Emory and WashU the same way? WashU seemed fitting for research (at a uni anyway) from the mail they sent me. Emory is close to the CDC and works with them under their MMG program (which is something I may consider), which was very appealing to me for internships and other collaborations. It’s also in Atlanta, a beautiful, bustling city.
Despite that, I’m really starting to wonder about universities, even my top three. Rice, Princeton, and UChicago may be research powerhouses, but I’m guessing their positions are highly competitive among undergrads, and the cream of the crop is saved for grads. I haven’t even started considering what kind of grad school I should attend… I would say that being at a university wouldn’t increase my chances for attending their grad schools, right? It’s all just another decision program, right? You don’t think I’m “in trouble” with unis considering my undergrad focus, do you? Should I move my LACs higher and my unis lower due to this?
I’m willing to let this urban thing go for academics, though. That’s why Hamilton and Grinnell are on my list. We’ll see how I fare with my ranks…
Oh, and I’m leaving for the Hamilton fly-in tomorrow.
Yes, all these LACs you ranked are good. Don’t worry about it - there are way worse fates in life than attending any of the colleges on your list. Most people would consider themselves lucky and blessed if they got into just one! 
WashU would likely have a similar feel (competitiveness, privilege) as Vanderbilt. I think WashU is more competitive among its science students though.
Don’t forget to let us know how the Hamilton fly-in goes, your impressions, etc! Did they ask you to read and prepare for a class or something? Will you have an interview? (There are different types of fly-in activities). Have you prepared questions? <very important. You can use your Haverford visit as a starting point.
In addition, if you can see yourself there, it means rural isn’t so important and you can bring Grinnell/Hamilton up higher on your list. On the other hand, if you can’t see yourself there, you can bring other colleges/universities higher.
Have fun!
They only asked that I pack lightly (of course) and that I will have an interview that same evening. I’ll be prepared; I like the casual vibe of the interviews, and I have plenty of questions regarding their academic programs and social life. I’ll let you know how it goes. 
Have fun, @KelseyM . Not sure if you have had a chance to reflect on it yourself, but it looks like you have really grown a lot in the process. Very cool, imho.
Regarding one of your general questions, it’s commonly suggested that students attend a different college from their undergraduate school for their graduate studies, so the LAC-to-university transition would be natural and definitely not disadvantageous. Among the many reasons you should read Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! would be for inside information on traditions in academia such as this.
For further perspective on LACs in general, this article should offer you additional insight: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/where-professors-send-their-children-to-college/.
Definitely an interesting article, Merc. I’m really starting to consider moving Haverford up, maybe Hamilton as well if the fly in goes well. If I want research above everything else, considering my top 3 choices, do you think that’s a good idea?
I like the tone of your list as you created it, partly because your highly ranked colleges offer overlapping attributes that could appeal to you in different ways. When you return from your Hamilton trip, I’d be happy to offer you my further opinion based upon your impressions there, of course.
You are very welcome to do that, by all means. Anything to solidify that list and not leave me too nervous for an entire month. :lol:
Should I play it safe and not wear a Haverford hoodie? (It’s the only good hoodie I have; would they look upon it with scrutiny?)
My best advice would be to not wear Haverford apparel.
@KelseyM You posted a couple of pages back that it is important to you how well colleges prepared students for PhDs. Have you looked at the summary table of the colleges which have the highest proportion of undergraduates that go one to do PhDs? If not, here are the tables (total numbers and by proportion):
https://wayback.archive-it.org/5902/20160210152803/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/
No, don’t wear the Haverford hoodie.