<p>Unless you have a kid entering college in a few years (or are a kid entering college in a few years) or have done extensive college research, then it’s pretty unlikely that you would have heard of many of the LACs, top-notch or otherwise.</p>
<p>Your average person (not ignorant, blue collar or anything else) is probably going to be most familiar with the NCAA Div 1 teams (the larger public U’s and the football and basketball regulars), and of course, the Ivy-League schools. Just the way it is.</p>
<p>I’d never heard of W&L, did a bit of research on it, and pretty much came to the conclusion that being from a family who was pretty anti-Greek, it probably wouldn’t be a good match for my kids. However, not to detract from the school at all; it looks like a very top notch school, just not a good fit for us. And DH thinks that area is among the most beautiful in the country.</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m grateful that everyone and their dog hasn’t heard of some of the smaller, less-known LACs. I tell people some of the schools my D is looking at, and they say, “huh?” Suits me just fine if everyone wants to stick to the heard ofs, except those of us who actually know better.</p>