<p>These are all great schools. In terms of selectivity they fall roughly into two categories, with Bates, Hamilton and Colby in the first with acceptance rates in the mid-20’s to low 30’s, and Union, Skidmore and Lafayette in a second with rates in the low 40’s. HOWEVER, the best school is the best school for YOU. Have you taken a good look at each school and what it has to offer? Spend some time on the school websites and look at requirements, popular majors and differences in the social atmospheres. For instance, do you want to be in a frat or major in engineering? If so Lafayette would be a good choice. Do you love to ski? One of the Maine schools might be the right place for you. These schools (with perhaps Lafayette as a tiny bit of an outlier) look very similar until you start to dig deep. For a comparison of two schools on your list,</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1405627-bates-colby.html#post14958898[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1405627-bates-colby.html#post14958898</a></p>
<p>If you don’t have a clear frontrunner, why not apply to all of them RD and then revisit the schools to which you are admitted?</p>