@Lindagaf I think you misunderstood me when you said, “It’s not a debate about one being better than the other. Middlebury is a great school. The OP wanted some opinions, so I gave mine. Please feel free to give yours.” I made no claims about one being better than the other. I simply disagreed with the reasoning you provided for why one’s endowment was larger than the other, and I provided some facts to support my reason for disagreeing. I think Bates is a fine school and while its endowment is not as high as many of its fellow NESCACs, it’s not like the school is struggling to survive.