Colby vs Bates vs Skidmore

lookingforward
Mon, 11 Nov 2019 05:40:57 +0000

@privatebanker I’d disagree about your characterizations. In fact, at Skidmore, we couldn’t find community activation, which was a deciding point for D1. Yes, we asked. Apparently there is high need in Saratoga, somewhat hidden to visitors. But no one could cite activation. I do believe any NE liberal college will have its active sorts. I do respect the college for some very real strengths.

Bates, in contrast, puts the book in front of you- literally, a thick binder of opps to engage with the community, near and further. Part of a center for community partnerships. Not all kids participate routinely, sure.

All three can lead to Boston and NYC (and other) finance opps.

None of the 3 are easy to get to. Lately, a lot of posts talk about Colby’s beauty. But Bates is no slouch in that dept and I find poor little Lewiston to be intriguing. (In that way New Englanders can sometimes appreciaite former mill towns and their evolution.)

But the bigger issue to me is that we’re putting the cart before the horse, not knowing if OP has the record to get into one of the 3. His questions hint he doesn’t understand what it takes. Eg, what it means to “contribute to the community.” That it’s not simply academics and networking, they vet for more. It leads me to question if he knows these schools versus just that they can serve him. Not how it works.

And the question about family LoRs refers to homeschooling. First, each college gives instructions and it generally should be someone who oversaw the high school years, there’s an intent to the LoR, it’s not just commentary (nice kid, works hard.) And 2nd, for homeschool, it’s often tough to meet their expectations when you describe isolation and main focus on academics. How will OP show engagement, in ways these colleges want to see? So, again, does he understand what it takes?