Yes I read that in the news too. They are concentrating courses in threee areas and term it a reorganization. Enrollment is way down and Clark also has a large percentage of international students especially grad students.
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Youâve gotten some great suggestions so far that Iâd echo.
- Itâs early in your journey so your kidâs criteria might change. My boarding school kid was fairly adamant by senior year that they did not want schools that felt like 4 more years of exactly the same thing, so picked a different location and bigger school. But many classmates were fine staying small - depended on the kid. Check out a mix.
- Certain kids will pick certain types of similar-vibe schools. Great idea to have your kid pay attention to what seniors are going where.
- Youâre probably going to have to compromise on something later in forming your list.
A lot of New England LACs are not as close to cities as Concord and Andover are to Boston. If easy access to a bigger city remains a top need, I think this would remove Williams, Colby, Middlebury, Hamilton and Colgate from your list. But maybe vibes will be more important later, or prestige, vs. pure geography. - When exploring names, I relied on two books to figure out a first cut of âfitâ - one is the Fiske Guide, which does a good job giving overviews of schools and references âsimilarâ programs of where other kids apply as well for each school. I also liked a Howard Greene book called The Hidden Ivies. Itâs very out of date in terms of stats etc. (2016 edition I think) but gave very helpful descriptions for all the LACs and many mid sized schools, describing what the schoolsâ ideal students were and how students themselves described their colleges. There may be better/newer options out there now but I donât know them.
Here are names Iâd check out, with my own biased color:
- Amherst - prestige classic LAC, compact campus, but near a nice college town and UMass Amherst, where you can take classes if the campus starts feeling too small. Historic rivalry with Williams - Williamsâs second pres broke off and took some students and books (and the color purple) eastward and founded Amherst. Less remote than Williams.
- Wellesley (women only). Beautiful enclosed suburban campus with lots of leafy paths and stone buildings, plus an upscale town walking distance from campus. Academic and well networked. Frequent free student shuttle to Cambridge right from campus and cross registration at area schools including MIT.
- Holy Cross - in a city itself (Worcester) and you can take a bus to Boston in 2 hrs. Easier admit than some other LACs on this list like Amherst and Bowdoin. Catholic LAC - Jesuit tradition. The only Catholic LAC I believe. Strong teaching.
- Bowdoin - in cute Maine town, Brunswick. Outdoorsy, preppy, bookish? Accessible to Portland. Annual lobster bake.
- Bates - in a more working class Maine town. Friendly, intellectual, a little more low key in vibe vs. similar LACs? Also fairly near Portland.
- Wesleyan is in a suburban area with small shops etc. (not as upscale as Concord). Not far from New Haven. Liberal, very artsy, great school for theater/dance etc. - where Lin-Manuel Miranda went.
- Vassar (not in NE but neither is Colgate) - photogenic campus (starring in some current TV shows by Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey) with imposing architecture, former womenâs college now coed. Can be an easier admit for male applicants because of this despite coeducation happening 50+ years ago. Progressive, artsy vibe. In Poughkeepsie, which has things to do, but also a train to NYC in 2.5 hours. Close to the Culinary Institute of America so the restaurants punch above their weight.
- Trinity - in Hartford so a city vibe already but you can get to New Haven easily (41 min drive) or NYC if you are resourceful. Campus is nice (Hartford is less so), vibe is preppy/sporty and fun loving. Boarding school kids will fit right in.
Once you identify which schools your kids click with, I encourage you to branch out further- youâll probably find that you are more flexible after all on size (adding bigger schools like Tufts or BC), proximity to city life (adding more isolated schools like Middlebury or Colgate), or region (perhaps adding Philly, Minneapolis, North Carolina or Los Angeles options). An Amherst kid might like Swarthmore, a Wellesley kid might like Bryn Mawr, a Bowdoin kid might like Davidson or Carleton or Pomona, a Wesleyan kid might like Macalester, etc.
Good luck!
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Thereâs a Youtube contributor called, âUniversity Walking Tourâ - thatâs their name. What I like about them is that their videos are unedited, they are a recording of someone literally walking with a steady-cam in front of them in real time. The only sound you hear is of the personâs footsteps. Itâs actually kind of eery but informative: if there are places where there are a lot of steps to climb - they climb every step; if thereâs only one way to reach the main campus from your parked car - thatâs the route they take. And thereâs a whole section devoted to LACs, if you scroll down:
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Perhaps have your kid set up time with the college counselor (expert in all things!) to get the names of recent alums who are now at these schools. Your kid can then set up a chat with anyone who is willing to discuss the areas of interest/concern.
Many kids in HS way overestimate the amount of time they will be spending in the âfun cityâ close by. There is tons to do on campus- both programs sponsored by the college and activities initiated and run by students. Unless itâs truly a suitcase school (which I donât think any of the colleges which have been mentioned are) which empties out by 3 pm on Friday, there is usually WAY too much going on for kids to need to venture far for fun.
I get that youâd like easy proximity to an airport- but thatâs a totally different thing from wanting stores and restaurants close by, or having lots of entertainment options. So perhaps hearing from a recent alum of your kids school (who will understand the vibe you are shooting for) is more valuable than the perspective of a bunch of random strangers?
From my perspective- Wesleyan (for example) is too far from either Boston or NY to make it a regular thing. But itâs likely that your kid will fly out of JFK or Logan for visits homeâand on the major breaks, the college will run shuttles and buses to the various airports. New Haven- not far, but there is so much going on at Wesleyan that kids donât need to be in New Haven except for something special (a particular concert, for example. But not just to âletâs go hang out in New Havenâ even though itâs become a nice foodie town with great art and theater.
Wellesley- gorgeous campus, easy walk to upscale shopping in the center of the suburb, easy vans to Cambridge and Boston, easy access to public transportation. The women at Wellesley are in Boston or Cambridge frequently, although it is not a suitcase school at all.
Etc. We could go through everything thatâs been suggested and give you pros and cons, but maybe have your kid start with recent alums?
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Agree that the Venn union between all LACs that have restaurants and some shopping within walking distance, and all LACs that are near big cities will be quite small. For example, the University of Richmond is near enough Virginiaâs capital to be named after it, but thereâs barely a Dunkinâ Donuts within walking distance of it. OTOH, Bowdoin has the requisite food and shopping amenities but does Portland count as a nearby big city?
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No.
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Bates students can hop on the bus on campus and get to downtown Portland pretty quick. It feels enough like a big city to scratch that itch. But they can also get to the Target in Auburn Maine in about three minutes on the bus and can walk to the best bagels anywhere in 15.
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Also â donât forget friends with cars! My daughter (at Bates) has done the box store errands, the occasional meal out in town, nature/birding walks, trips to Portland (and beyond), afternoons on the coast, went off-campus to see the eclipse and northern lights, etc. All in her friendsâ cars. Only one or two weekends in Boston, but a lot more is accessible off campus within a shorter radius.
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Define âpretty quickâ. Itâs 2 hours each way if you take the bus.
Nope. Just in the interests of accuracy & correct facts, here are some examples of others as per the Carnegie classifications:
Stonehill
St. Michaelâs
St. Maryâs (IN)
Holy Cross (IN)
St. Benedict (MN)
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas More
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Itâs an hour to downtown Portland from Bates campus on the LAP commuter bus, and a few minutes longer to the transportation center. Not much longer than driving. Not sure which bus youâre thinking of.
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Thanks for posting the schedule. When I did a search on Google maps, they reported longer times, anything from 1:40 to 2+ hours. I have no idea why theyâre different from the hour & 9 minutes on your schedule, but glad to see that Portland is more accessible than I thought. 
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Google Maps would include the time to get to the bus stop and wait for the bus which will vary based on when you make the query and how long it is until the next bus.. The hour and 9 minutes is from boarding the bus.
So yes, youâd add a walk to the stop and a bit of a wait so you donât miss the bus.
Having said that, Iâm always surprised to see how many performance tours include a stop in Portland. Itâs a pretty vibrant small city.
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Well, Portland is the largest city in Maine. Plenty for busy college students to do.
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Bill itâs one hour from Bates to Portland on the LAP bus. I think thatâs pretty quick: https://www.maine.gov/dot/sites/maine.gov.dot/files/images/lap_schedule_02122025.png
General fyi: My experience with Google maps is that it can show every possible route (including connections or slow trains/buses) and the fastest ones might not always come up first depending what time of day you search. (As an example, doing a search for a public transit option in Europe just gave me anything from 18 minutes (direct train) to almost 2 hours. The 18 minutes option was about 5th on the list after the longer ones.) Something to bear in mind for anyone using it to map colleges to their nearest town/airport/whatever.
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Thanks. I tend to rely on them. Good to know better. 
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I think this is so true. Hamilton is a prime example. You often will read itâs not near much, but itâs literally 5 minutes from Target, TJ Maxx, Home Depot, tons of restaurants, a mall, thrifting, etc. The adorable village of Clinton is a long walk or short bike ride away. TONS to do on their large, green campus including hiking, glens, etc. Short distance to the Adirondacks. Plus, youâve got the neighboring city of Utica with a lot of âfoodieâ restaurants that parents love, while having lots of student friendly restaurants such as Chipotle, hibachi, Panera, etc. Point being, thereâs not much else the students would ever needâŠItâs obviously not urban, if a student is looking for that, but feels very suburban. Flights out of Syracuse (approx. an hour West) and Albany (approx. 1- 1 1/2 hours East). You could easily incorporate Hamilton and Colgate in one trip and depending where youâre coming from, possibly Skidmore, Union, and Vassar.
As already stated, geographic location might not end up being the end all be all if there are other aspects the student loves. My oldest was hell bent on urban and ultimately chose an LAC that was more rural and a great fit and she did not regret it. My son was 100% certain heâd go to a small suburban or rural school and ended up at a very large urban school and LOVED it. We did strongly encourage them to at least look at schools/environments that didnât fit what they were convinced they wanted and ultimately, Iâm glad we did because their love of the specific schools outweighed the geographical aspects they were convinced they wanted initiallyâŠ
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Williams is the same. It is certainly rural to get to but it is about 10 minutes from North Adams which has all of that. Walmart same day delivery can get you anything you want within a few hours, doordash works and there are great restaurants to walk to on Spring Street. There is really no such thing as truly rural anymore. And if we are considering 1 hour trip reasonable, Albany is one hour away.
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If Williams is not rural, I donât know what is. North Adams is a small town. Iâve been there.
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