<p>Though I more or less faded from view at post 1,000 last fall, I’ve lurked a bit recently, and did want to let CC old-timers know that I have finally taken my shameless hyping of small liberal arts colleges where it belongs, and have left my arts job for a fundraising position at a small liberal arts college.</p>
<p>In the near-term, my lurking will fade as well, though I will return every so often with a report from behind the scenes.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone that helped me sharpen my thinking about college admissions and higher education in general, and enabled me to pass some good information on to friends and relatives during their college admission campaigns. </p>
<p>reid, that is great news. And I thank YOU for the good helpful information you gave me when I first came to CC. My D is thrilled with her LAC; I hope you will be too.</p>
<p>Best of luck! Your hyping of LAC’s wasn’t the least bit shameless. I appreciated your reports, particularly of those in the fly-over part of the country - the Midwest.</p>
<p>Yeah! No fading please…Some of us who went the mid-size university route for kid #1 are paddling around the dark when it comes to LACs for kid #2. Especially because here in CA they are few and far between.`</p>
<p>Fading as the board is doing just fine without an additional 1,000 posts from me. But I will check in from time to time, if for no other reason to keep Xiggi honest <g>.</g></p>
<p>My broken-record pitch to folks from Cali and the northeast is that Midwest LACs are still the best place to look for quality relative to selectivity. (Put Carleton, Macalester and Grinnell in the Northeast or Cali and you’d have CMG instead of AWS.) Schools like St. Olaf, Beloit, Lawrence, Kalamazoo (and more) are also underrated.</p>
<p>I will always remember you so fondly as being a wonderful contributor to my son’s process last year! Your new employer is VERY lucky to have you, I think! CONGRATS on your new position!! I hate to think of others here at CC not being able to benefit from your knowledge…please return anytime! Meanwhile, Mazel Tov and BEST OF LUCK!!!</p>
<p>reid - one last question. Let’s say Carleton, Macalester and Grinnell were on the East Coast. Which would be Amherst, which would be Williams and which would be Swarthmore? Or would they all be one of them or all be different?</p>
<p>“My broken-record pitch to folks from Cali and the northeast is that Midwest LACs are still the best place to look for quality relative to selectivity. (Put Carleton, Macalester and Grinnell in the Northeast or Cali and you’d have CMG instead of AWS.) Schools like St. Olaf, Beloit, Lawrence, Kalamazoo (and more) are also underrated.”</p>
<p>Agreed, and put Earlham on the east coast and, because of its unique character, it would likely be the most selective LAC in the country. I’ve joked with the admissions director, a personal friend, that if they bought a campus in southern Vermont, they could keep the one in Indiana as a “study abroad” option. </p>
<p>I have to admit that I do not really buy this “if the school were be here or there, it would be the best or most selective.” My take is that the usual suspects do just fine where they have been for generations. Pomona does not seem to suffer too much from its sunny location, nor does CGM. Was Williams really built in such choice location? Is Middlebury? Is Amherst “that” accessible or attractive? </p>
<p>I am, for one, thrilled that there schools outside the Northeast that are worth attending. After all, doesn’t Macalester print on its catalog that the sun does shine 50 days a year?</p>
<p>xiggi, it may be tough for someone outside the northeast to believe it, but yes, Middlebury is thought to be in a good location by a lot of folks. And many folks love western Mass (Amherst land), too. Williams may be a bit tougher sell based on location, though.</p>
<p>Add Oberlin, Rochester and CMU to the geographic constraint list. </p>
<p>Some would argue that Northwestern and Chicago are both hurt by their midwestern (flyover) location, especially Chicago’s winter reputation.</p>
<p>Thanks friends (you too Xiggi <g>) for the kind words. I’ll be back after a few months in the rarefied air of higher ed.</g></p>
<p>Me2 - Keep in mind that facilities and campus attributes, though significant, should not the most important factors in a decision to attend a particular college. Facilities are important, sure, particularly for physical science students, but these factors should simply be tie-breakers for most; not key factors.</p>
<p>The campuses and facilities of Williams and Middlebury basically blow Macalester’s completely out of the water."</p>
<p>The town, the internship opportunities, and the international connections at Macalester basically blow Williams and Middlebury out of the water. (I spoke there last month, and it isn’t even close.)</p>
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