<p>Hey guys–</p>
<p>As Arcadia and HC Alum have noted in one of my earlier posts I wrote: “First, I think they are both excellent and intense. IMHO, I think Haverford, Swarthmore, and Williams are in a different league than the other two you mentioned.”</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I think “a different league” may have been misinterpreted (perhaps b/c of my poor word choice). Of course in the grand scheme of schools they are all in the same league of top LACs, which is why I said they are all excellent. (When I meet someone who went to any of the 25-30 “top” school I feel a kinship. )</p>
<p>That said, I think there are differences or tiers within the group when you start cutting it more finely. So, when I was writing that I was thinking of only the top 20-25, and within that group of excellent schools I think of them in about 5 different subgroups. What I meant is that, I think of 3 of the schools the OP asked about in one subgroup (actually along with two other schools the OP didn’t ask about) and I think about the other two named schools in a slightly lower subgroups (relative to the other top LACs). </p>
<p>If I were using a 5.0 scale these subgroups would be rated 4.9, 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, etc. I mention that to say that they are all excellent and I’m making very fine gradations among excellent schools. I realize that by saying “different leagues” made it seem like the differences were greater than I intended to convey. </p>
<p>BTW, I don’t mean to be defensive, but I just adore and respect virtually all of the top LACs and I think each one can be right for a different student.</p>