<p>Oldbatesiedoc, I’m really interested in your view (or your son’s view) that Amherst kids are more “preppie” than those at Midd. We live in the Midwest, so before our East Coast college tour this past June we just tried to learn all we could about the LAC’s from sbooks and blogs, such as CC. We did not visit Midd or Bowdoin just because everything we read suggested that they were more preppie than Amherst and Williams (ie more wealthy kids, polo shirts and Docksider shoes, drinking as an integral part of socializing, …). My son does not want to be in a preppy environment or one that has a high percentage of Greeks. My son adored Amherst, Williams, and Carleton (the latter is not East Coast, of course). He found all three of them to have a diverse student body and they seemed warm, fun, and not at all “preppy”. However, I’m not saying we are right or you are wrong; again, we didn’t visit Middlebury and Bowdoin.</p>