<p>“The most important thing is who are your classmates that you interact with everyday.”</p>
<p>Actually, in terms of education, the most important thing is the quality of the faculty. Students discuss issues and sometimes work in teams, sure, so being among smart students is important in those aspects… but really, professors (and, in some places TAs,) teach.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d mention that.</p>
<p>How this might be used in the college search:</p>
<p>I’ve taken a hard look at Haverford’s faculty. I see tons of Harvard PhDs and PhDs from other top schools in their fields… even a few from UW-Madison (my alma mater).</p>
<p>You might say that Haverford’s students’ test scores are about 40 points (on average) lower than Swarthmore’s… but those Haverford kids are being schooled by people who have themselves been schooled at very elite academic institutions. Faculty quality should be given more weight in figuring out the quality of education at colleges and universities, IMO.</p>
<p>I tend to think that in terms of LACs, really the top ten (at least…) are pretty even overall. There is no true “HYP” among the LACs, IMO. If there were, it would be WASP – can’t forget Pomona.</p>
<p>IMO these are pretty even:</p>
<p>Williams
Amherst
Swat
Pomona
Midd
Carleton
Wellesley
Bowdoin
CMC
Haverford</p>
<p>Some are more academically rigorous, some are more “fun”, but all are excellent schools and are worthy (CMC’s score fraud notwithstanding) of being called the elite of the LACs – faculty, selectivity, overall vibe, and strength of students.</p>