Midwest vs. New England

Consolation
Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:46:18 +0000

woohoo, I went to Wellesley, which some people think of as an enclave of pearl-wearing rich girls, and most of us rolled out of bed in the morning, picked up whatever was lying on the floor, put it on, and went to class. (And yeah, many of us t-shirts and jeans-wearing sloths were upper-middle-class.) We went to the dining hall in slippers and so on. We had a tea in each dorm living room on Wednesday afternoons. It was a very nice ritual–and most people sat on the floor in their jeans

Now, if you looked at BU back in those days, you’d see comparatively dressed up girls wearing makeup. (Had to look good for the boys?) In Back Bay, they called the day BU students arrived “Cadillac Sunday.”

But which school has more of a reputation for being hoity-toity?

Carleton costs just as much as Bowdoin, and Carleton is a) need aware, and b) to my knowledge gives less financial aid. Which place do you think is going to have the more financially-diverse student body? Frankly, you won’t find many kids whose parents are seasonal blueberry pickers at ANY elite LAC. In terms of the Maine schools, I have the feeling that Bates might be more of a fit for you. If I had to choose between Bates and Carleton, I’d pick Carleton.

I would really take the stereotypes with a LARGE grain of salt. If you do get in and have to make a choice, VISIT. Good luck!