Right now, Roth is showing a lot of chutzpah, even for him. In a sense, he is putting Wesleyan in the crosshairs, but I think in the long run history will vindicate his choice to speak up. He’s not just screaming “Hitler!”, but putting forth a sound argument against what’s going on in the executive branch. Also fascinating from the piece is how difficult it has been to get presidents from other schools to join in speaking out. It’s a bit like the law firms … some just want to keep making money and not deal with the short-term ramifications of pushing back.
Hamilton, too, is showing some spine here in even having Obama around for a Q&A. This climate of political vendetta and score settling is severe enough that, yes, sadly, even interviewing Obama and letting him sound off on one’s own platform is an act of courage.
I wonder how others feel about their institutions in the NESCAC. Proud? Disappointed? Is your school speaking up or keeping their heads down in the “live to fight another day” fashion?
As an alum, I’m thankful for Roth. I think other schools are not as activist and it might just seem out of line, out of character for them to proactively say something.
Yeah, that’s the rep. But when you look at it, other NESCACs do get into the fight. Not long after Wesleyan, BLM hit many of the other campuses with robust protests, walkouts, etc. And Williams and Middlebury have had “speaker” protests, just off the top of my head. I think. Others will have to chime in, but I seem to recall a few NESCACs in the news with activism of various sorts. Agree that, in the main, it seems Wesleyan is a bit of a bellwether in the conference when it comes to speaking out (or speaking loudly).
I admire Roth’s courage, but is it possible Wesleyan (Hamilton too?) materially doesn’t have a lot of Federal $ at risk, unlike the large research universities? Thus the threat of grants being withheld is less? (I can’t believe withholding has become a thing).
As compared to large research unis, not only possible but certain. Relative to other LACs, I’m guessing Wesleyan has more to lose than most given that they are always among the top LACs in research dollar spend. I know they get $$ from the NSF; but I don’t know if that money is in jeopardy (I presume it is) and how much they get from other federal sources.
Hamilton, a little less so. Based on NSF reports from 2023, Wesleyan’s R&D spend was $10.828 million and Hamilton’s was $3.244 million.
But, yeah, compared to the big research shops, Wes is not as exposed.
Colby also announced “record apps” on their social media today. More than 20,000 applications. Bates also has informally stated “record apps” but I haven’t seen any official link for that. So, the three Maine schools are reporting strong numbers. Note: I don’t think Colby has an app fee or essay.
Here’s the post: “A record-breaking 20,144 students have applied to Colby, the largest and most competitive applicant pool in the history of the College. Of those, 7 percent have been offered admission to join the Class of 2029. Read more at the link in bio.”
“A record-breaking 20,144 students have applied to Colby, the largest and most competitive applicant pool in the history of the College. Of those, 7 percent have been offered admission to join the Class of 2029. Read more at the link in bio.”
If Bates had over 10,000 applicants for the Class of 2029, and Bowdoin had over 14,000, is it reasonable to infer that Colby received an extra 6,000-10,000 applications merely because the app is free?
Yes, and I agree with you, but it’s a lot easier to just apply “for free” than seeking a fee waiver. Common App + no fee + no supp essays + good school is a recipe for a lot of applications - at least with some of the kids we know.
I think it is reasonable to infer that the free application attracts applicants. Especially in a world where most use the common app and applying to another school is a matter of a few clicks. What I find interesting is that Colby’s yield is still high (in the 40s I believe, which is comparable to other selective schools like many NESCACs) - meaning that people who are accepted decide to enroll. So Colby gets more applications, gets to choose among them who it wants, and they decide to go in pretty good numbers, which seems a pretty winning formula for it.
All good points. And we think Colby is amazing. But just want to point out it takes a majority of kids in ED - so it is fairly easy to get an “overall” yield of ~ 40%. High ED yield (by definition), and then ~20% RD yield.
I’d agree with that. My Mule really liked Bates. We know lots of kids who applied to Bowdoin and Colby but not Bates. Overall, I feel like the 3 Maine schools have a lot in common with each other and that the differences are more around the edges. I encourage people considering any 1 of them to look at all 3. Vacationland!