All fair points. I am in the industry but did a masters in financial engineering so realize coming out of a liberal arts school is not the best prep. Honestly not totally clear where he will end up. Definitely has an entrepreneurial side, but math skills are really off the charts, so a bit of a different profile than the typical Econ major from a liberal arts school playing the finance game (which was me by the way. 
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Have you taken a look at Williams? Ticks most of those boxes.
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Yes I think Williams is probably the strongest in both math and music of the NESCACs. Not sure his profile is strong enough. Have also heard it to be a bit of an intense environment. S24 is definitely more laid back.
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Agreed. The schools in your OP might well be a better fit!
This may benefit from clarification.
Just FYI, Bates just approved (to start in the 2025-26 academic year, I think) a digital and computational studies major that includes data science.
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DS went to Colby, and it could be a good option for your son both academically and fit wise. There are a lot of ways to connect different disciplines through Davis Connects. And lots of kids doing things with math besides math. Very outdoorsy.
I think one of the challenges with all of these schools is how visits depend so much on tour guide, who you tour with, weather, whatâs going on on campus (midterms, sporting events, etc.)
Fwiw, my kid looked at most of these too and ended up with Bates and Colby at the top of his list.
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Sorry for the typo! 1510 - 760 Math and 750 Verbal. May retake bc he feels his math should really be higher. 
Will attempt to fix in the original post. Thanks for catching!
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Fully agree! During our Colby tour it was about 35 degrees and raining steadily. Bowdoinâs tour was dominated by an outspoken prep school kid and parents. We lucked out at Bates from that perspective.
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These subjective comments appeared earlier in the topic, in case you missed them: NESCAC Spoken Here: - #5 by merc81.
Would you explain more about the âtwo sidesâ thingie with Hamilton? Was that your own impression or was it influenced by the tour guide? I ask because over the years Iâve noticed an especial sensitivity on the subject that I canât quite explain 
All the NESCACs have older and newer parts of campus, so whatâs the big deal at Hamilton?
Bates is strong in its various departments and is academically highly regarded, so Iâm not clear in what way the program isnât a fit when he likes the vibe. He can reach out to people at the dept he is interested in. He can check out the numbers of students who receive Fulbrights and other schoalrships. Itâs very academically solid. It seems he likes Bates the best and ED will likely help him.
You can read my pinned post in the Bates forum about how my childâs experience prepared her for her future.
He can check out sites such as N*iche to get a better feel for his schools of interest. There is a good reason the collective NESCACs have a strong reputation.
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My kid is a freshman at Williams; when I read your first post, I immediately thought that Williams sounded like a near-perfect match. My kid is also interested in math (having done multi calc and linear algebra in HS) and has liked the department so far, but probably wonât major in it. Finding it a bit grindy, but that may not speak so much to the college, but to being a 3-season athlete and taking 2 lab classes each semester of freshman year. Overall, loves the place and hasnât doubted it being the right choice even once. Happy to answer any questions!
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Honestly, it sounds like Hamilton might be a great fit! My daughter is a sophomore there- super outdoorsy (the outing club is huge and very active), laid back, friendly campus community; bright, driven kids, but very supportive of one another and they maintain close relationships with their professors.
Regarding the "light side vs. âdark sideâ- that is not an actual âthingâ in any meaningful way, other than College Hill Road separates the two, with a crosswalk. The campus center and a main dining hall sit at either side of the crosswalk, so itâs a hub of activity around the area- no divide. The terms are a playful way to distinguish between the older, original side of campus (âdark sideâ) vs. the newer side of campus (âlight sideâ). There is no segregation between the student population, no rivalry, etc. Itâs an old stereotype that is only brought up currently in jest. All students must utilize both sides of campus daily due to classes, dining halls, etc. Seriously, this should be a non-consideration.
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FYI, Bates now offers a Digital andComputer science major. Digital and Computational Studies | Bates College
This is in line with the collegeâs more recent emphasis on STEM following the opening of the new Bonney Science Center. Bonney Science Center | Campus Tour | Bates College
@SopranoQuant it might be worth noting that big 4 accounting firms recruit from Bates. My D was approached by one such firm.
It is probably safe to assume that if a NESCAC is offering a particular major, they are going to do a good job educating their students in that major. Itâs not a case of only Bowdoin is good at Math, and only Colby is good at Env. Sciences, and only Hamiton is good at Poli Sci. Middlebury, for example, is known for its excellent FL programs. A lot of people may not be aware though that Bates has an excellent FL program too, even it is is small and not well known. (You can pm me for more details if you like re FL at Bates.) I am sure Conn Coll has some excellent program that they perhaps do better than some others, and so forth. But they are all good quality. I think you get the idea 
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My D is finishing up her sophomore year at Bates, and I can back up everything @Lindagaf has said about it above. My D is not STEM/Finance focused (well, sheâs STEM insofar as Environmental Studies is one of her majors, but sheâs not interacted so much with the math end of STEM), so I canât speak to those departments (It would be a good idea to contact current students), but I think it checks off all the boxes you originally listed. Plenty of opportunity for outdoorsy activities (the outing club is very active, and probably the largest club on campus - members and non-members can take advantage). There is a club ski team for skiers who arenât there for varsity, and a lot of people ski recreationally. Fits the âleft leaning but not activistâ and âsporty but not âbroââ descriptions to a tee. Less intense and grindy than many other similar LACs, but still intellectually vibrant. Very friendly and supportive community, and the professors are highly accessible. My daughter has developed close relationships with many of her profs.
Of course, you could probably say much of this about most of the schools youâre considering. But I think Bates has a little less of the work-hard/play-hard culture that some people describe of Colby, less of the cliquish social scene that some have described of Middlebury, and less of the intense grindy culture that some have described of Williams. (And before anyone quotes me on any of this â I know these are stereotypes and not universal experiences, though I think thereâs a bit of truth to them based on what weâve seen on our own campus visits and what we know from people whoâve attended these schools.) All of the schools youâre considering are outstanding and will provide special experiences, of course. But a lot of your kidâs preferences describe Bates.
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@Shelby_Balik My D graduated 5 years ago and I am so glad to hear that what you describe for your sophomore now is exactly the environment my D had during her time at Bates. I think this especially resonates:
And yes, the Outing Club has always been very active!
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Bates students recognize their science center as being one of the better such facilities nationally:
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More intense in what way? My kid is at one of the schools on your list and has friends at several of the schools on your list. Based on their comments and anecdote I think that Williams is more pre-professional and Middlebury has to heaviest workload. The kid at Bates is the most laid back of the group and the great thing is that all of them love their schools. Find the right fit and youâll have the right school.
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My kid graduated in 2023. The NARP isnât that strong, and it didnât seem all that cliquey, at least for first years coming in. However, it is isolated, so the social life is almost entirely within the college. So social groups do form by Junior year, though my kid was still making friends across campus as s senior.
In general, all LACs will have that sort of thing happening, especially ones that have little social interaction outside the college.
You will find a lot of âprep school/boarding school vibeâ in all the NESCACs to a certain extent, since these are colleges that are high on the list of many graduates of prep/boarding schools of the NE. Most liberal arts colleges have a strong regional attraction, and the NE has a pretty high proportion of private prep/boarding schools.
Despite its reputation, Midd does not have a large number of language majors. Social sciences, and life/physical sciences make up the large majority of majors. As expected, Social sciences is dominated by Econ, IR, and Poli Sci. There are two multidisciplinary majors which are pretty large - Environmental Sciences and Neuroscience.
There is a strong tendency for evaluations (in sciences too) to be based on essays, take-home exams which require long answers, and such. That may, however, be the case at other LACs, as well.
Itâs Econ seems more traditional, rather than the Math/Econ of Colgate and Bowdoin, but youâd have to ask.
In any case, like for any other LAC, itâs all about fit and vibe. All of the NESCACs are excellent, but like with any LAC, fit is crucial to thrive and succeed.
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