I have grown to like ED less and less. And don’t even get me started on spiffs for ED…extra scholarship $, better housing, early course registration and the like.
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They can, though. Use the NPC. This is no different that FP student not being able to compare merit offers. If you would be willing to pay that price, go for it. Schools have realized they have to do this to be competitive.
The CCs at our school recommend that students who need FA apply ED if the NPC works for them.
If they want to compare offers - and not just the financial aspects, you are right – binding ED is not the right choice.
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I agree with this advice. Sadly, most disadvantaged students don’t have a college counselor to teach them this/help them work thru options.
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And, of course, no one requires the Ivy League to be “generic” cutouts of each other either. The most important part of a brand is that people find it useful to help framing a choice. To me, the term “NESCAC” has become synonymous with selective small college. Some may only find two out of the eleven actual members of the conference “good fits”. Some may be skeptical that a high degree of enthusiasm for DIII sports is enough of a common denominator to justify setting them apart from other small colleges (e.g. Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Vassar, etc.) But I think trying to describe what you want without saying, “NESCAC” is increasingly like trying to describe a spiral staircase without using your hands.
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I think this is much about an overly narrow focus on selectivity.
I mean, of course they’re different. Everything is different. And, sure, Pomona and Williams have more selective admissions and larger endowments than, say, Trinity and Conn. But there’s more to it than that.
Regional location matters. Pomona’s and Whitman’s locations are drastically different from anything that exists anywhere in New England, and even the most disparate New England locations (pick one: Middletown vs. Middlebury) will feature more overlapping experiences compared to anywhere out west.
There is the history, there is emphasis on certain sports, a strong adherence to seemingly silly traditions from a bygone era, there is the proximity to the same places, a sharing of values reflected, as one example, in their having set the bar for small college athletic recruiting standards. They are fiercely competitive with one another (just read this forum if you don’t believe me). Overall there exists a shared culture and shared values. That’s why they affiliated in the first place.
Whitman has said out loud that it models itself and strives to be like a New England liberal arts college. Whitman is an excellent school located in a state that has nothing to apologize for if I do say so myself. What does that say?
Great point about the Ivy League. It is a brand that pulls like no other. And having had a kid at Brown recently, I can list 1,000 things that distinguish Brown from several of its Ivy League counterparts. And while people do acknowledge their differences in passing, there is a strong sense of “group” among those schools. There is an overriding presumption that those schools belong together despite their differences. Nobody can comprehend that league without all eight members. And, before it’s said, the Ivy League is much, much, much, much more than an athletic conference.
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They can also back out of the ED commitment if the school isn’t affordable after the financial aid package is presented.
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Since many of you on this thread are super knowledgeable about the NESCAC schools, would any of you take a crack at ranking them along a continuum of sporty/preppy/conservative to liberal/artsy/quirky? My D26 is getting her list together and her favorite schools lean pretty liberal- Oberlin, Vassar, Smith. I’d like for her to explore a few more LACs that aren’t on her radar yet, and this would provide more info for her to decide which may be the best fit schools. Bonus points if you have any firsthand knowledge of their Enviro Science/Biology/French programs!
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From Sporty/Preppy/ Conservative to Liberal/Artsy/Quirky:
Trinity
Bowdoin
Colby
Williams
Hamilton
Middlebury
Amherst
Wesleyan
Bates
Conn
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I’d recommend Wesleyan, Bates, and Hamilton.
Colby has great programs in her areas of interest (as does Bowdoin) and while she’d find her tribe there, it wouldn’t be the dominant culture. Not NESCACs, but based on the vibe she likes, Macalester and Whitman might merit a look.
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Also, Bard.
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My liberal/artsy/quirky kid (whose sister is a Smithie) liked Wesleyan, Hamilton and Connecticut College best out of the NESCAC schools. He probably would have liked Bates a lot, but felt his list was robust enough not to warrant an addition. Non-NESCAC schools that made his LAC roster included Bard, Bennington, Reed, Macalester, Whitman and Oberlin.
My son ended up at Hamilton, and is very happy with his choice.
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My liberal/artsy/quirky kid is really happy at Wesleyan.
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In terms of vibe, I think she’d like Wesleyan and Bates. For her areas of academic interest, I’d suggest Middlebury.
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S26 is considering adding more colleges to his list. He’s looking into majoring in English with Creative Writing concentration or a CW major if available and History. He’s considering Bard, Connecticut College. Anyone here familiar with Connecticut College’s creative writing program? Looking at their faculty listing, there’s not much tenured professors there?
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Tough one to answer categorically. I have to separate sporty/preppy from liberal/artsy/quirky.
Sporty/pretty: this is really splitting hairs IMO because I think you’ll find sporty/preppy in plentiful supply at all of them, but I’d say my impression was that Middlebury and Williams seemed to have the most dominant sports programs across the board and that’s bound to show up culturally to one degree or another. Keep in mind, though, that all the NESCACs are going to feel sporty/preppy compared to Oberlin, Vassar (especially) and Smith. But for a kid targeting those schools and trying to minimize sporty/preppy, I’d say probably Wes is the least. But then again, they play football games right in the middle of campus and it’s a big happening with lots of tailgating etc. and they’re notably strong in Lacrosse, Crew and Tennis, which sounds preppy to me. But Wes is bigger than the other NESCACs sans Tufts and there are plenty of “other” students who exist there in another universe apart from the sports scene. So there you go.
Vassar is often compared to Wesleyan on many variables and they are frequently cited by those with experience at each as kindred spirit schools. None of mine attended Vassar but two were recruited to play a sport there and we came very close to ED’ing Vassar with one of my kiddos. As much as that exposure can help you “get to know” a school, and with our experience of one having actually attended Wesleyan, I would say that the comparison makes a lot of sense to me.
In terms of her interests, I can’t say much about Environmental Science, though I seem to recall that that is a Bowdoin specialty and that Hamilton has some interesting opportunities in that area as well. Anything touching language is going to favor Middlebury. And biology is pretty generic so I think they will all be strong there though I note that Wesleyan has been cited for it and has a fairly robust bio-chem department.
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I would argue that Smith is probably the sportiest of the HWCs: they have a notably strong program in crew, their basketball team has been a finalist in the D3 championship game for multiple years running, and their club teams in ultimate frisbee, ice hockey and rugby have passionate and devoted athletes. So while it is not known as being a sporty campus per se, out of the peer historically women’s colleges it has the strongest sporty culture, both in terms of athlete population and campus culture (the basketball games are always packed to by fans).
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Wes kid above had Vassar as a second choice. Knows two other kids who chose Vassar over Wes (one a recruited athlete). Agree that these two schools often appeal to the same kids.
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My D is definitely on the liberal/quirky end of the spectrum, and she’s very happy at Bates (for the record, she also really liked Vassar, Williams, and Wesleyan but felt like Colby, Hamilton, Bowdoin, and Middlebury weren’t her vibe). She’s taken French at Bates (placed into a higher-intermediate level due to AP test and course work) and enjoyed it but hasn’t continued because her Classical and Medieval Studies major requires four semesters of Latin or Greek (she chose Latin), so she hasn’t had time to pursue more languages. She’s also an Enviro Sciences major (the science track within Environmental Studies) and has really enjoyed that, as well. I would be happy to answer more questions if you have any.
Based on other schools I’ve see with her (back when she was touring schools) and S26, I would also recommend Macalester, Carleton, St. Olaf, Conn College, and Dickinson.
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Don’t read too much into the labels. My liberal quirky kid is very happy at Trinity. I’m not saying there is no validity to those labels, but each campus has a wide variety of students and attitudes.
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