<p>JohnWesley:</p>
<p>I just don’t view it as a horse-race like that. To me, terms like “momentum” and “closing the gap” imply something that only exists as an artificial construct in the first place. And, frankly, I don’t think 20 short years of USNEWS have any particular bearing on a choice between Wesleyan and Swarthmore. Those two schools are what they are and they have both been that way since long before USNEWS got into the business of peddling a college-ranking issue.</p>
<p>The way I see it, they are two excellent schools. Similar in some ways, different in some ways. I don’t think I’ve suggested anywhere in this thread that Moot should choose Swarthmore over Wesleyan. To the contrary, I don’t know how a total stranger could offer than advice, especially when there are admissions odds to consider.</p>
<p>All we can really do is point out differences where they exist (size, location, etc.) and let Moot sort out his or her own preferences, expecially after visits to both schools. I can’t make a value judgement based on somebody else’s criteria. For example, to me distance from Boston is a non-issue between those two schools, but I respect that it may be an issue for somebody else. Conversely, the size and the per student endowments and the diversity would be significant factors in my choice, but might not be for the next guy.</p>