Introverted, bright, anxious student, politics/govt major (pre law) considering Bates, Colby, Conn Coll. Advice/experience on these three colleges?
Thanks.
These are all very friendly, collaborative schools with a nice mix of students. I don’t think they differ much on that front. My kid really liked all 3 and chose Colby. He had friends at the other two. He did a lot of studying in groups.
I think one of the nice things about these schools is that they have a mix of kids with a mix of interests and an abundance of opportunities on so many fronts that there is no need to compete with your classmates.
Can you attend the revisit days for admitted students? The vibe at one might just stand out as more comfortable. They are all a little different around the edges so that one might be a better fit academically and/or socially, but they are all great schools and excellent options. You really can’t go wrong.
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for introverted, bright, anxious politics/govt major (pre-law) - considering Bates, Colby, Conn College. Thoughts?
Perhaps consider Vassar or Haverford, which appear in this site:
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What are your child’s stats? If he/she is competitive for Colby and Bates, they have plenty of options.
My D attended Bates. It is very collaborative. All those LACs are collaborative though. No bad choices, simply varying degrees of selectivity, with Conn College having a higher acceptance rate than the other two.
If your child is definitely leaning towards LACs, and is open to a slightly broader geographical range, consider Skidmore, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, and further afield, Grinnell, Kenyon, and Macalester. There are many others, but those come to mind as having very collaborative students.
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The academics will be terrific at all three of these schools in this area of interest – check out the department catalogs to get a sense of the range of courses offered. I can tell you that my (introverted, bright, anxious) daughter is a very happy first-year at Bates, and she chose it in part because of the supportive and collaborative environment – this description really does match the vibe. I also think that all three of these schools will be well-equipped to connect students to internships relevant to politics and the law. Bates offers many community-based learning opportunities, as well. Check out Bates’s Center for Purposeful Work and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to get a sense of some opportunities specific to Bates.
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Are you asking about an active decision from among colleges to which your child has been accepted? (If so, then my earlier reply will not be relevant, of course).
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yes - accepted to all three, going to accepted students days for all three (well, the student is; I’m going to two of the three)
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Hi, thank you. Sorry I wasn’t clear - the student is accepted to all three (also F&M and Skidmore, didn’t apply to the others you listed - liked F&M a lot but trying to narrow things down)
Thank you, that is good to hear.
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This post offers brief opinion-based comments on two of your child’s potential choices in the context of comments on other liberal arts colleges: NESCAC Spoken Here: - #5 by merc81 .
Great acceptances - congrats! think they would all work well. I’d try to revisit and let him choose (assuming they are equally affordable).
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Ah, I see! Well, @Shelby_Balik and I are probably biased, but Bates is a great choice. My daughter was really shy and nervous as a freshman. Being able to form good friendships with nonjudgmental peers at an institution that valued critical thinking skills was key for her.
She is now a confident woman who has made her way in the world, living far from home, in a career she enjoys. My honest opinion is that Bates brought out the best in her. She was empowered to take advantage of any opportunities she could find.
Or maybe she just grew up😃
P.S. Have a look at this for my thoughts on Bates:
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/how-bates-prepared-my-student-for-her-future
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Colby is close to Maine’s state capital. There may be some interesting options there during the school year, including Jan Plan, (maybe through Davis Connects). If there’s a session that includes Davis Connects, it could be worth your while to get more info.
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Yeah, I’d just echo that the OP is already down to a great list of options given the stated preferences. So I would not worry about the vibe/culture being a worse bet for this kid at any of these options.
How to then pick one is up to the kid, but it could be intuitive during a visit, it could be after looking at a political science department webpage, it could be interacting with other admitted students on social media . . . whatever gets the kid the most excited at this point, when choosing among colleges like this, is a good reason to me.
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Bates is almost as close (from the opposite direction), and has a similar option to Jan Plan (Short Term - it’s in May rather than January). Not that I’m trying to set up a contest between Bates and Colby! Just pointing out the similarities.
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I see that now! Bates is only about 10 minutes farther by car. Having had to stay in Augusta because I failed to make reservations as early as others who planned better, I know it’s close. (Sigh.)
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One downside to BBC – Maine hotel rooms in little college towns are hard to come by (for reasonable prices) during high-demand weekends! Definitely have to plan early!
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What wonderful options!! Congrats. My S24 especially liked Conn College. We visited three times. If you didn’t visit and have any questions about vibe etc., I’d be happy to post our trip report. Just lmk!
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