kind of a weird question but could anyone rank the NESCACs in terms of weather? so like from coldest to warmest? thanks!
Also could anyone rank them from preppiest to least preppy lol
When when I was helping my kids research schools, I went to a national weather website (Accuweather, maybe?) that had historical temperature data for every town/city where the schools of interest were located. So it was pretty easy to put together a chart showing average high/low temps for mid-January for each of my kids’ schools. You could probably do the same in 20 minutes, if you’re smart enough to attend a NESCAC.
But I’ll save you a little time and note that of the NESCACs my kids considered, my recollection is that Colby and Williams were the coldest, and Conn and Wesleyan were the warmest; Hamilton I think was in between. Ultimately, though, the differences weren’t sufficiently large to play a major role in any of my kids’ decisions to apply or attend.
^Agree, coming from a sunbelt state, once the temperature gets below 30, it’s all pretty much the same. I do remember watching game streams for my daughter’s team in early April. There was snow on the ground pretty much at every school, and the fans watching were all still in ski jackets.
NESCAC LACs, Coldest to Warmest (gaps indicate slightly larger differences)
Colby
Middlebury
Bates
Bowdoin
Hamilton (snowiest)
Williams
Amherst
Trinity
Wesleyan
Connecticut College
Based on Sperling’s data for average January low temperatures.
You might consider their lineages in terms of Eastern preparatory/boarding school matriculation lists, such as https://www.groton.org/matriculations.
^ Not at all helpful. In what world in is Columbia or NYU more preppy than Bowdoin or Colby, which is as preppy as Earlham or the Naval Academy?
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@gardenstategal: It’s the concentration of a given population that influences campus atmospheres. Therefore, I’d hope, most viewers would know to adjust for enrollment size.
@goldentrees100: If you would enjoy a satirical perspective from another generation, seek The Official Preppy Handbook, in which several NESCACs appear prominently.
Huh, I would have expected Bates to be colder than Middlebury. But then again, it’s closer to the ocean which would moderate the temperatures somewhat.
Most lists of “the preppiest” colleges are based on the personal opinions of whoever wrote the list.
On Trinity College’s Niche page, the term “preppy” was mentioned multiple times in the descriptions of the students by the students themselves, and is the most common term used. Connecticut college has “preppy” as one of the descriptions. No other college has “preppy” as a descriptor of students at that college by other students. On the other hand, the most common term used to describe students at CC is “Friendly”.
So perhaps Trinity would be considered “preppy”, Connecticut College would be somewhat preppy, while the rest do not seem to be perceived by the students who attended or attended as being preppy, at least according to the students who provided Niche with their opinions.
All of them are cold climates!!! Not like comparing Maine to Florida.
The Preppy handbook is about 100 years old. Is it still in print? Wow.
Preppy as in there are many kids from New England Prep schools with nicknames? Or preppy as in kids wear clothing from LL Bean, J. Crew and similar? I think the definition of preppy would vary by student. You can check how many kids came from private v. public schools at each. You could also check the matriculation at prep schools. Also, you can check diversity at each school. All these things will give you info but it may be better to get to the geist of what preppy means. Do you detest kids wearing polos ( one friend of mine told me her son nixxed a school for that reason). Or do you want to be with kids who have a certain criteria? Better to ask for the thing.
My kids are at prep school but I wouldn’t classify them as preppy, at all. Nor would I classify really anyone as preppy anymore. Maybe, I’d just use more common attributes.
Note that the sartorially oriented *Preppy Handbook/i was preceded by the still influential (particularly in Japan) *Take Ivy/i. Both appear to be be available through booksellers.
You know…it would be more efficient to look up the temperatures than to wade through opinion, limited experiences and discussions regarding 50 year old books.
All are cold…the 3 northern most schools in NY, VT, and ME are the coldest and historically the same (all 3 have average highs for Dec-Feb within 1.5 degrees of each other), and the warmest is Conn College thanks to being furthest South and proximity to water. High temps for all will average between 30 and 40 Dec-Feb.
Most NESCACs have beautiful falls and beautiful but extremely cold winters.
The data may be more accessible with actual temperatures included. Average January low temperatures are listed because they typically represent the cold side of climatic range. The daily low temperature commonly occurs just after sunrise.
NESCAC LACs by Average January Low Temperature (°F), Coldest to Warmest
Colby: 8.1
Middlebury: 8.8
Bates: 8.9
Bowdoin: 9.0
Hamilton: 12.0
Williams: 12.1
Amherst: 13.0
Trinity: 17.8
Wesleyan: 18.7
Connecticut College: 21.0
Source for data: Sperling’s, e.g., https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/zip-code/vermont/middlebury/05753. Grouped colleges fall within one degree of each other.
Talking about cold, temps don’t tell the whole story. Some are located in areas which get more/less snow. And some are in humid areas. Being located near the ocean or at higher elevation changes things. In sum, all are cold.
The OP suggested her own question, however, “so like from coldest to warmest?”
Physiographical aspects such as this appear indirectly in average temperature data.
As noted in reply #4.
Since most classes occur between 9am and 3pm, it might be helpful to know the temp mid-day (which should be slightly less than the high temp for the day, which tends to occur just before sunset).
It also strikes me that January is a potentially misleading choice for month, as it is the least populated month to be on campus excluding the summer (appreciating that several of these schools do have a Jan semester, but it is attended by a relatively small percentage of students).
@merc81 Think you missed the point entirely ie consider not just the temp. LOL. Don’t know if you have ever lived near the ocean ( on the East coast in Winter) Or in near the mountains. Ever see the listing on your temp gauge that says temp 45 feels like 32? Well it’s that. I live currently near the ocean and used to live quite close to Williams the underlying temps have something but not everything to do with temp. Have also been to some of these locales in Winter. They are not the same as the temp is only one aspect. Ever feel a 45 MPH wind in 32 degrees in the rain. Yep, that’s why things vary.
When I lived in Canada, Canadians used to laugh at Americans who talked about wind chill. I laughed too. But temp isn’t always equal. One needs to factor in the feels like… temp and wind and also other factors.
Hilarious. Yes, it’s cold in Maine, but I honestly can’t fathom why anyone would be concerned about temp differences at any NESCAC. I mean, the NE in NESCAC stands for New England. It’s cold, no way around it.
As for preppiness, it might be easier to say that there are preppy kids at all, but I think many would agree that Wesleyan is less preppy than the others.
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It’s not aimed at you - people are just arguing over minutia. Bottom line, Trinity is the most preppy, while Bates and Middlebury compete for being the coldest. As @Lindagaf wrote, Wesleyan is the least preppy, and Connecticut College is the least cold.
If you are looking for the optimal not preppy/not as cold combination, Wesleyan would be at the top of this list by a substantial margin. For the optimal preppy/not as cold combination, Trinity would be the obvious choice.
Since you are from the West Coast, I assume that you have no interest in attending one of the coldest colleges.