Seeking college recommendations for progressive intellectual student

gotham_mom
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 16:36:53 +0000

@MIP750 I would take a closer look at Amherst if you’re only adding one reach. He just sounds like he’ll find more of his people at Middlebury, Williams, Bates, Carleton, and Bowdoin. (FWIW, my D applied to all of those schools except Carleton, only due to location, and didn’t apply to Amherst because, despite its diversity, the students felt more mainstream with a smaller arts scene on campus.)
I have two friends with first-years at Amherst, one is a recruited athlete the other is not. Both of them said that their Ds felt the athlete/nonathlete divide was real. This was probably exacerbated by COVID since almost all activities were virtual except for teams working out together. Both said that they found Amherst’s closed campus and COVID protocols overly strict considering the low number of cases, the fact that students were not allowed to leave campus except for emergencies, and that there were only first-years and sophomores on campus. The athlete exclusively socialized with her team whom she had met during the recruiting process. The nonathlete said that she hardly knew an athlete beyond those in her dorm. The most telling thing is that the athlete will be going remote for second semester when she’ll be living in a house with her teammates. The house is not in MA, but is in a town where other Amherst teams are renting houses. The nonathlete is going back.
I am sure there were similar issues at other peer schools, but Middlebury, Williams, and Bates invited all years back to campus and adjusted their policies as the semester went on and positive tests remained low.
Edited to add some CC experts who will have valuable insight:
@RosePetal35 has a D who is an RA at Amherst
@MWolf has a D at Middlebury (sophomore who dances, I think)
@Contented_Panther Middlebury student or recent alum