<p>Marite - on another thread you mentioned that you felt UMass Amherst would give as good, or even better, education than Skidmore. Help! My D has Skidmore on her list, but is not considering UMass-Amherst. From what little I can gather, Skidmore has double the number of kids in the top ten percent of their class, a higher range of 25-75% SATs, and half the acceptance rate of UMass Amherst. We had pretty much agreed not to look outside the first tier of schools (Skidmore is top 50) and to be honest are really not interested in publics.</p>
<p>I am asking this as a <em>total innocent</em> - I really know very little, so I am truly interested in whatever you can tell me about your comment that Umass-Amherst is better. Thank you so much - all your posts have been very insightful and helpful.</p>
<p>I did not mean to suggest that UMass-Amherst was better than Skidmore. Sorry if I gave that impression. It’s just that Songman is in state at UMass-Amherst while his son would have had to pay full tuition at Skidmore. He felt, given his financial constraints, that while Skidmore has a lot to offer, including a smaller, more intimate environment, smaller classes, etc… it was not worth the extra financial outlay. He also felt that a plus at UMass was that his son would have access to classes in the 5 college consortium (that includes Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holuoke and Smith). There are some areas in which UMass may be better than Skidmore. Some years ago, its graduate program in computer science was highly regarded. A graduate student in math at UMass-Amherst also speaks well of his department. In other areas, especially the arts, I would think Skidmore is definitely superior. BTW, my S went to Skidmore for CTY and enjoyed his stay there. Finally, UMass-Amherst is dubbed ZooMass. Not a place to consider if you want a small LAC atmosphere!</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a real basis for comparison between a large public school and a LAC. They’re totally different beasts. You can certainly get as good an education at one as the other, but they tend to provide their products through very different models.</p>
<p>The LAC’s aren’t shy about advertising what they believe distinguishes them from large univeristies, either private or public. If those qualities are important to one’s educational goals and desired learning environment, then there’s little question LAC’s are a great value, despite the hefty sticker price.</p>
<p>As for the “top tier”, I’d throw out the rankings. There are some great schools out there that don’t fit with the US News algorithms. For example, if a kid wants to major in biology and then go to a top grad school, Ursinus is definitely worth a look. It’s small, even by LAC standards, but its record in getting students into the top graduate and medical schools stands up well against the “top tier” schools.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for this next child’s college search, I have become, for some reason, highly suggestible! And since there have been negative comments on this board (as well as positive) for EVERY school on my d’s list, it gets a bit like a roller coaster ride!</p>
<p>Thanks, Marite, for the clarification. I agree that the consortium is a draw for UMass - though I have read on various threads over the past few years how negative (almost cruel) some kids at schools like Williams can be, insulting the UMass kids (this is not to offend any parents of Williams students - it’s just a fact. I have even heard the comments from some of the kids from our town’s high school, when I’ve run into them on breaks). Processedout, despite what I said, I DO agree that a good education can be found at many so-called lower ranked schools, and in fact my D is looking at several. The other kids all went to top tens, so it’s hard to let go of that mindset, but not impossible!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I liked Skidmore’s campus and its location in Saratoga. If your D is the kind of student who needs a bit of handholding and is artistic, then it could be a very good fit for her (UMASS definitely would not be!).</p>
<p>Well both are excellent schools. As a parent…I personally wanted to attend Skidmore…it fit for me but heh I’m too old. On the other hand there are a lot of pluses to a large university too. Best to try and attend the mid-April accepted student days at both if there is waffling. Saratoga is beautiful but not a college town really. One advantage to being in the top 10% of a school is that you are likely to have opportunities for outstanding internships and the special programs they offer to top students like trips and lecture series with Nobel winners and visiting dignitaries. Does U of Mass have an Honors Program and would that interest her if she is worried Skidmore, by being more competeive, may be more academically challenging? I agree that the ratings are questionable and should be used as a minor tool in this process. Accetance percentages for larger schools will rarely compete with small LACs just based on volume alone. The good news is that they are both outstanding schools with different feels so she should decide on fitand where she’ll feel happiest. Social life is really important to a successful college transition. Good luck and keep us posted.</p>
<p>Well my son just finished a year at Umass/ Amherst(Commonwealth COllege) .He made the dean’s list for the first semester and only lamented the Skidmore decision in the first month or so. If you look under colleges “m” you will see my comments on his first year at Umass/Amherst. We cannot comment on the educational quality of Skidmore as he never attended. We were impressed however with our entire admissions process with Skidmore ,unfortunately we did not do our homework back then and somehow we thought he might qualify for some merit aid. Skidmore has virtually no merit awards from what I was told. Umass cost us 18,000 this year in total. Skidmore would have been $45,000…I will post addtional comments tomorrow as to whether or not the value vs benefit analysis we made regarding state schools and 2nd/3rd tier LAC’s was worthwhile to our son and his parents.</p>