Wellesley vs. Williams vs. Amherst

pmyen
Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:15:58 +0000

Measureyourself,
I am not saying that prestige doesn’t matter; but rather, other factors can, and perhaps should, enter the decision analyses of prospective students.
I know students that chose a division III school so that they could play a sport whereas they may not have been able to make the team or would have had to make a major time investment to play in a division I school. Their particular sport was an important part of their life up until then, and they wanted to have an intensive experience in college without jeopardizing their academic goals. Choosing a LAC for extracurriculars would not be ludicrous for that individual if the academics and future opportunities after graduation were fairly similar betwen the Divison III and Divsion I school.

I also like to look at college as a value-added experience. What gives the most value to that experience may depend on the individual. A gifted but shy math student might be able to take higher level courses at a university and he/she may be able to pursue that passion to the limit as an undergraduate. However, it is possible that at a LAC, he/she might be able to do an independent study in some of these areas or perhaps more likely, explore or develop interests in other areas while in college in order to get a more well-rounded education-which afterall, is the goal of a liberal arts education. Most students attending LACs will go on to some graduate or professional school where they can then study their eventual area of expertise in depth. Additionally, LACs often, although not always, provide a more nurturing and close-knit community. The profs, deans, and most of your classmates will know who you are. Maybe for a shy student (I don’t want to perpetuate the stereotype that math majors are shy but allow me this example), a LAC may be a better place for him/her to grow as a person and develop social skills. Perhaps that student might even be happier (again very subjective) at a LAC (although it could still be vice versa depending on the the individual). What is important is that students try to know themselves well and what they want from college when they choose which college to attend.

When I visited the Amherst admissions office unannounced after acceptance, the dean of admissions immediately knew who I was after I introduced myself, even though we had never met. Maybe by chance he read my folder or maybe he made a point to read over the applications of all the admits. Or perhaps he had a photographic memory. Anyways, it was a bit scary at first but it definitely made a strong impression upon me as I felt that I counted as an individual and was not a statistic.

Another vignette: one of my former professor develops puzzles as a hobby and I was touched to receive quite unexpectedly one of his newest creations just two weeks ago. It was a wonderful reconnection to my former college experience that came out of the blue and reminded me that learning is an intensely personal yet shared experience. Hard to put any “prestige” value when something like that happens so many years after graduation.