Wellesley vs. Williams vs. Amherst

pmyen
Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:45:05 +0000

I would put internationals into two categories: those that need financial aid and those that do not. Those that need financial aid may have relatively limited information about American colleges and therefore may focus more on prestige simply because they do not have any real familiarity with LACs other than what they may see on a website or a college guide. Internationals in the latter category are often very knowledgable about elite LACs, and if they have reasons for anonymity and security, may even opt to attend one rather than a more well known (at least internationally) university located in an urban area. When I attended Amherst, Prince Albert of Monaco and Georges Papandreous (he was son of the Prime Minister of Greece at that time) were students. I believe the Shah’s son attended Williams contemporaneously. I recently noticed that Uhuru Kenyatta, son of the first President of Kenya also is a graduate of Amherst. There are many other wealthy and powerful families from outside the U.S. that opt to send their children to what they perceive as a quiet and safe college environment. I think Wellesley definitely has this perception in addition to being an all women’s college. In much of Asia, Wellesley is known as the college that Madame Chang Kai Shek attended, and many prominent families want to send their daughters there.

I think that there is a tremondous international talent pool. Need blind admissions and grants will make these colleges attractive to students of more “average” means from underdeveloped countries. However, given the disparities in cost of living (despite the dollars fall!) in some of these countries, attending a college in the U.S. is still a major expense, but not an impossible dream. A recent Amherst alumnus has set up a scholarship fund to cover the full college expenses for six students each year from either South America or Africa.