Bates v/s Bowdoin v/s Trinity v/s Smith v/s W&L v/s Connecticut v/s Whitman v/s Union v/s Berea v/s Gettysburg.
Which college is the best from every aspect? Suppose, you got accepted into all of these colleges. Where would you go and why?
I’d go to Whitman because I prefer the west coast, although I do like Maine, too.
There’s no way to objectively answer that question. The best college for me won’t necessarily be the best college for you or anyone else. Personal fit does matter, as does your major.
I know that. I just wanted to know other peoples’ opinions.
Virtually nobody has direct personal experience of all 10 colleges. Very few people even have close relatives/friends who have attended more than several of them. @simba9 has given you a good, safe answer (maybe the best answer “from every aspect”).
You could just look them up in one of the rankings (such as USNWR, Forbes, or Kiplinger). Each ranking uses a different set of criteria, which may or may not be among the criteria you or I consider most important. However, I think you’ll find that Bowdoin and W&L tend to rank higher than the others according to many different criteria. The reason? It comes down to money. These two colleges have larger endowments per student than the others. So they have more money for financial aid, faculty salaries, facilities, etc., etc. That doesn’t necessarily mean, though, that they spend more (or spend more wisely) on all the things you consider most important. Nor does it necessarily mean they aren’t spending money frivolously on things you consider unimportant.
Connecticut College seems to have a particularly good botany program. At some point in its history, it must have channelled extra resources into that program. If you can afford this college, like its location, etc., and want to major in botany, then it might be a better choice than the others. On the other hand … maybe you’re really keen on Whitman’s “Semester in the West”? Or the fact that Trinity/Smith/Union have engineering programs, which many other LACs do not?
It depends. What do you want to major in? That makes a huge difference.
Personally, I’d probably pick Bowdoin. I like it’s “summer camp” sort of feeling on campus, and it is the strongest academically of them all. Whitman would be next. I’d probably pass on Union, as a heavy party scene wouldn’t interest me (and wouldn’t have interested me at 18, either).
Hey thanks for all your comments. My preferred major is Economics/Finance.
Check out W&L’s Williams School if you’re interested in business administration, accounting, or entrepreneurship. Most other LACs don’t offer concentrations in these areas.
As others have mentioned, without a lot more input/information it’s impossible for us to try to figure that out for you. However, if you are just interested in what we would personally choose for ourselves, I would pick Conn College. We visited Conn, Gettysburg (d applied to both but doubtful she’ll attend either) Bates, Bowdoin, Union and Trinity. There were aspects I liked about all but I liked Conn the best.
(d applied to both but doubtful she’ll attend either)
D who?
Choose Bowdoin over all others, W&L a close second if you are a preppy kid with an attitude, Bates third, all others are a tossup based on information about yourself you chose not to provide.
Snarky? Yes. But not much else is warranted unless you provide for more information and context. this is was obviously just a fishing expedition anyway.
Bates, Bowdoin and Trinity would all appear to be strong for study in economics:
To be honest I asked the question mostly because I wanted to know about others’ choices and reasons.
As for me, it’s not like I even got accepted to all of them. The decisions are yet to come. About providing info…to be honest I don’t know about the ‘fit’. I am an international student and everything will be new for me anyways. As for my major, I already said…Economics/Finance.
Btw what else do you guys want me to tell. Ask questions maybe…?
Are they all affordable? International students don’t get much aid. If you haven’t been accepted to any, which ones are best doesn’t really matter. Wait until you get accepted then compare the affordable ones. That list will probably be smaller.
As I said I didn’t ask the question for me. I wanted to know other peoples’ choices, reasons and opinions on these colleges.
Personally, probably Bowdoin, Bates or Conn – no greek life and communities which can feel less segregated by “money” or background, though Conn can skate close to feeling that way (and in fairness, I have visited Bowdoin recently).
W&L, Trinity, Gettysburg, and Union would be too fratty for me and pre-professional, plus Union is on a trimester, which I wouldn’t enjoy. Smith can be too intensely political. Berea is distinctive, though not for me, and I’m not interested in Pacific NW, so no Whitman.
Most of these schools don’t offer a finance major or minor. LACs will have Econ, though.
Can you pay full price at the most expensive ones? Because FA may be limited for an international.
Washington & Lee because it is further south & I enjoy playing tennis & distance running.
Bowdoin, Connecticut College &, maybe, Gettysburg are the others that I would consider–but I would take just about any SEC school over any of them.