All Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs) (2025-2026)

[cunning sable]

they’re all public bathrooms

[muted cloud]

The people who proudly took shits in HS assert their dominance in college

Trust

🔥

[crude shadow]

https://tenor.com/view/komik-gif-14211273463614358620

I might have ARACHNOPHOBIA

🤬

[tough mantle]

Dude there’s pee on the floor in my high school bathrooms I would NOT trust those bathrooms.

Now from what I’ve seen at Davidson, they’re like Buc-ee’s level

[glass hornet]

Wait is that good or bad

[lilac trellis]

I'm very active!

[muted cloud]

using the classic teenage boy argument rq

"erm but ur broke!!!"

LOL

trust guys this'll show em!1!1!1!

[languid coral]

i am so grateful for college custodians because i have never had to step foot into a nasty bathroom since high school

[hearty summit]

@muted cloud have you withdrawn grinnell yet? i honestly cant bring myself to do it

i feel really guilty emailing my admission officer and i wish they just had an easy online form :(

i was wondering what you said in your withdrawal request if you sent it

[loud ocean]

you don't need to do it

on saturday it goes away

[hearty summit]

my ao and i have spoken before and i feel guilty just ghosting and not saying anything to her

especially since she's very kind

wait nvm theres a form now

i think i misreada nd its email to withdraw survey to decline admission???????

hm

[tough mantle]

Buc-ee’s has the cleanest bathroom

[ruby pebble]

has grinnell already offered waitlist acceptances?

[hearty summit]

i got off a week ago

[floral coral]

im so happy to be committed......

[stiff hornet]

Yall fw Colby here

What do yall think of the school

[glass hornet]

Chat ima apply to Harvard as a art major

Mit as a gender studies major

And Juilliard as an cs major

🙏🏻

[muted cloud]

In hindsight

I shoulda applied to my LACs as the most niche major possible

Since they don't force you into a major

But I reckon they consider it

[glass hornet]

I acc regret not doing this

I acc enjoy my gender studies major

But I applied as media studies and comm

But the thing is major isn’t a big part

For admission

[muted cloud]

Tbf psych probably looked better for me since I took AP Psych, Sociology, and related classes

And my internship was working with elderly folk so that kind of relates to social service

[glass hornet]

Eh

I mean

There are so many things I regret

I feel like the biggest thing I learned in college app is to be ur self and do things u like

[muted cloud]

They look for character

[hearty summit]

sometimes i really do wish i could get a redo of college applications

i barely researched my schools and shouldve been braver and applied for more reaches and targets

i applied ot school sthat looked "good" overall but not good for mya ctual major...like applying case western as per-law student

i screwed myself over by not knowing commonapp had a 20 colleges limit and convinced myself id get rejected everywhere bc of social media fear mongering counselors and applied to wayyyyyy too many safeties

[glass hornet]

I regret so much by not doing ED to Wellesley

[hearty summit]

i regret ed2'ing to washu

i feel like i couldve made ed2 nyu but idk :(

day 2 of begging ucla and cal to let me in

[crude shadow]

Me when enrolment size

985k per student for W&L

891k per student for URich

Hehehehe

[glass hornet]

I heard Colgate students are hella rich and old money

Any Colgate ppl here looking for a husband/wife?

[teal thicket]

yessir Carleton is amazing

[loud ocean]

They don't really

[karmic socket]

woah the usnews rank says otherwise

[empty knoll]

day 1 of begging colgate to let me in

[karmic socket]

what a dangerous example dicette has set 😭

[crude shadow]

Methodology changes to remove small class sizes, alumni giving rates, etc

And increasing weight on social mobility

Every other ranking W&L is higher

[karmic socket]

not in wall street jounral ranking

it takes into account career outcomes

[crude shadow]

WSJ has Babson at number 2 in the US that should tell you everything

Forbes is the best when taking career outcomes into account

[karmic socket]

yea so babson graduates on average do much better financially that graduates of many other colleges

claremont mckenna is ranked in top 10 and so are stem heavy schools

[crude shadow]

Right, but that's self selection bias

It's a business school

[karmic socket]

seems quite fair

[karmic socket]

true

[crude shadow]

Forbes is the better one

Way more balanced

[karmic socket]

wash lee is best in south for finance

[crude shadow]

In terms of LACs

[karmic socket]

davidson is second best in south for finance and best for academia

yes ofc

[crude shadow]

Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, McIntire, WashU (Midwest tho)

[karmic socket]

but if you remove duke, rice and mcintire from the pictrue wash lee mogs emory and vandy

[crude shadow]

W&L has more Rhodes scholars iirc

[karmic socket]

davidson is slightly better than emory

[karmic socket]

nope

[crude shadow]

In the last decade

[karmic socket]

davidson has much higher rhodes scholars

[karmic socket]

oh

idk about this stat

i doubt that tho

wash lee is much more pre proffesional that davidson

as preproff as cmc

[crude shadow]

It's on their website idk

I was also surprised

W&L has more total Rhodes scholars than Grinnell too

[karmic socket]

no way

[crude shadow]

Having a visiting student program with Oxford doesn't hurt

[karmic socket]

and davidson has 26

[crude shadow]

Despite having a far higher interest in academia

[karmic socket]

oh yeah recently wash lee has started to do better

[crude shadow]

Iirc W&L was number one last decade

Among LACs

For Rhodes scholars

ALSO endowment is way better TEEHEEE

😝

[karmic socket]

and despite that davidson is much more generous with fin aid

[crude shadow]

That's not true

Washington and Lee is need blind for international students

Davidson is not

W&Ls average grant is also like way higher

[karmic socket]

you got me there alr

[crude shadow]

80k vs like 60k

Overall Forbes says Davidson has a cost of

79k, average grant is 49k

For W&L it's 87k cost and 58k grant

So pretty close gap

[ruby pebble]

need some opinions is 35k for a liberal arts college with a 5k loan worth it

[karmic socket]

davidson tends to place students in more prestigious grad schools than wash lee

forget rhodes marshall cuz few get it if any in a given year

only area where wash lee can claim to be superior is finance and consulting placement

davidson also has superior medical school placement

[crude shadow]

Because Washington and Lee students tend not to go for Academia

I don't really believe in a gap between Davidson and W&L in really any field

Except bio Davidson is better

[crude shadow]

Mostly just self selection

Same with finance

[karmic socket]

in finance there lowk is a gap unless you really love to work in charlotte

[crude shadow]

Would you not say that's because less Davidson students go for finance?

[karmic socket]

which some would prefer tbh given its affordable col

[crude shadow]

Washington and Lee has quite a few ppl in Charlotte too icl

[karmic socket]

well if you take davidson econ department's ib placmenet thers very less placement in deustche bank or other firms in nyc finance

its mostly bofa or wells fargo or truist sec from davidson

[crude shadow]

LACs tend not to place into DB

Except W&L

[karmic socket]

wash lee has a solid DB pipleine

[crude shadow]

Even Williams has 7 alumni

[karmic socket]

exactly

so thats the gap

[crude shadow]

Hamilton has 23 alumni

At DB

[crude shadow]

Brochacho just say W&L 😭😭✌️

I wonder which has better law school placement

[karmic socket]

i have trouble finding the and sign 😭

[karmic socket]

wash lee i beleieve

[crude shadow]

Having a law school on campus doesn't hurt

[karmic socket]

yea

[crude shadow]

Last year Davidson was one of my top choices and they rejected me grrr

[karmic socket]

even if you zoom into t14 law schools wash lee seems to outperform davidson

prolly cuz davidson's grade deflation 💔

[crude shadow]

Oh yeah I've heard it's wayyyyyy harder

[karmic socket]

shoudltn matter that much for phd

cuz grad school admission committees know davidson's rigor is what ive heard

plus davidson has amazing resources for students to do research

[crude shadow]

Just be thankful you ain't going to swat buddy

😭😭✌️

[karmic socket]

sorry im not getting the ref 😭

isnt swat literally an elite phd factory

[crude shadow]

Grade deflation final boss

The unofficial motto is literally it would have been an A anywhere else

[karmic socket]

lmao

but ig it works out well cuz ive never heard a swat grad not getting into an elite phd program

the grade deflation itself wont be a problem if phd admission comittees recognize the rigor

but law schools are so unforgiving with gpa

[empty knoll]

uoft of america

[crude shadow]

https://tenor.com/view/komik-gif-14211273463614358620

[karmic socket]

jeez the audacity to compare LACs with large ahh unis

[shut mural]

I GOT OFF THE WAITLIST

FOR

Barnard

EHEEEWEE

[fickle tundra]

Beo choosing colgate over ut Austin? 😭😭

Just get a quant internship bro

[fickle tundra]

How does grinnell compare with other lacs like davidson, wl , lee etc

[fickle tundra]

Congratulations. Which country are you from

[shut mural]

Canada

[floral coral]

err like it's better

[fickle tundra]

Grinnell is better than other lacs i mentioned?

[floral coral]

i think so 🙂‍↕️

[crude shadow]

Depends

All 3 are usually top 15 barring specific rankings

W&L is better than both for finance
Davidson is better than Grinnell for finance

Grinnell is better for academia.

W&L is better for law school placement

And med school placement by percentage W&L is the highest

91% for W&L compared to 89% and 76%, for Davidson and Grinnell respectively

[crude shadow]

They're all pretty neck and neck, if anything, except on USNWR, W&L and Davidson are usually higher.

Grinnell is usually considered better if you want a PhD though

[floral coral]

im so excited for college 🥹

[boreal fjord]

#nytlaclashings

that school always scared me a bit Lowkey

[weary cobalt]

Dogged a bullet by not going 🫩✌🏽

[karmic socket]

grinnell is more academia oriented than davidson or w&l and prolly is better suited for someone apsring to go to a top grad school

that being said you could go to a top grad school from any LAC as long as you take the right courses that prpare you for grad school, get good grades in them, get a great LOR and get undegrad research experience which most LACs have ample of resources for

[tough mantle]

Same

I need this fresh start

I’m so tempted to fail my AP Calc exam because I hate my Calc teacher so much

[floral coral]

😭 same bro

[loud ocean]

This feels like an overgeneralized statement..

[karmic socket]

is it not true that a greater portion of grinnell's student body aspire to be in academia than that of davidson or w&l

ofc i have no statistics to back it up

apart from their career outcomes

[empty knoll]

i need aid dawg 😭

[karmic socket]

honestly even if ut austin was just as expensive as colgate id still choose colgate over ut if not for its name

[muted cloud]

I mean they're less pre-professional

And that does stack with statistics and what people say

I can see the point it can be seen overgeneralized though

But yeah Grinnell doesn't have quite as many resources for transitioning straight into a career as opposed to the other two (just because of where they are, really)

W&L in particular is known for their alumni relationships

[karmic socket]

fair enough

but grinnell really doesnt have a finance or tech pipeline that w&l, davidson or urichmond have

grinnell's econ career otucomes for instance is largely either us government, federal reserve, a couple of trading firms, a largely predoc programs

very likely a combination of academia oriented student culture and grinnell college itself dedicating more resources to opportunities for its students to engage in academic research

[fickle tundra]

Lowkey u can easily manage if you get a quant internship

Ut Austin is big target

[fickle tundra]

Ngl i was kinda disappointed seeing grinnell alumni

Especially for econ and quants

[karmic socket]

just going to a "target school" doesnt land even an ib internship let alone quant internship

[fickle tundra]

Very few people worked in finance firms like jp Morgan, Morgan Stanley

And 0 people worked for quants like Jane Street, optiver, citadel

I mean literally 0

[karmic socket]

grinnell has exceptional outcomes except for those looking for prestigious predocs and grad school

[fickle tundra]

Not even swe in quants

Shops

[karmic socket]

you cant expect LACs to have its students working in quant firms

with the exception of harvey mudd

the whole point of liberal arts education is at odds with the culture in quant firms

[fickle tundra]

I got into waterloo and it is a direct pipeline to quant internships

[karmic socket]

and waterloo is not an LAC?

[fickle tundra]

So many freshers working in quants

[fickle tundra]

Yeah that's why it is so hard to decide

[fickle tundra]

Any reason why? Are they not teaching the same econ and cs

So why does public school feed into quant

Not LACs

[muted cloud]

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference of goals between lac institutions and typical universities

Typical universities are going to garner more attention from companies at the undergraduate level

[karmic socket]

first of all none of the LACs except harvey mudd are quant targets

[muted cloud]

Lacs are going to give more individualized attention to people seeking out opportunities though, but they might not have quite the same quantity of connections

[karmic socket]

second of all liberal arts education wants to produce crticial thinkers in the field and academicians

[fickle tundra]

I have seen a good amount of people from wasp working in quant considering their size

Not target

But still good amount

[karmic socket]

idk about wasp to quant pipeline but its prolly wasp --> hypsm math/stat phd ---> quant

its anyways very difficult to break into quant right after undergrad these days even from target schools

cuz there are only so many jobs

[fickle tundra]

So it's more like public unis are more known so it makes hiring easy compared to LACs like grinnell which most people haven't heard about

[karmic socket]

plus its not grinnell's focus either or any lac for that matter

[fickle tundra]

There are a lot of different roles in quant like swe, trader and researchers

Someone told me 1/4 of the CMU cs is working in quant

In some way

But yeah the job opening is very less compared to big tech like maang

[karmic socket]

yes quant swe is more accessible but not as lucrative as traders who are compensated much more

traders can earn huge bonuses

swe iirc dont

[fickle tundra]

I mean quant swe still makes more than big tech swe

[fickle tundra]

There is not much difference between trader and swe
Also the trader job is kinda hectic

Hardest is getting a researcher role

They earn a lot

They are mostly PhD

[karmic socket]

traders get bonuses

swe dont

[fickle tundra]

Kinda impossible to get into

[karmic socket]

and bonuses is usually what attracts ppl to finance

[fickle tundra]

They do. My friend is hrt swe

And he gets bonus

[karmic socket]

hmm i see

[fickle tundra]

Anyway

LACs kinda have bad job outcomes compared to public school it feels like to me

After seeing LinkedIn

Idk about other LACs but for Grinnell it does feel like

[karmic socket]

completely false

[fickle tundra]

How?

[karmic socket]

if quant is the only metric ur comparing colleges then sure

but grinnell econ grads also get great, really selective jobs

[fickle tundra]

Even for finance like jp Morgan or morgan stanley

[karmic socket]

getting a job in the federal reserve or us treeasury or us state dep is no mean feat

[fickle tundra]

I counted a handful of people

[karmic socket]

yes and not everyone wants to work in finance or quant....plus jp morgan/morgan stanley arent the only finance firms

grinnell does place well in local iowa finance firms whose salaries are really good given iowa's cost of living

[fickle tundra]

So what do grinnell econ grads do?

If not big fin

[karmic socket]

elite fellowships like fulbirght, schwarzmann, rhodes, marshall etc.....selective jobs at federal reserve, us treasury, us state department and pentagon....some work do predoc at elite policy think tanks and research centers like RAND, Brookings, SIEPR

others get great paralegal opportuniteis

some work at polticial campaigns as staffers

all of these are equally prestigious

and hard to get

[karmic socket]

and then go on to attend top law schools

[fickle tundra]

Oh. I can't work in the majority of the places above as intl 🫠

[fickle tundra]

I see

Are there any LACs targets for finance

[karmic socket]

w&l, swamp, bowdoin, cmc, hamilton

and davidson as well to an extent in charlotte banking scene

[fickle tundra]

So it's mostly ny LACs

@karmic socket other than the location, why did you choose davidson over grinnell

[karmic socket]

it was really just the location and that davidson had greek life

and also davidson has better economics curriculum

academics, teaching and career resources wise comparing between davidson and grinnell is like splitting hairs

and also davidson gave more aid

[hearty summit]

end of an era

this one surprisingly hurt. good luck waitlist warriors

[karmic socket]

all this just to turn down grinnell for udub 😭

[hearty summit]

i joked about loving grinnell without meaning it and i just wanted a way to cope about having no idea when the rd admissions were coming out. but then i ended up getting attached to grinnell and genuinely liking the college without realizing it until i got in and had to turn it down :(

[hearty summit]

yeah....uw is less than 1/3rds of grinnell's price and i cant afford grinnell before law school

i felt bad since my admission officer and i had talked a lot, so i sent an email thanking her 😭

[karmic socket]

did you appeal for more aid ?

[fickle tundra]

Did u email ur ao regarding aid

She might have helped

[hearty summit]

i know i wont qualify tbh...its because they consider merit scholarships as part of your "aid" so if you get merit from grinnell, it's incredibly difficult to get any aid after that

i didnt appeal aid and my parents told me that we dont qualify for need-based aid. i know that even if an appeal worked, it would not be less than a 13k in state tuition from uw

plus, location does matter to me and i want to get legal internships before law school. that's why i chose seattle over rural iowa

[fickle tundra]

Man my coa for Grinnell is 35k and max my parents can pay is 20k. I am sending them an email for an appeal

[hearty summit]

i want to work in health law

[hearty summit]

best of luck

[fickle tundra]

Anyone whose aid appeal was successful

Because on the portal they say it's very hard

And they don't consider it the majority of the time

[hearty summit]

i dont know. it's going to be harder for you since you are an international

[fickle tundra]

Yeah

My parents income is like 18k, total investment is if 70k

Idk how they calculated it

[hearty summit]

that is really surprising you didnt get more aid then what

18k/year?

college should be free if your family is making that amount

[fickle tundra]

But we have an ancestral home which is like 150k or more

Idk if they want me to sell it

[hearty summit]

oh i see

[fickle tundra]

To afford it

[hearty summit]

it sucks when assets get in the way of aid..that's what happened with me

grinnell after giving me 18k predicted cost in their calculator and then expecting me to pay 44k what the flip grinnell

[fickle tundra]

I mean imagine selling ur grandparents home

So many memories and all

[hearty summit]

i really hope your appeal works

[fickle tundra]

Idk how colleges expect that

[hearty summit]

i hope someone can go to grinnell and ill share their happiness there

i miss you already my poopoopeepee grinnell best lac of all time

you'll always be better than hypsm and all ivys

[fickle tundra]

😭😭

[karmic socket]

is grinnell giving everyone merit scholarship and charging 44k 😭

[hearty summit]

idk. i think i wouldve gotten 30k/year in aid according to their calculator, but my merit was 27k/year which disqualified me

they consider their merit scholarships as part of aid

[fickle tundra]

@karmic socket how much is ur coafor davidson and grinnell

[hearty summit]

which rlly sucks cuz idk it doesnt really feel like a scholarship anymore

[karmic socket]

35k at davidson

[hearty summit]

i kinda wish i applied davidson, id love those cats

[hearty summit]

what

[karmic socket]

44k at grinnell

[hearty summit]

no fair

grinnell tuition is 71k without any aid

[fickle tundra]

💀💀

[hearty summit]

my tuition was 44k so my total coa wouldve been 68k

[karmic socket]

davidson is known to be very generous w aid

[fickle tundra]

What is ur parents income and investment

[hearty summit]

i love grinnell but i cannot spend 68k to live in iowa

[karmic socket]

grinnell is surprisingly stingy

[fickle tundra]

Income will be low due it inr ig

[karmic socket]

despite a massive endowment

[fickle tundra]

Yeav

Even the lowest coa girl I know is paying 33k

From Nepal

[hearty summit]

they say theyre ranked 10 on t heir website for aid but its so misleading and i hate it

[karmic socket]

income - 110000, investtment & total assets - 800k to 1M (idk exactly)

[hearty summit]

they consider scholarships as their "aid" so they give out lots of scholarships and claim theyre super generous with aid when theyre not

[twilit peak]

how much did grinell give you?

[hearty summit]

i didnt get aid but i got 108k in scholarships

[fickle tundra]

100k usd income per year??

[twilit peak]

oh 27k a year isnt horrible

[hearty summit]

i already rejected my offer since i need to save for law school

[twilit peak]

but ig yea going in state is more affordable

[hearty summit]

yeah its not

[karmic socket]

yes

[hearty summit]

but uw is also less than 1/3rds grinnells price

[fickle tundra]

Bruh how much rbi is paying

[hearty summit]

and uw had more opportunity for me

[twilit peak]

ya same, im turning down nyu for the same reason

[fickle tundra]

That is insane

[twilit peak]

rather save for grad

i mean

[fickle tundra]

For Indian standard

[twilit peak]

if i get off carleton waitlist

i might go

[hearty summit]

how much is duke? i heard dukes finan aid was stingy

[twilit peak]

cause carleton undergrad is insane

[twilit peak]

i got 50% merit so roughly 44k a year in tuition

[hearty summit]

oh thats awesome

[fickle tundra]

Bruh Carelton over duke???

😭

[hearty summit]

50% merit is tuff omg

[twilit peak]

i mean im a US citizen, i dont mind going to china but like

if i can stay in the US then might as well

though i'd have to give it some more thought

[hearty summit]

duke has a campus in china?

[fickle tundra]

Wait u got into duke china?

[twilit peak]

duke kunshan

[hearty summit]

woah

that is really cool

[twilit peak]

hence the chinese letter in my user

lmao

[hearty summit]

do you speak chinese?

ohh

[twilit peak]

yea

[hearty summit]

i am chinese bu ti suck at reading....i only recognized the second character

[twilit peak]

lol

[hearty summit]

youll do fine then

[twilit peak]

anyways manifesting carleton wl

so i can do a 180

[hearty summit]

best of luckk

[twilit peak]

but otherwise idm duke

[hearty summit]

i hope they give you merit/aid

would you go to carleton full price over duke

[hearty summit]

#1 undergrad teaching and t10 lac 👀

carelton is tuff

idk why but everyone ik who was waitlisted by grinnell got in so fast before may 1. i think they are struggling with yield rates this year?

[fickle tundra]

Most people I know who were admitted to grinnell end up not committing

Due to aid

They are very stingy this year

[hearty summit]

that really sucks

idk why they switched up?? i thought they had a reputation for good aid

[fickle tundra]

Literally the lowest is like 33k

[hearty summit]

i wonder what they are trying to do

[fickle tundra]

And most end up getting scholarship so they pay ,44k something

[hearty summit]

i guess thats why the waitlist is moving so quickly???

i saw lots of ppl get waitlisted by grinnell too which is so weird

i wonder if this is a plot to climb the rankings??? and lower initial acceptance rates cuz idk if waitlist acceptances count to a college's rate or not...

i was in webinar and they said their ar dropped to 10% this year when it's usually 13-15

grinnell is like northeastern larping their acceptance rate but instead grinnell is larping financial aid

[fickle tundra]

Yeah i wasn't expecting myself getting in

I literally got rejected by every lac

Idk how they choose me

I am so dumb

[fickle tundra]

Damn

I mean what explain me getting rejected by 30 colleges

Except grinnell

💀

Unless grinnell is kinda easier to get into

[hearty summit]

intl seeking aid is brutal

[steep ivy]

i really regret not applying to carleton 💔

[hearty summit]

did you try the smith tea?

[steep ivy]

yes

[hearty summit]

wondering if its good or not to see if i should beg my friend who got in to make me tea!

[steep ivy]

it good

[hearty summit]

what flavor is it

[steep ivy]

you should try it

they sell them online i think

[steep ivy]

i’ve tried their black tea and green tea

it’s fruity

[hearty summit]

i also heard that smith is the college with the most queer people

which would make sense

[steep ivy]

yeah its very queer

[muted cloud]

I mean

I wouldn't say allat

They meet demonstrated need without loans and they're need blind

[hearty summit]

they say they give 80% of ppl who apply for aid aid

but in that 80% is also people who got a scholarship

i personally think that scholarships and aid are completely different and their statistics are very misleading

[muted cloud]

Its just if they calculate your EFC as high then you won't get much

[muted cloud]

Unfortunately that's the norm

Believe it or not

[hearty summit]

and cmon someone here's parents make 18k/year but grinnell expects them to pay 30k tuition 😭 that's impossible to do

[hearty summit]

ughhh that really sucks

well i just think it's a bit misleading that they give sm ppl scholarships and then they call it "aid" when it's really not

[muted cloud]

Scholarships are usually factored into demonstrated need

[hearty summit]

yeah :(

i dont like it cuz idk. it just doesn't feel as earning to me

[muted cloud]

I got merit at Lafayette too but they were still more expensive than URich because my EFC was calculated differently

That changes per year

[hearty summit]

it feels like my scholarship is being used against me and it's no different than just regular aid

[muted cloud]

But merit means nothing if you're poor

Since top colleges meet demonstrated need anyway

[fickle tundra]

I regret not applying to NY lacs so much

Also union college is kinda beautiful

[crude shadow]

not true, this is so overgeneralized because it treats LACs as a monolith and does not specify which jobs

[crude shadow]

Claremont McKenna, Williams, and Amherst, are top 11 in the country for IB feeders

[crude shadow]

brochacho WHAT??? My aid at W&L is WAYY higher despite my parents having similar income (lower assets) WHILE BEING IN A country which has an extremely low cost of living

what country btw

my mom makes $102k, dad 20k, assets are 300k.

cost is 21k direct, 24k after indirect + work-study

and this is in like PAKISTAN, where 2k a month is considered a VERY VERY high salary.

[crude shadow]

real, you have literally 10 need blind options (shoutout W&L hehe), and max 15 more where full rides are possible, and like 15 more if you can pay like atleast 25k.

[fickle tundra]

Wtf is ur mom doing bruh

Army?

[crude shadow]

Yes, Gynecologist in the army with private practice

[fickle tundra]

I knew that lol

[crude shadow]

yes because you asked me my stats in dms or something

[fickle tundra]

No. I don't know about ur parents or anything by ur Stats

In general most rich pakistanis are related to army

In some way or another

[crude shadow]

false

"most" is an overstatement

[fickle tundra]

Bro wasp and 5 C are ivy level

[crude shadow]

and depends on how you define rich

[crude shadow]

right, but they are LACs

W&L has the 24th highest per capita placement in IB, Middlebury is also like 15

[fickle tundra]

I mean they are expectations

[crude shadow]

expectations?

exceptions you mean

[fickle tundra]

Fuck autocorrect

[crude shadow]

and technically speaking, the others are exceptions too

[crude shadow]

the R1 unis

the target schools are EXCEPTIONS, they are not like the average large school

[fickle tundra]

I haven't seen anyone from middlebury in real life

They mostly take from Uwc

Is there uwc in pakistan

[crude shadow]

a campus? no

[fickle tundra]

Finance, quants or big tech

[crude shadow]

Finance, debatable

quant or big tech? true

but thats cuz that is not the GOAL of LACs

[ruby pebble]

if ur thinking of attending grinnell then ik someone who got a google swe internship on their second year there

[fickle tundra]

One of the main reason i applied to LACs is for aid. If i could have afford public school like UCLA, Umich type stuff i would have choose them anyday

[fickle tundra]

Damn

[crude shadow]

because your priorities are diff

[ruby pebble]

its def possible with hard work and networking to get good opportunities in LACs

[crude shadow]

I would pick Washington and Lee over half the T20s

[fickle tundra]

What is ur priority?

Idk ur major even 💀

[crude shadow]

some combo of Math, econ and geosciences

[crude shadow]

Smaller classes, interdisciplinary study, quiet rural campus

[fickle tundra]

Won't the location hurt? Like in middle of nowhere it will be hard to make connections
Lot of competitions, hackathons happens in tech area like bay area, Austin etc

[fickle tundra]

What is ur future goal

[crude shadow]

Either energy investment banking, or a top tier MSc Financial Engineering to go into Quantitative Climate Risk or Commodities trading

[fickle tundra]

Isn't Msc very expensive for intl?

Or they give aid

I have seen some people from grinnell going to uchix msc

[crude shadow]

Europe

Looking at EPFL rn

[ruby pebble]

ive heard grinnell has a really good stem program. and the location might not be too much of a problem if u take advantage of the resources and alumni network

[karmic socket]

india but im us citizen so no idea how they calculated aid....

[karmic socket]

me too....any t25 lac over t20 unis

[crude shadow]

ehhhh any is a stretch, I'd pick Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, CMC, W&L,

over most T20s

[karmic socket]

bro snuck in w&l 😭

jk

[crude shadow]

I mean depends on which T20s

[karmic socket]

but any top 25 LAC has better teaching, and higher quality academics than t20 unis

and much more resources to study abroad and do research

almost all LACs also have 4+2 combined engineering program

an oportunity you wouldnt get in uni

[crude shadow]

I'd pick W&L/Middlebury over JHU, Rice, CMU, ND, WashU, Cornell, and Emory

Cornell cuz its just too massive

[karmic socket]

fair enough

[karmic socket]

yea true

[crude shadow]

Rice cuz I'd hate living in houston

need a car

JHU cuz I'm not premed and have no interest in biomedical engineering

[karmic socket]

id choose bates/colby/haverford/richmond/colgate over emory or notre dame

[crude shadow]

Id get why over Emory, but ND is def better than all 5

[karmic socket]

only t20 id love to attend is dartmouth cuz its practically an LAC as well

[crude shadow]

its pretty undergrad focused

[crude shadow]

USSSSS

[karmic socket]

ive heard ND has too many religious rules

like curfews and whatever

huge turn off

[crude shadow]

My friend is going to ND

this year, I'll ask him

if they are enforced lol

[karmic socket]

dartmouth > hypsm > rice/duke > t25 lacs > other t20s

any t25 lac over washu, vandy, emory

[crude shadow]

I'd lowkey go to UChicago

[ruby pebble]

how much in aid did u get from w&l as an intl?

[karmic socket]

oh yeah forgot abt it

uchicago also has a lac ish environemnt i think

but its also know to be "where fun goes to die"

😭

[crude shadow]

80k per year

[crude shadow]

yes but its UChicago

[karmic socket]

holy hell 80k as an international is crazy

[crude shadow]

well teh grant is 76,755

work study is 3k

so 80k

[fickle tundra]

Is grinnell top 25 LACs?

[fickle tundra]

Wait lemme see that grinnell
That will be better for quants i guess

[karmic socket]

yes

its ranked 13

and usually in top 20 in usnews

[fickle tundra]

Oh

[karmic socket]

thats an additional year of tuition if you are willing to pay the price

and its not guaranteed

[fickle tundra]

Will I not receive aid?

[karmic socket]

apart from washu stl which is if gpa is at least 3.25

[karmic socket]

columbia says it will give aid but it may not necessarily match that of your lac

[fickle tundra]

They have partnership with
Columbia University, Washington University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or California Institute of Technology

[karmic socket]

grinnell also has with dartmouth

[fickle tundra]

Is rpi good?

I am hearing it for the first time

[karmic socket]

rpi is a great engineering college

[fickle tundra]

Damn i didn't even know about it

[karmic socket]

it also has a very lac esque environment with primary focus on undergrad

[fickle tundra]

I should have applied

[karmic socket]

RPI, WPI all are great stem schools

[fickle tundra]

I had no idea

[karmic socket]

idk about quant but ppl get high paying engineering jobs after graduation

[fickle tundra]

Damn

Do they give aid

[karmic socket]

they will but how much is unsure

[fickle tundra]

Does a 3+2 year degree have samey value as a 4 year degree at darty or Caltech

Caltech is so insane

[karmic socket]

yes

you get exact same degree

[fickle tundra]

Unfortunately cs isn't an engineering degree in the usa

[karmic socket]

not exactly

if u did cs from engineering school its considered "engineering"

[fickle tundra]

I would have to do bs

[karmic socket]

all enigneering schools only confer BS even for enigneering

afaik

with the exception of dartmouth

which awards "bachelors of engineering"

like columbia seas confers "bs in electrical engineering"

[fickle tundra]

There is a difference between
Bs Cs
And computer engineering

Computer engineering is electrical+ cs

[karmic socket]

yes

and CE is also an optio alongside CS in 3-2/4-2

except in US its always BS unless ur in dartmouth thayer

[ruby pebble]

wowo i shouldve applied 😭

[crude shadow]

they do not

RPI does not give aid to non U.S/Non-Canadians

[karmic socket]

but rpi isnt the only option

[crude shadow]

neither does WPI iirc, its only merit, that too not alot

[karmic socket]

dang

[pure ore]

hi

[floral coral]

hi

[karmic socket]

i asked claude to rank LACs based on academic quality, career outcomes and resources

and it seems very accurate

[upper glade]

ooh

[upper glade]

whats SFR

[karmic socket]

student faculty ratio

[upper glade]

ah

were each factors accounted by rank or like

pure data

[upper glade]

I didnt expect colby to be ranked low on grad placement damn

[karmic socket]

it also takes into account fellowships

not just grad school

[upper glade]

yeah rhodes 20% is lowk

wild

colgate t10 accounting for only career outcomes and resources lmao

[muted cloud]

Where's my beloved

[crude shadow]

Endowment not being in resources is crazy

[karmic socket]

i dont think endowment matters as much as how much the college is acc spending on scholarships, fellowships, research opps, internship support and study abroad

[crude shadow]

Ngl Claude using "Wash. & Lee" is bugging my OCD cuz Washington and Lee explicitly says that using the ampersand is incorrect except in "W&L"

[crude shadow]

Right but what's the source on the spending

And I doubt Colgate is above W&L in academic quality despite being so much larger

[obsidian lintel]

Son

[karmic socket]

ig i ragebaited a whole bunch of ppl here

unintentionally

tbf the ranking does seem accurate for top 15

claude is wrong to not put urichmond in top 20

[empty knoll]

thats crazy

[upper glade]

top 6 in econ btw

its literally one rank gng

I think colgate and w&l are like

spritual twins in the north n south ykwim

[crude shadow]

HEELL NAW

Colgate rejected me ED2 last year

Grrr

We have way higher per capita placement in most banks

[upper glade]

LMAOO

[crude shadow]

It's personal 🤬🤬

[upper glade]

colgate doesnt have a B-school

less popularity for banking

[crude shadow]

Right but the student interest in finance is similar

[upper glade]

eh idk bout that

[crude shadow]

Pretty sure it's 20-25% for both

[upper glade]

yall have a b school

which pumps out like 150 grads per yr

plus the econ majors its around 200

[crude shadow]

200 a year?

It's not

It's like 50

[upper glade]

according to niche econ is ~50

b-school ~150

[crude shadow]

B school has politics btw

So inflated

[upper glade]

colgate has 100 ish econ grads

[crude shadow]

Plus the gap is huge it's like 1.5-1.9x per capita

[upper glade]

only counting accounting and biz

[crude shadow]

Right but do only econ grads go into finance from Colgate

[upper glade]

if u exclude accounting bc its less high finance W&L still has ~50 more econ/biz majors

[upper glade]

they are the most likely

I mean like

both probably has the same leverage

when you try to go into finance

semi target ish

but colgate is less finbroish bc of no prof.degrees n bigger population with more female population

also how do I get verified for thie commitment thing

!verify

[crude shadow]

I can't find first destination reports

For Colgate

🥹

ANYWAY COLGATE IS WORSE CUZ THEY REJECTED ME

RAHHHHH

[upper glade]

this is math econ

[upper glade]

just econ

[crude shadow]

For us I think in IB it's Goldman, Wells Fargo; and Deutsch Bank

[crude shadow]

Also this doesn't give percentages

Best I could find was 20% in financial services

Which is similar

To dubyanell

[upper glade]

ah yeah

we are twins after all

[crude shadow]

ANYWAY THEY REJECTDD ME SO THEY LOSE YHHH 50 IB SEATS

[upper glade]

jocky rich mfs in some rural town and a few finaid kids

[crude shadow]

We... we might be brothers

Dartmouth lowk more twin cuz of the frats tho

And Davidson kinda the southern bro

[upper glade]

is davidson jocky too

[crude shadow]

Not really I think

[upper glade]

yeah the greek % is closer to darty for WL

isnt it like

70%

colgate is 40% ish

[crude shadow]

We're jockier and more elitist 🔥🔥

Which is not a flex....

BUT RAHHHH

[upper glade]

RAHH

[crude shadow]

[upper glade]

imma join an underground frat

[crude shadow]

IMAGINE BEING NAMED AFTER A TOOTHPASTE BOO 🤬🤬🤬

and then rejecting femgarçon himself

Could never be W&L

[upper glade]

colgate family lowk cold tho

[crude shadow]

Sounds like an ad campaign bro

Is the cold from the minty flavour

[upper glade]

named after a legacy entrepreneur vs racist general

[crude shadow]

That doesn't narrow it down

😭😭✌️

[lethal warren]

fen garcon with the c cedille is cray

r u french

[crude shadow]

No, it was an inside joke with my friends

😭✌️

[lethal warren]

oh haha

[crude shadow]

But I plan to learn

[lethal warren]

learn a better language 🙏

[crude shadow]

Nah I'm considering France for grad school

[upper glade]

french school systems confuse me

[twilit peak]

carleton wl better move 🥀

[muted cloud]

for career stuff yeah

but i mean

I wouldnt exactly trust an AI to output fully accurate results, and it seemed to do a better job than I thought it would

thats a very interesting formula its using to get those numbers; although I'd be curious what resources its pulling those numbers from

[lilac trellis]

No Richmond? Fake

[hearty summit]

grinnell should be #1 for everything

[hearty summit]

you took a gap year?

we cant talk anymore if youre a transfer student 😡😡😡😡😡😡

[muted cloud]

@tough mantle

[tough mantle]

Yes?

[muted cloud]

I just learned that Garrett Wilson's dad is in y'all's basketball hof

Yall have TWO people worth a shit

[tough mantle]

Who?

[muted cloud]

[tough mantle]

I know no one in sports

I know Messi and Ronaldo

[muted cloud]

This mf's dad

[tough mantle]

And like 5 basketball players

Oh and Tom Brady

[muted cloud]

Balright

✌️

[crude shadow]

I HAD TO, very long and complex story

And no I'm not a transfer

[hearty summit]

good good

then youre still my fav at w&l

my washington twib

twin

even if grinnell is better…..

[crude shadow]

Washingtwin

Trademark

[cedar spindle]

alr lac people

i withdrew williams

gl

[pine iris]

What major

[cedar spindle]

biochem

will still be close considering im going to dartmouth

[pine iris]

Congrats

[fickle tundra]

damn grinnell is kinda low for caeer outcomes

compared to acadc quality and resources

man Carleton is so nice, i really wish they had accepted me. they are one of the few LACs that made it to the ICPC NAC. NAC is kinda like the Putnam but for CS

they are really strong for STEM especially CS

[fickle tundra]

i regret so much not applying to w&l and urich

Tbh in hindsight preparing a college list is as important as a college essay

i wasted lot of time writing essay and researching about unis which barely takes non uwc students

[crude shadow]

both of them are not really any better for your goals

[fickle tundra]

I mean don't they have a good amount of people working in finance?

Except Wasp and 5 C none of the Lacs are better for my goal

Most of the quant targets are public or research unis

Even top public unis like UIUC, Purdue are targets

[crude shadow]

W&L is a tier above URich for finance,

But you didn't wanna do finance though

[empty knoll]

just be a math whiz, doesnt matter where you go 🤷‍♂️

[glass hornet]

Rutgers is p good

[fickle tundra]

Not for quant

Stuff afaik

Most of them are icpc from ru

[glass hornet]

Groot where are you committed

[fickle tundra]

idk

i am trying to figure out loan of 100k for waterloo

which is a lot considering my country

[fickle tundra]

i wont mind working in finance

i would like to explore all options in college

is grinnell good for finance

some people work in tech/fin and then move quant

with the help of experience

[crude shadow]

ehhhhh

I don't know if its self-selection

I think its FINE, for tech

literally their biggest employer is amazon, and google

[karmic socket]

if i was a grinnell student i wouldnt bet on it

its not impossible but its not going to be as easy as it would be if you attended a target school or even a semi target school

[fickle tundra]

what should i bet on if i am going to grinnell other than being depressed and coping whole day of me being failure

😭

guys pls tell me +ve things about Grinnell

i need something to cope

[karmic socket]

lowk the last part wasnt needed bro

[fickle tundra]

idk bro i feel like shit

rn

[karmic socket]

it has decent tech placement and really great if ur targetting elite phd programs

that being said nothing is worth 100k in loans

not even harvard or yale

that being said grinnell and other top LACs have strong pipeline to consulting

economic consulting in specific pays really well

[muted cloud]

They're a top 13 lac vro

How is it being a failure

If you applied to Liberal arts schools then surely you knew the tradeoffs between that and a large uni

[karmic socket]

fwiw grinnell does have a lowk impressive finance placement

https://www.grinnell.edu/after-grinnell/graduate-outcomes/economics

largely asset and wealth management analysts or consulting, a couple of quants in bofa/drw

many impressive firms like blackrock, nera, mckinsey and jpm

and a decent bunch of trading firms

only diff is grinnell lacks IB pipeline that swamp, 5c, w&l or davidson have

[fickle tundra]

@muted cloud check dms

[fickle tundra]

i mean they also show jane street and other quants in cs placement https://www.grinnell.edu/after-grinnell/graduate-outcomes/computer-science

but you wont find anyone from grinnell working in js or any other firms on LinkedIn

i hope thye aren't lying about cs placement

💀

[fickle tundra]

can anyone pls review my grinnell fin aid appeal before i submit it

[hearty summit]

did you miss the commitment date

or is yours extended

[fickle tundra]

its 7th may for me

[crude shadow]

"only diff is grinnell lacks IB pipeline that swamp, 5c, w&l or davidson have"

Davidson sneak 😭

jk

[karmic socket]

say what you want but you cant deny that davidson is a feeder to wells fargo, bofa, truist securities and other charlotte banking & finance firms 🤫

[crude shadow]

Grinnell breaking us into the Finance industry in Des Moines Iowa 💰🤑

[crisp coyote]

you guys forgetting the real ib pipeline

(williams)

[crude shadow]

right, but Williams is obviously above them, we were talking about comparable schools

iirc its

Claremont McKenna
Amherst
Williams
Middlebury
W&L

after adjusting for size

[hearty summit]

w&l sneak

wheres grinnell

[hearty summit]

um excuse me

[muted cloud]

Still glazing Grinnell after committing udub

Its time to glaze Washington

@hearty summit

[glass hornet]

Officially made up my mind that I will only be taking 2/5 of the AP exams I signed up for

💀💀💀

[cinder kelp]

Does anyone know about Haverford College's waitlist?

[empty knoll]

chat

LAC chat

did anyone get an email from colgate

about the WL?

[hearty summit]

IM GOING TO COMMIT TO BOTH OF THEM AT ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is a joke

[tough mantle]

I’m taking all 5 and MIGHT pass 2

[glass hornet]

I m only taking apes and AP art history

I have given up on AP lit

[tough mantle]

I only want to get a 3 in lit

[karmic socket]

i really dont feel like doing my a levels 😭

i just want a fresh start

[hearty summit]

no more grinnell

TIME TO GLAZE YOUUUUUUUUDUB

https://tenor.com/view/harry-the-husky-huskies-washington-huskies-dubs-dubs-up-gif-5608537563764594549

[tough mantle]

I need college for a fresh start

[hearty summit]

rehab was supposed to be a fresh start

https://tenor.com/view/bojangles-bojack-horseman-driving-stupid-babyinajet-gif-7627736597643313545

[glass hornet]

I can’t wait to start college

What a fresh start

[foggy cape]

Thank you pitzer for asking me if i’m still interested

🙂✌️

[muted cloud]

@hearty summit Do you really think AP bio was that bad?

[hearty summit]

frqs were bad

frq number 2

wait i dont think we can talk about it here tho

but mcqs were awesome frqs were bad :( i thihnk i got a 3/4

[muted cloud]

I'd be happy with a 4, disappointed with a 3

On some real shit

[muted cloud]

I thought no.1 and no.4 blew

not gon say what they were obviously

blahblahhlah

but i thought those ones sucked

[hearty summit]

last two frqs were awesome

my favorite unit!!

[muted cloud]

those were easy

i think the short FRQs should carry my score a bit

I think if there's any unit I performed poorly on overall it'd be the stuff about stages of meiosis and mitosis

I always get all of them mixed up

Like I understand the concepts but differentiating sucks balls

[tough mantle]

This

[tough mantle]

I just want to graduate

[weary cobalt]

Twin 😛✌🏽

Watch them take like 3 people

[foggy cape]

Idk if i’m gonna reply

I’m kinda over pitzer they missed their chance

[weary cobalt]

I replied that I’m interested but honestly I’m still 50/50

[foggy cape]

Yeah

[weary cobalt]

I have a feeling I’m probs not gonna go tho bc money 😭

But I long for Cali

Yearn even

[foggy cape]

I literally visited Cali just for Pitzer in February, also georgetown is like $9k a year for me

And i found a roommate

[weary cobalt]

I’d feel bad for ditching Getty after asking for more money and getting it 😭

Plus I’ve alr started talking to people that’s going

So 🌚

But if Pitzer can slide some money over thennn 🤷🏽‍♀️

[foggy cape]

Ugh

they actually

i’m kinda emo about them

I went to the zooms, was the only one who visited my AO when she went to my school

[weary cobalt]

I tried so hard on that essay I feel like it was my best

But it’s okay I’m not too butt hurt about it

It’s not my dream, I just like the school a lot

[foggy cape]

Yeah you’re right

Is getty in PA

[weary cobalt]

Yeah

My friend is also going to Dickinson so we’ll be close together so at least Ik someone

And I’m closer to my friends in Va

[foggy cape]

Omg yes

My random tiktok mutual goes to dickinson

[weary cobalt]

So the location is so fire for me 🫰🏽

[weary cobalt]

Awww

My friend is super excited

I’m still waiting for my college email tho

They’re taking forever

[foggy cape]

Oh yeah

Mine is initials and a number

Hopefully yours is your actual name

[weary cobalt]

Hopefully

The dashboard is opening up the 6th

So I’m assuming I’m getting it the 5th

If I don’t I’ll be so peeved

[foggy cape]

Oh yes

🤞

[hearty summit]

YESSSSS WE WON

[steep ivy]

of course we did 😌

[muted cloud]

WE'RE BETTER

Then again the UCs is like

10 schools

[fickle tundra]

gang

was i too direct or rough in my email

.

idk 30,000 per year is a lot

like just withdraw my offer?? thats so brutal man

should i have been more polite and beg them

i mean at least give something that is possible

[muted cloud]

I mean

What are your other options

[muted cloud]

It wouldn't matter--if they've already fully evaluated your circumstances they're going to be firm. They're also more firm about kids getting off the waitlist than RD kids usually

Since much of the funding is already tied up

[fickle tundra]

None

I got rejected by all colleges

[muted cloud]

So I guess you have to evaluate your pretty much 3 options

This is generalized and not conclusive but here's my interpretation of your situation

[fickle tundra]

Bro but just look at my income and savings
120k for 4 years while my total net worth is less than 100k

18k is what my parents earn

65k is total investment

And 15k in bank

[loud ocean]

no, but that's just what it is

[muted cloud]

You can either

1.) Bite the debt bullet, go to Grinnell, hurr durr hurr durr.
2.) Look into local options (like whatever your equivalent of CC is)
3.) Take a gap year, DO NOT DO NOTHING, do something to supplement your application for the future round of admissions, try again next year

[fickle tundra]

How can I afford to pay 30k per year

[fickle tundra]

Yeah i see

[muted cloud]

Fully guaranteed financial need based aid isn't really a thing for international students

[fickle tundra]

Bro how do they claim to be cover full need aid

It's a scam

[loud ocean]

it sounds like you have a good amount of money in the bank, yes, it isn't intended for your education, but often retirement savings internationally isn't in a traditioanl retirement account, which means it isn't protected

[muted cloud]

I wouldn't call it a scam per se. Assets are also considered

At the end of the day financial aid calculations are vastly too opaque to be sure what their internal policies are

[muted cloud]

Hence why schools that offer free tuition to people under certain income brackets always disclaim "with typical assets" in the fine print

[loud ocean]

right

[muted cloud]

I mean

[loud ocean]

ah, I just reread, especially if you own supplemental property too

[muted cloud]

If they didn't do that, billionaires who pay themselves like 1 dollar salaries could go to Harvard for free

Most "wealthy" people own mostly assets as opposed to liquid income, and unfortunately that philosophy has to trickle down to working class people as well--its ridiculous to think financial aid advisors essentially expect people to sell their house to pay for college, but effectively they do (to an extent)

[fickle tundra]

Money in the bank is around 14k
Total investment is 65k

That's it

My house is worth 100k and my dad's office is like 50k

He is self employed

[fickle tundra]

I talked to a lot of intl students going to grinnell

30k is the minimum EFC

They don't mention it

But they reject all intls who can't pay less than that

[fickle tundra]

I wish this was true with me

I wouldn't be crying here

[muted cloud]

That isn't true

I've seen plenty of internationals paying less

I'm in a group chat with like 180 admitted students lmfao

Idk why we're acting like Grinnell College has some big conspiracy going on

I mean I get it, it blows

[fickle tundra]

How much are they paying like?

[muted cloud]

But the waitlist is need aware

At least I'm fairly sure it would be, most places are, even need blind schools

[fickle tundra]

I talked to a lot of Indian students who went or going to grinnell

Most of them said. 30k or above

[muted cloud]

I mean I can't recite numbers off the top of my head but I know they talked about getting really really good aid

[fickle tundra]

Like less than 30k EFC?

[loud ocean]

30k and above is where need becomes a much smaller negative

[fickle tundra]

Idk even if I count all my investment money+ bank accounts its less than 100k in total

And immovable assets like property of 150 in total

Which is my house and dad's office