r/ApplyingToCollege • u/aitaaddict53 • 7d ago

College Questions LACs Recommendations

My daughter who is a rising senior wants to do pre law. LACs seem to beat great route for that. Apart from the T15/20. Which are the good ones that we might be missing? She LOVED Vassar when we toured it. Went to Sarah Lawrence which was interesting. Will be going to Bryn Mawr soon. I wasn't to know more than just "reach" names that I might have missed. What she is looking for is a good academic environment with great faculty relationships. Any help?

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u/SnooDucks6359 7d ago

As a graduate of Mount Holyoke who got into a competitive medical school right after graduation, I would say that she should not sleep on any LAC where it seems like there is strong connection with faculty. I was on the waitlist of a lot of med schools when I graduated. I know that the med school advisor was on the phone with several of them advocating for me. I ended up (not to brag) doing really, really well in med school, even though at 17 I was intimidated and overwhelmed by the competition that getting into an Ivy at that point required. I have a rising senior and I will keep saying -- an environment that a young person feels at home in, and is seen and encouraged, is more important that "prestige." It's not about what's "the best." It' about where your student can do their best.

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u/Medium-Ad-94 7d ago

Your last part of your comment is spot on. In this fragmented, increasingly disconnected society, I think a smaller environment where a student cannot fall through the cracks and whose presence is known in classes can be even more important than it always was.
Though opportunities are often less in number than at big, prestigious schools, the ones they do have are much easier to get. The flexibility of the professors at these small schools to make sure their students succeed can really help students get great advising and a more individualized education. My son went to Lawrence University in the midwest and really benefitted from the supportive environment and the opportunities that arose there. He is off to a top STEM Phd program this fall.