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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Princeton University

Princeton University is the fourth-oldest university in the United States. It was founded in 1746, and has evolved into a private, not-for-profit university dedicated to promoting research, knowledge, and the development of skills to a diverse student body. Around 7,500 students attend Princeton, with more than 1,100 faculty members teaching them. Princeton houses 34 departments and offers undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and certificate programs. It is considered an Ivy League university, and has a strong history of producing graduates and faculty members that go on to acquire prestigious awards. Three faculty members have won the National Humanities Medal and 17 have won the National Medal of Science. In addition, 14 alumni and 21 faculty and staff members have won Nobel Prize awards. With such distinctive faculty, staff, and alumni, it is clear that Princeton University adheres to a high standard of education.
Programs Offered
At Princeton, undergraduate students begin their education with general classes that encourage their growth into well-rounded individuals. Students then move on to take courses specific to their major areas of interest. They can choose their concentrations from 34 departments, which include majors in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. The graduate school offers advanced degrees in those fields, with an emphasis on both theory and practice. While enrolled at Princeton, students can earn certificates, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, or doctoral degrees. No matter the level of the degree they choose, all Princeton students will engage in research, seminars, and projects like theses or dissertations. In addition to academic programs, Princeton offers many extracurricular programs that provide cultural, athletic, and social learning opportunities.
Accreditation
Princeton University was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1921. Since then, it has continued to offer a high quality of education to its students, and therefore has remained recognized by the accrediting agency.
Admissions
Princeton recommends that applicants create an application package that accurately portrays their abilities, rather than focusing on meeting certain specific criteria. Princeton’s admissions department wants to see who each applicant is individually, and therefore views the application packet holistically. They are especially interested in seeing leadership qualities and community involvement, and encourage applicants to address those topics in their applications. All undergraduate applicants must submit an application, the Princeton application supplement, transcripts, two teacher references, a mid-year school report, SAT or ACT scores, SAT subject test scores, and essays. Interviews and supplemental art materials are optional.
Graduate application requirements vary based on the department, and Princeton’s website provides a list of those requirements. However, prospective graduate students can expect to submit transcripts and proof of bachelor’s degree, the application and associated fees, three letters of recommendation, mid-year grades, a statement of purpose, and a resume. Many departments require the GRE general exam, and some require the GRE subject exams as well. In addition, some programs require prospective students to submit a statement of financial resources. Other requirements are listed on the website.

Washington and Lee University

Located in Lexington, Va., Washington and Lee University can trace its roots back to a classical school founded in 1749. In 1796, George Washington rescued the school from insolvency with a $20,000 endowment in stock. At the time, this was the largest gift to an educational institution in U.S. history. The same year, the school’s trustees changed the name to Washington Academy, before it became Washington College in 1813, when it chartered. Former Confederate general Robert E. Lee became president of the school after the Civil War in 1865 and remained so until his death in 1870, after which the school changed its name to Washington and Lee University. Today, Washington and Lee consists of three schools: The College, the Williams School, and the Washington and Lee School of Law. Combined, the university has more than 1,780 undergraduate students, with about 400 students enrolled in the School of Law. The school is ranked 12th among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report.
Programs Offered
Washington and Lee University has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9-to-1, and more than 70% of its classes have fewer than 20 students. According to U.S. News & World Report, the most popular majors at the school include business administration, accounting, economics, political science, and English language and literature. The College, Washington and Lee’s undergraduate liberal arts college, offers more than 40 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, both in-person, and online. Areas of study include art, chemistry, computer science, journalism, and more. The Williams School contains all of William and Lee’s undergraduate programs in accounting, business administration, economics, and politics. The School of Law at William and Lee offers both Juris Doctor and Master of Laws programs exclusively in-person.
Accreditation
Washington and Lee University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school is also accredited by the Association for Management Education International, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, and the American Chemical Society. The School of Law is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is approved by the American Bar Association.
Admissions
Students applying to Washington and Lee University must submit their applications by January 15 to enroll the following fall, or by November 15 for the early decision deadline. For first-year students, scores from either the SAT or ACT are due February 15. The application fee is $50. Washington and Lee is also highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 19%.

Williams College

With funding from Colonel Ephraim Williams Jr. of the Massachusetts provincial forces, Williams College was founded in 1793. This private, liberal arts college was an exclusively male institution until coeducation was adopted in 1970. U.S. News & World Report ranked Williams College as the No. 1 national liberal arts college in their “2012 Best Colleges” report.
Programs Offered
Williams College offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs from 25 departments divided into three academic divisions: languages and the arts, social studies, and science and mathematics. The two graduate programs are Master of Arts in Policy Economics and Master of Arts in the History of Art. They offer a large number of undergraduate degree programs in areas such as geosciences, chemistry, political economy, religion, and environmental studies. Williams College also offers several programs that focus on cultural and language studies, such as Asian studies, Latin, Greek, Jewish studies, Russian, and Africana studies.
Accreditation
Williams College gained accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, in 1929. The NEASC is a nationally recognized regional accrediting organization.
Admissions
Williams College is very selective when admitting students and states that they only accept about 20% of applicants. Applicants are required to pay a $65 application fee and submit a Common Application, the Williams Supplement form, either their SAT results along with two SAT subject tests or their ACT results along with the ACT Writing Test, two letters of recommendation from past teachers, and a secondary school report completed by the applicant’s guidance counselor. If the program you are applying for has additional requirements, your admissions contact will let you know.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Founded in 1861, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the nation and the world. In the 2012 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” list, MIT ranked as No. 5 in the nation. Quacquarelli Symonds, an organization specializing in education and study abroad, ranked MIT the No. 3 best university worldwide. The same organization ranked MIT’s engineering program No. 1 in the world. Located in Cambridge, Mass., the university is just across the Charles River from downtown Boston. Enrollment stands at more than 4,000 undergraduates and 6,500 graduate students. The school primarily educates students in disciplines related to science and technology. It also offers more than 450 student groups, ranging from ethnic and cultural associations to activism groups and media organizations. Approximately 40% of the student body studies, volunteers, or interns abroad during their time at MIT.
Programs Offered
MIT offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees through seven schools. Fields of study include architecture, management, science, humanities, arts, and social sciences. MIT also offers interdisciplinary programs, such as the Media Arts and Sciences Freshman Program, which exposes students to the intersection of technology, communication, and expression. MIT offers 32 undergraduate majors, the most popular of which are engineering, computer science, and the biological and biomedical sciences. Among its graduate schools are the highly ranked School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, in addition to strong programs in economics, psychology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics, and mathematics.
MIT also makes a portion of course materials available on the web for other instructors and motivated self-learners. The initiative, MIT OpenCourseWare, makes these materials available free of charge to any user, anywhere.
Accreditation
MIT is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It has been accredited by this agency since 1929.
Admissions
MIT’s early action deadline is November 1, and the regular action deadline is January 1. Applicants must submit an application, letters of recommendation, official transcript(s), and test scores, along with the non-refundable application fee. Interviews are also strongly recommended. MIT’s regular acceptance rate is 10.1%, and its early acceptance rate is 10.4%.
MIT’s application consists of two components. The first part requests biographical information and the second requests essays, academic information, and information on extracurricular activities. Two letters of recommendation should be submitted. The first letter should come from a teacher in the math or science field, while the second should come from a teacher who teaches the humanities, arts, or social sciences. Supplemental evaluations are also welcome. MIT requires that students submit test scores from the ACT plus writing section, SAT, or TOEFL. Students must submit scores from two SAT II Subject Tests, in math and science. For math, students may take either Math Level I or Math Level II. In science, students must take subject tests in biology, chemistry, or physics.
Transfer applicants must submit three recommendations. One must come from a math and science teacher, but the remaining two may come from any college instructors. Transfer students must also submit all college transcripts.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Swarthmore College


Swarthmore College is a private institution that was founded in 1864. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,542, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 425 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Swarthmore College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 3. Its tuition and fees are $47,442 (2015-16).
Swarthmore College is located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia – far enough away to have a 425-acre campus that is designated as an arboretum. The school was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), but has no religious affiliation today. The school has more than 100 organizations that students can get involved in on campus, and about 40 percent of students study abroad. Swarthmore has about 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports teams cheered on by mascot Phineas the Phoenix. Its Greek life is limited to two fraternities and one sorority. Although only freshmen are required to live on campus, less than 10 percent of students live off campus.
Swarthmore College students can take courses at Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College through the Tri-College Consortium. Unlike most other liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore also offers an undergraduate engineering program. Swarthmore has many unique traditions, including the Crum Regatta, where students race homemade boats down Crum Creek; and Worthstock, which features live music, dancing and food. Notable alumni include Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief of astronomy in the Office of Space Science and "mother of the Hubble telescope”; former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis; and Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Amherst College


Amherst College is a private institution that was founded in 1821. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,792, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 1,000 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Amherst College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 2. Its tuition and fees are $50,562 (2015-16).
Amherst College, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, is known for its rigorous academic climate. Amherst is a member of the Five Colleges consortium, which also includes SmithMount Holyoke,Hampshire and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students may take courses at any of these colleges. Amherst offers more than 100 student organizations; the college banned fraternities in 1984. Amherst claims to have the oldest athletics program in the nation, along with the third oldest football field. The Amherst Lord Jeffs participate in NCAA Division III sports in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The school is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Williams and Wesleyan, which has lasted more than 100 years. Freshmen are required to live on campus in one of seven residence halls.
Amherst is an undergraduate college that offers degrees in more than 35 different majors. Amherst, known as "the singing college," has many a cappella groups, including the Zumbyes, the Bluestockings and Route 9, to name a few. Amherst is also taking great strides to become more sustainable, and it protects 500 acres of open land and water in its wildlife sanctuary. Notable alumni include former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, Prince Albert II of Monaco and former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Harlan Fiske Stone.

Williams College


Williams College is a private institution that was founded in 1793. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,045, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 450 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Williams College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 1. Its tuition and fees are $50,070 (2015-16).
Williams College – located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires – is one of the oldest colleges in the country. The school was originally a men’s college; women were first admitted in 1970. The college’s fraternities were abolished in the 1960s. The school’s traditions include a semiannual, schoolwide trivia contest and a Mountain Day each October when students hike Mount Greylock. The Williams Ephs, named after the school’s founder Ephraim Williams, participate in NCAA Division III varsity sports in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Williams is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Amherst College andWesleyan University. The school requires almost all students to live on campus.
Williams College has three academic branches – languages and the arts, social sciences, and science and mathematics – and graduate programs in the history of art and economics. Williams has small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio of 7-to-1. The school also has Oxford-style tutorials, which rely heavily on student participation. The college has seen many firsts: Its alumni society is the oldest in the world; it hosted the first intercollegiate baseball game; and its class of 1887 was the first in the U.S. to wear caps and gowns at graduation. The school has a tradition at each graduation to drop a watch from the top of the college chapel. If the watch breaks, tradition holds that the class will be lucky. Notable alumni include Elia Kazan, director of "On the Waterfront" and "A Streetcar Named Desire"; John Frankenheimer, director of "The Manchurian Candidate"; and Prince Hussain Aga Khan, whose father is the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Pomona College

Summary

Pomona College is a private institution that was founded in 1887. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,650, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 140 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Pomona College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 4. Its tuition and fees are $47,620 (2015-16).

Pomona College is located in Claremont, California, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Pomona’s founders envisioned "a college of the New England type" when they created this school with small classes and strong student-faculty relationships. Pomona is a member of the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. On-campus housing is guaranteed if requested, and more than 97 percent of students live in the 14 residence halls, two-thirds of which contain single rooms. Pomona offers more than 200 student organizations. A well-known secret club called "Mulfi" has left cryptic notes with social commentary around campus since the 1940s. Students can also get involved with the three campus fraternities.

Pomona College has around 45 majors and offers a 8:1 student-faculty ratio. Pomona students can also take classes at the other six colleges in the Claremont Colleges consortium: Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. More than half of Pomona students study abroad through the nearly 50 programs Pomona offers in approximately 30 countries. "Ski-Beach Day" takes advantage of Pomona’s unique location: Students ski at a local resort in the morning, and spend the afternoon at a beach in Orange County. Notable alumni include former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller and renowned choral conductor Robert Shaw.

Pomona offers its nearly 1,600 students-evenly divided between men and women-a comprehensive curriculum in the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. With a student-faculty ratio of eight to one, students have the opportunity to work closely and collaboratively with professors who are also top scholars in their fields. Students and faculty challenge each other in laboratories, classrooms, and co-curricular activities, and everyone benefits from the energy generated by such an assemblage of sharp and eager minds. Friendships forged among Pomona faculty and students frequently endure far beyond the four years of college. Few institutions offer Pomona's ability to combine intimate qualities as an average class size of 15 with such large-scale resources as a two-million-volume library. Fewer have enrolled as talented and high achieving a student body which is as happy with their environment and choice. As the founding member of The Claremont Colleges, a unique consortium of seven independent institutions on adjoining campuses, Pomona offers its students the experience of a small, academically superb liberal arts college and the breadth of academic and social resources normally associated with major universities. Students challenge and learn from one another not only in the classroom but also in daily life. On-campus housing is guaranteed, and few students choose to live anywhere else. The extraordinary ethnic and social diversity of its student body gives Pomona a broader mix of backgrounds than just about any comparable educational institution. Our location-within an hour of the Pacific Ocean, the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains and the city of Los Angeles-informs and shapes daily life at the College. There aren't many places in the world where you can ski in the morning, play on the beach in the afternoon, and take in a major league baseball game or an opera at night. Beyond the recreational and cultural possibilities, our location offers unequalled opportunities for field study, community involvement and internships. Pomona students are so varied that they resist easy categorization. They embrace new ideas, take initiative, ask questions and challenge the status quo. They are as academically capable a group as any college or university can claim, and they are interested in doing something important with their talents.

Our students share a spirit of openness and collaboration. Our students are competitive but not cutthroat - a very important distinction. They work hard, but don't compare grade point averages to peers. Maybe it's the weather or the palm trees but, we tend to think it's something more: a cooperation fostered by faculty in the lab and classroom. Professors encourage collaboration, and many students continue working together after class, forming study groups that meet in the residence halls, in lounges and computer labs and over laptops and shakes at the Coop Fountain. Students come to Pomona from every state in the nation and from many other countries, from private and public schools, from large cities, suburbs and towns so small they don't appear on most maps. More than one-third are students of color, and a substantial portion are in the first generation of their families to attend a four-year college or university. To maintain the remarkable strength and variety of Pomona's student body, the College's financial resources are critical.

For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, admission decisions are made without consideration of a student's financial circumstances. Over half of Pomona's students receive financial aid from the College to support their study, and the College meets 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of every enrolled student. This practice ensures that the most capable students will always be able to enroll at Pomona regardless of their financial circumstances.

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Middlebury College

Summary

Middlebury College is a private institution that was founded in 1800. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,526, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 350 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Middlebury College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 4. Its tuition and fees are $47,828 (2015-16).

Middlebury College is located in the Champlain Valley between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks in the small town of Middlebury, Vermont. The Middlebury Panthers have 31 NCAA Division III varsity teams and are members of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Students can join more than 150 organizations on campus. For skiers, Middlebury has 17 trails on the Middlebury College Snow Bowl ski area. The school also competes in "Muggle Quidditch" and founded the International Quidditch Association based on the sport from the "Harry Potter" novels. Middlebury also hosts the country's oldest Winter Carnival, featuring a ski competition and music. All freshmen are required to live on campus and are assigned to one of five Commons, which provide academic and social activities.

Middlebury College's graduate programs offer a Master of Arts degree and Doctor of Modern Languages. The Middlebury Language Schools take place in the summer and offer instruction in 10 languages. Middlebury is also the home to the Bread Loaf School of English, as well as the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, one of the oldest and most prestigious writers' conferences. C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad has more than 40 schools in 16 countries for students to study abroad, and more than 50 percent of juniors study abroad. Notable alumni include former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer; playwright Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues"; the members of the popular band Dispatch; and writer Jeff Lindsay, who wrote the books that have become the basis for the TV show "Dexter."

Located in the quaint New England town of Middlebury, Vermont, Middlebury College offers scenic mountain views and a rigorous liberal arts curriculum that is particularly strong in environmental studies, international studies, sciences, languages and literature. A commons-based residential life system allows students to pursue their interests in an intimate atmosphere while participating fully in the life of the larger college community. Success in NCAA Division III sports competition reflects a culture that embraces the importance of the scholar/athlete. The student body encompasses a broad array of cultures, ethnicities, religions and economic backgrounds, making up a vibrant community with numerous intellectual perspectives.

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Bowdoin College

Summary

Bowdoin College is a private institution that was founded in 1794. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,805, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 207 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Bowdoin College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 4. Its tuition and fees are $48,212 (2015-16).

Bowdoin College is located in the coastal New England town of Brunswick, Maine. The Bowdoin Polar Bears compete in 31 varsity sports in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference. Bowdoin has nearly 100 student organizations. One of the largest and most active groups is the Outing Club, which offers 100 excursions each year. Peucinian Society, founded in 1805, is one of the oldest literary and intellectual societies in the country, with alumni including poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Bowdoin abolished fraternities in 1997 and replaced them with a system of college-owned social houses. Freshmen are required to live on campus and are assigned to a college house that provides residential social activities.

Bowdoin was a men’s college until 1971, when the school admitted its first female students. It was also one of the first selective schools to make the SAT and ACT optional on its application in 1969. More than half of Bowdoin students study abroad for a semester through more than 100 affiliated academic programs. Notable alumni include former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Melville Weston Fuller, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, former U.S. President Franklin Pierce, and human sexuality and gender researcher Alfred Kinsey—subject of the 2004 biographical film bearing his surname.

A liberal arts education at Bowdoin is not about being small and safe; it is about having the support to take surprising risks. That means caring more about the questions than giving the right answers, discovering you are good at something you did not think was your strength and making connections where none appear to exist. Bowdoin's curriculum offers a bold blueprint for liberal education designed to inspire students to become world citizens with acute sensitivity to the social and natural world. Its interdisciplinary focus encourages students to make connections among subjects, discover disciplines that excite their imaginations and develop keen skills for addressing the challenges of a changing world. Bowdoin students achieve at the highest levels but also lead balanced lives. Campus visitors frequently comment on how friendly everyone at Bowdoin is to visitors and how happy everyone seems at Bowdoin. This impression is supported by high retention, graduation and alumni giving rates. The connection to place is vitally important to the educational, social, service and recreational opportunities at Bowdoin. Maine is much more than the College's address.

A Bowdoin education is best summed up by "The Offer of the College": To be at home in all lands and all ages; To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, And Art an intimate friend; To gain a standard for the appreciation of others' work, And the criticism of your own; To carry the keys of the world's library in your pocket, And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake; To make hosts of friends ... Who are to be leaders in all walks of life; To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms, And cooperate with others for common ends. This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life. --Adapted from the original "Offer of the College" by William DeWitt Hyde, President of Bowdoin College, 1885-1917.

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Swarthmore College

Summary

Swarthmore College is a private institution that was founded in 1864. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,542, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 425 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Swarthmore College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 3. Its tuition and fees are $47,442 (2015-16).

Swarthmore College is located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia – far enough away to have a 425-acre campus that is designated as an arboretum. The school was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), but has no religious affiliation today. The school has more than 100 organizations that students can get involved in on campus, and about 40 percent of students study abroad. Swarthmore has about 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports teams cheered on by mascot Phineas the Phoenix. Its Greek life is limited to two fraternities and one sorority.

Although only freshmen are required to live on campus, less than 10 percent of students live off campus.

Swarthmore College students can take courses at Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College through the Tri-College Consortium. Unlike most other liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore also offers an undergraduate engineering program. Swarthmore has many unique traditions, including the Crum Regatta, where students race homemade boats down Crum Creek; and Worthstock, which features live music, dancing and food. Notable alumni include Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief of astronomy in the Office of Space Science and "mother of the Hubble telescope”; former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis; and Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank.

Swarthmore College, a highly selective college of liberal arts and engineering, has empowered students to pursue their intellectual interests with purpose for 150 years. What lies at the heart of our community? It is passion. We do not trade in the type of motivation that is extrinsically imposed on you. That is coercion. We do not value a superficial reward. That is a pat on the head. We believe that it is hard to motivate in a vacuum, and that is why the caliber of the people around you makes such a difference. Everyone at Swarthmore embarks on an intellectual journey. The students are compelled to find their calling --- undauntingly and unceasingly. The faculty is inspired to collaborate with students on joint research projects, which helps students find themselves as scholars and leaders and doers. That sparks the kind of discussions you cannot stop thinking about. Before long, you are thinking of ways to apply your ideas, to make them more relevant to the world.

Whether that means advancing sustainability research, starting a microfinance incubator, founding a dance-based youth empowerment program in New Orleans, or making adaptations for blind students in the engineering curriculum, as a Swattie, you will have what it takes to apply your knowledge with meaning and purpose. The Honors Program brims with intellectual exploration, celebrating the free and spirited exchange of ideas through small-group interactions and challenging students to assert leadership with discussions. The College's Quaker roots manifest themselves in a cash-free campus, as the annual activity fee covers everything from digital printing and sporting events to campus movie screenings and dance performances. Swarthmore's robust financial aid program ensures affordability --- without loans. More than half of students received aid in 2014-15, with an average award of $43,250. Swarthmore makes admissions decisions for U.S. citizens and permanent residents with no regard for a family's ability to pay. If you are admitted, it carefully considers various factors and offers up to 100% of your family's demonstrated need.

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Amherst College



Summary

Amherst College is a private institution that was founded in 1821. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,792, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 1,000 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Amherst College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 2. Its tuition and fees are $50,562 (2015-16).


Amherst College, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, is known for its rigorous academic climate. Amherst is a member of the Five Colleges consortium, which also includes Smith, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students may take courses at any of these colleges. Amherst offers more than 100 student organizations; the college banned fraternities in 1984. Amherst claims to have the oldest athletics program in the nation, along with the third oldest football field. The Amherst Lord Jeffs participate in NCAA Division III sports in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The school is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Williams and Wesleyan, which has lasted more than 100 years. Freshmen are required to live on campus in one of seven residence halls.


Amherst is an undergraduate college that offers degrees in more than 35 different majors. Amherst, known as "the singing college," has many a cappella groups, including the Zumbyes, the Bluestockings and Route 9, to name a few. Amherst is also taking great strides to become more sustainable, and it protects 500 acres of open land and water in its wildlife sanctuary. Notable alumni include former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, Prince Albert II of Monaco and former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Harlan Fiske Stone.

Cost and Financial Aid

At Amherst College, 57.8 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $47,243.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs, or use the U.S. News 529 Finder to choose the best tax-advantaged college investment account for you.

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