Swarthmore is a highly-respected small liberal arts college Quaker values of scholarship, community, connection, and exploration. The college preserves a low student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1, prioritizes small class sizes, and a large percentage of Swarthmore graduates go on to pursue a doctoral degree. Campus is only 11 miles from Philadelphia, and is globally recognized as . The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was only overall. Importantly, though, the Early Decision acceptance rate was 18%, emphasizing the importance of applying early if Swarthmore is your top choice.
How to Write the Bowdoin Supplement 2025-2026
Bowdoin is an extremely popular, yet also profoundly niche, small liberal arts college in Maine. They are well-known for being an intellectual safe haven for brilliant students who think differently and want to change the world. To spark that change, they pair their close-knit Maine campus with exceptional international and off-site learning opportunities, from the program to semester and year-long with international universities. For decades, Bowdoin flew under the radar. They were known for super strong academics in an intimate — and isolated — learning community, but mostly attracted students in the Northeast. Then, the world caught on. Over the past 20 years, Bowdoin has skyrocketed in popularity. The acceptance rate is only %.
The Best Majors at Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence is about an hour north of New York City. As a student, you get a tranquil and nurturing learning environment within arms-reach of one of the most exciting and fast-paced cities in the world. Just under undergraduates call the campus home, and hail from 44 states and 53 countries. The college is known for small classes that are conversation-based, often taught around a table to encourage conversation, and require participation. Students at Sarah Lawrence spend more time conversing with faculty, they say, than at any other college in the United States.
Summer Strategy Ideas for Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York is a small liberal arts school just a short train ride from the center of Manhattan. At , you can be sitting in a lecture taught by a leading professor in a field you love in the morning, and then hop on the train to catch a concert in the park in the afternoon. For many students who want a small school experience, but who also don’t want to be isolated in the woods somewhere, Sarah Lawrence is a perfect fit!
Summer Strategy Ideas for Bard College
Bard College is a beautiful small liberal arts school along the Hudson River, about two hours north of New York City by train. is known for attracting independent thinkers, especially those who are passionate about art and the humanities. Students complete senior projects as part of preparing for graduation that require them to do independent scholarship, research, or another major expression of what they’ve learned at Bard.
Applying to Kenyon College as a Student Athlete
Kenyon College is a liberal arts school with a close-knit community and under 2,000 students on 1,200 acres in . The college is writing-centric and strongly creatively driven. The average class size is small, just 15 students, and the focus on writing is prevalent across all departments, not just in the humanities.
How to Transfer to Bowdoin 2024-2025
How to Transfer to Middlebury 2024-2025
How to Transfer to Amherst College 2024-2025
Amherst College is a small liberal arts school in (you guessed it) Amherst, MA; think the middle of Massachusetts. The town of Amherst is a true college town with Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and Hampshire College all calling it home. Amherst is arguably the most elite of any of the nearby schools, and Amherst students can take classes at UMass, Hampshire, Smith College, and Mount Holyoke College (all nearby). However, what pulls many to Amherst is the fully open curriculum. Yes, that means no core classes.
How to Write the Haverford College Supplement 2024-2025
Haverford College is a small, private liberal arts college located right outside of Philadelphia. They’re a part of the Tri-College Consortium along with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, and they’re in the Quaker Consortium along with UPenn, which means as a Haverford student, you have access to classes at all of these schools. Haverford has also gotten increasingly competitive over the years, with last year’s acceptance rate at a competitive 12.9%.
How to Write the Bowdoin College Supplement 2024-2025
Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. The school is old; like Nathaniel Hawthorne went there old… like older than the state of Maine-old. With such a long legacy, Bowdoin has made a name for itself as one of the top liberal arts schools in America. With about 1,800 students, Bowdoin is also very small. But if you are looking at top small schools, Bowdoin should be on your list.
Summer Strategy Ideas for Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a small liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, a town with only about as many residents as there are students at Kenyon. Seriously, it’s nearly a 1:1 ratio. Kenyon has become renowned, though, for being informed by a small town but not limited by it. The campus is , too, that there is nearly half-an-acre per student.
Summer Strategy Ideas for Vassar
Vassar College in the city of Poughkeepsie, New York is a small liberal arts college in the heart of the Hudson Valley with the resources of a small city and only two hours north of New York City by train. It’s a college that is the best of every world. You have a small liberal arts school with a tightknit community, the arts and culture resources of a city, and the ability to hop on a train nearly any hour of any day to get to a concert, event, or museum in NYC. There are to choose from, including the option to “design your own” major. The school collects about 2400 students in “a diverse community of scholars, artists, writers, scientists, musicians, and thinkers.” There is an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio on a 1,000-acre campus. The encourages creativity, and attracts students from around the world.
Applying to Sarah Lawrence as a Student Athlete
Sarah Lawrence is a that is a thirty-minute train ride north of New York City. Home to less than 2,000 students, the college offers an intimate and immersive college experience known for conversation-based classes, a deep commitment to the performing and fine arts, and a tradition of academic exploration and discovery. Also, just in case you don’t know already, it’s co-ed.
The Best Majors at Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a small liberal arts college in with 200 years of history and students. 100% of students live on campus, a fully-immersive and inclusive residential community. The college has a deep commitment to multi-disciplinary learning and cross-disciplinary mastery, with students layering literature over science, and math over philosophy to gain a deeper understanding of the world. Overarching everything Kenyon offers is a passion for the written word, and Kenyon all of their students to graduate as strong writers regardless of their major.
Applying to Bates as an International Student
Bates is a small liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, a city of nearly 40,000 along the Androscoggin River. Directly across the river is Auburn, a city of over 25,000. Despite being a few hours from the closest major airport, Bates has become a popular option for international applicants for reasons we’re going to explore in this post, along with some tips, tricks, and must-know details that will help you as you apply.
How to Transfer to Vassar
How to Transfer to Wesleyan
Wesleyan University is a small, private, liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut. A liberal arts school not named after the town it’s in? Unheard of. Wesleyan started out as a men’s college, tried to admit women for a bit in the late 1800s (the “Wesleyan Experiment), then suspended that program in 1912 for sexist reasons (“losing their masculine edge”), but finally became co-ed in 1970.
How to Transfer to Williams
Williams College is a small, private liberal arts college in the Berkshires, more specifically Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was started as a men’s college in 1793 (old!!), but became co-ed in 1970. Williams is known for their liberal arts curriculum, and their most popular majors include econ, bio, computer science, art, and English.
How to Transfer to Tufts
Tufts University, located just outside of Boston, is a private research university with a liberal arts feel. Because of its proximity to all the other Boston (and near-Boston, wink wink) schools, Tufts has a ton of programs/affiliations/and crossover opportunities with schools in the area. Since the school did start as a liberal arts college, majors like econ, psych, poli sci, and international relations reign supreme.