Insider’s Guide to the “Little Ivies”

The key to admission: early decision

This second chart is perhaps the most important graphic in this whole discussion, because it clearly illustrates that if you really want to get into one of these highly competitive schools, the best thing you can do is apply Early Decision (which requires a binding commitment). Across the board, the acceptance rates for Early Decision (ED) candidates (in red) is substantially higher than the acceptance rates for Regular Decision (RD) candidates (in green).

For example, you’ve only got about a 7% chance of getting into Williams through Regular Decision, but about a 27% chance of admission through Early Decision. These schools love Early Decision applicants, and they regularly fill half their freshman class — if not more — with ED students. At Bates College in Maine, for example, you have a 60% chance of admission through ED, but only a 12% chance through Regular Decision.

It’s also worth noting that a large number of small liberal arts colleges offer an additional admissions option called Early Decision 2. It works the same way as ED1 (meaning it’s a binding commitment), but the deadline is usually early January and you hear back results in mid-February. This might be a good option for you if you applied ED1 to your favorite school but got rejected, or maybe if you didn’t have time to didn’t apply ED anywhere. Applicants typically get a sizable admissions boost by applying ED2, but it’s often not as large as applying ED1.

Most colleges don’t publicize their individual acceptance rates for ED1 and ED2 — they just lump them together — but a few do. Here are two examples. At Boston University, the RD rate for the Class of 2028 was 9%, the ED1 rate was 34%, and the ED2 rate was 20%. At Boston College (not to be confused with Boston University), the RD rate for the Class of 2028 was 14%, the ED1 rate was 34%, and the ED2 rate was 28%. As you can see, the ED2 rate typically falls somewhere between the ED and RD rate. In other words, it’s a good admissions boost, but not as much as you can expect with ED1.

What are the pros of the Little Ivies?

#1: Focus on undergraduate teaching. At a big-name university, professors are recruited because they’re leaders in their field or because they’re doing exciting research — not because they’re good at teaching. That means that the quality of teaching at a university is hit or miss; sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not. But at a small liberal arts college, professors are recruited specifically because they are gifted teachers and want to teach, and that can make all the difference in your educational experience.

#2: Access to everything. At a large university, you have to constantly compete against hundreds of other students for access to anything: professors, research opportunities, clubs, internships, jobs, even parking spaces and campus housing. But at a Little Ivy, you have unlimited access to everything because there’s far less competition across the board, which gives these schools a more collaborative vibe. Even your classes are much smaller and more discussion-based (between 15-20 students) instead of giant, 200-person lectures.

#3: Beautiful campus. If you’re looking for a safe, idyllic, rural college campus that’s easily walkable from one end to the other, like something out of a movie, then the Little Ivies are perfect. Many universities are overrun with so many buildings and so much endless construction because they’re trying to accommodate an ever-expanding population.

#4: You can play a varsity sport. Most universities including the Ivy League are Division I. That means that unless you’re an elite-caliber athlete, you’re not getting anywhere near that field. But almost all Little Ivies are Division III, which means you have an infinitely better chance of making the team and enjoying that important part of your college experience. At many of the Little Ivies, anywhere from 35-40% of students play a varsity sport, so if you’re a decent athletic prospect, you can use that to boost your admissions odds. The only downside is that without a nationally-recognized Division I football or basketball team, you won’t have the whole school rallying together for the “big game.”

What are the cons of the Little Ivies?

#1: Less name recognition. Even if you go to an elite college like Williams, Amherst or Swarthmore, you will meet plenty of people in life who have never heard of it. But the people who matter most to your career – graduate schools and top corporate recruiters – they all know these schools very well, so don’t stress too much about it unless name recognition is a top priority for you.

NOTE: If you plan on going to graduate school, the name value of your graduate school will be far more important than where you got your undergraduate degree. So you can easily go to a lesser-known Little Ivy and then get your graduate degree from a big-name university and get the best of both worlds.

#2: Fewer choices. One of the benefits of a large university is that you have unlimited choices; it’s an endless buffet of options. At the Little Ivies, you have a much smaller menu. Instead of choosing from 100 possible majors, you might have to choose from only 35. Instead of choosing from 3,000 classes, you have to pick from 500. There’s definite quality, but there’s not as much quantity. But if you know you want to major in something highly specific and uncommon, like food science for example, you’re better off at a large university that offers that specialty.

NOTE: A number of top universities like Caltech, Columbia, Dartmouth and UPenn offer “3+2” or “4+1” programs which let you start off your first 3 or 4 years at a small liberal arts college (earning your BA), and then finish your last 1 or 2 years at a major university (earning your BS or MS in something like engineering). These accelerated dual-degree programs can be a great option for some, but too demanding, disruptive, and competitive for others, so check each university’s website for details.

#3: A little claustrophobic. Be aware that at a small college, you’ll keep running into the same people over and over again; you’ll get to know pretty much everyone, and everyone will know your business, almost like in high school. If you’re looking for a small, tight-knit community, great. But if you want to go to a college where you’re constantly meeting new people, or where you have some degree of anonymity, a university is a much better bet.

In conclusion

The real value of getting your education at one of the top small liberal arts colleges is that the focus will be exclusively on you. The school is not there to serve graduate students, or to prioritize professors’ research; it’s to ensure that every single undergraduate student has access to the very best of everything: teaching, clubs, facilities, sports, career guidance, etc. For those four years, you’re meant to feel like the most important person in the world, instead of just a number who has to compete for every little thing. If you think about it, there will be plenty of time for that reality check later.