The Kiplinger 100 Rankings
The Kiplinger 100 Rankings: Liberal Arts Colleges (1-50)
1. Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
2. Williams College, Williamstown, MA
3. Amherst College, Amherst, MA
4. Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
5. Pomona College, Claremont
6. Washington & Lee Univ., Lexington, VA
7. Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
8. College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
9. Davidson College, Davidson, NC
10. Claremont McKenna College, Claremont
11. Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
12. Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
13. Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
14. Haverford College, Haverford, PA
15. Colby College, Waterville, ME
16. Lafayette College, Easton, PA
17. Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
18. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
19. Bates College, Lewiston, ME
20. Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
21. Barnard College, New York, NY
22. Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
23. Carleton College, Northfield, MN
24. Furman University, Greenville, SC
25. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
26. Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
27. Hamilton College, Clinton, NY

Reader Comments (26)
"That's where Kiplinger's 2008 rankings of private colleges and universities come in. Topped by Caltech among universities and Swarthmore among liberal arts colleges, our exclusive rankings showcase a range of schools with strong academics, generous financial-aid policies and, in some cases, a decent price to begin with."
So, where would you like to see Hamilton in this ranking?
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[ed - removed your email address to protect from spam bots. You can put it up again if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it.]
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Nuked in error. You're welcome to try again. Pls cite source & don't put up the entire list. ed
Of this I am sure, conservative students would find Furman"s faculty a lot more welcoming and less insulting than Hamilton's.
http://www.hamilton.edu/college/president/7rankings.html
Why is a listing compiled by Kiplinger "bashing Hamilton." If Kiplingers had put Hamilton where Bowdoin is the usual suspects would be advertising the list all over the place as a sign of the genius of the current leadership.That would be as misleading as saying that Hamilton can't compete with Bates.
One does not have to agree with everything posted on this site to know that there is trouble on College Hill Road at many levels.
Here's a question of interest to many alumni: how are Hamilton's SAT's calculated & reported to US News and other sources when Hamilton no longer requires them?
Second, and more importantly, the SAT has lost much of its value in the admissions process at private colleges (whether they require it or not). GPA, class rank, and teacher recommendations are often weighed more heavily than the SAT.
http://my.hamilton.edu/admission/ApplicationProcess/requirements.html
How Hamilton reports would most likely be pretty straight-forward: how US News uses the data (including results of ACTs etc.) would be more pertinent, but again points to the larger issue of the methodology used by US News and the ultimate utility to prospective students of the resultant rankings.
It is a morass created by US News to sell books to nervous parents, who want to make sure they have "all" the information possible to make an informed choice with their child. And now Kiplinger's has jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to capitalize on those same nervous parents who might feel compelled to purchase this other ranking.
For Ham Student:
I certainly would not take issue with your point. I still have the lingering hope that one can receive a superior education at Hamilton, political correctness, et.al., aside.
One would hope so. But, what's the answer?
Hey "---", you seem to know the web site pretty well, can you help us out?
This is just a link within the other link, but has the reported information. I can shed no light on how the College compiles these figures.
According to the link:
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Percent of first-time, first-year (freshman) students with scores in each range:
SAT Math / SAT Writing
700-800 42.00% / 41.00%
600-699 43.00% / 45.00%
500-599 11.00% / 11.00%
400-499 3.00% / 3.00%
300-399 1.00% /
200-299
Totals should = 100%
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The form says, only 61% of applicants submit SATs. I take that to mean that 39% do not submit SAT's.
Presumably, the thoughtful candidates with good scores (above the reported averages) submit, but the presumptively thoughtful applicants with lower scores, do not. This bias induces a rise in the reported SAT scores.
Is this the mechanic? And if so, does the college then advertize this structured and illusory rise in SAT's as evidence of an improving student body? As evidence of a more effective and selective admissions process when in fact the contrary may very well be the case?
Somebody [--- ?] help me out with this.
My understanding is that while the SATs are the norm in northeastern high schools, the ACTs are more the norm in the midwest-west. That might account for ACT submissions. I don't know about the west coast or south.
Also, if you've got a student who has done extremely well in the Quantitative Tests, they would likely want to submit those, if offered the option. The APs are a means of judging a student who has tackled a subject with a significantly higher degree of mastery, than the student taking the typical SAT subject test.
So, it appears that there are likely many reasons for submitting scores other than the SATs, and therefore I wouldn't necessarily conclude that it is lower score candidates who submit something other than SAT scores.
My question is in specific respect of accepted and attending students who submit and who do not submit SAT scores and the impact on reporting of SAT's.
My question is not about how submission of AP test scores (or other non SAT data) impacts SAT scores.