Insider's Guide to the Little Ivies: Pros, Cons, and Key Differences Between Them

The "Little Ivies" is an unofficial designation for about 15 or so small, private, prestigious liberal arts colleges located in the Northeast. You can make an argument that there are a bunch of other great colleges that should be included on this list, but these 15 are a pretty conservative place to start.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Little Ivy Intro
01:15 Pros of the Little Ivies
03:17 Cons of the Little Ivies
04:57 Williams vs. Amherst
05:59 Swarthmore vs. Haverford
07:05 Colgate vs. Hamilton
08:12 Vassar vs. Wesleyan
08:54 Bowdoin vs. Bates vs. Colby
Questions or inquires? Email me at [e-mail]

[@paulmanias8269]

Great content! All of these colleges seem to blend together when looking at them in paper and even in person. A few other videos like this could be comparing what's left of the Seven Sisters, the Hidden Ives, top state schools, to Catholic schools, Jesuit Schools... etc.

[@jamiedefrancisco9177]

My daughter went to Colby. I did worry she would have a hard time fitting in as she was not an "outdoor" sporty person. I didn't need to worry, there were plenty of clubs for people who liked to stay in rather than do sports.

[@qualityname2055]

Very helpful! Definitely put some new names on my college list to look into from this video. If you could make more detailed videos on the colleges individually that would be great too, also including Pomona if you can. Thanks :)

[@daveb675]

Great video, would it be possible for a future video to look at the "The Hidden Ivies"

[@geetanamani4272]

Could you do a video on WashU St. Louis please?

[@kiranb814]

Thanks for the great video. Are there any ADHD friendly colleges (high IQ, high academic caliber , but poor executive functioning) for highly talented Math kid. I feel like a small liberal arts college would be a good bet. But, don’t know where to start the search.

[@IvyAdmissionHelp]

Two good options in the Northeast might be Haverford College and Connecticut College. Both offer students tremendous flexibility in take-home testing, etc. Two less competitive schools in Washington state are Puget Sound University and Evergreen State, which both accommodate students with learning differences. All of these are very small schools.

[@chrisfriday3252]

My son’s first choice is Dartmouth and Middlebury is 2nd or 3rd. Since you are a Dartmouth graduate, could you please compare and contrast these 2 schools. For example, I know Greek life is a big part of the culture at Dartmouth, but Middlebury does not have fraternities and sororities. Thanks in advance.

[@IvyAdmissionHelp]

Dartmouth and Middlebury are very similar, and I myself applied to both. They're both cold, remote, rigorous, beautiful, preppy, outdoorsy, and athletic. Dartmouth is about twice as large, and is Division 1 (Middlebury is D3). You can get a similar education at either one, but Middlebury is much easier to get into as an Early Decision candidate (about 40% ED rate) compared with about 13% ED rate at Dartmouth. Also, Dartmouth has much better name recognition, is that's something that matters to you. Greek life is prominent at Dartmouth, and nonexistent at Middlebury.

[@karancapoor1583]

Middlebury? Club Med

[@lawrencedz3638]

Would you consider pomona college a little ivy?

[@IvyAdmissionHelp]

Usually, the Little Ivies refer to small liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. But Pomona is an excellent example of a small liberal arts college.

[@repurposesports4782]

You forgot Lafayette College

[@IvyAdmissionHelp]

Yes, I could have added a few more very good small liberal arts colleges like Lafayette and Bucknell but they have much higher admissions rates, closer to 35%, so they're not quite as selective. But they're still very good.