<p>I'm shocked to see that this college has so little attention. I think it sounds great. Now, what are the chances that someone else will actually come by this forum and see this post?</p>

<p>Hopefully, not too low. I'd love to talk to someone about this college. No one seems to know about it and think it is crazy that I would choose it over UChicago/Yale.</p>

<p>Hi! Shimer alum here, of recent-ish vintage, and I'd be happy to talk about the college, all day if necessary...</p>

<p>I preface this by saying that I love Shimer, I believe in the value of the Shimer model of teaching and learning, and that I would dearly love to see lots of talented students go there. I also am very skeptical of the idea that you should pick an undergraduate school based on some sort of abstract notion of "prestige" rather than going to the school that's right for you.</p>

<p>Having said that, the people who think you're crazy for wanting to choose Shimer over U of C and Yale aren't, well, crazy. At those schools, you have huge alumni networks of influential people. The name on your degree opens employer's doors in a way that an anonymous school's name doesn't. And at the U of C and Yale, your fellow students will (mostly) be a cross-section of the high-school elite; the people you meet at Shimer are a mixed bag in terms of backgrounds, aptitudes, etc. </p>

<p>(Which is not to say that you don't meet brilliant people at Shimer -- you do. But you will inevitably encounter some people who, frankly, have no business being in any sort of college. Now, both pragmatically and philosophically, I am a big fan of Shimer's inclusive admissions standards, especially since I and many of my favorite people from Shimer didn't have the high-school credentials to work in the Ivy League's boiler rooms, much less attend their classes. So I recognize that the occasional admission of someone who really doesn't belong is just sort of the cost of doing business, but it doesn't make it any more fun when you're in a seven-person class with them.)</p>

<p>So, long story short, I would advise taking a long look at your options, and thinking hard-headedly about what you're giving up. If you do end up going to Shimer and loving it, and working hard, you will get a phenomenal education, and you'll be intellectually prepared to do great things. But don't kid yourself about whether it's a harder row to hoe.</p>

<p>I'm glad you found a gem for yourself! Its people like you who help unearth all the jewels which are buried under Ivy mud...</p>

<p>Is the student body really 81 students as per Collegeboard?</p>

Is the student body really 81 students as per Collegeboard?


<p>Usually around my time at Shimer, the student body, depending on the year, was somewhere between 70 and 100.</p>

<p>Shimer really is a dramatically different sort of place.</p>