Culture for Girls at Southern Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SEC schools are extremely popular now and this trend will continue. Lots of Northeast and Midwest kids want to dress up and socialize with friends at fun football tailgates. Don’t see the appeal of campus protests at schools located in unattractive locations. Duke has a distinct vibe very athletic and fun seeking kids glad it’s not Rice.

This.

You are only young once. You should enjoy your college experience instead of spending it trying to make it through a firewall of angry protesters when just trying to get to you calculus final.

Not accurate in the slightest, but I guess if forced to choose I’ll take that over what I read on one of the southern school reddits today about Greek life - lots of SA and lots of hazing, very creative, pledges sitting in a hole of excrement.

I think people are really overestimating the protest situation at most schools. My kid goes to a school in Midwest considered liberal but the protests are sort of a non issue. Very occasional and limited in time, space and manner.

+ 1. My son attends a large state university in the NE, he says the same.

Also…a bunch of southern schools had protests as well. Didn’t bother 99% of students at those schools either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice is very weird and nerdy like CMU. Emorys students are similar to Georgetown, like a mix between Georgetown and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is very preppy like Duke but with more attractive students, and Duke is Duke.

Your take on Rice is clownishly incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to go to college in a major city. LA, Boston, NY.

All the girls at the SEC schools we toured seemed really, really happy, even the ones that dod not look like a stereotypical 'Bama sorority rush poster.

If she liked the southern university, let her apply and see what happens. She might meet some really kind, happy, interesting friends at those places.

That's because in the south girls are taught to smile constantly, no matter how happy or unhappy. As I was.

No.

They were all just nice kids.

What a naive response. At the SEC school where my daughter attends, she said there are sororities which will recruit only blondes. Of course they have to take in the occasional brunette here and there so not to make it too obvious, but the unsaid requirement is that you have to be blonde. So nice, right? So nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice is very weird and nerdy like CMU. Emorys students are similar to Georgetown, like a mix between Georgetown and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is very preppy like Duke but with more attractive students, and Duke is Duke.

Your take on Rice is clownishly incorrect.

NP. The above wasn't my take, but since my kid is headed to Rice in the fall, I'm curious to hear your take (and what your connection to Rice is.) Please share -- thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice is very weird and nerdy like CMU. Emorys students are similar to Georgetown, like a mix between Georgetown and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is very preppy like Duke but with more attractive students, and Duke is Duke.

Your take on Rice is clownishly incorrect.

NP. The above wasn't my take, but since my kid is headed to Rice in the fall, I'm curious to hear your take (and what your connection to Rice is.) Please share -- thanks!

DP. Congrats on your son going to Rice. Rice is a bit quirky but with super smart kids. No need for frats bc of the college system. I went to school there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Emory is very Asian, possibly the most “Asian” of all the medium-sized private Southern universities. However, UGA and GA Tech also have a very large cohort of Asian/Asian-American students. UGA is large and Diverse enough that everyone can find their niche and their people outside the Greek scene.

If you actually look up stats, you will see that Rice has the most Asian students out of the 4 schools OP named.

[Anonymous]

Rice and Emory have no big time sports programs yes Rice is Division1 but with exception of baseball there sports are weak. Duke attracts a very different demographic primarily wealthy country club families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a hs senior dd and had similar questions and concerns. From my anecdotal research (speaking with current college students and parents), the social scene at many (but not all) of the top private and public schools is pretty cliquey and dominated by wealthy, attractive, popular kids - often from private/prep schools. You don't have to be blond, but it does help if you are wealthy and attractive. Even girls who are not 'dresssed up' often wear designer jewelry and accessories. Its kind of crazy. These kids have already identified each other on social media before arriving on campus. Duke and Vanderbilt for sure are like this. Rice no, bc no greek and student body is very different. Emory- not as bad. It's not a southern thing. It's a wealthy/private school thing. You don't have to he part of it, but it is good for kids to think about how they can see themselves having fun outside those groups if they prevail on campus. There are plenty of non greek and non girly girls at duke amd vandy, you just have to find your group. I think it's sad, but it's the reality these kids face.

It is a southern thing. No such culture at Yale, Harvard, even schools like Case Western, Skidmore, Tufts.

Agree with this. There's a reason for the stereotype that it's a southern thing. It's because it is.

Unless you’re from the south or went to a southern school you have no right or actual ability to make claims like this.

DP here with experience at both Northern and Southern universities. The PP is not wrong. The cultures are very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a string about Vanderbilt and how the girls at Vanderbilt, like a lot of schools in the south, dress up for sorority rush and other social events and that may not be the right setting for every girl. I'm not trying to bash Vanderbilt; I just found this article illuminating:

https://vanderbilthustler.com/2019/01/13/our-campus-culture-pressures-women-into-unhealthy-relationships-with-food-and-their-bodies/

I have a junior daughter who is interested in Duke, Emory, Rice and possibly Vanderbilt. Do all of these schools also have that type of school culture around girls and appearances?

We are Asian American and my daughter has been sad to not "fit in" with the popular girls at her high school, many of whom are tall, blond, skinny, etc. so I would like - if possible - to steer her away from that culture for college.

Aim for Duke or Rice. Neither have the southern greek vibe. Emory and Vandy do not have nearly as much as the SEC schools or SMU, Charleston. Avoid all of those. Will she look more north? Ivies may be more the vibe she wants. My Asian girl loves Penn, we are from NC, it is somewhat colder weather but it only matters for about 6 weeks of Jan-Feb and she enjoys the brief snows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice and Emory have no big time sports programs yes Rice is Division1 but with exception of baseball there sports are weak. Duke attracts a very different demographic primarily wealthy country club families.

Is the only family you know from Duke the one from White Lotus? Duke is insanely hard to get into. Those families are gunning it on Khan academy all weekend, not playing tennis. FWIW, Emory is far more popular at our club than Duke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a string about Vanderbilt and how the girls at Vanderbilt, like a lot of schools in the south, dress up for sorority rush and other social events and that may not be the right setting for every girl. I'm not trying to bash Vanderbilt; I just found this article illuminating:

https://vanderbilthustler.com/2019/01/13/our-campus-culture-pressures-women-into-unhealthy-relationships-with-food-and-their-bodies/

I have a junior daughter who is interested in Duke, Emory, Rice and possibly Vanderbilt. Do all of these schools also have that type of school culture around girls and appearances?

We are Asian American and my daughter has been sad to not "fit in" with the popular girls at her high school, many of whom are tall, blond, skinny, etc. so I would like - if possible - to steer her away from that culture for college.

Aim for Duke or Rice. Neither have the southern greek vibe. Emory and Vandy do not have nearly as much as the SEC schools or SMU, Charleston. Avoid all of those. Will she look more north? Ivies may be more the vibe she wants. My Asian girl loves Penn, we are from NC, it is somewhat colder weather but it only matters for about 6 weeks of Jan-Feb and she enjoys the brief snows.

Vandy is an SEC school, and Charleston's student body is not particularly southern. Tons of chicks from NY/NJ/New England.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Echoing a few earlier posters. If Rice is appealing, she should absolutely look at W&M as a more accessible option. They were my antithesis-of-sorority-culture daughter’s two favorites; she found both Rice and W&M to be full of “friendly smart kids”.

I’ll be the third to encourage a look at WM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SEC schools are extremely popular now and this trend will continue. Lots of Northeast and Midwest kids want to dress up and socialize with friends at fun football tailgates. Don’t see the appeal of campus protests at schools located in unattractive locations. Duke has a distinct vibe very athletic and fun seeking kids glad it’s not Rice.

This.

You are only young once. You should enjoy your college experience instead of spending it trying to make it through a firewall of angry protesters when just trying to get to you calculus final.

Not accurate in the slightest, but I guess if forced to choose I’ll take that over what I read on one of the southern school reddits today about Greek life - lots of SA and lots of hazing, very creative, pledges sitting in a hole of excrement.

Oh sure, Reddit nonsense is just as accurate as videos and news stories of the protests. 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to go to college in a major city. LA, Boston, NY.

All the girls at the SEC schools we toured seemed really, really happy, even the ones that dod not look like a stereotypical 'Bama sorority rush poster.

If she liked the southern university, let her apply and see what happens. She might meet some really kind, happy, interesting friends at those places.

+1 and the opposite, my southern daughter considers leaving the south but couldn’t get over how miserable the students looked at some of the campuses we visited like UPenn. She is happy and wants to stay that way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s not fitting in because she isn’t confident in herself.

Not fair