Warm, Supportive, Friendly, Nurturing---What do these terms mean?

[Anonymous]

Please help me understand these terms within a college environment? Can you share a concrete example of your "warm" school? What specifically makes it "friendly"? How is "nurturing" built into the environment? What does "supportive" mean at the college level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please help me understand these terms within a college environment? Can you share a concrete example of your "warm" school? What specifically makes it "friendly"? How is "nurturing" built into the environment? What does "supportive" mean at the college level?

Private HS 2.0

[Anonymous]

The colleges on the CTCL list

[Anonymous]

Honestly they mean nothing. They are meant to reassure nervous parents.

[Anonymous]

For my student, we looked for schools that where the social scene was not dominated by institutions designed to exclude people, be they sports teams, greek organizations, or selective clubs.

To identify a warm and supportive atmosphere, I'd ask: what happens if a student gets sick? Who gets involved and how? Do students share course notes and study together (when not forced to by group projects)?

[Anonymous]

I can share a quick one from when I was in school. After a massive blizzard, my car’s battery had died. I had no idea how to deal with it, but I knew my prof was a car guy. So I asked him about it after class and he was like “let’s go take a look at it”. So we went over to the car, he pulled the battery, took it home, and charged it up for me. This was obviously not a part of his job description or requirements, but he wanted to help me out.

The warmth of a community isn’t just an in-the-classroom thing. It’s all the interactions — big and little — that make up the relationships between people.

Oh, another one. One of our beloved cafeteria ladies had cancer, and we hosted a benefit concert to raise funds (I think around $6,000?) to help her family with medical bills.

It’s like living in a neighborhood with friendly neighbors you can call on when you need help, or who you can help when they need it. Could you live in a neighborhood where people don’t help one another? Sure? But if given the option, I know which one I’d rather live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For my student, we looked for schools that where the social scene was not dominated by institutions designed to exclude people, be they sports teams, greek organizations, or selective clubs.

To identify a warm and supportive atmosphere, I'd ask: what happens if a student gets sick? Who gets involved and how? Do students share course notes and study together (when not forced to by group projects)?

Is this a serious post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can share a quick one from when I was in school. After a massive blizzard, my car’s battery had died. I had no idea how to deal with it, but I knew my prof was a car guy. So I asked him about it after class and he was like “let’s go take a look at it”. So we went over to the car, he pulled the battery, took it home, and charged it up for me. This was obviously not a part of his job description or requirements, but he wanted to help me out.

The warmth of a community isn’t just an in-the-classroom thing. It’s all the interactions — big and little — that make up the relationships between people.

Oh, another one. One of our beloved cafeteria ladies had cancer, and we hosted a benefit concert to raise funds (I think around $6,000?) to help her family with medical bills.

It’s like living in a neighborhood with friendly neighbors you can call on when you need help, or who you can help when they need it. Could you live in a neighborhood where people don’t help one another? Sure? But if given the option, I know which one I’d rather live in.

This is good to read. I hope your school has not changed and is still as supportive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For my student, we looked for schools that where the social scene was not dominated by institutions designed to exclude people, be they sports teams, greek organizations, or selective clubs.

To identify a warm and supportive atmosphere, I'd ask: what happens if a student gets sick? Who gets involved and how? Do students share course notes and study together (when not forced to by group projects)?

Is this a serious post?

Why wouldn't it be? We looked for similar things, along with accessible professors whom students reported were invested in their success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For my student, we looked for schools that where the social scene was not dominated by institutions designed to exclude people, be they sports teams, greek organizations, or selective clubs.

To identify a warm and supportive atmosphere, I'd ask: what happens if a student gets sick? Who gets involved and how? Do students share course notes and study together (when not forced to by group projects)?

If my student gets sick, I expect that my child will call me if they need me. Are there really colleges that have staff that check in on kids so often that they know if they're sick? Sharing notes and studying together happens between friends at all schools.

[Anonymous]

Small, expensive, not a state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For my student, we looked for schools that where the social scene was not dominated by institutions designed to exclude people, be they sports teams, greek organizations, or selective clubs.

To identify a warm and supportive atmosphere, I'd ask: what happens if a student gets sick? Who gets involved and how? Do students share course notes and study together (when not forced to by group projects)?

If my student gets sick, I expect that my child will call me if they need me. Are there really colleges that have staff that check in on kids so often that they know if they're sick? Sharing notes and studying together happens between friends at all schools.

I was referring to: if the kid gets sick, do other students -- not just close friends -- check in? Offer to bring food and gatorade? However, I also like a place where residential like has a strong staff who are a known backup.

And sharing notes is not typical everywhere, as some places are super-competitive. Kids will say things like 'my notes are illegible, they wouldn't help you'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small, expensive, not a state school.

Maybe at its core it’s just this as my kid transferred from the latter to the former and within weeks used totally different adjectives when talking about the classroom experience. His class sizes shrunk drastically and when he needs to email a professor - not a TA - they actually respond. He was a number at his big state school and felt very disconnected.

I think asking a school about their freshman experience helps understand their values around fostering a sense of community. It’s not a true priority for every school, and that’s okay, but it’s helpful for the student to know what they’re choosing.

[Anonymous]

High point university

[Anonymous]

It means woke — and psycho teddy bears from hell if you disagree about anything.