What T20 school isn’t “grim” these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the Princeton thread.
And Northwestern thread….depressing.

Which T20 schools aren’t “grim” or soulless?

Looking for semi- intellectual but still social and lively.
Small class sizes key.
Where you know your classmates……
Humanities major.

Most kids at Princeton and Northwestern are quite happy and thriving. If you're going to make decisions based on the outliers, you probably shouldn't be looking at T20 schools because they will all have kids who weren't happy about their experiences.

Almost 1/3 of kids at Princeton major in computer science and engineering; add biological sciences and econ to the mix and that’s just over 1/2 of all students. This disproportion is only growing with expansion of engineering etc. Not a good place for a humanities major.

Wouldn’t that make a great for humanities major? Really small class sizes, access to professors and a ton of resources going your way since the herd has moved in another direction?

Not any more than Johns Hopkins is good for humanities majors. Sometimes life of the mind types don’t want to be surrounded by preprofessional grinder types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is literally a thread from a week or two with the except same subject heading.

Hopefully, the moderator will reference that post for you.

Key words??

They used the word "grind"...but it is the same thing for the purposes of what OP asks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the Princeton thread.
And Northwestern thread….depressing.

Which T20 schools aren’t “grim” or soulless?

Looking for semi- intellectual but still social and lively.
Small class sizes key.
Where you know your classmates……
Humanities major.

Most kids at Princeton and Northwestern are quite happy and thriving. If you're going to make decisions based on the outliers, you probably shouldn't be looking at T20 schools because they will all have kids who weren't happy about their experiences.

Almost 1/3 of kids at Princeton major in computer science and engineering; add biological sciences and econ to the mix and that’s just over 1/2 of all students. This disproportion is only growing with expansion of engineering etc. Not a good place for a humanities major.

So the number of students majoring in the humanities is still as large if not larger than at many SLACs. Your argument isn't convincing at all.

[Anonymous]

Brown. My daughter and her wonderful friends love being there and the professors are fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say...Duke. Sun (most of the year), sports and spirit. Definitely not grim.

YMMV. My spouse went to Duke and has mixed feelings. Found their people there but overall felt like the students were spoiled and didn't like the fraternity/sorority scene there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the Princeton thread.
And Northwestern thread….depressing.

Which T20 schools aren’t “grim” or soulless?

Looking for semi- intellectual but still social and lively.
Small class sizes key.
Where you know your classmates……
Humanities major.

Most kids at Princeton and Northwestern are quite happy and thriving. If you're going to make decisions based on the outliers, you probably shouldn't be looking at T20 schools because they will all have kids who weren't happy about their experiences.

Almost 1/3 of kids at Princeton major in computer science and engineering; add biological sciences and econ to the mix and that’s just over 1/2 of all students. This disproportion is only growing with expansion of engineering etc. Not a good place for a humanities major.

Wouldn’t that make a great for humanities major? Really small class sizes, access to professors and a ton of resources going your way since the herd has moved in another direction?

+1.

[Anonymous]

These threads about wanting the prestige without the grind all are so funny (or sad, depending on mentality). Just pick one and move on.

This oversimplifies it. There are prestigious schools where the grind is worse than most jobs. There are other prestigious schools where the hardest part is getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is literally a thread from a week or two with the except same subject heading.

Hopefully, the moderator will reference that post for you.

Welcome to DCUM! The moderator's name is Jeff. He is busy. If you find the thread and link here, it will be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

These threads about wanting the prestige without the grind all are so funny (or sad, depending on mentality). Just pick one and move on.

This oversimplifies it. There are prestigious schools where the grind is worse than most jobs. There are other prestigious schools where the hardest part is getting in.

What are those schools? I’ve heard Yale…

[Anonymous]

I have kids at Vanderbilt and Rice and they are both very happy. Neither school is grim. Vanderbilt tends to attract smart, extroverted, and very social students. Rice is nerdier, but it has a very inclusive residential college system. At both schools, students seem to be supportive of each other rather than competitive. The happiness factor was a big reason why we chose those schools.

Among other schools we visited, Notre Dame seemed to have a really good vibe. Very friendly students. Not particularly diverse though. And surprisingly, the University of Chicago seemed like a pretty happy place for the right kind of student.

In contrast, Columbia seemed exceptionally dour. And we felt no love for Northwestern. It seemed cold in all meanings of the word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Vanderbilt and Rice and they are both very happy. Neither school is grim. Vanderbilt tends to attract smart, extroverted, and very social students. Rice is nerdier, but it has a very inclusive residential college system. At both schools, students seem to be supportive of each other rather than competitive. The happiness factor was a big reason why we chose those schools.

Among other schools we visited, Notre Dame seemed to have a really good vibe. Very friendly students. Not particularly diverse though. And surprisingly, the University of Chicago seemed like a pretty happy place for the right kind of student.

In contrast, Columbia seemed exceptionally dour. And we felt no love for Northwestern. It seemed cold in all meanings of the word.

Super helpful. Wow. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

did not understand the assignment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

did not understand the assignment

lol
This would get you a C grade and eliminate you from contention at a T20