S/O DCUM vs. reality: which colleges are very different IRL vs. what you read here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having toured many and attends admit days for a few, my opinion is you could pick up the student body at and T15 and drop it on another campus and you’d be none the wiser. All the stereotypes at top are outdated at this point. My hunch is disgruntled parents enjoy repeating them to disparage schools from bruised egos perhaps. I don’t know, it’s just odd to me that so many speak with conviction when so terribly wrong. Having said all that, I think there are loads of excellent institutions of all rankings and tend to find the positives in most.

This. We toured them all and have close friends and family at 9 of the T15(Eight Ivies + MIT stanford duke chicago northwestern jhu caltech). There are some minor differences only. All are more similar than different. UVA is significantly different than all of them.

What does UVA have to do with this? Axe to grind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having toured many and attends admit days for a few, my opinion is you could pick up the student body at and T15 and drop it on another campus and you’d be none the wiser. All the stereotypes at top are outdated at this point. My hunch is disgruntled parents enjoy repeating them to disparage schools from bruised egos perhaps. I don’t know, it’s just odd to me that so many speak with conviction when so terribly wrong. Having said all that, I think there are loads of excellent institutions of all rankings and tend to find the positives in most.

This. We toured them all and have close friends and family at 9 of the T15(Eight Ivies + MIT stanford duke chicago northwestern jhu caltech). There are some minor differences only. All are more similar than different. UVA is significantly different than all of them.

What does UVA have to do with this? Axe to grind?

UVA is the only public school on this list. There are bigger differences b/t public & private schools vs public & elite private colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don't play all that much DnD at William and Mary.

Ha my neighbor plays DnD at WM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Literally every school has its misconceptions on here. Remember, a the majority of DCUM is UMC women who went to college in the 90s. Many think nothing has changed, and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Duke and Dartmouth are not these fratty upper crust places anymore.
UChicago is hardly where fun goes to die.
Northwestern isn’t really a big work-hard play-harder place unless you’re a wealthy white person.
MIT has the most popular frat parties in Boston.
Vanderbilt isn’t brimming with MAGA.
Brown isn’t where quirky blue haired LGBTQ liberals who smoke pot 24/7 attend.

I could go on. I’m sure people with argue with what I say above using their DC’s n=1 anecdotes. Just know that over the last 10+ years, the student demographics and archetypes of T20 schools have become more similar than different.

oh and Cornell is where no one smiles and the bridges are dark forbidden places! Far from the truth.

[Anonymous]

I previously posted on another thread that it would be nice to have to state your affiliation with a school before you post (ie: kid at the college currently, kid rejected from the college, went in the 90s, heard a rumor, only care about nonsensical ranking etc). So much unfounded hate for some schools (and love of the very flawed usnwr rankings) that really makes this forum useless half the time. If we could focus on fit, remember that kids, high schools, colleges, values, majors, personality etc are vastly different and that there isnt a need to one up everyone on here it would be a much more helpful forum. Everyone doesn’t need to be at a T10. Let’s help people constructively here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was inspired by a responder on that DCUM vs reality in acceptance thread who said Dartmouth was not all frat boys in real life.

What are other colleges with strong stereotypes that are very different from you saw on tour or better yet, with an enrolled DC?

Does Duke deserve the douchey fratty reputation? Does Brown really over-index on blue-haired celebrity offsprings + LGBTQ? Does Penn have more than their fair share of sharp-elbowed future wall-street bro?

And which ones do seem to lean closer to their reputation?

Lynchburg. When DC committed there I was iffy b/c people on here make it sound like sh--hole where no one gets jobs and the kids are morons. My athlete DC had other offers at very high academic (but high $$$ schools). But liked Lynchburg for lots of intangibles that ended up being a good fit.

What I found:
-not a sh--hole. The town is big time underrated. And the school is starting to upgrade older facilities.
-It is small but my kid has lots of personal attention and is excelling bc of that. The school generally supports the kids and wants them to succeed. For anyone who is smart and motivated, you will do well there.
-Their health based professions/preprofessions are VERY good.
-The student body is no different from my D1 school experience: lots of high performing kids and lots of others, too. Certainly is not the "dumb school" portrayed here.
-They give a LOT of money. And mine will have a full 529 for grad school tuition as a result. There are a lot of lower income kids there and the school attracts them b/c of the aid. But that doesn't mean low income = stupid. Many of these kids are incredibly hard workers.
-Because it's small the kids have lots of opportunities that are harder in big schools: jobs, research, facetime with professors, mentors, etc.

I dont expect the folks on here to reconsider their views on the school. But that's ok. It's a gem and kids would be smart to consider it. It was an eye opener for me. And I'm glad I didn't quash the decision and left it to my kid.

[Anonymous]

If the schools are so homogenized, then is there a point to all this extreme agonizing over which school someone applies to and attends? As long as the school has good academic offerings in the kid’s chosen field, what are the things to focus on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the schools are so homogenized, then is there a point to all this extreme agonizing over which school someone applies to and attends? As long as the school has good academic offerings in the kid’s chosen field, what are the things to focus on?

That’s the secret sauce. Focus on what matters to your kid. Is a major super strong at one school? Do they thrive in cold weather? When they step on campus does it feel like their people? Is the size/distance/price right? Jeff Selingo’s Dream Schools book tries to make this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the schools are so homogenized, then is there a point to all this extreme agonizing over which school someone applies to and attends? As long as the school has good academic offerings in the kid’s chosen field, what are the things to focus on?

That’s the secret sauce. Focus on what matters to your kid. Is a major super strong at one school? Do they thrive in cold weather? When they step on campus does it feel like their people? Is the size/distance/price right? Jeff Selingo’s Dream Schools book tries to make this point.

This is more imp than people think. If they like where they are, they will thrive. I know so many kids (Penn, Tufts, and other "top" schools that left or are staying but absolutely miserable).

[Anonymous]

^yep. Such a nuanced and personal journey that no ranking by list can nail. Do the research with alllll the things out there and then find YOUR school. This obsession with arbitrary ranking is insane. Is HYP “better” that xyz? Sure academically they are the cream of the crop. Does everyone fit there? No. This process would be so much better if usnwr went away.

[Anonymous]

The only reality that is radically different from top 30-ish schools is the location they are in and city you fly into. Unless the school is teeny tiny, there is no one monolithic culture. All schools with more than 5000 students contain multitudes and you can find your people.

That said, there is a big difference in location and vibes between a more remote-ish location (Ithaca, Hanover, South Bend) versus a school in or near a city hub (NYC, Boston/Camberville, Chicago, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Penn is nicer than people here assume. So is Chicago, which has a really outstanding campus. Vanderbilt is much more a nerd school than frat school, and also has a great campus. Notre Dame is indeed super Catholic, but they do have the nicest students. WashU is not in the ghetto of St. Louis, but is actually a lovely campus in a really nice area. Northwestern and Columbia are more - I don't know the word, maybe unpleasant - environments than you'd expect. Harvard is lame and not at all what you'd expect it to be. Like, Harvard, take care of the lawn with your billions. I super-liked McGill, but apparently it gets cold in Montreal in January.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn is nicer than people here assume. So is Chicago, which has a really outstanding campus. Vanderbilt is much more a nerd school than frat school, and also has a great campus. Notre Dame is indeed super Catholic, but they do have the nicest students. WashU is not in the ghetto of St. Louis, but is actually a lovely campus in a really nice area. Northwestern and Columbia are more - I don't know the word, maybe unpleasant - environments than you'd expect. Harvard is lame and not at all what you'd expect it to be. Like, Harvard, take care of the lawn with your billions. I super-liked McGill, but apparently it gets cold in Montreal in January.

I’ve never been able to see the beauty in Vandy’s campus. It’s got a great location for kids looking for an urban campus but so many urban ish schools have nicer campuses— I’d put the urban Ivies, Hopkins, GaTech, Chicago, UCLA and USC over Vandy. Just my personal opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn is nicer than people here assume. So is Chicago, which has a really outstanding campus. Vanderbilt is much more a nerd school than frat school, and also has a great campus. Notre Dame is indeed super Catholic, but they do have the nicest students. WashU is not in the ghetto of St. Louis, but is actually a lovely campus in a really nice area. Northwestern and Columbia are more - I don't know the word, maybe unpleasant - environments than you'd expect. Harvard is lame and not at all what you'd expect it to be. Like, Harvard, take care of the lawn with your billions. I super-liked McGill, but apparently it gets cold in Montreal in January.

It’s a pretty incomplete judgment of Harvard to base it just on the main quad. Harvard deserves blame because it’s
Admissions tour is lame but to really judge the campus, you have to consider the upper class houses, including the beautiful domed river houses, the boathouses, the walk across the river to the stadium, etc. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn is nicer than people here assume. So is Chicago, which has a really outstanding campus. Vanderbilt is much more a nerd school than frat school, and also has a great campus. Notre Dame is indeed super Catholic, but they do have the nicest students. WashU is not in the ghetto of St. Louis, but is actually a lovely campus in a really nice area. Northwestern and Columbia are more - I don't know the word, maybe unpleasant - environments than you'd expect. Harvard is lame and not at all what you'd expect it to be. Like, Harvard, take care of the lawn with your billions. I super-liked McGill, but apparently it gets cold in Montreal in January.

I’ve never been able to see the beauty in Vandy’s campus. It’s got a great location for kids looking for an urban campus but so many urban ish schools have nicer campuses— I’d put the urban Ivies, Hopkins, GaTech, Chicago, UCLA and USC over Vandy. Just my personal opinion.

The Vandy campus is basically a sub-tropical garden with very well-maintained buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century era. It does not have the grandeur of a Chicago or Yale. But I like it. It's very lush. And that greenery is there all year round. The Harvard people should hire the Vanderbilt landscapers and gardeners. And their maintenance people too. So many colleges have beautiful exteriors, but the Vandy buildings are all very nice on the inside too. It's a nice campus for an urban school. Maybe not the bestest, but when you get inside the buildings you can see they are taking care of things.