Good, fun colleges
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Anonymous
 You funny.
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Anonymous
How 'not fun' is u of c ? It's my DD's top choice. She does just study all the time, but it seems like college should be some fun. We visited Hopkins and that seemed to be the least fun college of all time . Where would be a U of Chicago alternative school that would be a bit of fun? |
Anonymous
if your DD wants to go to UChicago, she definitely should. it's an excellent school. that said, it's incredibly intense. the undergrads are treated essentially like grad students, vis-a-vis the academic expectations of them. the kids tend to be somewhat socially awkward and obsessed with their schoolwork (aka studying late on a saturday night). i say this as someone who almost went to uchicago for undergrad, did go there for grad school, and whose sister went there for undergrad. my vote for a school with a good combination of academic excellence and fun campus life would be umich, assuming you like big ten sports. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
LOL. Parent of a Swarthmore graduate. |
Anonymous
| Claremont McKenna and Colgate have great social cultures for a LAC. Vanderbilt too but it is academically a pressure cooker these days- lots of grade deflation |
Anonymous
I’m the parent who laughed. My kid is currently there. She has fun — that wasn’t the disqualifier — nor, obviously, was excellent academics). It was reasonable amount of pressure. The quarter system is brutal/unforgiving, everybody is smart and works very hard, profs have high standards. And the Core Curriculum means lots of requirements as well as the need to be reasonably competent in fields other than your own. For STEM majors, Core plus lots of sequential courses can mean fun things like study abroad are out of reach if you want to do a thesis and graduate in 4 years. People (profs and students, including grad students) have all been friendly and helpful. There are a wealth of opportunities and great facilities. I’m very pro-UofC at this point, but I would never recommend it to someone who wants to avoid a high-pressure environment. FWIW, Madison was my daughter’s fun/reasonable pressure alternative and we’re both convinced she would have been very happy there as well. |
Anonymous
| Tulane |
Anonymous
+1, especially if your kid can get in the honors program. Had a blast but was very challenged. |
Anonymous
I went to Chicago. There is, or at least was, a tee shirt in the bookstore that read, "University of Chicago. Where fun goes to die." Seriously. |
Anonymous
Chicago is where fun goes to die |
Anonymous
+ 1 University of Miami any college in California |
Anonymous
Not any more. True in the 1980s, when BIL was there. DC who is there now routinely has fun both on and off campus. Lots of trips into the city for food, arts, etc. CTA pass (bundled into fees) and lots of venue discounts makes it pretty cheap. Kids also routinely share Ubers and there’s a free weekend shuttle at night to the south loop. A few good, affordable restaurants (and food trucks) in Hyde Park and great film series, cafes, bookstores for shorter bursts of week day/night fun. Lots of clubs, free rec classes, music, theater, lectures, etc. on campus. DC’s experience is that there are always fun things to do when you have time (and lots of fun things you miss because you don’t). |
Anonymous
| Clubs here means student organizations. Not nightclubs! |
Anonymous
| UVA |