Colleges with very smart and successful students but relatively few DCUM competitive a**hole types

[Anonymous]

Grinnell, macalaster, Carnegie Mellon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ohio State, University of Delware, University of Florida, Penn State

Udel and Penn State aren’t what I would call “very successful students.” The kids that I know who got into the honors college recently at one of those are vindictive a-holes, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you've got the credentials to be a viable candidate for HYPS and other extremely selective colleges but you also want to avoid spending four years with the types of super competitive a**holes who sometimes dominate the conversations on DCUM. You have decided to cross HYPS off of your list for this reason (even though you know there are plenty of nice people who go to those places). What should your top choices be? Obviously you probably won't get into HYPS anyway, since they are highly selective and reject thousands of people with credentials just like yours, but that isn't the point. The point is that you actually think you would prefer to go to a college other than HYPS with a more pleasant social environment and nicer students. Please don't respond by saying you or your kid went to HYPS and loved it, found the students to be friendly, etc. Obviously some people love those places. I'm trying to identify other college student bodies that are more or less comparable in terms of brain power but are more mutually supportive and, well, "collegial." Helpful suggestions would be welcome. (Brown? Bowdoin? Amherst? Williams? Wesleyan? Haverford? Carleton? Grinnell? Pomona?)

All colleges will have the type of "a**holes" you mentioned to some extent or other. Best to stop education with high school diploma. Be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son got into Yale and felt like it would be too much of a "frat-bro" environment and chose Stanford instead. After spending a weekend at Yale he told me "I feel like I'd accidentally be friends with guys who date rape girls but don't think of themselves as rapists."

DD got into Brown and chose Berkeley instead. Both kids felt like California kids are smart and strive to do well, but without pushing other people out of their way.

Silicon Valley is the complete anthesis of this...especially Stanford.

Yeah, my sister teaches at Stanford and said most of her students are tech bros.

[Anonymous]

Look at schools with honors programs. I have a good friend from growing up who could get into Ivy - needed to stay closer to home. She had a great experience with the honors program at what many here would not consider.

Has lived the life she wanted to live.

[Anonymous]

Carleton works for my really smart, not cutthroat kid.

I think Swarthmore lives up to its competitive reputation. Haverford and Grinnell are worth looking at too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you've got the credentials to be a viable candidate for HYPS and other extremely selective colleges but you also want to avoid spending four years with the types of super competitive a**holes who sometimes dominate the conversations on DCUM. You have decided to cross HYPS off of your list for this reason (even though you know there are plenty of nice people who go to those places). What should your top choices be? Obviously you probably won't get into HYPS anyway, since they are highly selective and reject thousands of people with credentials just like yours, but that isn't the point. The point is that you actually think you would prefer to go to a college other than HYPS with a more pleasant social environment and nicer students. Please don't respond by saying you or your kid went to HYPS and loved it, found the students to be friendly, etc. Obviously some people love those places. I'm trying to identify other college student bodies that are more or less comparable in terms of brain power but are more mutually supportive and, well, "collegial." Helpful suggestions would be welcome. (Brown? Bowdoin? Amherst? Williams? Wesleyan? Haverford? Carleton? Grinnell? Pomona?)

Visited a zillion colleges last year with DC who valued great academics, smart kids, and a very supportive, engaged community. Ended up more focused on SLACs than bigger places. I'd be wary of NESCAC schools. Probably have a higher percentage of students you're trying to avoid than HYP has. Midwestern and west coast SLACs are great, although fewer in number. Liked Pomona, Macalaster Oberlin, and Carleton. In NE, Haverford, Bates, and Wesleyan. I'm sure others have ones to add, but these all seemed to hit both academics and community well.

[Anonymous]

Second Haverford, also Bowdoin.

[Anonymous]

This was what we were looking for. Found it in midwestern SLACs that give merit aid, which pull in top UMC donut hole kids. No frats. D3 sports played but not the central to campus life. We loved:

Grinnell
Oberlin
Kenyon
Macalester
St. Olaf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was what we were looking for. Found it in midwestern SLACs that give merit aid, which pull in top UMC donut hole kids. No frats. D3 sports played but not the central to campus life. We loved:

Grinnell
Oberlin
Kenyon
Macalester
St. Olaf

DP - this is just about my kid's exact list. They ended up at Kenyon. Looking for very similar things as the OP, but not quite HYPS level.

[Anonymous]

Rice
Notre Dame
WashU
URochester

[Anonymous]

The notion that Oberlin and Michigan are remotely comparable to HYPS is laughable. But nice try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice
Notre Dame
WashU
URochester

Way to sneak Rochester in there.

[Anonymous]

Definitely SLAC's

Look in to Wesleyan/Williams type schools. They're great for smart kids but school environment isn't so cut throat. I like Wesleyan a bit more because it's a bit larger than others and so more diversity in terms of types of students for friendship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The notion that Oberlin and Michigan are remotely comparable to HYPS is laughable. But nice try!

Go away, troll. Oberlin is a different deal because it’s a SLAC (not worse, just different), but Michigan is 100% comparable to HYPS.