Just For Fun: If you could go to any college...

[Anonymous]

Yale.
I went to med school there. There were maybe 10-20people in my med school class who had gone to Yale undergrad and every single one of them loved it (Harvard, on the other hand, had a lot of grumpy alumni). We would sometimes go up the street to visit the undergrad colleges (like “JE” and “Calhoun”) with the Yale alumni - the college system feels very warm and friendly. Also, I like New England weather.

However, that’s knowing what I know now. I think I would have been very intimidated and probably miserable at Yale as a solidly middle class 18 year old from the boonies. I think my undergrad (Wesleyan) was a better - albeit not perfect - fit for me at the time. And I’m pretty pretty darn happy with the education and support I got at Wes. For example, I probably wouldn’t have ended up at Yale med school if I were coming from Yale undergrad.

That said, I think I’d like ANY undergrad experience anywhere more if I knew then what I do now. I should’ve prioritized having fun more than I did. Youth is wasted on the young!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia University. Anyone going there will learn a lot especially with its location.

LOL, pretty much every Columbia grad I know has hated their undergrad experience there.

+1. I live in NYC and know a lot of Columbia grads. They all hated it.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale.
I went to med school there. There were maybe 10-20people in my med school class who had gone to Yale undergrad and every single one of them loved it (Harvard, on the other hand, had a lot of grumpy alumni). We would sometimes go up the street to visit the undergrad colleges (like “JE” and “Calhoun”) with the Yale alumni - the college system feels very warm and friendly. Also, I like New England weather.

However, that’s knowing what I know now. I think I would have been very intimidated and probably miserable at Yale as a solidly middle class 18 year old from the boonies. I think my undergrad (Wesleyan) was a better - albeit not perfect - fit for me at the time. And I’m pretty pretty darn happy with the education and support I got at Wes. For example, I probably wouldn’t have ended up at Yale med school if I were coming from Yale undergrad.

That said, I think I’d like ANY undergrad experience anywhere more if I knew then what I do now. I should’ve prioritized having fun more than I did. Youth is wasted on the young!

If you prioritized having more fun in undergrad, you probably wouldn't have gotten into Yale Med.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern for me. I just feel like it offers the best of a lot of different aspects of the college experience that I loved. The rah-rah sports culture is there if you want it, it has that lovely East Coast-y liberal arts college vibe among some of its constituent schools, it has the prestige, the vibrant arts, the proximity to the big city.

Granted, a lot of friends I made in my adult life post-college ended up being Northwestern grads out of coincidence, and they all talk about their college experience fondly. So my thinking is probably colored by my friends.

Are we the same person? I also fell into a group of friends who all went to Northwestern (I’m one of like two in the friend group that didn’t go to Northwestern with them), and they’re all such great, friendly, smart, accomplished people, and they all seem like they had such a great time together in school. I liked my alma mater, but I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d gone to Northwestern. Seems like such a magical place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale.
I went to med school there. There were maybe 10-20people in my med school class who had gone to Yale undergrad and every single one of them loved it (Harvard, on the other hand, had a lot of grumpy alumni). We would sometimes go up the street to visit the undergrad colleges (like “JE” and “Calhoun”) with the Yale alumni - the college system feels very warm and friendly. Also, I like New England weather.

However, that’s knowing what I know now. I think I would have been very intimidated and probably miserable at Yale as a solidly middle class 18 year old from the boonies. I think my undergrad (Wesleyan) was a better - albeit not perfect - fit for me at the time. And I’m pretty pretty darn happy with the education and support I got at Wes. For example, I probably wouldn’t have ended up at Yale med school if I were coming from Yale undergrad.

That said, I think I’d like ANY undergrad experience anywhere more if I knew then what I do now. I should’ve prioritized having fun more than I did. Youth is wasted on the young!

If you prioritized having more fun in undergrad, you probably wouldn't have gotten into Yale Med.

Good point!
BUT! ….that would have saved me from becoming a doctor. it’s been particularly stressful since COVID, and I cannot recommend it as a profession anymore.
If my kid becomes a doctor I have threatened to disown her (I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Sort of….)

[Anonymous]

so curious - why is everyone so miserable at Columbia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so curious - why is everyone so miserable at Columbia?

Really tight quarters, very competitive/cutthroat atmosphere socially and academically, zero school spirit, lots of kids who prefer socializing downtown/going out in the city than on campus, extremely rigorous academics, lots of competition for NYC internships and gigs with NYU and other city school students. These are just a few of the reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so curious - why is everyone so miserable at Columbia?

Really tight quarters, very competitive/cutthroat atmosphere socially and academically, zero school spirit, lots of kids who prefer socializing downtown/going out in the city than on campus, extremely rigorous academics, lots of competition for NYC internships and gigs with NYU and other city school students. These are just a few of the reasons.

+100

I think its ranking as #18 is frankly too high.

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame or Princeton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern for me. I just feel like it offers the best of a lot of different aspects of the college experience that I loved. The rah-rah sports culture is there if you want it, it has that lovely East Coast-y liberal arts college vibe among some of its constituent schools, it has the prestige, the vibrant arts, the proximity to the big city.

Granted, a lot of friends I made in my adult life post-college ended up being Northwestern grads out of coincidence, and they all talk about their college experience fondly. So my thinking is probably colored by my friends.

Are we the same person? I also fell into a group of friends who all went to Northwestern (I’m one of like two in the friend group that didn’t go to Northwestern with them), and they’re all such great, friendly, smart, accomplished people, and they all seem like they had such a great time together in school. I liked my alma mater, but I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d gone to Northwestern. Seems like such a magical place.

Spent some time visiting a friend at Northwestern and the main negatives seemed to be a lot of cut-throat pre-professionals and not as many seriously intellectual students as you’d find at most Ivies or a top SLAC. The campus, beach, location, and access to Chicago were very nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern for me. I just feel like it offers the best of a lot of different aspects of the college experience that I loved. The rah-rah sports culture is there if you want it, it has that lovely East Coast-y liberal arts college vibe among some of its constituent schools, it has the prestige, the vibrant arts, the proximity to the big city.

Granted, a lot of friends I made in my adult life post-college ended up being Northwestern grads out of coincidence, and they all talk about their college experience fondly. So my thinking is probably colored by my friends.

Are we the same person? I also fell into a group of friends who all went to Northwestern (I’m one of like two in the friend group that didn’t go to Northwestern with them), and they’re all such great, friendly, smart, accomplished people, and they all seem like they had such a great time together in school. I liked my alma mater, but I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d gone to Northwestern. Seems like such a magical place.

Spent some time visiting a friend at Northwestern and the main negatives seemed to be a lot of cut-throat pre-professionals and not as many seriously intellectual students as you’d find at most Ivies or a top SLAC. The campus, beach, location, and access to Chicago were very nice.

The Northwestern grads I know are plenty intellectual and politically engaged, well-read, etc. I do think they read a bit more socially “normal” though. But that’s a positive in my book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern for me. I just feel like it offers the best of a lot of different aspects of the college experience that I loved. The rah-rah sports culture is there if you want it, it has that lovely East Coast-y liberal arts college vibe among some of its constituent schools, it has the prestige, the vibrant arts, the proximity to the big city.

Granted, a lot of friends I made in my adult life post-college ended up being Northwestern grads out of coincidence, and they all talk about their college experience fondly. So my thinking is probably colored by my friends.

Are we the same person? I also fell into a group of friends who all went to Northwestern (I’m one of like two in the friend group that didn’t go to Northwestern with them), and they’re all such great, friendly, smart, accomplished people, and they all seem like they had such a great time together in school. I liked my alma mater, but I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I’d gone to Northwestern. Seems like such a magical place.

Spent some time visiting a friend at Northwestern and the main negatives seemed to be a lot of cut-throat pre-professionals and not as many seriously intellectual students as you’d find at most Ivies or a top SLAC. The campus, beach, location, and access to Chicago were very nice.

The Northwestern grads I know are plenty intellectual and politically engaged, well-read, etc. I do think they read a bit more socially “normal” though. But that’s a positive in my book.

The point is that not everyone thinks it’s “magical.” My friend who went there had a good experience but found a lot of the Northwestern students shallow compared to the peer group at a solid East Coast public high school we attended. Having met some of them I didn’t disagree with that assessment.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern does not attract a lot of pretentious undergrads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern does not attract a lot of pretentious undergrads.

Well, to go there you either need to come from a wealthy family who can pay $80k/year, or you’re not wealthy and getting financial aid. Right or wrong, the very wealthy can seem pretentious, but those same people won’t necessarily see themselves that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern does not attract a lot of pretentious undergrads.

Well, to go there you either need to come from a wealthy family who can pay $80k/year, or you’re not wealthy and getting financial aid. Right or wrong, the very wealthy can seem pretentious, but those same people won’t necessarily see themselves that way.

Yes, you need to be either wealthy or not wealthy.