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

[Anonymous]

Harvard. I really like the exclusive boarding school feel.

[Anonymous]

Cambridge. Looks pretty cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Hahaha I don’t have a horse in this race but the idea that East Coasters are less shallow than any other region of the country would not be a popular one, that’s for sure.

[Anonymous]

Yale, Brown, Northwestern.

[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.

My Husband toured Northwestern with one of our kids and he wanted to quit work and go be a student there .

Don’t you think many adults feel that way about lots of colleges when they’re touring with their kids?

[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.

My Husband toured Northwestern with one of our kids and he wanted to quit work and go be a student there .

Don’t you think many adults feel that way about lots of colleges when they’re touring with their kids?

So what? This thread about sharing your positive feelings about certain colleges and this post does just that. Back off.

[Anonymous]

I really liked the college I just toured with my daughter last week. I could have been happy there. It wasn't on my radar for any number of reasons.

[Anonymous]

Ohh I've often wished I could redo my college experience. I chose a small, private school to specialize in the arts and nothing would have changed my mind as a high school senior, but now in my 40's I wish I had chosen differently. Now I would choose a big school with tons of people and class options and extracurriculars to really get to know what I like. Also something with a very different climate and terrain than the DC/MD area. Maybe UC Santa Cruz or San Diego, or University of Colorado, or University of Arizona.

[Anonymous]

Public - U Mich Ann Arbor
Ivy - Brown or Yale
LAC - Haverford
West Coast - one of the Pomona colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard. I really like the exclusive boarding school feel.

So many people who went there were miserable …

[Anonymous]

Went to Brown and the only school I think I might have preferred is Stanford - but that’s just for the weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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….)

Interesting! Do you or anyone else want to weigh in and elaborate on the stressful working conditions and other unpleasant aspects of the profession that would prevent you from recommending the profession to prospective applicants? My BIL went totally silver/white from the stress before age 50 and has developed a heart condition, but his college daughter is still deadset on applying, probably due to the comfortable lifestyle she experiencing growing up (on top of an interest in science and healthcare, of course).

[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.

Interesting! Do you know any Barnard students who also dislike their experience? Does there seem to be a difference between the satisfaction of Barnard and Columbia student (due to an aspect of student life and culture)?

[Anonymous]

Brown or UNC.

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth or Middlebury for the education + skiing.