what "good" college did you attend but would not necessarily recommend to your kids or others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole “college town” issue simply contributes to the over romanticism of the college experience. Boomers and Gen Xers went to college when they were young and now look back in it as so wonderful. Todays colleges are so expensive. That should be a main point not is it a great college town ?

Eh, I don't think it is necessarily so bad to consider. I attended a LAC on the edge of a small city and occasionally appreciated the opportunity to get off campus and immerse myself somewhere other than school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole “college town” issue simply contributes to the over romanticism of the college experience. Boomers and Gen Xers went to college when they were young and now look back in it as so wonderful. Todays colleges are so expensive. That should be a main point not is it a great college town ?

It was a UM detractor that first brought up that they thought Ann Arbor was not a great college town. I think most people understand that "is it a great college town" is not the most important thing, but location IS a factor, and always will be a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for UMD. Had a great time socially, but it’s too large and the teaching leaves so much to be desired. Occasionally I’d luck out with a good adjunct or a decent TA, but for the most part my professors were awful.

I graduated 2007 and had some excellent teachers. one of them helped me get selected for a very competitive internship that was the stepping stone to starting my career. I would not be disappointed if my children decide to go there esp. for journalism, cs, engineering, politics and business. But, it's a large school, and would have liked an OOS experience. The school is pretty social (I made many long-term friends who still live in MD so I see them often). Its a good option for in state kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore -- too small and too intense for most kids

I got a great education but I think I would have had a more balanced experience at a larger school. Most of my classmates loved it, though, so for the right person, it can be a great place.

+1 I loved my time there, but you really do have to be a particular person to thrive at Swarthmore. Most students at other top SLACs and universities would dislike it.

I loved small size but also disliked it academically and it hasn't helped me professionally. Should have gone to Penn or Cornell and got a 4.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore. Too small and way too much work. Also SJW.

Sorry to be the 4th person on here saying this, but I agree. I disliked it right away but wouldn’t transfer because it was so prestigious.

Prestigious among a small portion of the educated, maybe, but zero name recognition among laypeople.

Seriously. Let me be the 5th. 30 yrs later I seriously want a refund of the money my parents spent on Swarthmore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore. Too small and way too much work. Also SJW.

Sorry to be the 4th person on here saying this, but I agree. I disliked it right away but wouldn’t transfer because it was so prestigious.

Prestigious among a small portion of the educated, maybe, but zero name recognition among laypeople.

Seriously. Let me be the 5th. 30 yrs later I seriously want a refund of the money my parents spent on Swarthmore.

A clueless Harvard alumna here. Was planning on encouraging DC to strongly consider SLAC over Ivies. Not having personal knowledge of individual schools, curious how culture at Swarthmore is different than other LAC like Amherst, Williams, Pomona, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to UVa and hated it. I don't want my own teen to go there because of my bad experience. It was just so snobby and unfriendly.

Yet UVA has the highest freshmen retention rate among public universities by far and a graduation rate that rivals the Ivies and other top privates. Somebody there must like it.

Wrong! Cal, UCLA, and Michigan all the same 97% freshman retention rate as UVA. So not only does UVA not have the highest rate, they also don’t have it by far! Considering that the other three schools mentioned have much better STEM programs than UVA, I’d say that makes it even more impressive.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return

I stand corrected on freshman retention rates, where yes there are other state schools that do equally well (although none better). But when it comes to four year graduation rates UVA blows those other schools away.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore. Too small and way too much work. Also SJW.

Sorry to be the 4th person on here saying this, but I agree. I disliked it right away but wouldn’t transfer because it was so prestigious.

Prestigious among a small portion of the educated, maybe, but zero name recognition among laypeople.

Seriously. Let me be the 5th. 30 yrs later I seriously want a refund of the money my parents spent on Swarthmore.

A clueless Harvard alumna here. Was planning on encouraging DC to strongly consider SLAC over Ivies. Not having personal knowledge of individual schools, curious how culture at Swarthmore is different than other LAC like Amherst, Williams, Pomona, etc.

Swarthmore is more academically intense than all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another University of Rochester graduate. I didn’t mind the cold and I had fun at first but it’s very Greek heavy and International. I was assigned a Physics Professor as a counselor and I think I met with him once. Zero help for a first generation college student. I had friends but no friendships that lasted. Once I stopped drinking and partying I basically felt alone because I didn’t join a sorority. Basically zero career or academic counseling. I made it out ok but not because of help or guidance from the school. I hope that’s changed. As a first generation college student I wouldn’t have considered transferring but I guess in hindsight that could’ve been an option. As a cute, white, smart girl I know I had it easier than most and it still was barely enough. I would only recommend it for my child if they were interested in pre med, physics, or business.

I’m the PP who had original UofR post. I did join Greek life (sorority) only because there was nothing else to do and I didn’t really click with anyone freshman year. The only plus was having stuff to do and always someone willing to watch movies instead of going to a frat. It didn’t help with life long friendships. And it really was just a matter of convenience.

For all those hating on Greek life there is a plus side. Decades later, I am active Greek alum with national. I mentor undergrads from the sorority (not from Rochester) and help them find internships, first jobs and navigate through the college to real world transition. It’s really meaningful for me and them. A sorority alum from another school did it for me - many moons ago. I joke that I was an awful rush pick as a “sister,” but now Im an awesome “sorority aunt.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to UVa and hated it. I don't want my own teen to go there because of my bad experience. It was just so snobby and unfriendly.

Yet UVA has the highest freshmen retention rate among public universities by far and a graduation rate that rivals the Ivies and other top privates. Somebody there must like it.

Wrong! Cal, UCLA, and Michigan all the same 97% freshman retention rate as UVA. So not only does UVA not have the highest rate, they also don’t have it by far! Considering that the other three schools mentioned have much better STEM programs than UVA, I’d say that makes it even more impressive.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return

I stand corrected on freshman retention rates, where yes there are other state schools that do equally well (although none better). But when it comes to four year graduation rates UVA blows those other schools away.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate

You do realize that it typically takes a bit longer than 4 years to get an engineering degree right? Cal, UCLA, and Michigan have many thousands of undergrads in their engineering schools. UVA is not a strong STEM school. Easier path to a 4 year graduation.

[Anonymous]

MIT and other STEM centered universities also have lower graduation rates than UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore. Too small and way too much work. Also SJW.

Sorry to be the 4th person on here saying this, but I agree. I disliked it right away but wouldn’t transfer because it was so prestigious.

Prestigious among a small portion of the educated, maybe, but zero name recognition among laypeople.

Seriously. Let me be the 5th. 30 yrs later I seriously want a refund of the money my parents spent on Swarthmore.

A clueless Harvard alumna here. Was planning on encouraging DC to strongly consider SLAC over Ivies. Not having personal knowledge of individual schools, curious how culture at Swarthmore is different than other LAC like Amherst, Williams, Pomona, etc.

I saw this from a College Confidential listing of a parent whose child did the Swarthmore Pomona exchange:

My older D graduated from Pomona in 2019. But she spent an exchange semester during her junior year at Swarthmore, so she was able to compare the Pomona vibe (laid back West Coast) to the Swattie vibe (they sell T shirts that say things like “Swat Life - Anywhere Else it Would’ve Been an A.”) While at Swat she took an advanced Spanish class, real analysis, a computer science class (data structures & algorithms) and an intermediate level economics class. She felt that the two schools were basically identical in terms of academic rigor, grading and amount of homework. But Swatties take pride in their reputation for intensity and sort of a “misery poker” attitude about how hard they work.

One of the administrators she met at Swat told her that if you invite a Swattie and a Pomona student to a party on a Friday night, the Swattie will say no way, I’m too busy and the Pomona kid will say “absolutely” but in reality both will go to the library first to work until 10 pm and then go to the party.

So I'm guessing it's more of a mentality thing than anything. FWIW, the average GPA of Swarthmore grads was 3.66 in 2021, which is generally along the lines of schools known for "grade inflation".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to UVa and hated it. I don't want my own teen to go there because of my bad experience. It was just so snobby and unfriendly.

Yet UVA has the highest freshmen retention rate among public universities by far and a graduation rate that rivals the Ivies and other top privates. Somebody there must like it.

I was the PP who hated UVa. What's the retention rate got to do with it? I graduated. I even had good grades. I was just really unhappy for 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to UVa and hated it. I don't want my own teen to go there because of my bad experience. It was just so snobby and unfriendly.

Yet UVA has the highest freshmen retention rate among public universities by far and a graduation rate that rivals the Ivies and other top privates. Somebody there must like it.

Wrong! Cal, UCLA, and Michigan all the same 97% freshman retention rate as UVA. So not only does UVA not have the highest rate, they also don’t have it by far! Considering that the other three schools mentioned have much better STEM programs than UVA, I’d say that makes it even more impressive.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/freshmen-least-most-likely-return

I stand corrected on freshman retention rates, where yes there are other state schools that do equally well (although none better). But when it comes to four year graduation rates UVA blows those other schools away.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate

Stop highjacking the thread with graduation rates. It's not about graduation rates or which school is more prestigious. It's whether or not people would recommend the school, for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole “college town” issue simply contributes to the over romanticism of the college experience. Boomers and Gen Xers went to college when they were young and now look back in it as so wonderful. Todays colleges are so expensive. That should be a main point not is it a great college town ?

Eh, I don't think it is necessarily so bad to consider. I attended a LAC on the edge of a small city and occasionally appreciated the opportunity to get off campus and immerse myself somewhere other than school.

Some parents can afford any school so the environment may be more important than cost.