What T20 school isn’t “grim” these days?

[Anonymous]

I have kids at Vanderbilt and Rice and they are both very happy. Neither school is grim. Vanderbilt tends to attract smart, extroverted, and very social students. Rice is nerdier, but it has a very inclusive residential college system. At both schools, students seem to be supportive of each other rather than competitive. The happiness factor was a big reason why we chose those schools.

Among other schools we visited, Notre Dame seemed to have a really good vibe. Very friendly students. Not particularly diverse though. And surprisingly, the University of Chicago seemed like a pretty happy place for the right kind of student.

In contrast, Columbia seemed exceptionally dour. And we felt no love for Northwestern. It seemed cold in all meanings of the word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids at Vanderbilt and Rice and they are both very happy. Neither school is grim. Vanderbilt tends to attract smart, extroverted, and very social students. Rice is nerdier, but it has a very inclusive residential college system. At both schools, students seem to be supportive of each other rather than competitive. The happiness factor was a big reason why we chose those schools.

Among other schools we visited, Notre Dame seemed to have a really good vibe. Very friendly students. Not particularly diverse though. And surprisingly, the University of Chicago seemed like a pretty happy place for the right kind of student.

In contrast, Columbia seemed exceptionally dour. And we felt no love for Northwestern. It seemed cold in all meanings of the word.

Super helpful. Wow. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

did not understand the assignment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

did not understand the assignment

lol
This would get you a C grade and eliminate you from contention at a T20

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

Of course not, but the whole point of the exercise was to tear down some actual T20 schools and boost some at the bottom of the T20 and some non-T20 schools.

[Anonymous]

What are those schools? I’ve heard Yale…

At least academically Harvard seems relaxed as well

[Anonymous]

Vanderbilt!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

I don’t know what that “requirement” is but, yes, some of the above are top 20 SLACs. OPs criteria means that, except for the 3-4 national universities mentioned, SLACs are the way to go. Would not recommend Swarthmore (a grind) or military academies (not SLACs in any event) but all other schools on that top 20 or so SLAC list will fit the bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

Haverford and Wesleyan are both too 20 SLACs. Admission to Haverford, in particular, is tough. It’s a very rigorous school but it’s also super collaborative. Students at both seem happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

I don’t know what that “requirement” is but, yes, some of the above are top 20 SLACs. OPs criteria means that, except for the 3-4 national universities mentioned, SLACs are the way to go. Would not recommend Swarthmore (a grind) or military academies (not SLACs in any event) but all other schools on that top 20 or so SLAC list will fit the bill.

My patients include a lot of military academy students. I respectfully disagree that all of them should be avoided due to "grim" conditions. In particular, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard strike me as places that foster a sense of wonder and even fun at times, based on my 1st person conversations with their students. These young adults seem genuinely happy.

USAFA is an excellent place for engineering and I know multiple young people who LOVE their positions in US Space Force, if that's of interest.

USNA sounds more intense for current students, but damn if they don't have close friends. I have no opinion on West Point and I'd have to agree with PP that the Marines should probably be avoided if one is looking for balance ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt!

Unless you are a music student, Div 1 baseball recruit or a Child Development major, no! Disagree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the Princeton thread.
And Northwestern thread….depressing.

Which T20 schools aren’t “grim” or soulless?

Looking for semi- intellectual but still social and lively.
Small class sizes key.
Where you know your classmates……
Humanities major.

Most kids at Princeton and Northwestern are quite happy and thriving. If you're going to make decisions based on the outliers, you probably shouldn't be looking at T20 schools because they will all have kids who weren't happy about their experiences.

Almost 1/3 of kids at Princeton major in computer science and engineering; add biological sciences and econ to the mix and that’s just over 1/2 of all students. This disproportion is only growing with expansion of engineering etc. Not a good place for a humanities major.

Hopkins is fantastic for the humanities. You obviously know nothing about it.
Wouldn’t that make a great for humanities major? Really small class sizes, access to professors and a ton of resources going your way since the herd has moved in another direction?

Not any more than Johns Hopkins is good for humanities majors. Sometimes life of the mind types don’t want to be surrounded by preprofessional grinder types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the Princeton thread.
And Northwestern thread….depressing.

Which T20 schools aren’t “grim” or soulless?

Looking for semi- intellectual but still social and lively.
Small class sizes key.
Where you know your classmates……
Humanities major.

Most kids at Princeton and Northwestern are quite happy and thriving. If you're going to make decisions based on the outliers, you probably shouldn't be looking at T20 schools because they will all have kids who weren't happy about their experiences.

Almost 1/3 of kids at Princeton major in computer science and engineering; add biological sciences and econ to the mix and that’s just over 1/2 of all students. This disproportion is only growing with expansion of engineering etc. Not a good place for a humanities major.

Hopkins is fantastic for the humanities. You obviously know nothing about it.
Wouldn’t that make a great for humanities major? Really small class sizes, access to professors and a ton of resources going your way since the herd has moved in another direction?

Not any more than Johns Hopkins is good for humanities majors. Sometimes life of the mind types don’t want to be surrounded by preprofessional grinder types.

Hopkins is fantastic for the humanities. You obviously know nothing about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Wesleyan, Macalester, Haverford. Holy Cross, Boston College…

All great schools (several on my own DD’s list, so this is great to hear), but would these fit OP’s “T-20” requirement?

I don’t know what that “requirement” is but, yes, some of the above are top 20 SLACs. OPs criteria means that, except for the 3-4 national universities mentioned, SLACs are the way to go. Would not recommend Swarthmore (a grind) or military academies (not SLACs in any event) but all other schools on that top 20 or so SLAC list will fit the bill.

My patients include a lot of military academy students. I respectfully disagree that all of them should be avoided due to "grim" conditions. In particular, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard strike me as places that foster a sense of wonder and even fun at times, based on my 1st person conversations with their students. These young adults seem genuinely happy.

USAFA is an excellent place for engineering and I know multiple young people who LOVE their positions in US Space Force, if that's of interest.

USNA sounds more intense for current students, but damn if they don't have close friends. I have no opinion on West Point and I'd have to agree with PP that the Marines should probably be avoided if one is looking for balance ....

OP’s kid wants to study humanities, so military academies are out. Don’t know if these schools are grim or not; my point is that they are not SLACs and don’t belong on the SLAC list.