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

[Anonymous]

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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.

I went to Wesleyan and thought it was intense. I’m sure I would’ve been miserable at Swarthmore.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Such a silly argument. UVA has a large engineering school and admissions to it are highly competitive. That its reputation in STEM isn't on par with, say, Michigan doesn't mean it's an easy program.

[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.

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.

I get it. But how can you be so sure that your miserableness was UVA's fault and not your own?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Such a silly argument. UVA has a large engineering school and admissions to it are highly competitive. That its reputation in STEM isn't on par with, say, Michigan doesn't mean it's an easy program.

It’s only silly if you don’t analyze figures. FOR EXAMPLE, Michigan has about 23% of its undergraduate student body attending the college of Engineering. UVA, only 17%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Such a silly argument. UVA has a large engineering school and admissions to it are highly competitive. That its reputation in STEM isn't on par with, say, Michigan doesn't mean it's an easy program.

It’s only silly if you don’t analyze figures. FOR EXAMPLE, Michigan has about 23% of its undergraduate student body attending the college of Engineering. UVA, only 17%.

UVA CDS says 11.77% of degrees were engineering. Michigan is 15.3%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Such a silly argument. UVA has a large engineering school and admissions to it are highly competitive. That its reputation in STEM isn't on par with, say, Michigan doesn't mean it's an easy program.

It’s only silly if you don’t analyze figures. FOR EXAMPLE, Michigan has about 23% of its undergraduate student body attending the college of Engineering. UVA, only 17%.

UVA CDS says 11.77% of degrees were engineering. Michigan is 15.3%.

For Fall 2021:

Michigan 32,282 total undergraduates
6,624 Engineering undergrads

20.5 % of the undergraduate student body is enrolled in the College of Engineering

https://ro.umich.edu/reports/enrollment

I was a bit high on Michigan and I guess way high on UVA, according to YOUR stats. This only reinforces my original point of why the graduation rate is lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Such a silly argument. UVA has a large engineering school and admissions to it are highly competitive. That its reputation in STEM isn't on par with, say, Michigan doesn't mean it's an easy program.

It’s only silly if you don’t analyze figures. FOR EXAMPLE, Michigan has about 23% of its undergraduate student body attending the college of Engineering. UVA, only 17%.

UVA CDS says 11.77% of degrees were engineering. Michigan is 15.3%.

For Fall 2021:

Michigan 32,282 total undergraduates
6,624 Engineering undergrads

20.5 % of the undergraduate student body is enrolled in the College of Engineering

https://ro.umich.edu/reports/enrollment

I was a bit high on Michigan and I guess way high on UVA, according to YOUR stats. This only reinforces my original point of why the graduation rate is lower.

You don't know that.

[Anonymous]

Mount Holyoke. Excellent school and excellent alum network. Good place for the right student. I needed more of a party/fun culture after coming from an intense high school.

[Anonymous]

Went to Duke for undergrad. Great education but undergrad social vibe was not my thing. Would have been much better off somewhere with a crunchier, less superficial, less Southern vibe. Eventually found my people and academics were fantastic but I totally understand why people hate Duke.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, the average GPA of Swarthmore grads was 3.66 in 2021, which is generally along the lines of schools known for "grade inflation".

Where would you find info on the average GPA of graduates at any school?

[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.

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.

I get it. But how can you be so sure that your miserableness was UVA's fault and not your own?

Imagine being so insecure about a college that you have to question someone like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

FWIW, the average GPA of Swarthmore grads was 3.66 in 2021, which is generally along the lines of schools known for "grade inflation".

Where would you find info on the average GPA of graduates at any school?

Perhaps a bit dated but gradeinflatiin.com has data and does show grade inflation is rampant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm very impressed with your confidence in your extraordinary abilities. How many people do you know who have gotten a 4.0 at Penn or Cornell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

FWIW, the average GPA of Swarthmore grads was 3.66 in 2021, which is generally along the lines of schools known for "grade inflation".

Where would you find info on the average GPA of graduates at any school?

Perhaps a bit dated but gradeinflation.com has data and does show grade inflation is rampant.

For Swarthmore:

1973 2.83

1997 3.24

2009 3.53

2013 3.56

2021 3.66

Almost as bad as high school grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

BYU. Even as Mormon I couldn’t take it