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

[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?

It's usually in hidden places, and not many schools report it.

Swarthmore posted it on their premed advising site.

The site mentioned, gradeinflation, has data up to around 2014 or so. You can assume the numbers are higher now for every school. For instance, Williams was 3.51 in 2016 while the most recent data point on that site says 3.38.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke. So insanely pompous, and the kids there wear their pretense on their sleeves. Also extremely "white". Racism and micro-aggressions are fairly standard, and the Greek life only magnifies those issues.

Fraternities and sororities are much less popular than 25 years ago. Participation rates are way down, and I think I read that fraternities will no longer be living together in “sections” because the school is transitioning to more of a residential college model.

https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/ucae/student-leadership/fraternities-and-sororities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From these posts, it strikes me that a lot of Top 25 kids would be more comfortable at a Top 26-50 school. Basically, they could get a great education without the cut throat competition and sole focus on academics.

Good insight. The competitive/grind/boring student body complaint seems to be a common theme here. (Not surprising given how hard kids need to grind in HS to be accepted in the first place …. )

Any Top 25 schools that don’t come with that obsessively competitive/resume-building/grind vibe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From these posts, it strikes me that a lot of Top 25 kids would be more comfortable at a Top 26-50 school. Basically, they could get a great education without the cut throat competition and sole focus on academics.

Good insight. The competitive/grind/boring student body complaint seems to be a common theme here. (Not surprising given how hard kids need to grind in HS to be accepted in the first place …. )

Any Top 25 schools that don’t come with that obsessively competitive/resume-building/grind vibe?

Brown and Pomona are really the only ones ranking in top 25 (for combined rankings like WSJ, Forbes, etc.) I can think of that stand out for a somewhat laid-back, easy-going student body. Maybe Rice? All of the other T25s have intensely focused students who are very much on the grind to perfect their resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking about this and am curious if others have similar thoughts.

I went to Case Western as part of a 3/2 progam (2 yrs at liberal arts school, 3 years at CWRU). Case was fine but it was sort of very generic place. Lots of super brainy science and engineering kids and pre-meds who
were very competitive in class and didn't do much of anything for fun outside of class. In that vein there was not a lot of school spirit or sense of campus community. Super cold and grey weather from Nov to May so most socializing is done indoors. Cleveland is nicer than advertised but most of the students do
not venture out into the city. All-in-all sort of a let down down socially. I went on to Hopkins for graduate school and they're actually pretty similar places. Again, a lot of super intense studiers. Most students
spent a good portion of their lives in the library. Not much cohesion of the student body. Most students did not venture into the surrounding city either because it was not thought of as not safe or they had no interest.
To be honest, most students did not have much of a life outside of studying.
Now as my own kids start to consider colleges I would not recommend either institution. I spend summers at UVA and Georgetown and (in my experience) both were far, far better places to have a well-rounded traditional
college experience. I also started college with 2 years at a SLAC and there was a much better sense of community and belonging there than at CWRU (or JHU) so this is my other perpsective.

What are your thoughts on your own ala mater(s)? This is not meant to be snarky and I also recognize that places change over years. It's just striking to me to see all the CWRU intersest because my own experience was so blah.

CWRU is for people who want to stay in Ohio. You had a bad college experience bc JHU was your first opportunity to leave Ohio.

[Anonymous]

Vanderbilt is rigorous, but also offers a more well rounded experience.

[Anonymous]

This has been a fascinating thread. So many lessons but i think the main one is that many of us picked schools because of our parents or a false impression of what a school would be like. Want to go to "name" school but are then shocked that people are unhappy? Pick a large "fun" football school but then realize you feel lost? Go to a SLAC but then realize it's, um, small?

This generation of HS students has much more access to information and can find a better fit for themselves. As parents we should back off and let the kids guide the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From these posts, it strikes me that a lot of Top 25 kids would be more comfortable at a Top 26-50 school. Basically, they could get a great education without the cut throat competition and sole focus on academics.

Good insight. The competitive/grind/boring student body complaint seems to be a common theme here. (Not surprising given how hard kids need to grind in HS to be accepted in the first place …. )

Any Top 25 schools that don’t come with that obsessively competitive/resume-building/grind vibe?

Sour grapes from people who wanted to be free-range parents but for their kids to breeze into “Top 25” schools.

[Anonymous]

I would not call it sour grapes but maybe more if a mis-match. Many of these schools attract students that very academically oriented and really motivated to learn and enjoy learning. It is not a "grind" for kids that like it.

An academically intense schools can be a good place for a super geek that has always felt out of place in high school. They finally find a place to fit in and be surrounded by other that love school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking about this and am curious if others have similar thoughts.

I went to Case Western as part of a 3/2 progam (2 yrs at liberal arts school, 3 years at CWRU). Case was fine but it was sort of very generic place. Lots of super brainy science and engineering kids and pre-meds who
were very competitive in class and didn't do much of anything for fun outside of class. In that vein there was not a lot of school spirit or sense of campus community. Super cold and grey weather from Nov to May so most socializing is done indoors. Cleveland is nicer than advertised but most of the students do
not venture out into the city. All-in-all sort of a let down down socially. I went on to Hopkins for graduate school and they're actually pretty similar places. Again, a lot of super intense studiers. Most students
spent a good portion of their lives in the library. Not much cohesion of the student body. Most students did not venture into the surrounding city either because it was not thought of as not safe or they had no interest.
To be honest, most students did not have much of a life outside of studying.
Now as my own kids start to consider colleges I would not recommend either institution. I spend summers at UVA and Georgetown and (in my experience) both were far, far better places to have a well-rounded traditional
college experience. I also started college with 2 years at a SLAC and there was a much better sense of community and belonging there than at CWRU (or JHU) so this is my other perpsective.

What are your thoughts on your own ala mater(s)? This is not meant to be snarky and I also recognize that places change over years. It's just striking to me to see all the CWRU intersest because my own experience was so blah.

CWRU is for people who want to stay in Ohio. You had a bad college experience bc JHU was your first opportunity to leave Ohio.

DP. Or maybe it's because they are in two of the worst cities in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From these posts, it strikes me that a lot of Top 25 kids would be more comfortable at a Top 26-50 school. Basically, they could get a great education without the cut throat competition and sole focus on academics.

Good insight. The competitive/grind/boring student body complaint seems to be a common theme here. (Not surprising given how hard kids need to grind in HS to be accepted in the first place …. )

Any Top 25 schools that don’t come with that obsessively competitive/resume-building/grind vibe?

There are lots of high schools that don't have that vibe where students that are academically competitive are outliers. These kids want to find the environment you are describing and there is nothing wrong with that.

Why would a kid that enjoys a more laid back vibe, want to go to one of these types of intense colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt is rigorous, but also offers a more well rounded experience.

+1. I attended and know several graduates who attended because they preferred the Vandy vibe compared to that of many NE schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not call it sour grapes but maybe more if a mis-match. Many of these schools attract students that very academically oriented and really motivated to learn and enjoy learning. It is not a "grind" for kids that like it.

An academically intense schools can be a good place for a super geek that has always felt out of place in high school. They finally find a place to fit in and be surrounded by other that love school.

Yes, but you don’t seem to understand that lots of very smart kids are well-rounded and don’t plan on becoming academics. For those students, a school full of grinding nerds is a turnoff. Of course, some of this can be addressed in the school selection process, but that process is not perfect. Where a kid attends depends on lots of factors, like admission, family financials, and PERCEIVED notions about a school. Also, a kid/family can be induced to attend a higher-ranked school simply because of its ranking, yet another school might have been a better fit. The point is, college matches are frequently imperfect, even when students and families are trying to get it right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not call it sour grapes but maybe more if a mis-match. Many of these schools attract students that very academically oriented and really motivated to learn and enjoy learning. It is not a "grind" for kids that like it.

An academically intense schools can be a good place for a super geek that has always felt out of place in high school. They finally find a place to fit in and be surrounded by other that love school.

Yes, but you don’t seem to understand that lots of very smart kids are well-rounded and don’t plan on becoming academics. For those students, a school full of grinding nerds is a turnoff. Of course, some of this can be addressed in the school selection process, but that process is not perfect. Where a kid attends depends on lots of factors, like admission, family financials, and PERCEIVED notions about a school. Also, a kid/family can be induced to attend a higher-ranked school simply because of its ranking, yet another school might have been a better fit. The point is, college matches are frequently imperfect, even when students and families are trying to get it right.

If course I understand that. But why are those kids a good fit for Swarthmore or hypms or wellesley or penn or some other academic pressure cooker where the kids are not that well rounded but are usually the opposite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not call it sour grapes but maybe more if a mis-match. Many of these schools attract students that very academically oriented and really motivated to learn and enjoy learning. It is not a "grind" for kids that like it.

An academically intense schools can be a good place for a super geek that has always felt out of place in high school. They finally find a place to fit in and be surrounded by other that love school.

My niece went to UChicago. Double major in Econ and stats. Says she will discourage any kids she has from going there, because she says the courses are arbitrarily difficult, as if to preserve the reputation that this is where fun goes to die. I have heard similar from her friends (with vastly different majors). Yet, if they had to do it over, they would all make the exact same choice again.