Schools where balance is possible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

I taught at UCLA and it was a super competitive environment. It was very hard to get into classes because everything was oversubscribed. And once you were in a class it was all about grades since the classes were huge and there was so few chances to interact with faculty. On top of that, because it's in LA, lots of kids go home for weekends or work off campus, so there was a weak social life outside of Greek life. The school felt like a big, unfriendly cattle call on a pretty campus with great weather. I would never send my kid there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lately, I've been hearing my kid talk about the pressure in their high school and not wanting a cutthroat environment in college. Is it school dependent or more major dependent? What kind of school would you look for a good balance or education and time for sports, hobbies and friends? If your kid is smart, but doesn't want to grind, grind, grind at the expense of everything else, what kid of school would you target?

College Express has lists derived from surveys of hundreds of college counselors. Here’s one on colleges with balanced lives:

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-where-life-is-balanced/406/

[Anonymous]

UNIGO has survey results for each school, including a question along these lines:

"Is the amount of work manageable?"

And obviously, don't be a slave to USNWR rankings.
People who go to extremely competitive places probably cannot turn that off.

Example: when our tour guide at Swarthmore was asked on the tour, "What do students do to relax?" He answered (with hubris): "Swatties don't relax."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UNIGO has survey results for each school, including a question along these lines:

"Is the amount of work manageable?"

And obviously, don't be a slave to USNWR rankings.
People who go to extremely competitive places probably cannot turn that off.

Example: when our tour guide at Swarthmore was asked on the tour, "What do students do to relax?" He answered (with hubris): "Swatties don't relax."

This is exactly what some people are trying to avoid. So many kids, mine included, are busting their tails with all the AP course, honor societies and required volunteer hours, clubs, high level sports and test prep. I see so many stressed out kids and am starting to wonder if it's all worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

I taught at UCLA and it was a super competitive environment. It was very hard to get into classes because everything was oversubscribed. And once you were in a class it was all about grades since the classes were huge and there was so few chances to interact with faculty. On top of that, because it's in LA, lots of kids go home for weekends or work off campus, so there was a weak social life outside of Greek life. The school felt like a big, unfriendly cattle call on a pretty campus with great weather. I would never send my kid there.

There you go. From the horses's mouth. The PP saying UCLA was full of slackers a) never attended b) didn't have a kid who attended and c) based their assessment of 10's of thousands of students on 2 acquaintances.

That is the kind of nonsense that ruins threads on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Colorado Boulder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honors program at a big state school that's not generally targeted by East Coast grinders.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

I taught at UCLA and it was a super competitive environment. It was very hard to get into classes because everything was oversubscribed. And once you were in a class it was all about grades since the classes were huge and there was so few chances to interact with faculty. On top of that, because it's in LA, lots of kids go home for weekends or work off campus, so there was a weak social life outside of Greek life. The school felt like a big, unfriendly cattle call on a pretty campus with great weather. I would never send my kid there.

There you go. From the horses's mouth. The PP saying UCLA was full of slackers a) never attended b) didn't have a kid who attended and c) based their assessment of 10's of thousands of students on 2 acquaintances.

That is the kind of nonsense that ruins threads on DCUM.

I’m the original poster who said it. Spouse and I are from LA and still have lots of family and friends there. My husband went to ucla, niece just graduated and nephew is a sophmore, and many close friends’ kids currently attend. So yes I have close ties and they have all said this. My niece and nephew found their high school more challenging than college their first couple of years, and never found it unmanageable. Niece was history/film studies major and nephew is something related to comp sci.

I hear the exact same thing about UVA. Yes there are high achievers, but plenty of laid back kids and the classes aren’t very challenging (I just heard this from a neighbor whose junior is a government major or whatever uva calls poli sci).

I stand by that there will always be a range of abilities at any state university - ucla to michigan to umd. So I think they are excellent colleges to consider for students who want a more balanced life.

[Anonymous]

At most of the top colleges, getting in is the hardest part.

[Anonymous]

Went to Harvard. Hardest part was definitely getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.

Do you live in CA? The CA admittees don’t all come from LA and SF … Many students attending UCLA come from school districts that do not prepare them for a rigorous university experience. And they somehow graduate from UCLA …

You have no clue what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Where is Boston College on the scale of balance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lately, I've been hearing my kid talk about the pressure in their high school and not wanting a cutthroat environment in college. Is it school dependent or more major dependent? What kind of school would you look for a good balance or education and time for sports, hobbies and friends? If your kid is smart, but doesn't want to grind, grind, grind at the expense of everything else, what kid of school would you target?

College Express has lists derived from surveys of hundreds of college counselors. Here’s one on colleges with balanced lives:

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-where-life-is-balanced/406/

I have kids at two of the schools on this list. Academic rigor was important to each of them, but so was balance, and they both feel that they get that at their schools. So for them, at least, this list tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.

None of the student can even submit stats and grade inflation is rampant. How would they even know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any big state university. Michigan, UCLA, UNC etc. Yes a portion of the kids are high achievers but there is a portion who are not, too (or who weren’t as well prepared, etc). Vs any college like Wash U, Georgetown, etc will be virtually all high achievers.

UCLA acceptance rate is 10% and the average freshman GPA on entering is 4.6

there's no one attending UCLA who is not well prepared.

None of the student can even submit stats and grade inflation is rampant. How would they even know?

Fixing prior post: None of the student can even submit standardized scores and grade inflation is rampant. How would the school even know who is prepared?