Funky schools with academic rigor

[Anonymous]

17:39 again
Drexel is not funky, and it's not humanities oriented.
Berkeley ? Or u. Wisconsin Madison. Can anyone give more current info? Vassar has gone from funky to much preppier, less independent thinking alternative types, though funky is still appreciated. It is small town, but relatively close to NYC.

[Anonymous]

UMass is NOT an academically rigorous school. It was a safety school for most of the students in my senior class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haverford, Reed, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Claremont Colleges, Weslelyan.

OP again, and thanks everyone. This is pretty close to the list DC has come up with. He doesn't want anything preppy (maybe haverford?) or with rigid core requirements (Chicago, Columbia -- think free spirit.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reed and Oberlin. Although yes to the corn fields around Oberlin, which we've heard can create a sort of naval-gazing atmosphere.

I disagree with PP about Tufts--the academics seemed rigorous enough but the kids we saw on the tour and the kids we know who got in all seemed really, really preppy. Almost as if they were trying to prove something to that crimson-colored university down the road. Tuft's literature is all about how they appreciate quirky kids, though, so there's that.

Tufts has developed a great community service program with a strong emphasis on sustainabilty and global awareness, but even the kids who are involved in this effort are pretty preppy.

Maybe the preppy kids were just the tour guides at Tufts--they tend to pick ass-kissers for this role. (There are also the broken-hearted Harvard rejects.)

Swing by the Crafts House (Tracy Chapman is an alumna) or go on a Mountain Club outing. Overall though the campus is pretty mixed--from the crunchy to a strong conservative student organization, and a small percentage involved in the Greek system.

If your kid is interested in music, they have a partnership with the NE Conservatory. If international relations, Tufts is pretty strong as well. Some students do a 5 year program undergrad/grad program with the Fletcher School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford, Reed, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Claremont Colleges, Weslelyan.

OP again, and thanks everyone. This is pretty close to the list DC has come up with. He doesn't want anything preppy (maybe haverford?) or with rigid core requirements (Chicago, Columbia -- think free spirit.)

If he's smart enough to get into Chicago or Columbia and you guys can afford it, I would encourage him to apply their despite his perception of a rigid core. I was the same way - I thought a core would be limiting. But in retrospect I think it really would have been a great educational experience to go to a school with core requirements, particularly for humanities. The problem with liberal arts schools humanities majors is that they can be really loosey goosey and not add up to much. A core gives you a grounding in great works, and more importantly, a common set of concepts to learn with your classmates. I think it would nurture a much more intellectual atmosphere than my college did -- just a series of random classes about various professors' pet theories, instead of a true course of study of concepts that carried over from one course to the next.

Anyway, if places like Columbia and Chicago are real possibilities for him, he ought to at least check them out instead of assuming that they aren't for him!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford, Reed, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Claremont Colleges, Weslelyan.

OP again, and thanks everyone. This is pretty close to the list DC has come up with. He doesn't want anything preppy (maybe haverford?) or with rigid core requirements (Chicago, Columbia -- think free spirit.)

If he's smart enough to get into Chicago or Columbia and you guys can afford it, I would encourage him to apply their despite his perception of a rigid core. I was the same way - I thought a core would be limiting. But in retrospect I think it really would have been a great educational experience to go to a school with core requirements, particularly for humanities. The problem with liberal arts schools humanities majors is that they can be really loosey goosey and not add up to much. A core gives you a grounding in great works, and more importantly, a common set of concepts to learn with your classmates. I think it would nurture a much more intellectual atmosphere than my college did -- just a series of random classes about various professors' pet theories, instead of a true course of study of concepts that carried over from one course to the next.

Anyway, if places like Columbia and Chicago are real possibilities for him, he ought to at least check them out instead of assuming that they aren't for him!

OP again. I agree with you about the core, but DC doesn't and feels pretty strongly. There are mountains that can't be moved. He also likes smaller schools, SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMass is NOT an academically rigorous school. It was a safety school for most of the students in my senior class.

Depends on the department; you can design interdisciplinary majors. Loads of first rate faculty. Five colleges from which to choose classes.
So, a philosophy /environmental studies double major could design their own program at either Hampshire or UMass (the financially more prudent choice) and take classes at any of the five colleges: Hampshire, UMass, Smith, Amherst or Mount Holyoke. Lots of intellectual freedom, with the opportunities for depth and breadth of courses.

The point, however, was UMass brings in cultural programming that would be available to a Hampshire student. Thus, despite the smallish town setting for Hampshire, there is plenty going on. The three smaller colleges and Hampshire also have all sorts of guest lecturers, music, etc. it is not like living in a city, but it does not have the small town isolation that some colleges would. If a student is outgoing enough to take advantage of all of the campuses in the area, life is rich.

[Anonymous]

Columbia mom here -- It's a great school, but you have to love the Core and you have to love NY. You can't just tolerate either.

In general, OP, your son should be able to find a like-minded group at nearly any school, but if he's looking for a predominantly crunchy-alt vibe, that's another thing altogether. Among the schools mentioned, I'd put in the first category: Tufts and Haverford. In the second category: Reed, and Hampshire. In the middle, but leaning crunchy-alt: Wesleyan, Swarthmore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reed and Oberlin. Although yes to the corn fields around Oberlin, which we've heard can create a sort of naval-gazing atmosphere.

I disagree with PP about Tufts--the academics seemed rigorous enough but the kids we saw on the tour and the kids we know who got in all seemed really, really preppy. Almost as if they were trying to prove something to that crimson-colored university down the road. Tuft's literature is all about how they appreciate quirky kids, though, so there's that.

Tufts has developed a great community service program with a strong emphasis on sustainabilty and global awareness, but even the kids who are involved in this effort are pretty preppy.

Maybe the preppy kids were just the tour guides at Tufts--they tend to pick ass-kissers for this role. (There are also the broken-hearted Harvard rejects.)

Swing by the Crafts House (Tracy Chapman is an alumna) or go on a Mountain Club outing. Overall though the campus is pretty mixed--from the crunchy to a strong conservative student organization, and a small percentage involved in the Greek system.

If your kid is interested in music, they have a partnership with the NE Conservatory. If international relations, Tufts is pretty strong as well. Some students do a 5 year program undergrad/grad program with the Fletcher School.

We did the tour and ate at the cafeteria. It definitely wasn't just the tour guide. It got to the point where DH and I were joking about the preppiness, much to DC's dismay. We did only spend an afternoon there, though, so this may be a superficial and unfair impression, and I don't think we visited the Crafts House or other places PP mentions.

I agree it's a great school academically, and it's had a great reputation for international relations for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reed and Oberlin. Although yes to the corn fields around Oberlin, which we've heard can create a sort of naval-gazing atmosphere.

I disagree with PP about Tufts--the academics seemed rigorous enough but the kids we saw on the tour and the kids we know who got in all seemed really, really preppy. Almost as if they were trying to prove something to that crimson-colored university down the road. Tuft's literature is all about how they appreciate quirky kids, though, so there's that.

Tufts has developed a great community service program with a strong emphasis on sustainabilty and global awareness, but even the kids who are involved in this effort are pretty preppy.

Maybe the preppy kids were just the tour guides at Tufts--they tend to pick ass-kissers for this role. (There are also the broken-hearted Harvard rejects.)

Swing by the Crafts House (Tracy Chapman is an alumna) or go on a Mountain Club outing. Overall though the campus is pretty mixed--from the crunchy to a strong conservative student organization, and a small percentage involved in the Greek system.

If your kid is interested in music, they have a partnership with the NE Conservatory. If international relations, Tufts is pretty strong as well. Some students do a 5 year program undergrad/grad program with the Fletcher School.

We did the tour and ate at the cafeteria. It definitely wasn't just the tour guide. It got to the point where DH and I were joking about the preppiness, much to DC's dismay. We did only spend an afternoon there, though, so this may be a superficial and unfair impression, and I don't think we visited the Crafts House or other places PP mentions.

I agree it's a great school academically, and it's had a great reputation for international relations for decades.

We had the opposite experience. My DC is looking for preppy and thought Tufts was too weird and quirky, including the tour guides. Of the kids he knows there at least half are on the quirky side.

[Anonymous]

UVM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:39 again
Drexel is not funky, and it's not humanities oriented.
Berkeley ? Or u. Wisconsin Madison. Can anyone give more current info? Vassar has gone from funky to much preppier, less independent thinking alternative types, though funky is still appreciated. It is small town, but relatively close to NYC.

DH went to Berkeley, but we hear it's gotten much more mainstream in recent years. It's so darn hard to get into Berkeley now that the accepted kids tend to be the kind who checked all the boxes in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford, Reed, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Claremont Colleges, Weslelyan.

OP again, and thanks everyone. This is pretty close to the list DC has come up with. He doesn't want anything preppy (maybe haverford?) or with rigid core requirements (Chicago, Columbia -- think free spirit.)

Just FYI, some of these, like Sarah Lawrence and Wesleyan, usually make lists of Top 10 Most Expensive Colleges. But then I'm another Columbia (usually #4 on these lists) so I shouldn't judge....

[Anonymous]

^^ Columbia parent

[Anonymous]

Haverford alum here, and it is/was "preppy" in the literal sense. But a huge segment of the private school segment had gone to Friends schools, so it was the boho version of privilege. Haverford is where I learned the term "trust fund radical."

I realize it may not sound like it, but I loved Haverford, even as one of the downmarket public high school graduates. We were all crunchy together (well, most of us were crunchy).