Safety that isn’t a party school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caltech

Some of these safety suggestions are very off base.

Absolutely. Caltech is not a safety for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe SUNY Stonybrook

I went to Stony Brook in the 80s. Back then, it was party central. Lots of alcohol and drugs. I suspect things have changed a bit since.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What colleges are her primary choices? I suspect there is partying at all of them- eg, even CaTech has a party scene. She will find like minded students everywhere just like partiers can find their people at any college, too.

But Rutgers comes to mind.

Rutgers? I grew up in NJ and almost none of my friends there had positive experiences. They spoke of the "RU screw" and ways that the school would do things to make the students' lives more difficult.

[Anonymous]

The Caltech suggestion is obviously a joke from whoever posted it. William and Mary on the other hand seems like a solid safety choice for someone who has the stats to apply to UChicago!

[Anonymous]

Look at the list of “Colleges that Change Lives.” Several small but strong liberal arts colleges there: Hendrix (AR), Rhodes (Memphis), Dennison, Austin College, Centre and more. Not party schools and good academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks for the ideas. Her dream school is University of Chicago but we couldn’t afford that even if she got in. What keeps bothering us is the conflict between her really liking a SLAC but it not bring worth it to pay so much for a non-top tier school.

W&M, Oberlin, many women’s schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What colleges are her primary choices? I suspect there is partying at all of them- eg, even CaTech has a party scene. She will find like minded students everywhere just like partiers can find their people at any college, too.

But Rutgers comes to mind.

Rutgers? I grew up in NJ and almost none of my friends there had positive experiences. They spoke of the "RU screw" and ways that the school would do things to make the students' lives more difficult.

I also grew up in NJ and that is why I suggested it. Unlike state unis like UMD and Penn State, Rutgers is rarely a student’s first choice given their druthers. In part because it isn’t known as a rah rah and/or party school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe SUNY Stonybrook

I went to Stony Brook in the 80s. Back then, it was party central. Lots of alcohol and drugs. I suspect things have changed a bit since.

Oh I didn't realize that. I think of it as a serious research University, that's not quite a selective as others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe SUNY Stonybrook

I went to Stony Brook in the 80s. Back then, it was party central. Lots of alcohol and drugs. I suspect things have changed a bit since.

Oh I didn't realize that. I think of it as a serious research University, that's not quite a selective as others.

PP here: It is a great research university, but when I was there , the drinking age was 18...and we took advantage of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St Olaf

This was what I was going to say. My kid got into 9 or 10 colleges, including WM, Grinnell, Kenyon, Oberlin, Mac. When it all shook out, this was his second choice. Would have cost less than WM with merit. I loved it too. Special place.

I’m heading through this for the second time, both kids looking at small schools. I’ll add Dickinson, Wooster and Sarah Lawrence (which I did not realize was now co-Ed). All of these should do great merit for a kid whose stats show it to be a safety.

[Anonymous]

University of Mary Washington
Sweet Briar
Juniata
St. Olaf

[Anonymous]

Wooster, Juniata

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scripps, Bryn Mawr

I am moderately liberal. And DD and I pulled Bryn Mar and Haverford off her list after the students strikes after George Floyd’s death. You want to refuse to attend class or your on campus job, that’s fine. You bear the consequences. But, for three weeks, they lobbied professors not to teach (many didn’t) and were very aggressive about pressuring kids not to attend the classes. Many kids said they wanted to go to class but were threatened not to.

They started with the demands of having the bust of a school president who oversaw racist policies removed and some xtra money for BSU. Fine. Reasonable goals. In the end, they had a 27 page list cost millions and the president caved to everything.

I’m all for peaceful protest and social justice on campus. But it takes an unbelievable amount of privilege to attend a $40,000 a semester college your parents spent years saving for (or that he college is giving you for free or that you took out loans for) and then protest by not getting an education. We are giving up a lot for a LAC education. I have zero interest in academic classes being stopped for 3 weeks so kids privileged enough to attend a Seven Sisters school can cosplay social injustice.

Plus, they either ha significant racism problem. Or an inmates running the asylum problem. I suspect it’s some of both. But neither are a good sign for the college long term.

I know as part of their demands, they got amnesty from a negative impact to their grades and kept their campus jobs and were subject to not consequences. That isn’t real life, where your boss will say, attend a BLM protest on your own time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is trying to pick safety schools and really only wants to go places where the students are focused and serious about their classes. She doesn’t want to go to a party/ very Greek school or a school where there is no enthusiasm or school spirit because it was the safety school for most people there. How do you find such a place?

I know I’m oversimplifying things and you can find dedicated students and partiers at ALL schools. She is nerdy and knows that at a huge state school there are focused, studious kids but thinks they’d be hard to find.

Any suggestions? (She has good grades/scores but can’t count on getting into her top schools.)

You’d be surprised if ou look at SLACs with good merit. Small colleges are $$$$. Lots of kids will go a tier down to get the merit money and afford a small school. The kids ar Wooster were impressive and their med school admit rates are very strong. So, someone there is studying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks for the ideas. Her dream school is University of Chicago but we couldn’t afford that even if she got in. What keeps bothering us is the conflict between her really liking a SLAC but it not bring worth it to pay so much for a non-top tier school.

You won’t pay sticker price at most SLACs, even with no need. If your kid hits the 75% stats they will get the cost down a bunch. The only schools that don’t are the tippy top NESACs that clearly state need based aid only.