Schools that aren’t grim but are still a good education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

I’m OP and although I generally agree with your point, I am a little worried about weather being too much of a determinant because the weather in Palo Alto is essentially perfect but Stanford has crushed the joy out of student life. I guess Stanford is probably far along the prestige hunting axis of your response, though, to be fair.

I’d be concerned about sending daughters to schools in the south with restrictive abortion laws.

Seriously? Enough of this trope. If you can afford to send your daughter out of state, you can afford for her to come home and get an abortion if her IUD fails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

I’m OP and although I generally agree with your point, I am a little worried about weather being too much of a determinant because the weather in Palo Alto is essentially perfect but Stanford has crushed the joy out of student life. I guess Stanford is probably far along the prestige hunting axis of your response, though, to be fair.

I’d be concerned about sending daughters to schools in the south with restrictive abortion laws.

This is certainly the #1 criterion when picking a college, especially if your daughter has never heard of birth control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

9th grade? Come back in a couple of years.

Playing right into that insufferable stereotype she is railing against. Honestly, she really has no sense of colleges with these ignorant stereotypes. My kid is at a school considered far left and there are lots of diverse perspectives and fun. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe one of the less intense SLACs? Middlebury, Bowdoin?

What echo chamber have you been hiding in for the past few decades?

Did you miss the part about wanting to be able to talk about things without the thought police canceling you?

At Middlebury & Bowdoin each kid is one sombrero away from having his life ruined, & good luck trying to hear a conservative guest speaker.

DP. You have no experience with these schools, clearly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

OP went to Stanford, which has lost its fun.

I am OP and yes, this is unfortunately correct.

I had such an amazing time there, but I recently visited Stanford and walked around the campus on a Friday night. I was absolutely shocked at how dead-quiet it was, not a single sound to be heard, nobody out and about. A crypt would have had more life.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

Hmm. I was at Harvard a few weeks ago and there were plenty of people out about having a good time. Maybe this is a Stanford thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

OP went to Stanford, which has lost its fun.

I am OP and yes, this is unfortunately correct.

I had such an amazing time there, but I recently visited Stanford and walked around the campus on a Friday night. I was absolutely shocked at how dead-quiet it was, not a single sound to be heard, nobody out and about. A crypt would have had more life.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

Hmm. I was at Harvard a few weeks ago and there were plenty of people out about having a good time. Maybe this is a Stanford thing?

Pffft. It's a Fox News thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

I’m OP and although I generally agree with your point, I am a little worried about weather being too much of a determinant because the weather in Palo Alto is essentially perfect but Stanford has crushed the joy out of student life. I guess Stanford is probably far along the prestige hunting axis of your response, though, to be fair.

I’d be concerned about sending daughters to schools in the south with restrictive abortion laws.

Why? Are you not able to buy your daughter a plane ticket if she finds herself pregnant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ASU is underrated. Great education, great weather (aside from summer when students are gone), it’s what you make it.

- ASU alum

Awful campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

OP went to Stanford, which has lost its fun.

I am OP and yes, this is unfortunately correct.

I had such an amazing time there, but I recently visited Stanford and walked around the campus on a Friday night. I was absolutely shocked at how dead-quiet it was, not a single sound to be heard, nobody out and about. A crypt would have had more life.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

Hmm. I was at Harvard a few weeks ago and there were plenty of people out about having a good time. Maybe this is a Stanford thing?

Pffft. It's a Fox News thing.

I’m OP and I’ve literally never seen Fox News except when it’s on in a waiting room. And I’ve been a registered Democrat my whole life.

But nonetheless, Stanford was shockingly quiet when I visited, and has been the last few times. I remember Friday nights full of kids running around the campus, going from dorm to dorm, hanging out at (and in!) the fountains, etc. I remember CoHo being so crowded that there was a line out the door, with lively intellectual conversations happening at tables around us and live music. Meanwhile the last time I was there, I walked straight into a dead-silent CoHo to get a drink. It was filled with kids with AirPods in their ears, silently working. It might as well have been Green. It was a depressing scene.

This isn’t just me. It’s bad enough that the student newspaper is writing about it. And there’s been a lot of discussion nationally about the sharp rise in depression and other mental illnesses of students on campuses across the country, particularly elite ones. I wish that everything wouldn’t be so political because I am not trying to make a political point, but I do not want my kids to go to college in a grim, soulless, relentlessly competitive environment with kids who never learned how to have fun. Part of the most important part of a college education is learning to hold your own intellectually and socially in a casual, fun environment. That’s as much as a skill as one’s major.

[Anonymous]

UW Madison. My son is having fun and enjoys his classes.

[Anonymous]

I think Catholic schools have a balanced focus on the whole person -- mind, body and soul. It's one reason why sports are so big there. Think Georgetown, Villanova, Boston College, Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Santa Clara.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

You might want to look at an open curriculum school like Brown or Hampshire. I have a kid at Grinnell, which is open curriculum, and while academics are rigorous, most of the students appear to love what they're learning. They choose courses that interest them and have fun with them. When I visit, I hear a lot of excited chatter going on about what they're learning. They party a lot, but they also work very hard, and many of them enjoy doing so. It's a happy place. I think the sense of agency that comes with being a co-designer of your own curriculum is a big part of the fun.

There's a list of open curriculum schools here: https://blog.collegevine.com/open-curriculum-schools-11-colleges-that-allow-students-to-direct-their-own-learning

[Anonymous]

Any Big 10 school.

[Anonymous]

They have a lot of fun at Yale. Not kidding.

[Anonymous]

Kansas State, University of Kansas, Purdue University....colleges where kids grew up in corn fields seem to produce well rounded thinkers