DP -- if you don't understand what PP is saying, you truly don't understand what Learning or Intellectual or College means. |
| Wellesley |
| Rice |
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I'm somewhat skeptical of "most intellectual colleges" because most so called intellectuals I've met have turned out to be narrow minded and prejudiced people. I grew up in academia, the child of professors at an elite college, and you'd be surprised how many faculty and especially administration people are quite dull and wholly incapable of thinking outside the box and seeing the reality of the much more complicated world than the college campus bubble. There's an enormous amount of group think at these schools and you're certainly pressured to share the standard beliefs and not question the orthodoxy. It wasn't too bad 30 years ago, but it's definitely worse now.
People who genuinely want to learn, whether for the sake of learning or for professional advancement, are found at all schools and colleges. Don't restrict yourself to St. John's or Chicago or Swarthmore. |
I can safely say that my students who have chosen this school have not been "intellectual" or interested in academics. At all. |
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I remember being fascinated with Deep Springs when I was in high school. But it was all-male back then, and, well, I’m a girl. Interesting to see that it’s co-ed now.
Other schools I think would qualify: Reed, CalTech, maybe some of the Claremont schools. I guess I lean toward west coast for less of a career-driven pressure cooker environment. |
I would say Wellsely and include Bennington, Mount Holyoke, Amherst, Williams, Smith, and RIP Hampshire. I might also look at a place like Earlham. |
| Carleton |
No events have been cited in this thread. I know of two that caused widespread offense. Are there others? 1. The trashing of flags on 9/11/2013, that was done by a mere FIVE students. 2. The Charles Murray incident was indeed unfortunate. 67 students were confirmed to be part of the fiasco and punished. They represent less than 3% of the student body. Seems that PPs who claim to have a grasp of 'intellectualism' don't have a very strong grasp of math. |
| Based upon tours Middlebury reminds me of the Washington and Lee of the North - but without Greek life - by this I mean superficially status and money focused, and ok smart kids, but intellectually vacant. |
| Wesleyan in CT |
| Swarthmore & U Chicago are pressure cooker. |
They’re not pressure cooker if you have a good brain. |
UChicago certainly is. The quarter system there can be brutal. It’s a no time to think scenario — even/especially if you’re smart and intellectually ambitious. Adm acknowledges this and is considering a switch to semesters. Bottom line re this topic is that, if you have an intellectually-oriented kid, any good university with faculty doing interesting work in your kid’s area(s) of interest will be a stimulating environment for the undergrad years. And if you don’t have an intellectual kid, odds are that no college (or curriculum) is going to make him/her a convert unless that kid has previously been deprived of opportunities for intellectual exploration. If you have a kid that could go either way (e.g. intellectual or, say, partier or jock) then it’s really a fit question wrt which environment/cohort will bring out (or suppress) various aspects of th3 kid’s personality. |
| William & Mary |