Social and smart T20s

[Anonymous]

Vanderbilt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

Agree with this

No Greeks at Notre Dame

Think it’s missing UVA. That’s it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

Very few Duke kids go out 2-3x a week, not counting the first week or so of fall semester. 1 is typical, maybe 2. Vast majority are not greek. Duke is more social than some but not all of the ivies, but just like Ivy/chicago/stanford it is filled with super high achievers who do research, run clubs, have internships during the semester on campus or close. The do-it-all mentality and obsession with grades is much different than Duke in the early 90s(93 grad w a 24 grad kid).
The nephew at northwestern and it is per him more academic/intellectually focused on studies than Duke. To us as parents/grown siblings the students sound similar at NW and Duke

Also a Duke 90s grad.

My friends and I all did interesting things outside the classroom, including Greek life, but we each had an interest or activity or two, not the "do it all" / resume-building approach of high-achievers of this generation. Yes, the academics were difficult at times, but there was a real sense of balance between working hard, going out, and watching all the games during basketball season.

What schools are currently like Duke in the 90s? Vandy? Wake?

What schools would you say have the mindset and culture that Duke did when we were

I think some of that Duke mindset and culture exists, but its getting lost a bit. Will see if they course correct this cycle (don't they have new leadership)?

I'd say Vanderbilt and Wake for sure. Maybe UVA? No school has it all, though.

Each of the schools listed earlier has some element of that Duke of 1990s vibe. The question becomes how much and how hard is it for a kid to find their people. It changes each year based on the institutional priorities of a school. When schools over-rotate on one IP, they have to choose fewer of a certain type of kid.

Social, gregarious, interesting kids who are not interested in grinding or overachieving weren't really sought after in the last few cycles. Our CCO says that is changing with everyone seeing Vanderbilt's success (that is EXACTLY the kind of kid Vanderbilt goes after and full pay to boot) - and especially given protest and funding dynamics, they seem to want a different demographic now.

With funding pressures, expect more schools like the ones below to try and emulate some of that Vandy success:

Penn,
Northwestern,
Dartmouth (though the current freshman class is a little strange),
Cornell (easier to do given so large, but different AO making decisions, so possibly harder for cohesion),
Notre Dame (they also have looked for this kind of kid)
UVA (think DeanJ has talked about personal qualities like sociability and collaboration)
Georgetown
USC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

When is USC top 20?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the current list of fun, social, selective and smart T20s/30s?

Greek life good
Going out 2-3x/week good
At least 20-25% of class is socially oriented, outgoing, friendly
And with bars, darties, or sports etc.

What does 'going out' actually include in your head? With a friend, with few friends, ona date, with a group?

Colllege bars and parties

College bars and parties are fun for a year maybe two and then you would rather stick a needle in your eye then go to another one by the time you're a junior or senior. Which ones offer more interesting things to do than college bars and parties?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the current list of fun, social, selective and smart T20s/30s?

Greek life good
Going out 2-3x/week good
At least 20-25% of class is socially oriented, outgoing, friendly
And with bars, darties, or sports etc.

What does 'going out' actually include in your head? With a friend, with few friends, ona date, with a group?

Colllege bars and parties

College bars and parties are fun for a year maybe two and then you would rather stick a needle in your eye then go to another one by the time you're a junior or senior. Which ones offer more interesting things to do than college bars and parties?

Ma'am, college is only 4 years.
Ofc what you do yrs 1-2, might be lame when you're 21? Didn't you go to college? Don't you remember?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

Very few Duke kids go out 2-3x a week, not counting the first week or so of fall semester. 1 is typical, maybe 2. Vast majority are not greek. Duke is more social than some but not all of the ivies, but just like Ivy/chicago/stanford it is filled with super high achievers who do research, run clubs, have internships during the semester on campus or close. The do-it-all mentality and obsession with grades is much different than Duke in the early 90s(93 grad w a 24 grad kid).
The nephew at northwestern and it is per him more academic/intellectually focused on studies than Duke. To us as parents/grown siblings the students sound similar at NW and Duke

Also a Duke 90s grad.

My friends and I all did interesting things outside the classroom, including Greek life, but we each had an interest or activity or two, not the "do it all" / resume-building approach of high-achievers of this generation. Yes, the academics were difficult at times, but there was a real sense of balance between working hard, going out, and watching all the games during basketball season.

What schools are currently like Duke in the 90s? Vandy? Wake?

What schools would you say have the mindset and culture that Duke did when we were

I think some of that Duke mindset and culture exists, but its getting lost a bit. Will see if they course correct this cycle (don't they have new leadership)?

I'd say Vanderbilt and Wake for sure. Maybe UVA? No school has it all, though.

Each of the schools listed earlier has some element of that Duke of 1990s vibe. The question becomes how much and how hard is it for a kid to find their people. It changes each year based on the institutional priorities of a school. When schools over-rotate on one IP, they have to choose fewer of a certain type of kid.

Social, gregarious, interesting kids who are not interested in grinding or overachieving weren't really sought after in the last few cycles. Our CCO says that is changing with everyone seeing Vanderbilt's success (that is EXACTLY the kind of kid Vanderbilt goes after and full pay to boot) - and especially given protest and funding dynamics, they seem to want a different demographic now.

With funding pressures, expect more schools like the ones below to try and emulate some of that Vandy success:

Penn,
Northwestern,
Dartmouth (though the current freshman class is a little strange),
Cornell (easier to do given so large, but different AO making decisions, so possibly harder for cohesion),
Notre Dame (they also have looked for this kind of kid)
UVA (think DeanJ has talked about personal qualities like sociability and collaboration)
Georgetown
USC

Thanks so much for this. I'm hoping Duke takes some cues from Vandy this year, especially with the new Dean of Admissions in charge. We'll see . . .

And it would be amazing if Cornell CAS did the same. The school gets a lot of criticism on this board when it comes to quality of life. But we know from friends' kids that there's balance and fun to be found for kids who want that. I'd love to see the school embrace that by accepting more kids who want a well-rounded college experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

When is USC top 20?

Everyone is reaching to find the good, smart schools that used to pretty normal in the 90s - like a Northwestern or Stanford or Duke from that era.

But in 2025, social and smart is like a unicorn. And I don't think it's always the colleges fault. 18-22 year olds are what they are today.

From visiting a bunch of these schools over the years with two kids, only a few of these schools struck me as real healthy places.

Notre Dame
Rice
Vanderbilt
McGill
Michigan
Chicago

My bad school list is much longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

When is USC top 20?

Everyone is reaching to find the good, smart schools that used to pretty normal in the 90s - like a Northwestern or Stanford or Duke from that era.

But in 2025, social and smart is like a unicorn. And I don't think it's always the colleges fault. 18-22 year olds are what they are today.

From visiting a bunch of these schools over the years with two kids, only a few of these schools struck me as real healthy places.

Notre Dame
Rice
Vanderbilt
McGill
Michigan
Chicago

My bad school list is much longer.

Wtf Rice? McGill?
Rice is nerd central.

WTF kind of wacky list is this? Not Duke circa 1990

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:once you have moms asking about this stuff, you've really lost the plot

I agree! There is also a post on finding a spouse in college. Do people actually believe their kid can't find fun?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

Very few Duke kids go out 2-3x a week, not counting the first week or so of fall semester. 1 is typical, maybe 2. Vast majority are not greek. Duke is more social than some but not all of the ivies, but just like Ivy/chicago/stanford it is filled with super high achievers who do research, run clubs, have internships during the semester on campus or close. The do-it-all mentality and obsession with grades is much different than Duke in the early 90s(93 grad w a 24 grad kid).
The nephew at northwestern and it is per him more academic/intellectually focused on studies than Duke. To us as parents/grown siblings the students sound similar at NW and Duke

Also a Duke 90s grad.

My friends and I all did interesting things outside the classroom, including Greek life, but we each had an interest or activity or two, not the "do it all" / resume-building approach of high-achievers of this generation. Yes, the academics were difficult at times, but there was a real sense of balance between working hard, going out, and watching all the games during basketball season.

What schools are currently like Duke in the 90s? Vandy? Wake?

What schools would you say have the mindset and culture that Duke did when we were

I think some of that Duke mindset and culture exists, but its getting lost a bit. Will see if they course correct this cycle (don't they have new leadership)?

I'd say Vanderbilt and Wake for sure. Maybe UVA? No school has it all, though.

Each of the schools listed earlier has some element of that Duke of 1990s vibe. The question becomes how much and how hard is it for a kid to find their people. It changes each year based on the institutional priorities of a school. When schools over-rotate on one IP, they have to choose fewer of a certain type of kid.

Social, gregarious, interesting kids who are not interested in grinding or overachieving weren't really sought after in the last few cycles. Our CCO says that is changing with everyone seeing Vanderbilt's success (that is EXACTLY the kind of kid Vanderbilt goes after and full pay to boot) - and especially given protest and funding dynamics, they seem to want a different demographic now.

With funding pressures, expect more schools like the ones below to try and emulate some of that Vandy success:

Penn,
Northwestern,
Dartmouth (though the current freshman class is a little strange),
Cornell (easier to do given so large, but different AO making decisions, so possibly harder for cohesion),
Notre Dame (they also have looked for this kind of kid)
UVA (think DeanJ has talked about personal qualities like sociability and collaboration)
Georgetown
USC

Penn and Northwestern are surprising based on the kids we saw during our visit. Would love to hear more! What about Brown?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke
Northwestern
Cornell
Michigan
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
USC

What’s missing?

Very few Duke kids go out 2-3x a week, not counting the first week or so of fall semester. 1 is typical, maybe 2. Vast majority are not greek. Duke is more social than some but not all of the ivies, but just like Ivy/chicago/stanford it is filled with super high achievers who do research, run clubs, have internships during the semester on campus or close. The do-it-all mentality and obsession with grades is much different than Duke in the early 90s(93 grad w a 24 grad kid).
The nephew at northwestern and it is per him more academic/intellectually focused on studies than Duke. To us as parents/grown siblings the students sound similar at NW and Duke

Also a Duke 90s grad.

My friends and I all did interesting things outside the classroom, including Greek life, but we each had an interest or activity or two, not the "do it all" / resume-building approach of high-achievers of this generation. Yes, the academics were difficult at times, but there was a real sense of balance between working hard, going out, and watching all the games during basketball season.

What schools are currently like Duke in the 90s? Vandy? Wake?

What schools would you say have the mindset and culture that Duke did when we were

I think some of that Duke mindset and culture exists, but its getting lost a bit. Will see if they course correct this cycle (don't they have new leadership)?

I'd say Vanderbilt and Wake for sure. Maybe UVA? No school has it all, though.

Each of the schools listed earlier has some element of that Duke of 1990s vibe. The question becomes how much and how hard is it for a kid to find their people. It changes each year based on the institutional priorities of a school. When schools over-rotate on one IP, they have to choose fewer of a certain type of kid.

Social, gregarious, interesting kids who are not interested in grinding or overachieving weren't really sought after in the last few cycles. Our CCO says that is changing with everyone seeing Vanderbilt's success (that is EXACTLY the kind of kid Vanderbilt goes after and full pay to boot) - and especially given protest and funding dynamics, they seem to want a different demographic now.

With funding pressures, expect more schools like the ones below to try and emulate some of that Vandy success:

Penn,
Northwestern,
Dartmouth (though the current freshman class is a little strange),
Cornell (easier to do given so large, but different AO making decisions, so possibly harder for cohesion),
Notre Dame (they also have looked for this kind of kid)
UVA (think DeanJ has talked about personal qualities like sociability and collaboration)
Georgetown
USC

Where did you get your info about Dartmouth's current freshman class? Very curious as I have a child in this class.

[Anonymous]

Penn is the party Ivy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn is the party Ivy

But if you aren't in the frat or female you aren't welcome to the party.

[Anonymous]

VAndy