Colleges where it sucks if you’re not Greek or sporty - help us avoid them!

[Anonymous]

+1 to Wooster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Davidson?

Yes, there's already discussion in this thread about Davidson.

[Anonymous]

I’d look at Haverford, Skidmore, Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d look at Haverford, Skidmore, Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson.

And add Macalaster, Grinnell, and William & Mary

[Anonymous]

Bates is sporty, but not divided athletes v. non athletes. No frats and has never had frats. Weirdly I think one thing that fosters community at smaller schools is having one dining hall. At a school of 2000 or so, if there are two dining halls you can bet the jocks go to one and the artsy types go to the other.

[Anonymous]

Many big state schools have a big Greek life but also tons of other clubs/activities for kids who are not into Greek life.

[Anonymous]

I agree that a big state school could actually be what you're looking for. The problem with a small school is that it's small. If you don't fit in with the dominant culture there might not be much left for you. The big schools have something for everyone. It can be sink or swim, though. No one is going to come looking for Susie if she starts blowing off her classes. She just fails instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Davidson?

Yes, there's already discussion in this thread about Davidson.

Davidson is a tiny school that fields a number of d1 teams. Definitely sporty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bates is sporty, but not divided athletes v. non athletes. No frats and has never had frats. Weirdly I think one thing that fosters community at smaller schools is having one dining hall. At a school of 2000 or so, if there are two dining halls you can bet the jocks go to one and the artsy types go to the other.

Yes, you’re right, the one dining hall thing is a big community builder at smaller schools. Especially when they only serve meals for specific periods of time.

You can see almost every other student at the school if you show up at, say, 4:45 when they start serving dinner and stay drinking coffee till, say, 6:30 when they stop. Ask me how I know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bates is sporty, but not divided athletes v. non athletes. No frats and has never had frats. Weirdly I think one thing that fosters community at smaller schools is having one dining hall. At a school of 2000 or so, if there are two dining halls you can bet the jocks go to one and the artsy types go to the other.

Yes, you’re right, the one dining hall thing is a big community builder at smaller schools. Especially when they only serve meals for specific periods of time.

You can see almost every other student at the school if you show up at, say, 4:45 when they start serving dinner and stay drinking coffee till, say, 6:30 when they stop. Ask me how I know this.

Agree with both of these, as a fellow small college grad, but I do remember there being entire tables in the dining hall (strategically located near the buffet line) of just the soccer team, baseball team, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that a big state school could actually be what you're looking for. The problem with a small school is that it's small. If you don't fit in with the dominant culture there might not be much left for you. The big schools have something for everyone. It can be sink or swim, though. No one is going to come looking for Susie if she starts blowing off her classes. She just fails instead.

OP here. So true about no one noticing if you stop showing up. The tricky thing is it seems that socially a bigger school is better but academically a smaller school is better.

[Anonymous]

Don't just read reviews -- research The Common Data Set and see what the percentages are. I personally think anything above 25% is too high.

Too high because you need a substantial mass of non-Greeks to counter the Greek culture, and have the social life on campus revolve around other things. You also have to factor in students who are non-Greek but may not contribute to the social life on campus: students away from campus on study-abroad, part time students, non-traditional students, visiting students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine

Since you ventured to the west coast....and thoughts on Pomona or Occidental? I think Claremont McKenna is known for party scene...correct me if I'm wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bates is sporty, but not divided athletes v. non athletes. No frats and has never had frats. Weirdly I think one thing that fosters community at smaller schools is having one dining hall. At a school of 2000 or so, if there are two dining halls you can bet the jocks go to one and the artsy types go to the other.

Yes, you’re right, the one dining hall thing is a big community builder at smaller schools. Especially when they only serve meals for specific periods of time.

You can see almost every other student at the school if you show up at, say, 4:45 when they start serving dinner and stay drinking coffee till, say, 6:30 when they stop. Ask me how I know this.

Agree with both of these, as a fellow small college grad, but I do remember there being entire tables in the dining hall (strategically located near the buffet line) of just the soccer team, baseball team, etc.

I went to a small LAC with 1 dining hall and 100% there were sections of the hall "claimed" by the various sororities, fraternities, and sport teams. I liked my experience but it was too much like high school.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown