What I learned from the returning freshman this week

[Anonymous]

So far Duke, ND and Yale have the happy kids?

[Anonymous]

U-Miami: Have a great tan. Very fun. But its more work than people think.

My ds goes to Miami and these 3 sentences are pretty much right on. Loves it.

[Anonymous]

The list in the OP is so miserable and repetitive. Entirely made up by unimaginative OP or maybe a reflection on the miserable creatures she and her kids associate with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- plz ignore the weird haters on here! I enjoyed your post and would have liked to see more. Thanks for compiling it. These little glimpses and anecdotal data are SO important. Classes, size, rankings, blah blah… but this is the kind of thing you find on unigo and it’s really important to take into account. Vibe matters.

OP here.
Thanks for your (and a few others) posts.
I'll compile the rest if I can think of them later. Schools like: CU-Boulder; USC; CMC; Amherst and BC come to mind. Think I mentioned most of the others already but I have to go back and read and remember who was here.

And if others have heard feedback this week, I think its actually really great to share anecdotally info about the "social climate/vibe", so please post and ignore the haters.

As for some of the earlier comments: yes, there's def some privilege you sensed in this commentary. And, most of these kids are full pay. And, I agree they should be more grateful. Remember these are their honest commentary to each other (if I eavesdropped) or to me, when I asked.

I think, as another poster mentioned, these are smart kids who worked they tail off in HS, enroll at these great schools that are "supposed to be" the holy grail, and maybe, they don't live up to the hype. I think that is really true here, if I can be honest.

Weirdly the academics are not difficult - not one person mentioned that (and neither did my kid when i asked how friends say the schoolwork is). But i think the social vibe (the finding your people, the atmosphere (and I'm not talking about drinking) but hanging around in small groups where you don't have to present yourself constantly in a way that's "exhausting" (their words)) is what they referenced being surprised by. By all accounts many of them thought they'd "made" it with their college choices.
But the adjustment has been hard. Many of them lamented HS being over and wishing they had a "5th year". Maybe that's the covid year?

I think the adjustment is hard for most kids, regardless of the prestige/pedestal of the school. I know both my kids found the academics were easier and the social stuff harder than they anticipated. One at a big state U and one at a regional LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The list in the OP is so miserable and repetitive. Entirely made up by unimaginative OP or maybe a reflection on the miserable creatures she and her kids associate with.

I love "miserable creatures"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- plz ignore the weird haters on here! I enjoyed your post and would have liked to see more. Thanks for compiling it. These little glimpses and anecdotal data are SO important. Classes, size, rankings, blah blah… but this is the kind of thing you find on unigo and it’s really important to take into account. Vibe matters.

OP here.
Thanks for your (and a few others) posts.
I'll compile the rest if I can think of them later. Schools like: CU-Boulder; USC; CMC; Amherst and BC come to mind. Think I mentioned most of the others already but I have to go back and read and remember who was here.

And if others have heard feedback this week, I think its actually really great to share anecdotally info about the "social climate/vibe", so please post and ignore the haters.

As for some of the earlier comments: yes, there's def some privilege you sensed in this commentary. And, most of these kids are full pay. And, I agree they should be more grateful. Remember these are their honest commentary to each other (if I eavesdropped) or to me, when I asked.

I think, as another poster mentioned, these are smart kids who worked they tail off in HS, enroll at these great schools that are "supposed to be" the holy grail, and maybe, they don't live up to the hype. I think that is really true here, if I can be honest.

Weirdly the academics are not difficult - not one person mentioned that (and neither did my kid when i asked how friends say the schoolwork is). But i think the social vibe (the finding your people, the atmosphere (and I'm not talking about drinking) but hanging around in small groups where you don't have to present yourself constantly in a way that's "exhausting" (their words)) is what they referenced being surprised by. By all accounts many of them thought they'd "made" it with their college choices.
But the adjustment has been hard. Many of them lamented HS being over and wishing they had a "5th year". Maybe that's the covid year?

Please don’t.

I love this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have serious psychological issues. Honestly. You really, really do.

+1
Yep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- plz ignore the weird haters on here! I enjoyed your post and would have liked to see more. Thanks for compiling it. These little glimpses and anecdotal data are SO important. Classes, size, rankings, blah blah… but this is the kind of thing you find on unigo and it’s really important to take into account. Vibe matters.

Except it is all made up…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I'm gathering from my kids and what their friends say - Notre Dame is good; so is McGill; Harvard is miserable; Cornell is a better experience than this semester's news stories would suggest; Vanderbilt is good, but you need to be "on" all the time; Rice is good, but Houston is sketch; the STEM kids at UMD are getting a good education and competing with the Cornell and Rice students in terms of subject matter; and Penn is not living up to it's reputation as a work hard/play hard school. Neither is Northwestern. No play.

And the high school friends seem to like Penn State.

This is really good. and some of it, confirms what I hear as well.

Huh? She is confirming that you have heard that “Notre Dame is good“. And stuff like that is helpful? What on earth are you weirdos talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised the Bucknell kid already secured an internship as a freshman. The collaboration between the career services office and the rabid alumni network is second to none. If you can pull at least a 3.0 and put a modicum of effort into networking -- and career services will literally take you by the hand and guide you through it if you just show up -- it's virtually impossible to graduate without at least one good job offer.

I’m from Pa. All the Bucknell grads ik either struggled getting a job or are in uninteresting roles that pay fine, not that prestigious. How Bucknell is talked about is more what I’ve seen from CMC grads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised the Bucknell kid already secured an internship as a freshman. The collaboration between the career services office and the rabid alumni network is second to none. If you can pull at least a 3.0 and put a modicum of effort into networking -- and career services will literally take you by the hand and guide you through it if you just show up -- it's virtually impossible to graduate without at least one good job offer.

I’m from Pa. All the Bucknell grads ik either struggled getting a job or are in uninteresting roles that pay fine, not that prestigious. How Bucknell is talked about is more what I’ve seen from CMC grads.

What is CMC? Sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised the Bucknell kid already secured an internship as a freshman. The collaboration between the career services office and the rabid alumni network is second to none. If you can pull at least a 3.0 and put a modicum of effort into networking -- and career services will literally take you by the hand and guide you through it if you just show up -- it's virtually impossible to graduate without at least one good job offer.

I’m from Pa. All the Bucknell grads ik either struggled getting a job or are in uninteresting roles that pay fine, not that prestigious. How Bucknell is talked about is more what I’ve seen from CMC grads.

What is CMC? Sorry

It’s a small school-Claremont McKenna. It’s a liberal arts college but recently had the highest post grad salary of any college for Econ. It’s a very strong program and the school has a great reputation- even graduated one of the Ks and R of KKR.

[Anonymous]

Setting aside the creepiness of OP inserting herself into the conversations of 19 year olds, I think the comments mostly say more about the students than their respective universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised the Bucknell kid already secured an internship as a freshman. The collaboration between the career services office and the rabid alumni network is second to none. If you can pull at least a 3.0 and put a modicum of effort into networking -- and career services will literally take you by the hand and guide you through it if you just show up -- it's virtually impossible to graduate without at least one good job offer.

I’m from Pa. All the Bucknell grads ik either struggled getting a job or are in uninteresting roles that pay fine, not that prestigious. How Bucknell is talked about is more what I’ve seen from CMC grads.

What is CMC? Sorry

It’s a small school-Claremont McKenna. It’s a liberal arts college but recently had the highest post grad salary of any college for Econ. It’s a very strong program and the school has a great reputation- even graduated one of the Ks and R of KKR.

Nice! Thanks for explaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think Covid is a factor in socialization issues.

And I think dating is more complex if you aren't into surveying options at a drinking party.

I thnk teenage boys need some lessons on how to invite girls to harmless 1:1, not really a date, type situations like grabbing coffee after class. I only hear about guys who are "rizzlers" with too much interest, pervs who have gotten sanctioned by the peer group, a few going steady guys, and a lot of normal nice boys who don't date because "girls bring drama".

what is a rizzler?

A person who oozes charisma