Anonymous wrote:Seven Sisters colleges

And then they were Five sisters

Any prestigious school will have lots of strivers for obvious reasons

Anonymous wrote:Williams was collaborative back in the day. No one discussed grades.

Not saying it was or was not collaborative. But radio science on grades can mean two things: 1) we are so chill we don’t care, or 2) we care so much we can’t even talk about it. The most hyper-competitive striver schools would be the latter. Talking about grades just a little but being cool about it is the golden mean.

Anonymous wrote:Williams was collaborative back in the day. No one discussed grades.

Academically, it's very, very hard now. Good, collaborative kids, but they're under a lot more pressure than at other top schools. The grind is part of the culture - discussed often.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of threads on the boards, but Carleton, William & Mary, and Rice all come up a lot, as well as others.

Can vouch for W&M and Rice.

We have friends with kids at those two schools, and they're really happy. Smart, kind, interesting kids who have had a very easy time finding their people and enjoying college!

Our friend's daughter is at Dickinson, and she says the same is true there. Very happy kid.

Seven Sisters colleges

Williams was collaborative back in the day. No one discussed grades.

Haverford!

I was a STEM major (pre-med) at Bowdoin and even then did not know any of my classmates' grades. The culture was such that everyone studied hard, but you were in competition with the material, not your peers.

btw, still had great outcomes: historically we have had 80-90% medical school acceptance rate

So, the basic question is competitiveness vs collaboration in the student body? I think this is more a function of the individual and their outlook. Major may also play a role in that outlook, as premeds are under intense pressure for grades.

My kid hung his hat on collaborative rather than competitive in deciding to apply ED to Northwestern two years ago, sophomore in engineering, happy as a clam.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of threads on the boards, but Carleton, William & Mary, and Rice all come up a lot, as well as others.

My DS is starting at Carleton in the fall. Our impression from touring and talking to alums we know is that the vibe is more collaborative and congenial than other schools with similarly intense academics.

I hate posters who use the word “strivers.” Any legitimate university will have students who work hard and those who don’t.

Google party school if your kid is the latter.

URochester

Lots of threads on the boards, but Carleton, William & Mary, and Rice all come up a lot, as well as others.

Can you please suggest colleges for a bright person but without the rat race mentality that is still prestigious?