Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:definitely MIT

+1 culture actively encourages cooperation/community

I kind of assumed the poster was being sarcastic but agree this is mostly true.

Caltech too....Super hard, instructors with very high expectations...But I can't remember my classmates being anything but supportive, collaborative....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Oberlin. That’s definitely the vibe there.

The OP said "elite."

Eye rolling PP, what does "elite" mean to you? If you're talking Greek system, corporate law firm / country club track, then you're correct -- Oberlin is full of people who are running in the opposite direction of all that.

If you're talking about intellectually elite, Oberlin qualifies by any measure and punches way above its weight. C.f.:

swarthmore.edu/institutional-research/doctorates-awarded
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-50-schools-that-produce-science-phds/
https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/genius-macarthur-grant-winners/
https://qz.com/498534/these-25-schools-are-responsible-for-the-greatest-advances-in-science/

I am going to hazard a guess that when OP says "down to earth" she is trying to politely say something along the lines of not snobby, money-driven, etc. In which case Oberlin (and Carleton and Grinnell) all seem like excellent answers to her question.

I have two kids, one went to Rice and the other an HYP. The kid at Rice had a MUCH more diverse group of friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, only liberal arts colleges??

Maybe not only liberal arts colleges, but it stands to reason that with their smaller sizes, they might be able to select for a particular ethos in the student body and then attract new students on that basis. So if 80% of students at a 2000-person school are down-to-earth, that's pretty pervasive in the student body, even if it's only 1,6000 people. As someone else said, you can no doubt find many down-to-earth students at large universities as well. If 10% of students at a 40,000-person university are down-to-earth, that's a larger number. But do they pervade the school? Probably less likely.

80% of students are down to earth, but have parents willing and able to afford a liberal arts education for their children? That seems very unlikely to me.

Definitely not SLACs. Too expensive. State schools are where you find the down to earth

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite schools in the midwest. Midwestern influence drives down the snob factor. Think Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wash U, etc.

WashUn and Northwestern yes, Notre Dame and UChicago definitely not.

Agree! I want my kid to go to school in the Midwest.

The kids I know who landed at Northwestern, UChicago and Michigan from either NOVA or NYC all spoke about how they appreciated the mellowing and wholesome effect of the Midwest, even if most of them returned to the east coast after graduating. Definitely still a lot of pretense and at times just as intense as any top school, but I think relatively less so.

Went to UChicago undergrad and graduate school. When I attended, it was full of very down to earth kids. Hope it still is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite schools in the midwest. Midwestern influence drives down the snob factor. Think Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wash U, etc.

WashUn and Northwestern yes, Notre Dame and UChicago definitely not.

Agree! I want my kid to go to school in the Midwest.

The kids I know who landed at Northwestern, UChicago and Michigan from either NOVA or NYC all spoke about how they appreciated the mellowing and wholesome effect of the Midwest, even if most of them returned to the east coast after graduating. Definitely still a lot of pretense and at times just as intense as any top school, but I think relatively less so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:definitely MIT

+1 culture actively encourages cooperation/community

I kind of assumed the poster was being sarcastic but agree this is mostly true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid was interested in Rice but no longer — Texas has taken a sharp turn in the wrong direction and she is no longer interested in the school.

How is this post responsive to either the OP or the general thread in any way?

Because it comments on Rice which was brought up so many times on this thread.

Anonymous wrote:I've always heard good things about the atmosphere at Rice.

Yes! My child is at Rice and the kids are all so down to earth, supportive and collaborative. It's such an amazing environment of just super nice people.

Anonymous wrote:Faber

Adams

Anonymous wrote:
I am the PP whose daughter is no longer interested in Rice. We aren’t white. Not sure why you assumed we are??

Because Texas has always been a dangerous place for BIPOC. Weird that a one-off medical need was the thing that tipped the scale for her.

Anonymous wrote:My kid was interested in Rice but no longer — Texas has taken a sharp turn in the wrong direction and she is no longer interested in the school.

How is this post responsive to either the OP or the general thread in any way?

Yale according to my child who is a current sophomore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite schools in the midwest. Midwestern influence drives down the snob factor. Think Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wash U, etc.

WashUn and Northwestern yes, Notre Dame and UChicago definitely not.

Agree! I want my kid to go to school in the Midwest.

Me too, although NOT WashU. Everyone I’ve met who has gone there is a social climber.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite schools in the midwest. Midwestern influence drives down the snob factor. Think Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wash U, etc.

WashUn and Northwestern yes, Notre Dame and UChicago definitely not.

Agree! I want my kid to go to school in the Midwest.