Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

I’m OP and although I generally agree with your point, I am a little worried about weather being too much of a determinant because the weather in Palo Alto is essentially perfect but Stanford has crushed the joy out of student life. I guess Stanford is probably far along the prestige hunting axis of your response, though, to be fair.

Sorry if that was too strong on the prestige part - I am sure Stanford is great. I actually think weather is under-rated as a determinant. Shorter winters if any mean more time outside, parties outside, more sports including club/intramural/pickup, just a fun vibe. To me the killer combo is nice weather combined with ambitious kids. So draw a line from Wake Forest across to Stanford and basically anything below that line that fits your student.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

I’m OP and although I generally agree with your point, I am a little worried about weather being too much of a determinant because the weather in Palo Alto is essentially perfect but Stanford has crushed the joy out of student life. I guess Stanford is probably far along the prestige hunting axis of your response, though, to be fair.

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Anonymous wrote:Schools with warm weather that are not soul crushing academically or prestige hunting. In other words, less Duke and Vandy, more UGA, UFL, some of the schools in CA and AZ.

Obviously 18-21yo students can have fun anywhere, but warmer weather means more options, more of the year. Same goes with small rural town vs more vibrant college town or city. There is a reason people like Athens GA, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, even Charlottesville VA, you get the idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

OP went to Stanford, which has lost its fun.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe one of the less intense SLACs? Middlebury, Bowdoin?

Anonymous wrote:ASU is underrated. Great education, great weather (aside from summer when students are gone), it’s what you make it.

- ASU alum

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

OP went to Stanford, which has lost its fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any good schools left that are actually fun and aren’t relentlessly grim? By “fun,” I don’t mean just pure parties (though that’s part of it). I also mean really engaging intellectual stimulation, the ability to actually have debates as opposed to heavily censored speech, parties that don’t require signed releases at the door, dorms that aren’t as quiet as crypts, students that can hear an opinion they don’t like without having tantrums, and a diversity of smart quirky kids with widely varied interests, not just armies of ruthless Tracy Flicks. In other words, speaking as someone who went to Stanford back when it was actually fun, not this:

https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/24/inside-stanfords-war-on-fun-tensions-mount-over-universitys-handling-of-social-life/

My kid is in 9th grade and although an excellent student in a hard school, does not have any interest in the hoops required for Stanford admission now (and I fully support that; Stanford is insufferable now from everything I hear). By the same token, the Ivies are out. But I would love my kid to find a place that is fun the way that college used to be fun: yes, hard work, yes challenging academics, but also just plain fun. Does that exist any more or has that concept for college been totally destroyed?

Did you have "fun" in college? How about your alma mater to start with?

Anonymous wrote:University of Florida. Go Gators!