Anonymous
08/09/2025 23:26
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
My kid just graduated from Y and had a ton of fun ( in addition to double majoring, bunch of clubs/ECs etc). Social life there is pretty robust with a lot of different options for all kinds of people
That's so interesting because that's how Yale was back in my day, but I didn't respond because I went a long time ago. There were definitely parties and a lot of people - me included - went out 3 nights a week.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 23:19
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
I feel like every school my kid looked at considered themselves work hard, play hard. Maybe it was just their list, but I don't know what that label even means anymore.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 23:16
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Honestly asking: is it always the same schools that appear on this entire forum? Are these boosters waiting for a thread to jump in it with their school? Okay okay we got it top 20, then some more.
Yeah and they seem to think kids don't work hard at schools others than those. Ok.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 23:05
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
For HYPMS, oddly it's only MIT that has a healthy social vibe these days.
Other than that;
Vanderbilt
Duke
Dartmouth
Notre Dame
Rice - not a party school, but very friendly
Brown
McGill
UCLA
My daughter attended MIT CPW when she was admitted. She attended a sorority party which was really sad and a frat party that was VERY well-attended by women from neighboring colleges. We had already read about how the male students there do not really respect the women. That and what she saw definitely played into why she turned it down. Chose Harvard — no party scene but no complaints as she made many good friends. Same with another girl from our town who chose Harvard over MIT. It’s all a matter of where you find your tribe! No point attending MIT if the men want to socialize with non-MIT women!
Interesti NY, I had not heard that about MIT. Re the others, a lot of them already on the list. DD’s school caps the number of applications so she’s basically trying to decide whether she should include HYPMS at all. Her own crowdsourcing not turning up a lot of positive reviews on the social side. FWIW she crossed off Dartmouth and Cornell bc too far north.
- OP
If she wants social, I’d pass on HYPSM and ED to Duke?
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:38
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
PSU architecture
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:37
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
For HYPMS, oddly it's only MIT that has a healthy social vibe these days.
Other than that;
Vanderbilt
Duke
Dartmouth
Notre Dame
Rice - not a party school, but very friendly
Brown
McGill
UCLA
My daughter attended MIT CPW when she was admitted. She attended a sorority party which was really sad and a frat party that was VERY well-attended by women from neighboring colleges. We had already read about how the male students there do not really respect the women. That and what she saw definitely played into why she turned it down. Chose Harvard — no party scene but no complaints as she made many good friends. Same with another girl from our town who chose Harvard over MIT. It’s all a matter of where you find your tribe! No point attending MIT if the men want to socialize with non-MIT women!
Interesti NY, I had not heard that about MIT. Re the others, a lot of them already on the list. DD’s school caps the number of applications so she’s basically trying to decide whether she should include HYPMS at all. Her own crowdsourcing not turning up a lot of positive reviews on the social side. FWIW she crossed off Dartmouth and Cornell bc too far north.
- OP
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:36
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Duke
Vanderbilt
UT-Honors (Texas)
UVA
Michigan
Northwestern
Sorry this list doesn’t include HYPSM
Agree with this.
And for our HS, add Cornell (Dyson/hotel/ ILR - non-stem) if in Greek life.
Agree on Cornell. I know a kid like this who is very smart and Greek at Cornell and having a blast.
Same here.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:20
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
Work hard/play hard = reputable SLAC.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:20
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:“Work hard play hard” is such a stupid phrase. Trite, cliched.
Agreed! I roll my eyes when I hear that about certain schools. It’s not a unique characteristic of a college!
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:14
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
For HYPMS, oddly it's only MIT that has a healthy social vibe these days.
Other than that;
Vanderbilt
Duke
Dartmouth
Notre Dame
Rice - not a party school, but very friendly
Brown
McGill
UCLA
My daughter attended MIT CPW when she was admitted. She attended a sorority party which was really sad and a frat party that was VERY well-attended by women from neighboring colleges. We had already read about how the male students there do not really respect the women. That and what she saw definitely played into why she turned it down. Chose Harvard — no party scene but no complaints as she made many good friends. Same with another girl from our town who chose Harvard over MIT. It’s all a matter of where you find your tribe! No point attending MIT if the men want to socialize with non-MIT women!
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:11
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Dartmouth is a major grind if you care about your GPA. You guys are delusional.
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:07
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
CMC
Anonymous
08/09/2025 21:04
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:Sounds like U Penn!
+1
Penn fits though play “hard” is in context of peer schools: it’s more fun/social than peer schools, it’s not raging drunk fests for the entire day most Saturdays, or anything like that one might find at big football schools
Anonymous
08/09/2025 20:17
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
Anonymous wrote:DD is very academically oriented, with top stats, recs, and nat’l awards, and also very outgoing with active social life. She’s trying to get a sense of whether any of HYPMS might be a good fit these days (recognizing all are reaches).
My kid just graduated from Y and had a ton of fun ( in addition to double majoring, bunch of clubs/ECs etc). Social life there is pretty robust with a lot of different options for all kinds of people
Anonymous
08/09/2025 20:15
Subject: Where is your work hard/play hard kid thriving?
UGA or any other TOP SEC school