The Ivy League is a sports conference, albeit a very old one. There are at least a dozen schools that are as good or better academically. And many more if you are talking about STEM. But Vermont is not on anyone's radar when it comes to elite schools, regardless of some old public ivy list.

But Vermont is a very solid school in a great location and many love it and thrive there. The "public ivy" or "ivy plus" or "new ivy" thing needs to go away. The Ivy League is a sports conference and nothing else these days. MIT, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, Rice, Berkeley, Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame and so on aren't exactly clamoring to join the Ivy League sports conference in 2026.

Public safety is more like it.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Not touching the public ivy topic, but it is true that the drug/homeless junkie situation has gotten much worse over the years. There's a noticeably different feel than there was 10-15 years ago (not sure I'd pin the change to Covid). Still tons of wonderful things to recommend about Burlington, and despite the uptick in drugs and homelessness, I didn't feel unsafe. I was panhandled quite a bit though.

My DC saw 2 different students on campus barefoot during our visit. It was an immediate NO. I know this sounds weird, but it was really odd. One outside walking on the sidewalk and one in a classroom building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a student who isn't woke thrive socially or will they face ostracization?

Would you just STFU and quit polluting every thread with your nonsense.

- not the poster, but their comment is relevant for me as a parent who doesn't want my kid inundated with "woke" "fascist liberals" and group-think. Seems like you should STFU and go work on your purple hair and anger control.

So it doesn't sound like UVM will be a good fit from your attitude if you think a typically liberal college campus and people with purple hair are fascists. You probably wont be happy.

All I will say is that I assume it is a pretty liberal campus but the atmosphere was chill. There was actually a very small protest happening during (part of) our visit but it was...chill. College students have always protested and it isnt something that bothers me...but it's a laid back outdoorsy down to earth vibe. And the business school is highly touted on the tour.

I have a kid who is the current UVM student, have another kid who went to an Ivy. “Public Ivy” is 100% a marketing gimmick (as opposed to actual Ivy which is first and foremost an athletic league but has become shorthand for a certain type of prestige.) I advise you to just let go of the whole Ivy thing in general, there are so many great schools out there and they differ on many metrics. My UVM kid loves it, he’s working hard, has met lots of great people from all over the country (it’s a state School with much more of a national draw than others in part because Vermont is so small they’re just aren’t that many high school students to fill the spots.) It recently gained R1 status which can be important to people when they comparing schools and research opportunities, it’s got terrific access to outdoors and the buzz of life in Burlington. It’s a wonderful School for the right kid. But it is not an Ivy.

Anonymous wrote:Can a student who isn't woke thrive socially or will they face ostracization?

Would you just STFU and quit polluting every thread with your nonsense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vermont? A public Ivy? I think you’ve been smoking a little too much Burlington air freshener, OP. Good one.

It was on the original list of public ivies (for whatever that’s worth), so this didn’t come out of nowhere.

The "original list" came from a book by some random dude. In terms of legitimacy, it was a step above an anonymous wanker posting it on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vermont is a very small state and, like Delaware and some other small states, has a very strong state flagship whose admissions rate doesn't match the school's strengths simply because the state's populations leaves a lot of spots for out-of-staters. But the undergrads have real access to professors and to real research and projects. If you are looking for football and warm weather, not for you. But if your kid is interested in environmental studies, for example, or likes skiing and hockey, it punches Way above its weight.

And Burlington is great!

"Real access to professors?" Not really. UVM's student/faculty ration is 17/1, same as UMBC and numerous larger publics.

Yes, real access.

It is not just about ratios, it's about the culture and the number of opportunities vs competition. UVM is a mid-sized research university (recently achieved R1 status) with a relatively speaking low number of PhD students and where a relatively speaking high number of profs teach undergrads - as a result, undergrads get recruited to work in labs and are able to reach out to do research with professors. In other words, lots of opportunity and lower competition.

Anonymous wrote:Vermont? A public Ivy? I think you’ve been smoking a little too much Burlington air freshener, OP. Good one.

It was on the original list of public ivies (for whatever that’s worth), so this didn’t come out of nowhere.

Can a student who isn't woke thrive socially or will they face ostracization?

We did a tour in late February. Cold and snowy but nice, surprisingly compact campus with nice buildings. Students in admissions presentation panel were smart, down to earth, and charming as was the tour guide. Despite the weather, lots of students out and about on campus studying alone or in groups. My 9th grader (who was only tagging along with her older sibling) called it "chill" - she liked the vibe but not the weather. Older sibling will most likely apply (he is outdoorsy and a skier).

We visited this Fall. It was lovely! DC’s second choice.

Green State, Green Bud, Green Ivy?

Anonymous wrote:Vermont is a very small state and, like Delaware and some other small states, has a very strong state flagship whose admissions rate doesn't match the school's strengths simply because the state's populations leaves a lot of spots for out-of-staters. But the undergrads have real access to professors and to real research and projects. If you are looking for football and warm weather, not for you. But if your kid is interested in environmental studies, for example, or likes skiing and hockey, it punches Way above its weight.

And Burlington is great!

"Real access to professors?" Not really. UVM's student/faculty ration is 17/1, same as UMBC and numerous larger publics.