Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why people are being hard on OP. It’s actually a good cautionary tale for all who are gunning for top 15. When I went to a top 15 30 years ago, once you got there there were plenty of kids who didn’t take themselves too seriously. That may be less the case today - I don’t know but it’s worth exploring and considering that even if you get in you might not like it.

I found this thread and find this all so interesting.

What selective schools are like this today?

Anonymous wrote:I'm a parent of a freshman a T15 school. Kid thought they were selecting a place commensurate with their [holds nose] top credentials that would nonetheless have a lot of fun kids who don't take themselves seriously and prioritize having a good time. Spoiler alert: this is not UChicago.

Anyway, kid is wrong. Not every student at kid's school is a Tracy Flick, of course, but there are so many of them that the vibe is affected. The seriousness and intensity permeates the dorms, the quad, the on campus coffee places ...

I promise I'm not a troll. Kid is grateful for this opportunity but really surprised at how wrong they were.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington & Lee, UCLA, USC, UVA, Vanderbilt come to mind

Of those, only UCLA is T15

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton

OP said T20.

Idiotic and ignorant. Carleton is a top 10 SLAC, but you’re clueless about any college that’s not a national university.

Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Barnard, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Harvey Mudd, Grinnell, Bowdoin and many others come before it on top SLAC lists but yes its a good SLAC, however never ranked on ANY T20 list.

+1
Carleton is not a school most people have ever heard of. PP sounds triggered.

A person who’s never heard of Carleton—or Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, etc.—tells me that that they and/or their parents weren’t privy to certain elite circles. Truth.

I ran in East Coast elite circles since college and had never heard of Carleton until DC started looking at colleges. I am very familiar with Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, etc.

I think Carleton sounds great from what I know about it, but it's name recognition isn't up there with the others for whatever reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington & Lee, UCLA, USC, UVA, Vanderbilt come to mind

Are these schools even top20?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton

OP said T20.

Idiotic and ignorant. Carleton is a top 10 SLAC, but you’re clueless about any college that’s not a national university.

Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Barnard, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Harvey Mudd, Grinnell, Bowdoin and many others come before it on top SLAC lists but yes its a good SLAC, however never ranked on ANY T20 list.

+1
Carleton is not a school most people have ever heard of. PP sounds triggered.

A person who’s never heard of Carleton—or Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, etc.—tells me that that they and/or their parents weren’t privy to certain elite circles. Truth.

I ran in East Coast elite circles since college and had never heard of Carleton until DC started looking at colleges. I am very familiar with Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, etc.

I think Carleton sounds great from what I know about it, but it's name recognition isn't up there with the others for whatever reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why people are being hard on OP. It’s actually a good cautionary tale for all who are gunning for top 15. When I went to a top 15 30 years ago, once you got there there were plenty of kids who didn’t take themselves too seriously. That may be less the case today - I don’t know but it’s worth exploring and considering that even if you get in you might not like it.

I found this thread and find this all so interesting.

What selective schools are like this today?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt and Rice.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/g11438356/happiest-college-students/

Town and country is not a respectable source or citation. Read it like you would fiction – just for fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton

OP said T20.

Idiotic and ignorant. Carleton is a top 10 SLAC, but you’re clueless about any college that’s not a national university.

Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Barnard, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Harvey Mudd, Grinnell, Bowdoin and many others come before it on top SLAC lists but yes its a good SLAC, however never ranked on ANY T20 list.

+1
Carleton is not a school most people have ever heard of. PP sounds triggered.

A person who’s never heard of Carleton—or Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, etc.—tells me that that they and/or their parents weren’t privy to certain elite circles. Truth.