I'm surprised no one has suggested William & Mary. They always rank very high for happiest students. And they also rank very high for undergraduate teaching. My DS tells me it is not a cut throat environment - yes the students are smart, but they help each other and the professors are also willing to help students. He does not find it stressful at all.

Brown is the “fun” Ivy.

Anonymous wrote:UVA, pretty laid back unless you are in pre-med, then it is cut throat and intense. Good balance of work hard, play hard.

UNC also comes to mind.

That was not the experience of my DD at UVA - she started in aerospace engineering and moved to PPL. Both were very difficult - the latter had lots of seminars and papers. And it's because so difficult to get into . . .

Definitely Brown. Wesleyan. Don't know where Tulane ranks,but I think it's laid back.

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Anonymous wrote:NYU. Agree. Stern may be more demanding though so if business will be a little more competitive. Avoid Cornell as very competitive (kid there now). Avoid Columbia (other kid graduated from there). Georgetown I hear is pretty competitive. Generally, avoid BU, GW, and Cornell.

Seems that most highly competitive schools aren't laid back. By definition, "highly competitive" means "not laid back".

Not true. Just because people are clamoring to get in does not mean it is competitive or even very difficult once you are there. And conversely, there are a ton of less hard to get in schools that are very difficult to graduate from and even cut throat when you are there.

To get into a top school, an applicant must be driven/competitive enough to be at the top of their high school class. Are these students suddenly going to become relaxed enough that they're no longer intent on doing what it takes to be at/near the top of their class in college? (If it wasn't that hard for a kid to outshine the vast majority of her/his peers in high school, it WILL be at a T30 school.) As long as the college/university doesn't give As to everyone, I kind of doubt it.

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Anonymous wrote:VT has a mix of personalities and people report their kid has no trouble finding their people there

Is VT top 30?

No but Def top 300

So, between 30 and 300... that's 270 other universities to choose from. LOL

Sounds like OP is looking for top tier, not top 300. So, maybe top 100, but not top 300.

Anonymous wrote:NYU. Agree. Stern may be more demanding though so if business will be a little more competitive. Avoid Cornell as very competitive (kid there now). Avoid Columbia (other kid graduated from there). Georgetown I hear is pretty competitive. Generally, avoid BU, GW, and Cornell.

This may be major specific experiences at BU, Cornell and GW. I have a kid at Cornell and friends with kids at BU and GW and this is not their experiences at all. Maybe the poster is trying to psych you out so your kid does not apply to these good schools and their kid has less competition.

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Anonymous wrote:VT has a mix of personalities and people report their kid has no trouble finding their people there

Is VT top 30?

No but Def top 300

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Anonymous wrote:Northwestern, Emory, Vanderbilt

Northwestern is definitely not laid back in the math department. I once got a 94 on a math exam that was curved to a B-.

Assuming that the quoted post is true, then any school where a 94 out of 100 equals a B-, seems too easy. I am familiar with college math classes where a score of 40 out of a possible 100 is an A.

Not too Easy. At a top school, where everyone was in the top 5% of their HS and has 1500+ SATs, it's really not that hard to expect everyone to get an A. Smart kids, who learn the material should get an A. If prof is good, that means they taught the material, students understood it and mastered the concept. So why not give everyone an A. Isn't that the point, to learn the material. Not hard reach to expect smart students to be able to accomplish that.

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Anonymous wrote:Northwestern, Emory, Vanderbilt

Northwestern is definitely not laid back in the math department. I once got a 94 on a math exam that was curved to a B-.

Ugh, crap like this give me chills from my college engineering days. The opposite is just as bad - when the prof returns tests and the average is a 19. But, hey, let's move on.

Been there, done that with half my engineering/CS courses. Normally that would mean a major curve, as it should. But frustrating, as you study and prepare, but know that it almost doesn't matter as the test is so ridiculous and not over material you learned.

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Anonymous wrote:Northwestern, Emory, Vanderbilt

Northwestern is definitely not laid back in the math department. I once got a 94 on a math exam that was curved to a B-.

This is so wrong. The grade should correlate to the work, not the other people in the room. I hate curving. Sorry for your experience.

If you dislike being graded on a curve, then you should consider the honors colleges / programs at large state public universities.

Grading on curve should only be used to Help students (ie the average/mean is low). If everyone earns 92%+, then everyone should get an A. In reality at a place like Northwestern, everyone is really smart, so it's very possible for all students to learn the material and do well. Shouldn't be penalized. Had a few courses like that when I attended and yes, everyone got As. Because everyone learned the material.

I found Williams relatively laidback in the late 90s, not sure if it is now. Very strong math and Econ departments.

It’s not but has some well regarded programs.

Anonymous wrote:VT has a mix of personalities and people report their kid has no trouble finding their people there

Is VT top 30?

VT has a mix of personalities and people report their kid has no trouble finding their people there