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.

I’d be concerned about sending daughters to schools in the south with restrictive abortion laws.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:University of Florida. Go Gators!

Same. I enjoyed it immensely.

With the current trajectory in the state, I wouldn’t count on open discussions without censorship for much longer. I also wouldn’t count on the good professors staying long enough for OP’s 9th grader to experience their classes.

I have friends who teach at Florida universities, and they’re becoming increasingly concerned with the rhetoric about state oversight of curriculum.

Syracuse, except the weather is the very definition of grim.

The southern schools have generally found a good mix of fun. The social scene at schools even like Duke, Vandy, Georgia Tech, etc. is pretty strong. For Duke, the best 18+ club in the Triangle is located around 1/2 mile from campus, and kids from UNC and NCSU go to there. It’s also exclusively for Duke students on Wednesdays.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

- ASU alum

The coeds there are in a class of their own. I'm talking a 5 at ASU is a 7 in the SEC and a 10 at Michigan.

“coeds”?

You better accept “coeds.” The ASU fan has a lot more-insulting terms up his sleeve—or should I say “down his pants.” It’s the Harry Truman “manure” situation all over again.

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

What echo chamber have you been hiding in for the past few decades?

Did you miss the part about wanting to be able to talk about things without the thought police canceling you?

At Middlebury & Bowdoin each kid is one sombrero away from having his life ruined, & good luck trying to hear a conservative guest speaker.

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.

My daughter is at Vandy and she has fun to say the least

This is my take on your question: I would look more where you are forming your ideas that college is grim and/or isn't supporting intellectual curiosity. There's a lot of critique of higher ed in the air that is pretty divorced from reality. I think people are more aware of ROI of college on careers than they used to be, but the reality is that at nearly every reasonably good not for profit school--and by that I mean the top couple hundred public and private colleges and universities not just elite ones--kids are immersed in classes and discussions that stimulate intellectual curiosity. Profs might grumble that they aren't as curious about learning as they used to be, and outsiders might look at grade inflation and think it was a lot harder to get an A in their day, but those complaints are really just generational complaints and the more pointed ones are the ones that get noticed. There are just as many ways college is more complex and difficult now than the past too (much more reading, just more disciplinary knowledge, some of the expectations for undergraduate research are more akin to what graduate students used to do just because of technological developments etc.)
Partisan politics will also always want to pull up examples for critiques of some sort or another--but stay grounded in reasonable thinking. Having 4 years to be in a group of peers, be living on your own but with lots of supports, and be immersed in taking classes in diverse areas is a pretty intellectually stimulating thing to do--so most places offer a good education that is far from grim.

I went to a Big East school back when the Big East was a thing, and I think they fit this category: Syracuse, Providence, Rutgers, Georgetown if you can get in. Boston College and Boston University, although they are quite different. Pitt.

Anonymous wrote:A state school in a blue state. Where education is valued and they understand professors need to lead thought provoking discussions without the fear of being sued or fired.

Sounds more like a red state university.

Notre Dame.

Vanderbilt

Anonymous wrote:

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

- ASU alum

The coeds there are in a class of their own. I'm talking a 5 at ASU is a 7 in the SEC and a 10 at Michigan.

“coeds”?

Tulane. Roll wave

Elon, Syracuse, Dayton, Fairfield, Chapman