Anonymous wrote:Look at schools with honors programs. I have a good friend from growing up who could get into Ivy - needed to stay closer to home. She had a great experience with the honors program at what many here would not consider.

Has lived the life she wanted to live.

Second this. I know lots of smart students who have thrived in the honors programs at UMD in particular. These are smart, ambitious students

Nice smart kids everywhere. Including other countries.

Check out Mount Holyoke

Anonymous wrote:My DD looking for a similar environment found it at Smith. Not helpful if you have a son, though.

Maybe William and Mary? Or St Mary's College of Md?

So new to looking at women's colleges. Any non-snarky advice re: Smith, Wellesly, Bryn Mawr, Scripps, Barnard, others? Basically what OP was describing with great academics and a nice community of students. Which ones fit (and they don't really have to be mini-HYP)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The notion that Oberlin and Michigan are remotely comparable to HYPS is laughable. But nice try!

Go away, troll. Oberlin is a different deal because it’s a SLAC (not worse, just different), but Michigan is 100% comparable to HYPS.

That’s a clown post.

Anonymous wrote:Assholes are everywhere in life.

OP has serious issues.

More easily found some places than others! Thanks for reminding us of that fact.

Assholes are everywhere in life.

OP has serious issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son got into Yale and felt like it would be too much of a "frat-bro" environment and chose Stanford instead. After spending a weekend at Yale he told me "I feel like I'd accidentally be friends with guys who date rape girls but don't think of themselves as rapists."

DD got into Brown and chose Berkeley instead. Both kids felt like California kids are smart and strive to do well, but without pushing other people out of their way.

My guess is he didn't hang out with the swimmers at Stanford?

I disagree with your kids about Californians. I grew up in SF around super competitive types and it was worse than DC in many ways.

California is a huge state. Not only SF.

Anonymous wrote:My son got into Yale and felt like it would be too much of a "frat-bro" environment and chose Stanford instead. After spending a weekend at Yale he told me "I feel like I'd accidentally be friends with guys who date rape girls but don't think of themselves as rapists."

DD got into Brown and chose Berkeley instead. Both kids felt like California kids are smart and strive to do well, but without pushing other people out of their way.

My guess is he didn't hang out with the swimmers at Stanford?

I disagree with your kids about Californians. I grew up in SF around super competitive types and it was worse than DC in many ways.

Anonymous wrote:The notion that Oberlin and Michigan are remotely comparable to HYPS is laughable. But nice try!

No they don't have the a__holes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The notion that Oberlin and Michigan are remotely comparable to HYPS is laughable. But nice try!

Go away, troll. Oberlin is a different deal because it’s a SLAC (not worse, just different), but Michigan is 100% comparable to HYPS.

NP. Someone disagreeing with you doesn’t make them a troll - especially when the argument you made is quite a stretch and many people would disagree.

My DD looking for a similar environment found it at Smith. Not helpful if you have a son, though.

Maybe William and Mary? Or St Mary's College of Md?

Anonymous wrote:Rice. My nerdy son loves it.

+1

At the Top 20 level I would say Rice and Vandy

Rice. My nerdy son loves it.

My DC had similar criteria and chose a school already listed above. I would also take a look at Colorado College. It’s not for everyone because of the Block Plan, but the kids there seemed very engaged and academically focused but down to earth. On our tour we spoke with one kid who had transferred there from an Ivy and one from a top 20 university and they both commented on how they were so much happier being around a less “intense” group of students.