Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 08:21     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
I played baseball at a Big Ten School. My eldest daughter was a soccer player at SEC school and my youngest is now a junior at a top 20 school. My youngest is the one having the most fun. When I go back to alma mater for events or when I use to visit my oldest, there is this rabidity among the fanbase that borders on the level of ridiculous.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 08:13     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
There are more nerds at big football schools than this Greek and QB-crazy mom realizes. And there are more sporty kids at SLACs than she realizes.

Ironically, if she went into a dining room one winter weekend at both Middlebury and Clemson, I'm sure she'd prefer the cute 'n sporty girls and guys at Midd. Definitely richer too. And more on track for a IB job.

I know what she likes. And what she assumes her kids - and all kids - want. I just worry she steered here own kids wrong.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 08:03     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem, I think, is that many DCUM posters/mothers are so far removed from college -- they're typically in their 50s and not much younger -- that they can't remember what it's like to be young.

Sure, I wanted my kids to go to a reputable school and study. But I always wanted them to be happy, social, and to have a blast. When I read posts like "I love the quiet winter days of my remote SLAC" I'm like "what?? are you my grandmother??"

We're talking about kids, man! They have their whole lives ahead of them to be so damned serious. You people have lost your minds.


I think people disagreeing with OP (who is obviously a teenage troll having a blast getting a rise out of people with their rude one-liners) are speaking about the experiences they enjoyed in college - valid; their own kids and what they know their kids to like and dislike - valid; and the obvious reality that fun is subjective and there are plenty of experiences to go around - valid. Valid observations from sound minds.

What no one has raised yet is that big football schools have a the higher prevalence of sexual assault: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6406521/


You're all broken records.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 08:01     Subject: Re:Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I went to a large, midwest public university and never went to a football game. No one I hung out with ever went either. I was at a party at a fraternity house once but I never knew anybody (that I was aware of) that were in fraternities or sororities.

I also had a great college experience in a fun college town. It's a very big world and people enjoy doing different things.


I went to such a school for grad school. I went to two games. It was meh. I still visit that university to do cultural things. Occasionally I go to the theater on game day Saturdays. I find it delightful that 100K people can be screaming their heads off a mile or so away, while I can have a thought-provoking cultural experience that's much quieter and my style. That's why I love my grad alma mater. You can have the personal experience that suits you because there's so much available to choose from.


It was "meh" for you for the obvious reason that grad school is different. Duh.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 08:01     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Not everyone likes football. Not everyone wants large class sizes of 300 in a lecture hall. Not everyone wants classes where there is no interaction with the professors. Etc.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 07:48     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Stanford kids have better things to do

https://www.reddit.com/r/StanfordCardinal/comments/1fx9wfm/stanford_footballs_attendance_against_virginia/


You know we can all read the comments, right? It was 100 degrees that day and no shade. I wouldn't have gone either.


It seems you didn’t read the comments which nearly all lamented how poorly attended all Stanford football games are these days.

For some reason you have trouble accepting that in fact many formerly storied programs are seeing significant declines in attendance. Syracuse used to be a powerhouse and sell out games…but no longer.

The empty seats for the Miami game is a head scratcher.

This is no different than pro sports teams seeing big attendance declines when they stink. Students similarly have little interest in just watching their school team lose and then it’s hard to get them back.

UCLA has the unfortunate situation where the stadium is such a pain to get to that most students don’t bother.


None of this matters one bit to me. My kids don't attend any of the schools you mentioned; the school they do attend has enormous turnout for their home football games and everyone has a blast attending.


Northern Illinois University?


Nice try, but no. A well-known ACC school that (gasp!) also offers excellent academics.


The ACC has a number of schools with poor attendance. Duke, Ga Tech, Syracuse, Cal, who knows if UNC will last, Pitt hasn’t been great even playing at the Steelers stadium.

One can admit that overall the numbers are declining even if some teams still pull crowds. Even in what are supposed the rabid fan conferences.

Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 01:12     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem, I think, is that many DCUM posters/mothers are so far removed from college -- they're typically in their 50s and not much younger -- that they can't remember what it's like to be young.

Sure, I wanted my kids to go to a reputable school and study. But I always wanted them to be happy, social, and to have a blast. When I read posts like "I love the quiet winter days of my remote SLAC" I'm like "what?? are you my grandmother??"

We're talking about kids, man! They have their whole lives ahead of them to be so damned serious. You people have lost your minds.


I think people disagreeing with OP (who is obviously a teenage troll having a blast getting a rise out of people with their rude one-liners) are speaking about the experiences they enjoyed in college - valid; their own kids and what they know their kids to like and dislike - valid; and the obvious reality that fun is subjective and there are plenty of experiences to go around - valid. Valid observations from sound minds.

What no one has raised yet is that big football schools have a the higher prevalence of sexual assault: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6406521/
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 00:48     Subject: Re:Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why is it somehow so crazy to imagine that all people might benefit from having some fun, at regular intervals, throughout their lives? This idea that scoring high on the SAT means you need to be chained to a wheel of misery from the age of 17, or 34, or whatever, just … why? Why not enjoy your life at each stage?


Why is it so crazy to imagine that “fun” is different for different people? For some people, the big college experience is fun. For others, the SLAC experience is fun. To each, their own.


Let’s be honest: the majority of students who find themselves at small liberal art colleges selected them because at 17 they lacked the confidence to see themselves thriving at big schools. And in retrospect many regret it.


Let's be honest: you don't actually have any friends.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 00:30     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Not going to read the 20 pages before this, so apologies if this has been brought up before. But big schools are not for everyone. I know kids who have loved going to big football schools and others who have gotten lost. There are pros and cons to every choice. And you never really know what could have been if you had taken the other path.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:48     Subject: Re:Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:I went to a large, midwest public university and never went to a football game. No one I hung out with ever went either. I was at a party at a fraternity house once but I never knew anybody (that I was aware of) that were in fraternities or sororities.

I also had a great college experience in a fun college town. It's a very big world and people enjoy doing different things.


I went to such a school for grad school. I went to two games. It was meh. I still visit that university to do cultural things. Occasionally I go to the theater on game day Saturdays. I find it delightful that 100K people can be screaming their heads off a mile or so away, while I can have a thought-provoking cultural experience that's much quieter and my style. That's why I love my grad alma mater. You can have the personal experience that suits you because there's so much available to choose from.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:41     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
seriously!
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:29     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem, I think, is that many DCUM posters/mothers are so far removed from college -- they're typically in their 50s and not much younger -- that they can't remember what it's like to be young.

Sure, I wanted my kids to go to a reputable school and study. But I always wanted them to be happy, social, and to have a blast. When I read posts like "I love the quiet winter days of my remote SLAC" I'm like "what?? are you my grandmother??"

We're talking about kids, man! They have their whole lives ahead of them to be so damned serious. You people have lost your minds.


And all kids want exactly the same things all the time and conveniently, those are the things you think they all want.


Stop thinking as a grandma. Seriously, how old are you?


You mean your thinking isn’t as flexible as a grandma? Your brain is so calcified that you can only hold one idea of fun at a time?


+1. It's very strange thinking. People, including young people, find all kinds of things fun. It's weird to get bent out of shape about it. Lots of us had the chance to pick big state schools with lots of Greek life and big deal sports and didn't, at the age of 18, because we wanted something else. I'm not forgetting what it's like to be young, I remember deciding that wasn't for me when I was young. I've got no issue with people who did want that, but I didn't.


You decided it wasn't for you because it frightened you. But deep down you wanted it.


“Deep down you wanted it.”

- something only creeps say


Seriously.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:25     Subject: Re:Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
I went to a large, midwest public university and never went to a football game. No one I hung out with ever went either. I was at a party at a fraternity house once but I never knew anybody (that I was aware of) that were in fraternities or sororities.

I also had a great college experience in a fun college town. It's a very big world and people enjoy doing different things.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:08     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Stanford kids have better things to do

https://www.reddit.com/r/StanfordCardinal/comments/1fx9wfm/stanford_footballs_attendance_against_virginia/


You know we can all read the comments, right? It was 100 degrees that day and no shade. I wouldn't have gone either.


It seems you didn’t read the comments which nearly all lamented how poorly attended all Stanford football games are these days.

For some reason you have trouble accepting that in fact many formerly storied programs are seeing significant declines in attendance. Syracuse used to be a powerhouse and sell out games…but no longer.

The empty seats for the Miami game is a head scratcher.

This is no different than pro sports teams seeing big attendance declines when they stink. Students similarly have little interest in just watching their school team lose and then it’s hard to get them back.

UCLA has the unfortunate situation where the stadium is such a pain to get to that most students don’t bother.


None of this matters one bit to me. My kids don't attend any of the schools you mentioned; the school they do attend has enormous turnout for their home football games and everyone has a blast attending.


Northern Illinois University?


Nice try, but no. A well-known ACC school that (gasp!) also offers excellent academics.


Big 10/SEC or it doesn’t count
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2025 23:08     Subject: Big Greek and Football Schools: The Only Real College Experience
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Stanford kids have better things to do

https://www.reddit.com/r/StanfordCardinal/comments/1fx9wfm/stanford_footballs_attendance_against_virginia/


You know we can all read the comments, right? It was 100 degrees that day and no shade. I wouldn't have gone either.


It seems you didn’t read the comments which nearly all lamented how poorly attended all Stanford football games are these days.

For some reason you have trouble accepting that in fact many formerly storied programs are seeing significant declines in attendance. Syracuse used to be a powerhouse and sell out games…but no longer.

The empty seats for the Miami game is a head scratcher.

This is no different than pro sports teams seeing big attendance declines when they stink. Students similarly have little interest in just watching their school team lose and then it’s hard to get them back.

UCLA has the unfortunate situation where the stadium is such a pain to get to that most students don’t bother.


None of this matters one bit to me. My kids don't attend any of the schools you mentioned; the school they do attend has enormous turnout for their home football games and everyone has a blast attending.


Northern Illinois University?


Nice try, but no. A well-known ACC school that (gasp!) also offers excellent academics.