Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William & Mary

Uh, no.

Geeze why so much hate all the time for W&M on this board? Crazytown

Because their kids didn’t get in.

Barring an obvious mismatch, it’s really on the kid to make the most of whatever academic and social resources any college offers, and figure out ways to find their “happiness” niche. There’s only so much the college (or parents) can do. I warned my kid that no college is perfect and that there will be struggles and adjustments. If there were problems or issues at home, they’re not going to magically disappear at Dream U.

Looking at schools on the previous poster's list and on the Princeton Review's list, it's clear that happy schools are not "one size fits all."

Wake is a much harder fit for a kid who isn't preppy, smart and white. Ditto Auburn. Rice is great if you're small and maybe a bit quirky. I went to Wheaton (another school on the list) and had an amazing experience. But clearly as a Christian school, it's not for everyone.

The moral of this story is to find a school that fits your kid. Stuffing your kid into the top-ranked school they can get into is not a good approach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William & Mary

Uh, no.

Geeze why so much hate all the time for W&M on this board? Crazytown

Don’t know, but if it makes it easier for my kids to get in, great. It’s an exceptional college experience - we have so many great alumni friends that we met there and also met later and WM is universally adored. Haters can hate all they want.

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest. Superb academics. Beautiful campus. Happy students. Parents dream.

I was a scholarship kid there and left. If you aren’t rich, white, and preppy and don’t have tons of money to blow on the weekends, it’s not for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William & Mary

Uh, no.

Actually a ton of kids love W&M.

Anonymous wrote:I am college prof and I think that this is a worthwhile question but requires some nuance. I do believe that there are schools with a generally happy vibe and others with an overwhelmingly negative vibe. I, personally, was quite happy at my super intense Ivy (great small department, academic challenge was motivating) but I recognized that there was culture of being dissatisfied and complain-y that probably went hand-in-hand with the competitiveness and striving to be the best. I have taught at a NESCAC where the students are bright but work much less than the Ivy, have much better work life balance, and exude positivity about their college experience. On the downside, the college is fairly homogenous (geographically, racially, socio-economically) and the students who don't fit in are often truly miserable.

So, while I agree that some colleges have a happier vibe and a culture of positivity, I do think the fit is what makes or breaks it.

And, for what it's worth, my own kid decided to go to one of the state schools mentioned above and often for being happy and is really wishing the social scene were different.

Mine are generally happy and very productive at their different ivies : the description fits the bolded. They have friends at non-ivy elites who describe it almost the same. It’s not for everyone but in general they are happy. Most of their very unhappy friends from high school are at large state schools

Georgetown had a reverse merch situation. I've never seen a campus full of more kids wearing other colleges sweatshirts.

Anonymous wrote:When we visited Penn State, nearly every kid we saw was wearing Penn State gear and were plastered with smiles. They also claim to have happy cows that make the best ice cream.

If only it weren't in the middle of nowhere

Funny I had exact same experience yesterday at UConn - if wearing merch is a metric of school spirit it’s pretty high there, great ice cream from local cows (apparently) but found the feeling of being in a big student city dropped in middle of nowhere a little peculiar

When we visited Penn State, nearly every kid we saw was wearing Penn State gear and were plastered with smiles. They also claim to have happy cows that make the best ice cream.

If only it weren't in the middle of nowhere

Gettysburg- it’s literally impossible to go there and not be happy. Every grad I have ever met is successful and happy in life - it’s crazy

I am college prof and I think that this is a worthwhile question but requires some nuance. I do believe that there are schools with a generally happy vibe and others with an overwhelmingly negative vibe. I, personally, was quite happy at my super intense Ivy (great small department, academic challenge was motivating) but I recognized that there was culture of being dissatisfied and complain-y that probably went hand-in-hand with the competitiveness and striving to be the best. I have taught at a NESCAC where the students are bright but work much less than the Ivy, have much better work life balance, and exude positivity about their college experience. On the downside, the college is fairly homogenous (geographically, racially, socio-economically) and the students who don't fit in are often truly miserable.

So, while I agree that some colleges have a happier vibe and a culture of positivity, I do think the fit is what makes or breaks it.

And, for what it's worth, my own kid decided to go to one of the state schools mentioned above and often for being happy and is really wishing the social scene were different.

Michigan State

I live in Houston. The kids at Rice tend to veer toward a bit quirky, but they are exceedingly happy. I credit the house system and its fostering of camaraderie.

The Princeton Review has a list of schools with the happiest students, based on its own surveys. Auburn is #1: https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=happiest-students

The top 25 includes some regional or religious schools not mentioned here often. But it also features DCUM recurring characters like Emory, Williams, Skidmore, Rice, Bowdoin, Tulane, Vanderbilt, and U of Richmond.