Anonymous
12/30/2020 14:24
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Promote: Stony Brook - nice, research oriented university
Promote: CWRU
Promote: W&M
Promote: UCSD
Demote: VT
Demote: CMU - everyone looked miserable
Demote: UIUC
Demote: UC Berkeley
Demote: UW Madison
Just for perspective, mine applied to W&M, Grinnell, Stony Brook, CWRU, WUSTL, Rice, and RPI
Their attending CWRU
Why demote UIUC, I was encouraging my DS to take a look. No knowledge of just internet searches.
How shallow. You're basing this on first impressions, not firsthand experience. Didn't realize that's what the OP was asking. So we're supposed to respond with impressions based on tours or walking around a campus?
Anonymous
12/29/2020 18:03
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Promote: Johns Hopkins! It isn't cutthroat, just some very driven students. Baltimore has steadily improved in the past few years and is a really exciting place to be for young people
It's not only a STEM school, the humanities programs are great too
-Parent of JHU undergrad.
Honorable Mention: George Mason, very underrated in STEM.
I went to Hopkins 20 years ago and would promote it. Campus is gorgeous and housing is much better than When I was an undergrad (Hopkins only had freshman housing then). I was an international studies major and went to a T10 law school immediately after college.
I'm the responder above about Charles Village, class of '93. Have you been back to campus lately? I walked around a couple of years ago after not being back for almost 20 years and it's amazing! So many great new food options, housing, and CV is almost unrecognizable. (If anything, it felt a little fancy for my tastes and I was fondly remembering the 90s version of that neighborhood.) Anyway, agree with you on campus, housing etc. I really enjoyed my time in Baltimore, I know that parts of the city face some serious challenges but I also think it's got a lot going for it and is an underrated little spot.
The campus has really grown, and it’s beauty is under appreciated. Classic Georgian university.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 16:09
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Promote: Johns Hopkins! It isn't cutthroat, just some very driven students. Baltimore has steadily improved in the past few years and is a really exciting place to be for young people
It's not only a STEM school, the humanities programs are great too
-Parent of JHU undergrad.
Honorable Mention: George Mason, very underrated in STEM.
I went to Hopkins 20 years ago and would promote it. Campus is gorgeous and housing is much better than When I was an undergrad (Hopkins only had freshman housing then). I was an international studies major and went to a T10 law school immediately after college.
I'm the responder above about Charles Village, class of '93. Have you been back to campus lately? I walked around a couple of years ago after not being back for almost 20 years and it's amazing! So many great new food options, housing, and CV is almost unrecognizable. (If anything, it felt a little fancy for my tastes and I was fondly remembering the 90s version of that neighborhood.) Anyway, agree with you on campus, housing etc. I really enjoyed my time in Baltimore, I know that parts of the city face some serious challenges but I also think it's got a lot going for it and is an underrated little spot.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:51
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Promote: Johns Hopkins! It isn't cutthroat, just some very driven students. Baltimore has steadily improved in the past few years and is a really exciting place to be for young people
It's not only a STEM school, the humanities programs are great too
-Parent of JHU undergrad.
Honorable Mention: George Mason, very underrated in STEM.
I went to Hopkins 20 years ago and would promote it. Campus is gorgeous and housing is much better than When I was an undergrad (Hopkins only had freshman housing then). I was an international studies major and went to a T10 law school immediately after college.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:48
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
People can not be inaccurate in describing THEIR impressions.
They are not claiming to post objective facts.
Those with thin skin should stand down. The OP is getting what she requested.
They are not claiming to post objective facts.
Those with thin skin should stand down. The OP is getting what she requested.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:38
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Promote Columbia - I know a few kids there and they all say it is intense but they love it.
Promote Northwestern - fun school, seems to have a lot to offer
Promote Rice - kids seem really happy there
Demote Georgetown - seems past its prime
Demote JHU - stressful but not in a fun way, depressing location
are you kidding? Charles Village is terrific. Baltimore has some tough areas to be sure, but the Hopkins campus is lovely and the CV area is quite a lively part of town.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:35
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Based mostly on college visits (note kid was interested in SLAC's for science):
Promote:
SMCM-great setting (right on the water)
Wooster-really nice sense of community, (far into rural ohio though)
Mt. Holyoke-great spirit of empowering women, supportive environment, strong in science. Nicest library we saw.
Bowdoin-LOVED the school, campus, town, vibe, faculty/admin commitment to students, extensive network of resources. Hard admit though
Juniata-surprisingly appealing. Rural/outdoorsy setting. Good for science majors. Very warm sense of community, including involved faculty members. Turned out to represent a small, manageable gem.
Hamilton-isolated campus but seemed like a solid program with supportive study body and fun sense of community. Very unstructured degree requirements (which appealed).
Dickinson-liked campus, and walkable proximity to town. Good career/study abroad and disability services.
Demote:
Conn Coll-VERY preppy crowd, sketchy town, online reviews complained about drinking culture
Allegheny-school seemed good but town was beyond failing
Ursinus-left us with a nondescript impression, strip mall environs
Vassar-pretty campus/library. Student body was more artsy/counterculture than my kid desired. Poughkeepsie is no prize (but offers train access to NYC)
Hobart & William Smith-Pretty setting. Somewhat of a rich kid vibe, with undertones of drug culture and patriarchy (based upon the school's history)
These are one family's SUBJECTIVE impressions, which is what the OP seemed to be seeking. Good luck with your decisions everyone.
Promote:
SMCM-great setting (right on the water)
Wooster-really nice sense of community, (far into rural ohio though)
Mt. Holyoke-great spirit of empowering women, supportive environment, strong in science. Nicest library we saw.
Bowdoin-LOVED the school, campus, town, vibe, faculty/admin commitment to students, extensive network of resources. Hard admit though
Juniata-surprisingly appealing. Rural/outdoorsy setting. Good for science majors. Very warm sense of community, including involved faculty members. Turned out to represent a small, manageable gem.
Hamilton-isolated campus but seemed like a solid program with supportive study body and fun sense of community. Very unstructured degree requirements (which appealed).
Dickinson-liked campus, and walkable proximity to town. Good career/study abroad and disability services.
Demote:
Conn Coll-VERY preppy crowd, sketchy town, online reviews complained about drinking culture
Allegheny-school seemed good but town was beyond failing
Ursinus-left us with a nondescript impression, strip mall environs
Vassar-pretty campus/library. Student body was more artsy/counterculture than my kid desired. Poughkeepsie is no prize (but offers train access to NYC)
Hobart & William Smith-Pretty setting. Somewhat of a rich kid vibe, with undertones of drug culture and patriarchy (based upon the school's history)
These are one family's SUBJECTIVE impressions, which is what the OP seemed to be seeking. Good luck with your decisions everyone.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:33
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone chime in for the B students?
Some of the previously listed "promote" schools work for B students. Look it up (e.g., Wooster, Juniata, Pitt, SMCM. Mt. Holyoke....)
Promote: Oberlin, Bucknell, F&M, W&L, St. John’s (Annap)
Demote: Gettysburg, Kenyon, Dickinson
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:29
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Promote Columbia - I know a few kids there and they all say it is intense but they love it.
Promote Northwestern - fun school, seems to have a lot to offer
Promote Rice - kids seem really happy there
Demote Georgetown - seems past its prime
Demote JHU - stressful but not in a fun way, depressing location
Promote Northwestern - fun school, seems to have a lot to offer
Promote Rice - kids seem really happy there
Demote Georgetown - seems past its prime
Demote JHU - stressful but not in a fun way, depressing location
Anonymous
12/29/2020 15:21
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Demote: Duke.
Just an unhealthy environment. Heaven for filthy rich white kids and mediocre for everyone else.
The massive drug dealing scandal is not going to help .
Anonymous
12/29/2020 14:39
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Demote: Duke.
Just an unhealthy environment. Heaven for filthy rich white kids and mediocre for everyone else.
Just an unhealthy environment. Heaven for filthy rich white kids and mediocre for everyone else.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 14:34
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Promote Northwestern. Promote U of Chicago.
Both excellent, excellent schools that for some reason get overlooked by some DC parents simply because they're located in the Midwest. But both are historically prestigious schools that are also experiencing upward momentum, although on different trajectories. Two sides of a coin. Seriously, there must be something in the water in Chicago.
Both excellent, excellent schools that for some reason get overlooked by some DC parents simply because they're located in the Midwest. But both are historically prestigious schools that are also experiencing upward momentum, although on different trajectories. Two sides of a coin. Seriously, there must be something in the water in Chicago.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 14:24
Subject: Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
I see this comment a lot. Not usually about Penn but certainly about a lot of other schools. What does this mean exactly? It is clear that "pre-professional" is seen as a negative, but why is that? I mean medicine, law, finance etc are all 'professional' fields. Folks seem to be happy if their kids are going to be lawyers or doctors or financiers. What is the opposite of pre-professional? To me that would be something like a liberal arts focus but that is generally looked down by DCUMers. Can someone clear this up?
I went to JHU which I would definitely describe as pre-professional, and I would say it means education is a means to an end (grad/professional school) etc vs an end in itself. When I took my dd on college visits I guessed she would want an environment that was academic more than it was pre-professional. So for example a school like Georgetown really showed off its internship/job placement (pre-professional data vs another school of comparable prestige that focused on its curriculum and educational philosophy. That sort of thing.
Anonymous
12/29/2020 13:50
Subject: Re:Promote/Demote a college from firsthand experience.
Anonymous wrote:Can anyone chime in for the B students?
Some of the previously listed "promote" schools work for B students. Look it up (e.g., Wooster, Juniata, Pitt, SMCM. Mt. Holyoke....)