<p>I thought being miserable was part of the experience. I know complaining was. Lord, how I complained in college. And I absolutely loved the place.</p>
<p>I just picture a line of students happily skipping across the campus quad singing, "Hi ho! Hi ho! It's off to class we go!"</p>
<p>I worked at one of those schools. The kids were a little spoiled by how fantastic it was...and they knew it, so they appreciated what they were given. It was a fun place to work.</p>
<p>astromom--I love that image! :)</p>
<p>We must have the little darlings happy, now mustn't we?</p>
<p>I'm reminded of a George Will column written some years ago about a poll ranking 300 universities for "fun." As predictable, back when that pool was taken, UChicago ranked 300/300. Will wrote that one Chicago student commented when asked about U of C's position in the rankings replied, "And who is claiming fun is linear?" The same probably applies to happiness as well.</p>
<p>I think that the variety of schools on the list is kind of neat; one type of school doesn't have a lock on it by any means.</p>
<p>"We must have the little darlings happy, now mustn't we?"</p>
<p>Of course--because they are "special" (see narcissism thread). But they apparently won't be happy anywhere in the midwest!!! lol</p>
<p>ohio_mom raises an interesting point. Would happy students at school A be as happy at happy school B, and vice versa? Different happinesses?</p>
<p>I didn't see "happy" as meaning "happy people" as much as meaning "happy with their school". No school has a lock on happiness. However, there are schools where the majority of students seem very happy with their college experience. It so happens that my daughter attends Brown, which I notice was tops on that list. Frankly, not only is she very happy about attending Brown and loves it, every kid I have met there so far has seemed really pleased with being there. I haven't run into someone dissatisfied with their college choice there. So, in that respect, I think there is an element of validity. It doesn't mean these kids are all happy about everything in their lives but merely happily attending Brown or whichever schools are mentioned on the list.</p>
<p>The Princeton Review lists, such as the one referenced above are useless. They are compiled from non-scientific internet polls just like a daily opinion poll on the CNN website or an ESPN poll asking which team will win the SuperBowl.</p>
<p>That's why you sometimes get such wacky, inconsistent results. At a school with a very small enrollment (Marlboro Colleges shows up from time to time on these lists), a dozen people posting the same thing on the website ("happiest" or whatever) could put the school on the list because 100% of the respondents agree.</p>
<p>The lists are only useful for broad brush characterizations. For example, if a school ends up as a top-10 party school, you can safely assume there are a lot of drunks, but you can't assume that the percentage of drunks would be literally in the top-10.</p>
<p>I agree, id. This reminds me of a comment from a student at Pomona, which once-upon-a-time was ranked as the school with the "happiest students." The following year, it wasn't even on the list, much less #1 or#2, which led a student to ask, what happened? Are we all of a sudden not happy anymore?</p>
<p>wouldnt a low transfer rate correlate with student happiness?</p>
<p>I also meant happy with their school in the sense that what went on at the school made them pleased with it. But would the same person Happy with Brown be equally happy with Clemson and vice versa, thereby indicating different happinesses.</p>
<p>Also there is the case of relative happiness. I recently read where UChicago has one of the highest transfer back after transferring away rates of any college (over 20%). One may not know just how happy one is with one's college... Though it could be what one young person once said to me, "Where would I be without my miseries, they're like old friends to me now?"</p>
<p>The few cynical responses on this thread are delightful :)</p>
<p>I think the Princeton Review should have two categories for "Happiest Students" colleges: Medicated and Unmedicated. </p>
<p>*Then *we'll see who's happy ;)</p>
<p>if we had 8 fingers these lists would list the top 8</p>
<p>Best 6 places to find twigs (as seen in The three Toed Sloth Journal)</p>
<p>This listing is so unscientific as to be worst than useless. I live near both Princeton and College of New Jersey and am often on the Princeton campus.</p>
<p>Since getting into a Princeton, Stanford, Yale and Brown is so statisically difficult, it is easy to imagine that these students are happy to have 'made it' and therefore their glee is extended - even if they are miserable!</p>
<p>As for College of New Jersey, while it is a good school and relatively hard to get into for New Jersey students, it is a suitcase college in large measure and the weekends find the college rather empty.</p>
<p>Now whether the students are happy to be at home or not on campus is open to anyone guess, but a 'most happy campus' - well
I kinda doubt it.</p>
<p>hoedown - I have a feeling my "D" will be saying the exact same thing you did. She does love her college, but boy, can she ever complain. ...I just want 6 hours of sleep every night......I have no free time at all this weekend.......I don't have time to stop and eat I have classes from 11 to 7......this class is the only time I smile all week.............blah, blah, blah....poor thing! So I ask her, "are you happy?" She responds with "yea, i just need to an outlet to vent." Lucky me. :)</p>
<p>Who's #1</p>
<p>Suprise!</p>
<p>
[quote]
1. DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana)
Few schools are as completely given over to frats and sororities as DePauw: "Life is dominated by the Greek system. Socially, everything rotates around the Greeks: informals, formals, parties, rush/recruitment, chapter meetings, philanthropies, everything." Students know from the beginning that "the enormous Greek community shapes the personality of the campus," and most students choose the school because this is the college experience they seek.
[/quote]
</p>