<p>I am having difficulty choosing where to go to college. Currenty, I'm applying to Brown, Stanford, Columbia, Rice, UChicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Berkeley, UCLA, and UT (a lot, I know). Selectivity, clout, and pre-professional preparation have no direct bearing on my decision. In choosing a place to go to college, I want to be happy because, in high school, I was rather depressed most of the time. It was a terrible time and I do not want that to happen ever again. </p>
<p>Part of me knows that I enjoy passionate intellectual discussion very much. This part of me knows that I would be hard pressed to turn over an opportunity to discuss postmodern philosophy over going to a party. UChicago seems to have the greatest potential for this at the expense of quality of life - students seem to be described as having high levels of intellectualism and curiosity but they also complain about the high levels of stress and lack of sleep. </p>
<p>Another part of me feels that this means I should go to a school that is less stressful and I need to learn to enjoy life more. I know from past experience that tough classes and intellectual discussions are not enough to make me happy because it didn't make me happy in high school (I took 9 AP classes total and I did national circuit debate, yet, perhaps unsurprising to most, was not happy despite intellectual stimulation). I want to be able to have the fun in college that I feel I "missed out" on in high school. And I suppose, to clarify, I mean fun in the sense of what "normal people" believe to be fun, and not the "learning is fun" variety. </p>
<p>Do you guys have any idea of other places I should apply? Of the places I mentioned I was already considering, which do you think would make me happiest? Any general advice on making this decision? </p>
<p>I know that this is "my decision" and it may be difficult to answer without knowing me better, but any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, and UT Austin – are you in-state for any of those? I would seriously reconsider them (except maybe Michigan) if you are OOS. You are highly unlikely to get much financial aid as an OOS student, and although they have as many intellectuals in raw numbers, they are much harder to find in a larger student body. I would say the same about places like Penn, Duke, and Hopkins, which have plenty of intellectuals but also many pre-professional students (although in many ways I feel it’s a false dichotomy and thus dislike those labels).</p>
<p>Have you considered any LACs? Swarthmore particularly comes to mind, but also places like Oberlin, Kenyon, and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>You need some safeties and matches. As far as I can see, your list is completely composed of reaches.</p>
<p>noimagination: thanks for the tip! but UT’s 10% rule means I don’t need to worry about safeties, since I’m guaranteed acceptance by virtue of being in the top 10% of my class. </p>
<p>IBClass06: I had never considered LACs before. But I think your suggestion of Swarthmore was excellent. It’s probably a top choice now!</p>
<p>I’ve found that students who came in stressed/sleepless about high school remained stressed/sleepless about college work. I was an intellectual yet laid-back student in high school and have remained the same at Chicago, only less stressed out because I didn’t feel in constant competition with my peers anymore. So I think stress has a lot more to do with personality type than school culture.</p>
<p>What amazes me about Chicago is how seriously students take their academics on their own accord. I feel like many of us (myself included) have an internal idea of how to maximize ourselves on the grade vs. effort curve, and we know the point at which more work won’t make a difference (or won’t make us happier). Time and again I’ve seen Chicago kids ignore such decisions-- they’ll spend hours on a little presentation if they find the topic fun.</p>
<p>Wherever you go is going to require lots of study time if you want intellectual people. It’s only logical. College is supposed to be fun. Probably stray away from schools that might have that kind of studying reputation… like Reed, Berkeley, Hopkins… from what I’ve heard, at least. I can only speak for Rice. My brother absolutely loves it there. Sure you need to study, but he speaks very highly of the fun in his residential life there.</p>
<p>I’d second the suggestion of Carleton. Intellectual, hard working, but ridiculously happy student body that never lets academics get in the way of old fashioned fun. Despite rigor, voted “Most Fun-Loving” by Newsweek in 2004 review:</p>
<p>[THE</a> CLASS OF 2004: 12 HOT SCHOOLS | Newsweek Kaplan College Guide | Newsweek.com](<a href=“http://www.newsweek.com/id/152806/page/3]THE”>http://www.newsweek.com/id/152806/page/3)
MOST FUN-LOVING
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Here’s a high-flyin’ statistic provided by a school: Carleton has about “1.9 Frisbees per student,” says Paul Thiboutot, dean of admissions. Carleton is also the kind of place where the president tells a ghost story on Halloween. Located 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, in a town of 17,000, Carleton offers students 17 “interest houses,” including a yoga house. More than two thirds of its 1,900 students study abroad.</p>
<p>For the publics, Michigan is the most friendly for OOS students. The UG population is 35% OOS/internationals.</p>
<p>For the privates, Brown, Michigan, Northwestern and maybe Rice fit your personality.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with Stanford and Columbia, but students who attend those schools tend to have postgraduate plans for the elite professions (business, law, and medicine). If you want to pursue that route, apply to those schools too.</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t pay for UCLA UCB out of state. UCLA is not a school with a predominant intellectual student body. I imagine you must have already applied since the application was due back in November. I would personally look into small liberal arts college. New College of Florida I would imagine has relaxed yet passionate intellectuals.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that selectivity and prestige have no bearing on your decision, looking at the list of colleges that you’re applying to and noting how different they are from one another.</p>
<p>Anyway, you can find passionate intellectual discussions at any college. That’s based less upon the college that you attend and more upon what group of friends and what activities you participate in when you go there. Of course, you may be more likely to get them at certain places - like Chicago as opposed to your local regional university.</p>
<p>Reed and Oberlin were the first schools I thought of, and I also second the suggestions of Kenyon and Carleton Colleges. It sounds like you’d really like an LAC environment; I encourage you to comb U.S News & World Report’s list and look especially maybe at the schools in the 25-50 range for some matches. Maybe Macalester, Occidental, Lafayette, University of the South-Sewanee, Conneticut, Union, Franklin & Marshall, Dickinson, Skidmore, Pitzer, St. Olaf, Denison.</p>
<p>I also second Kenyon, and I second the advice that you might want to drop at least Berkeley and UCLA from your list if you are not a CA resident, as the OOS costs for those schools currently near $50,000 a year and you are very unlikely to get much aid.</p>
<p>OP, if you really had such a terrible time in high school, I don’t see how a certain college will automatically make you happy. The biggest factor in whether or not you’re happy is yourself (did that make sense?). You have to go and do the things that you enjoy, interact with people you like, have a good time while getting an education that stimulates your mind.</p>
<p>I strongly agree with the posters who suggest LACs and school with like-like characteristics for you. Brown and Rice would be ‘LAC-like.’ Consider Wesleyan as well. Swarthmore and Haverford sound like potential fits, although a bit more academically intense. If you want to dial down the overt intensity, take a look at the midwestern LACs-Carleton, Grinnell and Macalester. All these schools value students who are smart, independent thinkers who thrive on close social and intellectual relationships with faculty and peers, and want a broader education. They are willing to give up some the breadth and depth of course offerings in order to get it. Most of them assume they will go to graduate school-lots of future Phds at LACs-and will therefore get the additional coursework later.</p>