<p>Hawkette, what pattern were you looking for in post #17?</p>
<p>OP should def look at William & Mary. Only b/c of size and funding is it so underrrated. For undergrad experience it would def be top 25 if not 20 with ease.</p>
<p>ch,
I didn't see a relationship between the % of undergraduates at a school and the school's rep (either in the sparknotes data, other data or much of the anecdotal evidence that commonly hear or read) as being undergrad-friendly.</p>
<p>hallowarts,
I completely agree with your view that the undergraduate experience has a larger social component and adds to the connection that many students/graduates feel to their undergraduate college. Unfortunately, I don't think prospective college students sufficiently consider this aspect in their consideration of their collegiate options.</p>
<p>swish,
I'm fully with you on W&M, probably the most underrated and overlooked top college in the country, public or private.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think people have a stronger connection with their undergraduate institution. I get the feeling that the undergraduate experience is more about the whole deal (social +academic) while the grad experience is more about academics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm just mentioning this because schools such as Berkeley have a reputation for not caring about their undergrads' happiness and only catering to the graduate students.</p>
<p>Hawkette, do you think there is a relationship between undergrad focus and reputation (ranking?)? Isn't it possible for a school with low selectivity (and therefore mediocre rep), for example, to have a strong undergrad focus? Are they independent, undergrad focus and rep?</p>
<p>45 Percenter,
I have quite a few friends attending or have attended Penn for undergrad. They are divided into Wharton, CAS, and SEAS. (I don't know anyone from Penn's nursing school). The Wharton students are very satisfied with their education at Penn. However, most of the ones in CAS and SEAS have expressed discontent at what they call "excessive attention Penn gives to the Wharton School." Some of them went as far as to express that they felt like second class students at Penn on occasions. So, it sounds like undergraduate experience at Penn's CAS and SEAS has a lot of room for improvement. Since I have never attended Penn, I don't have any personal experience with regards to this.</p>
<p>IPBear,
How many discontented CAS and SEAS students are you describing, and what exactly did they mean by the "excessive attention Penn gives to the Wharton School"? My own experience, as well as that of the many Penn students and alumni I have known over the years, is that CAS and SEAS have received--and CONTINUE to receive--a significant portion of the attention and resources. Given that there are 6400 CAS undergrads and 1600 SEAS undergrads, it would be interesting to know how large of a sample you've found to be discontented.</p>
<p>45 Percenter,
About 50 combined for Wharton, CAS, and SEAS. The sample is not big. However, I found the difference between Wharton students' and CAS & SEAS students' attitudes toward Penn exist and surprising. Don't take this too seriously. I'm just describing my personal experience with the Penn students. I'm sure there are a lot of happy students and some not-so-happy students at any school.</p>
<p>^As a student at Penn I've met people all over the spectrum. I, personally, feel that many of my friends are happy at Penn and most SEAS and SAS students I know don't really concern themselves with Wharton. Maybe things will change by my senior year when some people will be jealous that Wharton students get better jobs out of college (in the business world anyway).</p>
<p>
Except at Princeton, of course, where everybody's happy. ;)</p>
<p>"Except at Princeton, of course, where everybody's happy."</p>
<p>45 Percenter,</p>
<p>This isn't true. Princeton students are usually happy, but you will find dissatisfied ones. Also, Some Princeton students get disgruntled when people (usually visitors and prospective applicants) aggrandize Harvard.</p>
<p>Someone's sarcasm-detector needs a tuneup.</p>
<p>45 Percenter,
Sorry. Attending Princeton has dulled my senses and perception, and USNWR thinks we are #1?</p>
<p>cool results.</p>