<p>Slipper, I'd say that in terms of pure social life, Michigan, UCLA, UNC, UVa and Wisconsin are all equals and among the very best (if not the best) in the nation. Their alumni networks are unbeatable, their school spirit scary and their community feel unmatched.</p>
<p>actually i'd say on pure social life - i've never been to a crazier place than UGA. </p>
<p>all i have to say is dizzam.</p>
<p>ummmm college park.......... were talking about a school that was ranked 30th on US newsweek in 1998. its ranked number 18 and is steadily moving up. admissions is becoming very competitive.</p>
<p>Students can find niches at any school. Even some really large universities have schools within them that are relatively small. Plenty of students--even those enrolled in a large school and in a popular major--find ways to be more than a number or a big face in the crowd (if they want to be).</p>
<p>Comments about being "spoon fed" or "babied" don't seem to reflect a realistic view about college campuses. It's not being "spoon fed" when your classes are so small that every student has to be on the ball for discussion, when tests are NEVER multiple choice, when the professor notices your absence even without taking roll, etc. Generalizations like the one made--they don't make sense.</p>
<p>I also don't buy the "you have to have a school of over 5000 if you want real diversity." There are plenty of small schools with diverse student bodies. One of the interesting thing about small schools: maybe they have only one student from Turkmenistan, but chances are you will have an excellent opportunity to KNOW that student from Turkmenistan. At a larger school where they have a dozen students from Turkmenistan, I'm not sure the same is necessarily true. More opportunities are there, of course--but so too the size might create some barriers to taking full advantage of them.</p>
<p>I don't understand the compulsion to disparage the choices of other students. Not everyone makes college decisions for completely sound reasons, but that doesn't mean there are no good reasons out there for picking someplace different than the one(s)s you are applying to. Different places have different appeal.</p>
<p>That's way too reasonable, hoedown- get out of here!</p>
<p>:)</p>