^^I agree with the sentiment about Cal State. I got my Masters there and feel much more attached to the people and program (I’m still in touch with the department chair and work with them on networking for their students) than my UG school.
Meh, I have no particular feelings about the Cal State that I transferred to and graduated from, SDSU. I have better memories from my previous college where I only spent two years and which doesn’t even exist anymore!
Yes and as I’ve gone through the college search as a parent, I have grown even more fond of it. So many schools seem to be caught up in the chasing of rankings that they have forgotten to emphasize what they offer educationally. My alma mater has suffered in the rankings but it has stuck with its mission. That mission resonates with me. Also, it never hurts to live close by and be able to enjoy the success of the athletics teams and proudly wear the sweatshirt.
I didn’t like my years at a large flagship, and graduated a year early. I really wanted to go to a small LAC. I did get involved in the school musical and was the UG rep for my major, but often felt like an outlier, studying when others watched TV. I have a friend now from this same U, who is a retired MD and writer. She lived in a women’s dorm. I wish I had met her back then.
In the hospital where I did my training and stayed on for a dozen years, holds my fondest memories. I’m still close with other people from those years. We took our work seriously and socialized lots outside of work.
I hope my son feels good about his choices.
I have mixed emotions about my alma mater. It was the midsize regional state university in my hometown and my parents insisted I go there, or go nowhere. My dad, in particular, had major issues with letting go and also wanted to save a buck. But I went there, made it work for me and had a positive experience. I like my alma mater but wish I’d had at least some say in where I went. I have to confess, though, that I was kind of disappointed when my sons, who had a choice, chose it instead of branching out a little.
When S1 was looking at colleges, it was his first choice, mainly because he was such a fan of the sports teams. I insisted he look at two other schools just to see what else was available, but he ended up there. But since we live 50 miles away, it was just far enough that he was “away at school,” so he avoided the commuter experience I had. He had several scholarships, graduated on time with honors and a double major, and got a job in his field right away, so I really can’t complain. S2 insisted on going there too, even though he could have played his sport at a small LAC and gotten money for it. I wanted to compel him to go to the LAC but refused to since I didn’t get to choose my college. He had a lovely 32-week vacation there last year and is now working at our local Baskin-Robbins. Sometimes you just have to let them figure things out for themselves.
“He had a lovely 32-week vacation there last year and is now working at our local Baskin-Robbins.” This made me LOL. @Bestfriendsgirl
I suspect a lot of people wear school gear because they want to be associated with a school’s athletics rather than a school’s academics. Unlike Harvard and Yale, Stanford has a big-time athletic program. That’s likely one of the reasons you see lots of Stanford shirts, but not so many Harvard, Yale, Caltech or Carnegie-Mellon shirts. Plus, in California it’s easier to find Stanford, Cal, USC and UCLA shirts than it is to find Harvard and Yale shirts.
I was kinda’ thinking the same thing. It could just be hometown bias since I live about 30 minutes from Stanford and have spent a lot of time on campus, but my impression of Stanford is a place where students go to invent the future, while Harvard is a place where students go to become politicians, lawyers, and investment bankers.
BTW - I went to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for undergrad and consider my years there to be the most fun and adventurous time of my life. Absolutely love the place, although I feel like I’m losing touch with it as I get older. I also went to grad school at USC, and while I’m proud to say I’m an alum and normally go to Trojan football games when they’re up here in the SF Bay Area, I attended a part-time night program there while working full-time, so don’t identify with it as much as a full-time student might…
I feel no real emotional attachment for SUNY Stonybrook. I had some good experiences but in general my experience there was not good.
@gluttonforstress I’m both a UC and SDSU mom, and definitely the Aztec kid is all about his school, much more than my UC kiddos. And, I adore my alma mater (San Diego State). I’ve got the shirts, sweatshirts, and am a huge fan of not only their teams, but also anything and everything the school does.
Interesting how different people can feel about the same school. Humanity is diverse, indeed.
@sbjdorlo Yes, it is!! But to be fair, I was there for five years, and lived in the dorms, so my experience was much different.
I love that my alma mater, UCSB, has continued to grow as an institution.
Some may consider UCSB a “party school”. I see nothing wrong with enjoying life while gaining knowledge.
Go Gauchos!
I wish. Senior year was one personal crisis after another. Do not think I’m exaggerating. All my happy memories are spoiled. I think I’d break out in a sweat if I went back there today, 30+ years later.
I love Reed, including its strong academic core, no intercollegiate athletics, students motivated by ideas and not grades, strong work ethic, skeptical but not cynical attitudes toward the conventional wisdom but respect for core academic disciplines, politically and socially liberal (some would say quirky) atmosphere. Professors who are demanding of themselves as well as students.
It’s a larger college now by about 40% from it was when I attended. The campus itself has spread out a bit. But when I attended reunion last June, I found the Old Reed to be thriving and I was amazed by the sense of camaraderie among and across the classes. Whether we majored in chemistry or literature or political science or biology, we had a common culture built on the strong humanities core of the Reed curriculum.
No, do not love my alma mater. @WasatchWriter I also had a major upheaval during college that colored the entire experience.
Loved my undergraduate experience and am a very active alumni. Proud my kid is there now. Not so much for my grad school but I think the grad school experience is much different.
I’m a pretty big fan of my law school, too. I just finished a term as president of my local alumni club. I’m going to DC in April to visit some campuses, and since eleventy billion of my classmates live there, I’m all excited planning meetups.
But I’m kind of a joiner that way. I didn’t like my first alma mater at all, yet I’m on the board of that alumni club, too.
Hanna, you need some Stockholm Syndrome therapy.
What does Moes have to do with college? I know it from FL and WI as a great fast food place- Moes Southwestern Grill. That’s the only reference when I googled it as well.
Perhaps Big Ten schools value their places as much for the academics as the sports and just know the Big Ten (when it was ten schools) is great. The SEC is known only for sports- and too much emphasis on them. When I was a college freshman the juniors told me how the school won its first football game in three years when they were freshmen. The stadium was packed even with a losing season the year I went to games- now harder to get tickets. Wisconsin has active alumni clubs all over the country-and beyond. Plus there are many of us who don’t bother with that- we remember the academics more than care about superficial things such as sports.
Stanford people will always need to show their pride because they are close to UC-Berkeley who also show their pride and are equal rivals academically along with sports. Yale and other old east coast schools are just that.
Yes- undergrad years were the defining ones.
“The SEC is known only for sports- and too much emphasis on them”
That’s probably sour grapes speaking 