<p>1) Read the poster above you's criteria for a dream college and come up with some suggestions of varying degrees of selectivity (i.e. schools both inside and outside the Top 20 bracket).
2) List your own criteria for your own dream college.</p>
<p>There's only one rule, and that rule is that you can't think of an actual college you'd like to attend and retrofit your description to fit that college. For example, I couldn't think about the University of Chicago and then specify that my school had to be in the midwest, be in a major city, have a core curriculum, and bear an uncanny likeness to Oxbridge or Hogwarts.</p>
<p>Here we go!</p>
<p>My dream college....</p>
<p>-- is "intellectual," with a tad of an indie/hippy/nonconformist/wacky edge
-- has students from diverse social and political backgrounds
-- has a city on one side and a forest on the other
-- has a social scene in which it's easy to go to parties and meet new people, but a scene in which alcohol and drugs play a small or nonexistent role.
-- has a lot of campus events and programming, particularly in the arts
-- offers a close interaction with profs.
-- strong academic programs with a de-emphasis on pre-professionalism
-- limited or nonexistent name-brand/money culture
-- students who don't put a lot of effort into worrying about grades, but still find themselves putting lots of time into work.</p>
<p>I have a bunch of colleges in mind where I sound like I'd fit (which I'll share later, if you like), but I'm wondering where somebody else would place me based on the criteria I've given. And after you're done with me, it's your turn to share!</p>
<p>I think the only person to guess harder than me would be you, UCBChemEGrad. Your username doesn’t tell me anything about where you went to school (assuming you’ve graduated) or what you’ve majored in.</p>
<p>As for the schools I pulled out for myself from my own criteria:</p>
<p>–Small to medium (>1200 {my high school’s size} but <15,000-20,000)
–Beautiful campus (I know, superficial, but what can I say)
–Close knit student body (I love residential college systems)
–A good social scene, but nothing too crazy
–Great Academics but…
–I dont want to have to kill myself to get my work done
–An open minded campus thats not insanely liberal (no Brown for me)
–A school thats not focused on greek life
–A good architecture and/or art program
(I want to be an architect, but I’m considering getting my bachelor’s degree in art and then a professional masters in architecture)</p>
<ul>
<li>Small LAC (500-4000 students).</li>
<li>Climate that isn’t so freaking cold. (Very little or no snow)</li>
<li>Campus that is pretty in a non-traditional way, like more modern architecture as opposed to Harvard-style bricks or Gothic architecture.</li>
<li>Forested campus or near the ocean.</li>
<li>Near a sizable urban center.</li>
<li>Hippie school, lots of radical political thinking and open mindedness</li>
<li>Very little or no frat culture, but weed use, etc. alright.</li>
<li>Nobody listens to indie rock (not going to happen…but I find the “genre” really annoying)</li>
<li>Discussion-based classes</li>
<li>Big emphasis on learning for it’s own sake, but not ridiculous workload</li>
<li>High female-to-male ratio</li>
</ul>
Generally smaller, but bigger than 2000 (consortiums are OK though)
small, discussion based classes
undergraduate research available
strong intellectual element
business recruitment and internships are important
Sports are important, prefer D1 if possible
Weather not a big deal, but if all else is equal - warmer
must have a strong student body, as if you look at my home state, I have a strong in-state, and the parents aren’t paying 200k for a school they think is worse(but I am a decent salesman)
wooded campus
‘traditional’ architecture is a plus
bigger campus is better
can’t have an urban feel
ideally near a city, but not a big deal
Not in NYC
larger class selection preferred
ideal major is PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics)
Laid back vibe, snobs = major turn off</p>
<p>That should be enough to drive you guys crazy.</p>
<p>Junglebrain, I second St. Johns, it’s awsome if you want to do something different and the Santa Fe campus is definitely pretty in a non-traditional way.</p>
<p>DSC, I’m not sure but maybe the Five College consortium (UMass/Amherst/Mt. Holyoke/Hampshire/Smith)</p>
<p>My list is Michigan, Michigan State (not exactly my requirements, but hey), Williams, Middlebury, Haverford, Davidson, Rice, Vandy, Northwestern, Claremont Mckenna, and Pomona</p>
<p>Here’s my criteria
-has between 4,000 and 15,000 undergrads
-is not on the west coast or Florida
-is politically liberal but with a strong and visible conservative minority
-is not more than 50% Greek
-has a campus (in other words, not NYU or BU)
-is not a total pressure cooker where students generally don’t make use of the library on a saturday morning
-at the same time, the admit rate is below 50% and students are very driven and goal-oriented.
-has an above average percentage of African-American and Latino students
-partying is popular and students don’t look down upon those who smoke/drink
-at the same time, partying is far from the only social activity on campus
-accepting enviornment towards LGBT students
-a good political science department
-has a sizeable number of students from lower income households
<p>tulsadem-northwestern, brown, UPenn, but I am no expert</p>
<p>As for me…
-medium sized 4-15,000
-partying, drugs, immoral behavior is at a minimum
-intellectual and goal oriented, but I don’t want to die studying, and I don’t want to go to a school that is too nerdy
-a safe and pretty campus, no scary neighborhoods or depressing scenery
-midwest or east coast
-i like residential college idea, but not necessarily too much like LACs
-religious diversity as well as ethnic diversity
-has many, many different majors and room to change frequently/overlap in subjects, combined majors
-any weather is fine(although I love snow)
-I don’t care that much for sports, but some sports could be present
-no tech schools, too one sided
-limited greek scene is preferable
-moderate politically, not too liberal, not too conservative
-activity is centered around the campus
-not too preppy, but not too dorky</p>