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College Search & Selection
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<p>
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Yes, I love to talk about academics outside of class, its a great feeling. But, I also like to be laid back and just hang out.

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<p>Well, at Wes at least (and I would imagine Vassar and many other of the schools listed), you DO get both. While Unalove is right, at Wes, we do often say "lets smoke pot (or not, it's up to you!) and play video games for fun," we ALSO stay up all night arguing over god, and discuss Nietzsche in the bathroom for an hour (true story). Of course, I'm sure there is some balance at the other type of school, too.</p>

<p>I think the real distinction is not what people talk about while at the dinner table (because I bet it could go both ways at either type of school--I know it can at Wes), but how academics are approached. From what I know about UChicago/Reed/Swarthmore (all second and third hand, of course, so unalove might correct me), when people are doing their work, they are doing their work. Period. They love it. And sometimes (at least at Reed, I'm not sure about at the other two), this also makes them really stressed. But they still love it.</p>

<p>And people at Wes (and my guess is others like it), sure, they DO love their work, and are serious about it. But sometimes Wes students also say, "screw this reading, it's a beautiful day and I'm going to go sit on the hill for an hour."</p>

<p>Anyway, Oberlin is very like Wes and Vassar, and slightly easier to get into, so it could be a really good match for you. As for other suggestions, see my former post. But definitely Oberlin if you like Wes and Vassar.</p>

<p>ETA: Another way to look at it is that UChicago types tend to, I think, (not trying to make a sweeping generalization here, I'm sure this is not true of everyone!) be people for whom academics really is their first love (whether or not they want to go into academia as a career). A Wes type is more likely to attract people who quite like academics, but for whom saving the world/making movies/writing the next great America novel/making sweet, sweet music/the theater/whatever else is actually their first and greatest passion. That's not to say UChicago types don't have other passions, or that Wes types don't have great passion for academics, it's just that priorities are slightly different. </p>

<p>Unalove, does that sound right to you? And OP, does that help make one sound more appealing than the other?</p>

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<p>UChicago. Period.</p>

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<p>Jespere,
"Where Fun Comes to Die" is a classic example of the rye way Chicago students make fun of themselves and their school, in a very tongue in cheek way. It is also an effective way of deflecting potential applicants who don't understand that life at Chicago IS different from the "typical" experience at most other colleges- i.e., don't come here if all you want to do is party, join frats, go to football games, etc.</p>

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<p>Tufts, Bowdoin, Middlebury are schools that all emphasize the liberal arts with good (albeit not crazy) social life.</p>

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<p>I think Weskid has it more or less right about Chicago. While I love Wesleyan as a school and I know so many awesome people who attend and love it, it certainly did not have heavier, more academic feel I was looking for.</p>

<p>Again, like menloparkmom pointed out, we love degrading ourselves and pointing out the fact that we're not like everybody else. Whether we show our school spirit in the ever-popular "Where Fun Comes to Die" shirts, the "Where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA," shirts, or the "I am Uncommon," shirts, protesting the changeover to the common app (which, by the way, are more popular than all of the self-degrading t-shirts combined), Chicagoans are definitely proud of who they are, and they do know how to relax and have fun. I didn't start watching Grey's Anatomy or ER until I came to Chicago, and I also didn't know what PBR stood for until I went to my first college party. We do, of course, love doing work, but even if we complain about it, we also know that we chose to challenge ourselves by coming here and have only ourselves to blame.</p>

<p>Schools that are Chicago-esque in some ways but may be easier to get into: Bryn Mawr, Smith, Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, Rochester, Barnard, Macalester, Colorado College</p>

<p>It sounds like you could fit in at either a Chicago or a Wes, and it also sounds like you don't know enough about what you want to make a solid choice for a school ED. That's fine. If you are fortunate enough to gain acceptance to both kinds of schools, you can make a more serious decision then, after visiting, talking to students, going to classes, staying in dorms, etc.</p>

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<p>jespere: I agree 100% with Unalove that it doesn't really sound like you should be doing ED (not that you said you wanted to, necessarily, but since someone else recommended it. Once again, EA could be a good option). And I also think it's a good idea for you to apply to a couple of reaches, matches and safeties of each type, so that you will probably have at least one option of both types once you get acceptances. </p>

<p>Of the schools that I suggested earlier, the non-reaches that I see as being the most Wes/Vassar like are Oberlin, Bates, Skidmore, Lewis+Clark, Pitzer, and Goucher (and maybe Kalamazoo, which I don't know much about). Bard and Sarah Lawrence too, though their student bodies are perhaps even more out of the mainstream. Maybe Emerson? I also personally really liked Occidental college, though I'm not sure what you'll think of it. </p>

<p>Brown and Carleton could be a couple of other really good reaches for you, in more the Wes/Vassar vein. </p>

<p>Schools like St. Johns, Evergreen State and Hampshire are all even more off the mainstream than Wes/Vassar or UChicago/Reed, and have some interesting educational systems (esp. St. Johns), which you might also end up liking.</p>

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<p>Unalove, I knew what PBR was whwen I was four years old...we lived in a Polish neighborhood in Chicago and there was a bar on the corner. My brother rode his trike there once and I had to chase after him.</p>

<p>i don't know if DS should include that in his "Why Chicago?" essay, though...</p>

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<p>Ok , so I guess I'm clueless out here in Calif- what DOES PBR stand for?</p>

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<p>check out claremont mckenna and pomona</p>

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<p>heraclitus: I don't think Claremont Mckenna has the quirkiness (let alone weirdness) factor that the OP is looking for. Pomona, OTOH, might work (I didn't find it quite as quirky as I wanted, but I still liked it a lot). And I definitly agree that the Claremont consortium is worth looking into for the OP (which is part of why I recomend Pitzer as a safety).</p>

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<p>PBR stands for Pabst Blue Ribbon, a cheap beer that doesn't masquerade itself as anything but.</p>

<p>I mentioned it as part of the Chicago experience in saying that not everybody here is weird, quirky, and intellectual 100% of the time-- sometimes we're just silly teenagers looking for some harmless fun.</p>

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<p>thanks!LOL, I wouldn't have known that, I'm not a beer drinker.</p>

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<p>PBR. Well now I know. Thanks guys for inciting this debate, its been really helpful to me. I can really see the nuances with the different types of intellectual schools.</p>

<p>ED/EA is possibility for me but like you've mentioned, I have to be sure about where I want to go first. </p>

<p>I sincerely appreciate everyone's (kudos to unalove and weskid) advice. </p>

<p>Have I picked out a type of school yet? Yes and no, its like choosing between milk chocolate and dark chocolate (great analogy). Some people know exactly their preference, others have a harder time choosing because both are good.</p>

<p>Wesleyan sounds such a great balance and yeah, I am the type to stop and go on top of a hill for a while. No doubt about that. </p>

<p>UChicago also sounds just as wonderful with intense academics that a nerd like me can appreciate. I have a passion for academics that been unfulfilled and UChicago is offering it to me.</p>

<p>So what am I leaning towards right now? Perhaps Weskid is a better debater but I'm leaning towards Wesleyan. </p>

<p>Talk to me in a month from now and let's see how it changes. ;)</p>

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<p>Be sure to visit both Wes and Chicago when school is in session , if at all possible. Do an overnight with students there. That helped "seal" my son's decision that Chicago was the college for him. He visited Wes, took a look around at the town it is located in and said no thanks.</p>

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<p>If you like Wes, be sure to visit Vassar too. They are very comparable schools with a lot of cross applicants who get admitted to both. Some choose Wesleyan; some choose Vassar.</p>

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<p>you might also consider Colorado College -- it sounds like a good fit for what you are looking for. And if you are looking to live in a place where it snows -- at least in Colorado you can do alot more than trudge through it on the way to class.</p>

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<p>Good news-- Colorado College and Chicago both offer a non-binding Early Action. I think EA is god's gift to man-- as long as you're willing to finish applications earlier rather than later, you can hear back from these schools sooner and, pending admittance, rest assured that you ARE in college but you DON'T have to go there.</p>

<p>I wish I knew more about Colorado College when I was in high school-- I would have considered it seriously.</p>