<p>
</p>
<p>Exactly. To each his or her own. What one kid might think of as frozen to the point of inhospitable another may see as vibrant and interesting while viewing the first kid’s warm climate home as dull, brown and boring.
Or, to bring it back to the OP, it’s like saying the only good colleges are private!</p>
<p>U Michigan is huge and doesn’t seem to have any trouble filling its classes with top notch students, so the weather there is obviously not keeping people away.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No,I think you’re missing the point. The 15-week semester includes exam week; 14 weeks of classes is typical. I was just pleasantly surprised when my D1 went off to college how little time she actually spent there. This year, for example the fall semester started right after Labor Day and ran for six weeks until she had a week-long break, which she elected to spend at home. Then it’s another 8 weeks of classes (interrupted by a long weekend for Thanksgiving when she’ll again be home), then a week of exams, then a month-long winter break (when she’ll again be home) before the spring semester starts up, with a similar pattern–week-long spring break in the middle of 14 weeks of classes plus exam week for a 15-week semester, exactly 30 weeks per year spent on campus. She’s already done her semester abroad. That means by the time she graduates in the spring, she will have spent exactly 105 weeks on campus over the course of 4 years. OK, plus 5 days for orientation, less coming home for Thanksgiving 4 consecutive years (=16 days), so closer to 103 weeks.</p>
<p>That said, I would never encourage someone to attend college in an environment they hate, or even strongly dislike. For some people that’s northern climates, for others it’s climates without 4 distinct seasons; for some it’s too much snow, for others it’s too much rain, for others it’s too humid, for others too dry, for still others too much sun; for some it’s big cities, for others it’s rural areas, and on and on. But keep in mind that in choosing a college, you’re not signing your entire life away for 4 years. You’ll be there less than you think, and you’ll have plenty of time to be elsewhere if you so choose.</p>
<p>I have to agree with Mathmom. Nobody in the Northeast cancels classes because of run of the mill cold, snow or ice. I would imagine it’s the same in Michigan.</p>
<p>[It</a> Must Be ‘An Act of God’ | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/10/29/school-closes-hurricane-sandy/]It”>It Must Be 'An Act of God' | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nope. Let me try a bit of SAT strategy here. I will remove the superfluous: </p>
<p>“Regardless how one dissects fifteen weeks of planned courses, it remains that it is hard to deny that 8 months (or more) for four years might be viewed as four long years if the student does not enjoy the environment.”</p>
<p>Would it help if I’d write that spending 25 weeks a year (as opposed to 32) might be viewed as a long year if the student does not like the place? Although Haverford’s experience might be different from my own, the arguing about 15 versus 16 or 17 is trivial.</p>
<p>From the “Overheard” section of the Stanford newsletter:</p>
<p>“When teams reached out to me last year, I said, ‘Okay, you tell me which NFL city is better than Palo Alto. And then explain that to my wife.’” </p>
<ul>
<li>Football Head Coach David Shaw, '94, speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King about his lack of interest in moving to the NFL.</li>
</ul>
<p>I believe Xiggi and bclintonk have the same pov, i.e., climate is an important factor in choosing a best fit college. The difference, I think, is that bclintok underplays the impact a depressing environment has on a persons psyche. In this situation, a persons perception of lapsed time may exceed the actual length of time. For example, if I get stuck in a dark, smelly porta potty for 10 minutes, I may actually think it was one agonizing hour.</p>
<p>Regardless of how long you are somewhere why on earth would anyone spend it where they aren’t happy? Far too many college around the country and in the various regions…</p>
<p>The point that xiggi is missing is that, ultimately, it’s NOT really subjective. People don’t actually spend that much time where they go to college. Sure, it might “seem” like a lot, if you are 17, or even 25, but it’s not really a lot. People spend more time in prison, or in the Army, and go on to have fine lives in which that interregnum makes little difference. And most of what colleges do is similar, and doesn’t have anything to do with the climate. </p>
<p>I am not arguing that someone might not prefer climate A to climate B, and – as pretty much a life-long Northeasterner/Northern Midwesterner – I have no trouble saying that the climate I prefer would be that in Northern California, which is about as perfect as God can make things, as long as you aren’t within the city limits of San Francisco. But, so what? People can function fine in a wide range of climates, and you don’t really have to do it for a long time in college.</p>
<p>To me, this is another “bathroom” issue. Sure, everyone would like his own private bathroom, preferably cleaned by someone else. But that’s not generally what you get in college, and it’s ridiculous to indulge yourself or your child (absent really unusual extenuating circumstances) in the fantasy that the bathroom arrangements in college have anything more than an incidental effect on anything you care about. They don’t. And neither does the range of climates available in our temperate-zone country.</p>
<p>To me the weather is less important than the ability to travel to neighboring cities.
I have lived in both Southern California and Northern California and I think both regions are too isolated. I am not a beach surfer or a mountain bike rider therefore I feel I am trapped in both areas. There is not much for me to do between San Diego and Los Angeles and between San Francisco and Palo Alto. Las Vegas is too far away. I doubt that I want to live in Ann Arbor and Chicago area. It’s still too isolated. I would prefer to hop in a bus or a train or drive and go around Virginia, Baltimore, DC, Philly, NYC,…</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Well, isn’t that a view from a lens biased by many decades of experience? If you care to reread my post, I mentioned that my reluctance to spend time in certain areas of the country might have mellowed in the past ten years. </p>
<p>But that is now. When I was MAKING the decision, I saw it one way, and it was MY decision to toss the marketing brochures from Chicago, Penn, or Columbia in the trash as soon as they clogged my mailbox. My decision had nothing to do with the academics or prestige, but everything to do with the places, the environment, and the people I would share years of my … young life. </p>
<p>And subjective or not, that is the way it works. The decisions are made by teenagers, for the right or wrong reasons. This said, I understand that those memories might be blurry for you and BCK after all those years. I probably will have a different viewpoint when my turn will come to relive the experience vicariously through my kids in a couple of decades. If i get that lucky to actually be able to afford the cost of higher education outside my zip code.</p>
<p>Considering all the factors that go into students’ decisions (food, dorm room sizes, clubs, the level of preppiness or grunginess of their fellow students, architecture, the success of the football team, proximity to a city, etc.) weather seems like a perfectly reasonable factor to consider. </p>
<p>One school my kid considered dropped from close to the top of his list to close to the bottom because the weather was too nice and the students too laid back. He loved the place but reflected on the plane ride home that he probably wouldn’t get any work done there!</p>
<p>@sally305</p>
<p>Minneapolis may rate high but the ratings have nothing to do with their climate. </p>
<p>" What factors make the difference between a healthy, fitness-friendly city and one that ranks poorly? Banning smoking in public places, both indoors and outdoors, adding new parks, walking trails and bike trails, and a population that prioritizes healthy habits and ranks low in obesity, smoking, and cardiovascular disease, according to the AFI report."</p>
<p>^it also does not take into account any time spent outdoors. In other words, it is not ranking “outdoorsy” cities, as Sally claimed.</p>
<p>I realize I am a state school prole of dubious moral character, so you will have no reason to trust me, but perhaps you might put some stock in any one of the following links one can find on the first page of a Google search for “best US cities for outdoor recreation.”</p>
<p>Best personal regards,
SOG</p>
<p>[15</a> outdoorsy cities: Minneapolis, Minn. | MNN - Mother Nature Network](<a href=“http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/photos/15-us-cities-for-outdoor-enthusiasts/minneapolis-minn]15”>http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/photos/15-us-cities-for-outdoor-enthusiasts/minneapolis-minn)
[In</a> Depth: America’s Best Cities For The Outdoors - Forbes](<a href=“In Depth: America's Best Cities For The Outdoors”>In Depth: America's Best Cities For The Outdoors)
[HowStuffWorks</a> “10 Best Places for Outdoorsy Types to Live”](<a href=“10 Best Places for Outdoorsy Types to Live | MapQuest Travel”>10 Best Places for Outdoorsy Types to Live | MapQuest Travel)
[Best</a> Outdoor Cities | The Best Cities to Raise an Outdoor Kid | Backpacker Magazine](<a href=“http://www.backpacker.com/august_09_the_best_cities_to_raise_an_outdoor_kid/destinations/13126]Best”>Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA: Scottish Lakes High Camp to Larch Lake)
[7</a> Ideal Places to Live for People Who Love Outdoor Activities | Reader’s Digest](<a href=“http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/americas-7-most-active-cities/]7”>http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/americas-7-most-active-cities/)</p>
<p>^Right. Unless the study determines the percentage of the population who actually use the walking and biking trails and for how much of the year, it means little. I am suspicious of rankings of this type. There is a town near us which ranked top 5 on a state quality-of-life list, for which one of the criteria was public school quality. What a joke that became, because of all the suburban towns in the area, that is THE one where people tend to either move out due to the abysmal schools or else pay to send their kids to private schools! There are also lots of bike paths, but they run through unsafe areas so are not used.</p>
<p>Bay, you made the specious claim that “people who grow up in bad weather can be content staying indoors all day, while my kids, who are used to being active outside nearly 365 days per year, find having to do this depressing.”</p>
<p>Pretty much everyone agrees that those who are active are more healthy. Sorry for not connecting the dots for you.</p>
<p>This map, connected to an article on the most active cities (of which Minneapolis is one), also shows state by state the percentage of people who exercise regularly. The entire state of Minnesota ranks high, and I can assure you it’s not because there’s an Anytime Fitness on every corner.</p>
<p>[America’s</a> 15 Most Active Cities | TIME.com](<a href=“America's 15 Most Active Cities | TIME.com”>America's 15 Most Active Cities | TIME.com)</p>
<p>You and these publications can spin it any way you want, but the reality is that when it is pouring rain, snowing and / or freezing cold outside, you are not going to find many people running, walking, hiking, swimming, golfing, boating or playing tennis, basketball or other sports outside.</p>
<p>It’s not “spin,” Bay. It’s the truth. People DO run/bike/walk/hike in “freezing cold” weather. There is a huge variety of performance outdoor apparel specifically for that purpose. No, you can’t play golf on a snow-covered course or go boating on a frozen lake, but I would not consider either of those activities especially “active” anyway. As for the rain, well, there is less rainfall in the upper midwest than in other parts of the country and no one is likely to do much outdoors in the rain no matter where they live.</p>
<p>We are in the NE. I don’t do much exercise, but a lot of my friends do swim, run, yoga, tennis, basketball…indoor when the weather is bad.</p>