<p>but lets not forget your not only learning and going to class at college. you are also LIVING THERE. picking a place you want to study for the nexty four years of your life is a different question than asking yourself where do i actually want to live the next four years of my life. key is finding the balance</p>
<p>Or one can take the other extreme and say to oneself "Self, it doesn't matter where I live during college. When college is over, where I lived is finished and I can then live where I want, but my education will be with me forever, so I want to choose the school that's right for me in that respect."</p>
<p>It's nice to just be able to coast through a class. But looking back on high school, the classes that I really remember are the ones that challenged me the most. I may have complained then, but to be stimulated intellectually forces you to grow as a student.</p>
<p>I don't remember those "easy-A" classes, but the ones that I had to work my a** off in. Those were the classes that showed me that learning needs to be an intrinsic process. You can go to school for a grade, but it's what you come out of it with that matters the most because that's what shapes you and changes you as an individual. </p>
<p>That's what attracted me to apply to Chicago--the whole "Life of the Mind" thing--that you need to push yourself to your own intellectual limits because when you do, you learn more academically and internally than you ever would have if you had only put in a half-hearted attempt.</p>
<p>School with rigorous academics will have smart females at them obviously. You could tell ur mom you are into smart chicks rather than looks. If she argues, call her a shallow b*tch and that should end it, one way or the other.</p>
<p>Honestly, that is one of my main reasons, although having smart friends fits into as well. But those can be made much easier, and would not require to be at the same college.</p>
<p>However, the reason that actually makes it worth the money for me is that you never have to 2nd guess your own knowledge, or at least rarely. You will never wonder what you havent learned, and what you might never learn because your college doesnt work you hard enough at everything. The confidence or invigoration when being at such a place is not something you can easily substitute in with other things</p>
<p>My son is only really considering "hard" schools. I just asked him, and he said that yes, the challenge is one thing, but part of it is just that when you are at a school where people have <em>chosen</em> to be there for hard academics, that the choice permeates a lot of the school culture. My son has spent pretty much his whole life in classes where he was the most enthusiastic, most passionate, and most thoughtful student, and the only one interested in talking or thinking about the coursework out of class. That was true even when he was in gifted classes, even when he was in AP classes, even in college courses he took on the side. If he ever sat down at lunch and wanted to talk about class, everyone just rolled their eyes at him, even the other "gifted" or high-performing students. </p>
<p>He wants to go to a "hard" school because the students aren't there for the sports teams, or the night life, or the proximity to the ski slopes, but because they area all as into learning as he is. </p>
<p>Oh, yeah, and he thinks smart chicks are hot. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the responses...seiken, I'm a girl (and straight) so I doubt that would work.</p>
<p>One more question - do you ever worry about getting burned out before graduation? I know that's kind of a common concern, but even more so for these types of schools...</p>
<p>Finding smart guys is even harder, just gotta tweak it =P</p>
<p>honestly, i do feel a bit tired at times, but thats what the breaks are for. usually after even a couple days of no work im anxious to get back to it</p>
<p>where are you going to school?</p>
<p>UC Riverside lol....they bribed me away from Berkeley and Harvey Mudd. I figured if i went here for a year before transferring I would be able to understand where my extra money was going, which I will. I dont know if its me, but this school does not get easily difficult in many classes. I can take a lot of units to give that feeling, but it just is not the same. That is why I am currently in the transfer process, applying to 'hard' schools</p>
<p>As for what I take, this is what I had last quarter
General Physics w/ lab
General Chem w/lab
2 x Calculus (1 x uni, 1 x multi.)
English Comp.
Undergraduate Research
and Some seminars</p>
<p>all of which is supposed to equal 79 hours of study per week, with lectures and home time, although it isnt even close for me. it comes off often as just busy work, rather than challenging, and its somewhat unfulfilling. I even leveled a bloodelf to level 50 (WoW) and learned how to play the piano (not very well thus far) this quarter, in an attempt to fill i the gaps.</p>
<p>I still do feel burned out though, especially after taking 5 finals in a week - but it takes 1 to 2 days for that to clear up = just a good night of sleep or 2. As for if its comparable to a Caltech-grade burn out I have no clue, although I would imagine it would be, although quicker. I would say 'burn-outs' are more of a problem for those people who go to hard schools just for the name associated with them, and get annoyed with how much work they have to do for it. It is not much of an issue for ppl who crave difficulty.</p>
<p>You're investing a whole chunk of your life, and a substantial amount of money as well. You might as well learn as much as you can.</p>
<p>Im not in college, but i want to go to a very challenging college because i want to learn.</p>
<p>Not until recently have i really embraced learning.</p>
<p>There's a certain "puritain-esque" satisfaction in hard work...:)</p>
<p>plus there's the satisfaction of doing well at something that has a low rate of success...if you've ever seen american idol, you know that when the really critical british guy compliments a singer, they just beam with happiness :)</p>