<p>If a student isn’t interested in politics, they will have no problem at any college–there will be plenty of students who are not interested in politics. A student who becomes interested in politics while in college is (in my opinion) 100 times more likely to become interested because of the influence of other students as opposed to the influence of professors. It’s probably true that this is less likely to happen at engineering-focused schools. The only kid who is likely to have trouble at any school over politics is one who already is very political, but whose politics are at odds with the tone of the campus–that is, a very liberal kid at a conservative school, or a very conservative kid at a liberal school. Even this is not likely to be a problem for most kids at most schools, especially large schools. Most schools have all kinds of people.</p>
<p>On another thread, you said your daughter’s SAT score was 1700. Knowing that is helpful, as is the list you have created so far with the help of other posters. Maybe you could repost your latest list here?</p>
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<p>I updated it later in the thread - her SAT did go up a lot on her second take.
<a href=“First hello and q's from PA - #50 by scholarme - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>First hello and q's from PA - #50 by scholarme - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums;
<p>She is still working on her college lists - we really need safeties, I think.</p>
<p>@sally305 - A school with a balance of different povs would be a good thing, imo.</p>
<p>Not sure why this is hitting me the wrong way but i guess it feels <em>too</em> protective to me…for a child who is actually on the way to his/her adulthood. </p>
<p>I could see steering a kid away from a school that’s developed a bad reputation for crime/assault…or even a school with a high suicide rate…but not wanting a kid to attend a school where other kids are involved in current issues…that just feels a bit over the line. Not meaning to sound disrespectful here…</p>
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<p>Tell that to my engineering/CS graduate colleagues and fellow computer technology conventioneers who seem to all tend to gravitate either towards the extreme libertarian-right(i.e. Ayn Rand) or the radically progressive left (a.k.a. DFHs). :D</p>
<p>While they’re good enough to be professional during work times, the sometimes heated political debates start during lunch/dinner(when we work late) and coffee breaks. </p>
<p>Sarcasm is completely wasted on you, cobrat, isn’t it? </p>
<p>Cobrat- the poster was being sarcastic. Yes, we all know scientists who are politically active.</p>
<p>OP- commuter schools and suitcase schools in general will have students who are balancing work, distance from home, etc. with their studies and in general, are less likely to get involved in ALL extra curricular activities, not just activism.</p>
<p>Many of the large flagship state U’s are so big that it is very easy to avoid the activism. You can be into sports (spectator or participant), drama, fine arts, etc. and have a large cohort of similar minded kids. The politically active will similarly “cluster” around certain clubs which are easy to avoid.</p>
<p>The media FOR SURE loves a good “professors recruit students into protest” story… which often bears little resemblance to reality on campus. I went to Brown in the 1970’s- the height of the student protest movement, a very politically active student body according to the media, and even then- I knew dozens of students who couldn’t have cared less about the “cause du jour”. I was involved in a “get out the vote” campaign and could not believe the number of students who did not want to register to vote; who could not have cared less about activism or even good old fashioned HS civics type activities.</p>
<p>For sure, Brown has a reputation of a VERY vocal, politically liberal campus, but a student who isn’t interested will find plenty of company.</p>
<p>U Conn, U New Hampshire, U Rhode Island, U Delaware- all Northeast/mid-Atlantic schools where there will be a large non-activist group of students despite being in the heart of the supposed “liberal” territory.</p>
<p>^ ^</p>
<p>No…just reinforcing and concurring with your sarcastic point. :)</p>
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<p>The OP doesn’t get the irony in demanding to be the authority figure him- (or maybe her-) self?</p>
<p>I think this is a rather odd thing to be concerned about. I went to a fairly politically active, left-leaning school (Swarthmore) back in the 80s. I imagine I came out more liberal than I went in (mainly because I had not given politics a moment’s thought before-hand), but I wasn’t particularly interested in activism, and got my engineering degree and went on for a Ph.D. Nobody gets “tricked” into being politically active; they get involved because it strikes a nerve. And you can’t “protect” someone from finding a passion for something, whether it’s politics, philosophy, English Lit, or for the case of my STEM daughter currently at Yale, ballroom dancing. Let it go.</p>
<p>Edited to add: I can’t recall a single professor “recruiting” students to a particular cause. Any activism was completely student-initiated. A professor trying to sway students in an overt way would generally lead directly to students arguing the other side. </p>
<p>The OP doesn’t get the irony in demanding to be the authority figure him- (or maybe her-) self?</p>
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Parents are unique in being authority figures because (ideally) their authority is predicated on selfless love.
Part of parental responsibility is to be aware of the landing area when they kick the kid out of the nest.</p>
<p>You don’t see the difference?</p>
<p>I think a non-political STEM student will have no problem at MOST (but obviously not all) big schools that attract a large number of diverse students. That said, social engagement is something that many schools value (hence the emphasis on volunteer/community involvement by many schools in their admissions policies) and that’s inevitably linked to at least some political idealism. It will be hard to find a respected college/university with an absence of any kind of political awareness and/or engagement. Schools and their faculties generally aren’t ostriches. </p>
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<p>I’d concur and throw in Penn State as well - more football than political, although with 30,000 kids there are bound to be some political types (both liberal and conservative). </p>
<p>On the whole, I’ve found several of the private Catholic colleges not to be particularly political - Scranton, Villanova, Providence, etc. Surprisingly, even Catholic U, while political, was not as political as you’d expect a school in the middle of DC to be. Brown and George Washington were by far the most political schools we’ve seen. (I didn’t actually see Brown, I’m just going by D’s assessment of the school). </p>
<p>I was rather stunned by this post. " Really, I want my kid to be focused on learning; not on protesting or spending her time on whatever global issue a charismatic professor thinks is the most important thing in the world instead of preparing for a career."</p>
<p>Yes, I do think this is extraordinarily narrow minded. Your child gets concerned about global warming? Great, maybe she’ll be inspired to study environmental science or be an engineer designing sustainable energy efficient technologies. Concerned about violations of civil rights? Great, go to law school. Global access to education and health information? Maybe she’d like to be an EE or CS major and help deliver education and health care digitally.</p>
<p>I find your attitude that solving world problems would be a huge distraction to her rather sad.</p>
<p>I find your attitude that solving world problems would be a huge distraction to her rather sad.</p>
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<p>It’s ok if you judge me.
I don’t want my kid to be emotionally manipulated by other people’s agendas; she has plenty of time to solve the world’s problems after she graduates, when she has the emotional maturity and her time & money is her own.
It’s probably a cultural thing - I’m an immigrant and I have a different perspective on what usually gets called “the world’s problems” in the USA. (And don’t get me started on global warming.)</p>
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<p>Maybe, but it seems to me that many of the Catholic schools manage to promote social justice and community service without having a student body that is political in the same sense that the kids at GWU are. Boston College is certainly well respected and does not have a very political student body.</p>
<p>OP: then I think you need to find a college that has no “engaging extracurriculars” at all because your kid can get “side-tracked” by any number of things, from ballroom dancing as I mentioned upthread, to ultimate frisbee, to frats or sororities, to… I don’t know why you seem to find political engagement so <em>particularly</em> evil.</p>
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<p>Cool. A good start might be to use her remaining HS years to help her start thinking for herself – even if that means she doesn’t blindly accept everything YOU say. </p>
<p>I didn’t realize GWU is a Catholic school - do you maybe mean Georgetown? </p>
<p>While finding a school that offers a good fit, there are few reasons to worry about the political leanings of particulars. Safe a few notable exceptions, it is pretty much a given that the college life will be left leaning, with the overwhelming majority of the faculty and students ranging from far left to well left of the center. The real question is about the school being oppressively left leaning or not. I think you will find that most students are pretty apathetic about causes and political positions in general, and only get a tad “excited” when there is some news such as elections of the announced visit of a cherished or hated speaker. In turn, there will always be a handful of activists or loudmouths and plenty of “calls for action” from bleeding hearts. It is really up to the individual student to participate, support, deride, challenge, or simply ignore by walking away to a more pressing issue such as planning the next trip or party! </p>
<p>Fwiw, I do not think there are clear reasons why a student should avoid a particular school, even if the school is at the far range of the “wrong” politics. After all, one learns more from listening to opponents than from people who share the same convictions. As far as dealing with “aggressive” faculty, learning the skills to defuse academic bombs is also one that could serve a student very well. At school and after graduation. The (sad) reality is that vociferous mouths are rarely able to discern the real supporters from the ones who cynically and intelligently feed them a dose of their own thought supplies. And, the very smart educators who understand REAL balances of opinions will no doubt value the challenges of different opinions, and reward the students who has the courage of his or her own opinions. All in all, beating the blowhards is easy, and trying to outwit the great teachers is both rewarding and challenging. </p>
<p>Unless one is profoundly affected by the positions of a school such as Georgetown’s overly PC twists, one of the least important elements in choosing a college is the political leanings of the majority. </p>
<p>PS None of the above intimates that it was not a GOOD question to ask nor a valid concern. And such concern is not one that should trigger judgmental remarks. It just happens that most people with liberal minds find it easy to judge opinions and concerns different from their own negatively. </p>
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<p>Sorry I was unclear. I didn’t mean to imply that GWU was Catholic. I was just comparing the very political student body at GWU with the rather apolitical student body at BC.</p>