Intellectual Colleges without Snobby, Rich Kids

<p>sacchi: have you been to Syracuse? lol…jk…your post made me chuckle</p>

<p>zchryevns: I’m glad to hear that Reedies have some fun. Still, right now I’m looking more at schools in the Midwest and East Coast. I guess I won’t rule out Reed just yet though!</p>

<p>reesezpiecez103: Yeah I think Northwestern definitely fits most of my criteria. They’re good academically, they have Big Ten athletics, and they’re fairly close to home, yet not too close to home. I’m from Wisconsin, so Northwestern is about a 2-3 hour drive for me. Honestly, I’ve heard some about Carleton and what I’ve heard is that it is a great school. I guess I just haven’t researched too much about the school. How does it compare to Macalester?</p>

<p>082349: Good luck with your search! Swarthmore definitely seems like a great school. I’m just not sure size-wise if it is too small.</p>

<p>sacchi: I had some interest in George Washington; however, I was turned off by their representative at a college fair. I felt that based on the way he talked about the school (not at all enthusiastically), I would not want to consider applying there. As far as American, I think I’ve pretty much ruled out all of the DC schools. For Syracuse and Pitt, they seem too athletic and not enough academics. I’d rather go to UW-Madison then to either of those two. I do agree with you that most of the schools I’m interested in have low acceptance rates. Any intellectual schools that are a little easier to get into? Thanks for the advice!</p>

<p>johnwesley: Wow, you just reaffirmed why I’m interested in applying to Wesleyan.</p>

<p>lookingforward: I agree with you that there are quite a few good D3 schools academically and athletically. I’ll check out Bates some more.</p>

<p>rocknroll52: I’m definitely considering the honors college/program of a large public school. I’m interested in the UW-Madison Honors Program. One of my English teacher’s daughters was part of the program and enjoyed it. Any other publics you’d suggest? I know University of Michigan and University of Virginia are good schools. Of course for those two schools it’s hard enough getting into the school itself, let alone the honors program/college.</p>

<p>Speaking of the impact of college reps- we went to a meeting for a great midwestern LAC, held in a major east coast city- ie, one would think, a target market. The rep brought two recent grads. The rep was not able to cover many of the group’s questions. Worse, the talk turned to career development, post-grad job opps, etc. First comment: well, we’re building an office. Next, we learned that the two grads (one had grad a few months prior and the other 2 years earlier, I think) were both unemployed, didn’t have a specific career track that they had prepared for, maybe didn’t even have one in mind. Then, one mentioned, I swear, “Most of my friends never used career services; It was kind of a joke.” This was so pathethic that I won’t mention the name. It’s a well-respected school.</p>

<p>I’m going to second Wesleyan as a possible fit for you (especially if you can get your SAT scores up); my S is going there next year and was looking for many of the same things you are (with no consideration, however, given to the financial status of students).</p>

<p>For the record, however, my S went to a public school as do many of the Wes students. </p>

<p>The things that especially jump out about Wesleyan that you are looking for are the intellectual atmosphere, lack of competitiveness, and great acapella groups. Also, as a NESCAC school there are some great school sports rivalries, and Wes has a fantastic athletic center.</p>

<p>In my home state of PA, there are three state related schools with honors programs:</p>

<p>Penn State
Pitt
Temple</p>

<p>Re: your comment about Pitt not being academic enough, what did you base that on? I think if you looked closely at the academics offered there your may change your mind.</p>

<p>lookingforward: That’s a shame that they represented the school poorly; however, it’s good that you heard of those things earlier versus later I guess.</p>

<p>GreatKidsMom: Congrats on your son making it into Wesleyan. From what you’ve said, I could definitely see myself going there.</p>

<p>rocknroll52: I wouldn’t say Pitt is bad academically. Obviously, they have some great programs; however, I feel I could get a similar, less expensive experience at UW-Madison, if that is what it comes down to. It seems that you are a big advocate of Pitt though. Anything in particular that you especially like about Pitt?</p>

<p>bbarty - compared to Macalester, Carleton is in a suburb (Northfield’s cute, about 40 minutes outside of the Twin Cities, with free busing there on weekends). It’s also slightly larger - Macalester has about 1600 students while Carleton has about 2000 - and in general just has a different “feel” than Macalester. Admissions are slightly more difficult, but both are great schools; Macalester in particular excels in the International relations department and international feel, while Carleton is more known for its sciences (although it does have a great PoliSci program and many internationals - my roommate this year is one of them). I know for a fact that Carleton students are friendly, intellectual, and unpretentious. Feel free to PM me if you want any more info!</p>

<p>On the other hand, I’m not trying to overwhelm you - I know how exasperating it is to have a million schools you like but a list that needs narrowing (and this is coming from someone who applied to 13 schools…haha). But I’m from CT so I’m pretty familiar with Wesleyan and I’d re-affirm that it sounds like a really good fit for you, especially if you can get your SATs up a tiny bit.</p>

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-2900 students, top30 LAC, need blind for admissions, good music program, great political science department, and nice campus 1 hour from Boston. HC has one of the stronger alumni networks in the country and the school has a pretty good web site illustrating school spirit. Holy Cross is easier to get into than Wesleyan-both same size 2800-3000 students.</p>

<p>par72: Thanks for the input! I’ve heard good things about Holy Cross. I’ll look into it some more.</p>

<p>Are there any safety schools on the East Coast that fit my criteria? Also, do you think Beloit College (WI) would be a safety for me?</p>

<p>well to answer your question we are in state PA and so are very familiar with Pitt and my D is probably going there- so perhaps biased- BUT</p>

<p>I have been following the CC boards on Pitt and have come to realize that Pitt is very actively recruiting highly qualified OOS students and offers some nice merit scholarships up to full tuition</p>

<p>So if you are a highly qualified student it may be worth an application to Pitt because with scholarship money it might not be more expensive than your home state</p>

<p>Some things that have impressed me about Pitt’s academics: its one of the top public research universities in the US- google the words “pitt top research” to get the stats; the UPMC is one of the top rated hospitals in the US, it would be great for anyone interested in pre-medicine; known for great philosphy department; well rounded liberal arts curriculum; international study programs; honors program for highly qualified students; smaller class sized than Penn State (not sure how it compares to Wisconsin?); highly qualified applicants can get grad school guarantees; etc. etc. etc. Take some time to explore their website and request their catalog.</p>

<p>Also: Note that Pitt is half the size of U Wisconsin. Also it is a great sports town Go Steelers! (Sorry)</p>

<p>I was also going to suggest Syracuse, which has an outstanding journalism school. Pitt gives some excellent merit based scholarships, so it may be worth looking into. How about Fordham?</p>

<p>“Holy Cross … top30 LAC”</p>

<p>How can anyone know that about any school? Or is this some magazine editors’ opinion?</p>

<p>rocknroll52: Thanks for the additional info on Pitt. I will do some more research on the school! Go Packers!</p>

<p>bhmomma: I guess I’ll look into Syracuse some more. Fordham is on my list of maybes. Is there anything in particular that is special about Syracuse or Fordham?</p>

<p>bbarty: I don’t know how else to say this but Syracuse is the NY bastion of rich, snobby kids…you can find your own there though…keep an open mind…</p>

<p>I like Fordham for your search…</p>

<p>Thanks Rodney! What do you think are the top positive attributes of Fordham that fit what I’d like in a college?</p>

<p>If you do honors at UW and live at one of the residential colleges you will find exactly what you seek. The grass is not any greener on the other side. UW is a top producer of undergrads who go on to get Phds–as well as those that become NFL linemen.</p>

<p>I agree with sacchi – all elite schools have lots of rich kids because that’s where rich kids go.</p>

<p>That said, in most selective medium sized schools you will find plenty of highly intellectual middle class kids. So avoid tiny LACs in the middle of nowhere, then go for fit, academic and financial. You should be OK</p>

<p>PS I know you know, but not all rich kids are snobby. And not all poor kids are intellectual.</p>

<p>barrons: Very true on everything you said. Sometimes I under-appreciate having such a great state school.</p>

<p>katliamom: Thanks for the advice! I completely agree with you that not all rich kids are snobby and not all poor kids are intellectual. I hope I didn’t sound too cold-blooded when I titled the thread what I did. ;)</p>

<p>I can recommend UNC Chapel Hill. Their Acapella group is the “clefhangers”, and they are about as popular as the athletes, which there are quite a few. However you may run into problems in the snobby rich kids sector, but there are people there who aren’t rich and who are very nice since it is such a large school. I would stay away from the Greek aspect if you want to avoid the “snobby rich kids”, however the best way to experience a UNC game in my opinion is with a blazer, a date, your brothers, and a whole lot of bourbon. <em>as a note UNC must be 82% in state and is very academic, as such it’s not a sure thing getting in. *</em>another option in NC is Duke one of the top academic schools with great sports, once again you may find some trouble with the “snobby rich kids”. ***didn’t organize this well but Wake Forest as well Small Size, excellent soccer team and school spirit, and very academic.</p>