<p>Which universities consist of student populations that promote intellectualism and which universities do the exact opposite?</p>
<p>This isn't going to start a big fight of a thread at all.</p>
<p>Intellectual: a few that come to mind are UChicago, Reed, Swarthmore, and Brown</p>
<p>Not really intellectual: a lot of big state schools are degree factories and won't promote intellectualism in as in-depth a fashion as liberal arts colleges or other universities</p>
<p>Probably Caltech, it's the legacy of Feynman.</p>
<p>EDIT: I would have to agree about the state schools.</p>
<p>what do you define as intellectual? and how do you quantify it?</p>
<p>Why Brown? Just curious, not trying to start an argument</p>
<p>Reed and Swarthmore aren't universities. If the OP did mean colleges in general, Bard and Sarah Lawrence are certainly two good options in NY. I suspect there will be enough people with similar interests at most universities.</p>
<p>Anywhere but SEC schools</p>
<p>Generally, the more selective the school, the more intellectual it will be. But, there are some less selective schools that have an intellectual atmosphere. Look for schools that have an extensive core curriculum and/or a Great Books program.</p>
<p>Uchicago for sure</p>
<p>Brown seems to attract a more social type of crowd, or at least a different one from Chicago, with its "Core"- I mean it has the whole "Open Curriculum" thing and theoretically a student there can take every single class Pass/Fail</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why Brown?
[/quote]
How many other universities offer Egyptology and the History of Math?</p>
<p>again, I would think the open curriculum and generous academic system (no Pass/Fail limit, etc.)</p>
<p>Cornell has some obscure majors, but I would consider it a pretty social campus, although that could be a function of its secluded location</p>
<p>
[quote]
History of Math?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Plenty. My lowly SEC school (as insulted above) offers it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
again, I would think the open curriculum and generous academic system (no Pass/Fail limit, etc.)
[/quote]
[quote]
...but I would consider it a pretty social campus
[/quote]
Oh, I see. Colleges that don't force students to take certain classes and that have a social scene clearly don't have students interested in learning for the sake of learning. Thanks for clearing that up!</p>
<p>here is an abridged list of "intellectual" colleges as collected from previous CC threads:</p>
<p>Highly Intellectual:
U Chicago
Swarthmore
Reed
St. John's
Bryn Mawr
Harvey Mudd
Columbia
Deep Springs
Cal Tech
MIT</p>
<p>Still pretty intellectual:
Amherst
Sarah Lawrence
Oberlin
Williams
Hampshire
Brown
Pomona
New College of Fl.</p>
<p>Probably just as intellectual:
Brandeis
Bard
Carleton
Macalester
Claremont M.
Wellesley
Smith
Barnard
Mount Holyoke
Rice
Bennington
College of the Atlantic
Kenyon
Marlboro
Antioch
Haverford
Grinnell
Wesleyan</p>
<p>Questionable?
Thomas More
Beloit
Bates
Yale
Harvard
Princeton
Middlebury
Evergreen State
Dartmouth
Carnegie Mellon
William & Mary
Alegheny
Colorado College
Earlham
Thomas Aquinas</p>
<p>this is probably completely innacurate so additions/removals are welcomed.</p>
<p>Add W&M and Davidson to the "Hightly intellectual" category.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>what do you define as intellectual? and how do you quantify it?<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Who knows? It probably is a sort of campus atmosphere where the course work tends more toward the philosophical and the literary rather than the practical and useful, and the students tend more toward scruffy-dressed kids and profs engaged in earnest conversations in coffee shops using lots of big words rather than jocks and Barbie dolls who are focused on getting tickets to the Big Game.</p>
<p>warbler, I don't think you understand. that's exactly what i'm saying-the core attracts people to Chicago and Columbia. At Brown, there are no pluses or minuses, only As Bs and Cs. Lower than a C, and you "fail", and when you fail a class, it gets wiped from your record. Open curriculum.</p>
<p>I just found it ludicrous that joe mentioned Brown as intellectual without mentioning Princeton. Why is Brown the only Ivy he mentioned? Of all the Ivies, Brown is definitely the most laid back. Don't kid yourself. They had the controversy of letting in alot of actors' children etc. over more qualified applicants. (although this is clearly not the only school, the author of a book I picked up in a UChicago bookstore used Brown as a specific example). Why would Brown attract a more lax crowd? Because of the lax academic policies. I'll say this again, Brown is not as intellectual as other top schools. Because failures are wiped from your record. Because every class can be taken pass/fail. </p>
<p>Maybe you think that an open curriculum attracts intellectuals who don't want to be limited by a core, who want complete academic freedom. If that's what you're saying, I can buy that, that's a completely valid point. But if it attracts an intellectual crowd, it just seems to me it would attract a crowd that wants to avoid a core curriculum and have a lighter academic experience.</p>
<p>I'm not bashing Brown though, I hope I end up getting accepted come Thursday.</p>
<p>lol why is Harvard "Questionable" for being intelectual.... is that a serious comment? Also you can find intelectual people at any college you to go just, some people just can't afford private school and want to be close to home. although i do agree that at most LACs and ivies their is a greater density of "intelectuals"</p>
<p>Nowayjose: But most people at Brown don't take all classes pass/fail. And having no core + being able to take classes pass/fail and having failures stricken from the record could, arguable, promote an intellectual envirment, because it allows people to take risks and explore areas they are interested in without feeling like they will destroy their GPA if they take a class that is out of their comfort zone.</p>
<p>I think schools that have a core AND schools that have no requirments or only distribution requirements can be equally intellectual, though perhaps in different ways.</p>