<p>45 percenter - agreed, there are likeminded students at all of these schools. On that note, I’m sure that at Wharton, students can find other students who are extremely passionate about non-profit startups, or econ majors can find other econ majors at Penn who are interested in econometrics and theory, rather than just the application of econ to a particular jobs. I don’t doubt there are many - perhaps hundreds - of students like this on campus.</p>
<p>Similarly, at a large state school known for partying, a student interested in no alcohol consumption could find hundreds - if not thousands - of students interested in similar pursuits. </p>
<p>At the same time, prevalent cultures exist at all these schools. There can be a sizable minority - or perhaps even a majority - of students that run counter to the culture, but there is something to be said about the general feel of a campus, or of the trends and factors that are the most heavily emphasized, if even by volume rather than actual # of people supporting/feeding the trend or culture. </p>
<p>In that vein, I think distinctions between schools are still worthwhile. There may be a sizable group of Wharton students who don’t go into finance or consulting (probably close to half of the grads do other jobs), but that subset of the culture has become quite dominant. Similarly, while you point to the diversity at Penn - and it’s certainly there in spades (it’s part of what makes the school great) - I imagine there are dominant cultures that have emerged. So, at least when I was at Penn, while only 30% of individuals were involved in greek life, they seemed to be a very vocal minority. Louder than, say, the minority of students involved in robotics and engineering who participated in some wonderful clubs and student orgs. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the analysis needs to balance the very real diversity present at campuses like Penn with the vocal and dominant cultures that certainly can emerge, despite this backdrop of considerable diversity.</p>