<p>It’s fun to hear your reports as you visit each school. I don’t know why people keep suggesting northeastern LAC’s. Must not have read your former posts. Was Mt. Rainer out when you were at UDub? Are you not concerned about the gray, drizzly weather for months on end? That’s the only thing that would deter me from living in the georgous Pacific Northwest.</p>
<p>People on this website are in love with LACs. I don’t understand it. They seem to find state schools (not in California or Virginia) to be inferior or something.</p>
<p>If you want a non-pretentious school, go somewhere that gives out a lot of financial aid, both merit and need-based (even if you don’t need it.) That might be a good way to avoid all the trust-fund kids.</p>
<p>^^ All the Ivies give out tons of need based aid, but this kid still thinks they’re all so pretentious based on anecdotal evidence.</p>
<p>Hiya, well…</p>
<p>Speaking from experience, Houston is suffocatingly humid the majority of the year and gets a few severe hurricane threats, so if you’re not used to durastic weather patterns, best aviod Rice. I’d still recommend UF to you, even though it’s in the South. It has a great sports reputation that I’m sure everyone respects, West Coast included. Don’t shrug off UGA, by the way. Athens is a short ways from Atlanta, which is where the majority of it’s student population comes from, and Atlanta is extremely diverse–people move in and out all of the time. There aren’t many Southern accents or similiar stereotypes at UGA (at least when I visited.) They also expect underage drinking and drug use a lot of the time. My friend says it’s kind of a right of passage to get detained for underage possession of alcohol. He’s in a frat though, so I guess that makes him “preppy” and therefore, less credible…??</p>
<p>Seriously, stop stereotyping regions. People in Boston are very friendly–maybe not as courteous as in the South where I live, but still friendly. When you look at colleges, don’t judge them by the town, judge them by the campus environment. Boston University much more relaxed than Boston College, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc. I think you would fit in at BU, judging by your posts. It’s about two blocks from Fenway Park, and they have a lazy river (you know that intertube river at water parks?) on campus. How awesome is that? The river front is also called the BU Beach, since people always sun themselves there and have grills going. You should check it out…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s unusual to suggest or think that the Ivy League is known for pretentiousness (some schools, of course, much more than others) just because of how highly sought-after the Ivy brand name is.</p>
<p>My advice was more along the lines of what to consider in top LACs, where a few of my friends have had problems being surrounded by trust fund kids.</p>
<p>So here are the places that I know I’m applying to
University of Oregon
University of Washington
University of Texas
University of Wisconsin</p>
<p>University of Colorado sounds really good. It actually sounds like Oregon, but it’s even closer to the mountains. What would be the advantage of going to Colorado over Oregon?</p>
<p>I’m not ruling out University of Georgia at all - I realize that it’s a good school with great sports teams. I have no interest University of Florida. That school has a mediocre reputation in California. People from my high school apply to out of state public schools all over the country (Washington, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Clemson). Florida is known as the ASU of the East Coast. Great sports teams and really hot girls, but not much as far as academics go. I don’t think that’s really the case with the school, just how it’s perceived here.</p>
<p>I’ve been to Boston many times. It’s a great city, but I’m not a fan of the people. Nice to place to visit - would never want to live there. Boston University does not have competitive sports teams, thus I wouldn’t be interested anyways.</p>
<p>Is that perception the opinion of employers in California, or merely your peers?</p>
<p>MickJag: You are pretty close with your “perceptions” of UDub and Seattle. There are gray days and drizzle up there, but also spectacular days not only when Mt. Rainier is out, but the entire Cascade Range, and across the Puget Sound, you can see the Olympic Range. Its clearly one of the most beautiful cities in the United States and one of the most eclectic. But its definitely NOT pretentious in a snobby way. Its a bit pretentious in the “Seattle way” meaning, the Starbucks, granola crunching, backpack wearing, birkenstock wearing “close to the earth” type of people. If you arent’ like that it can be a bit overbearing. But Seattle-ites are quite friendly and open.</p>
<p>UDub does have a lot of commuters, both those who don’t live on campus as well as those who live in frats and dorms who go home to do laundry on weekends and catch up on sleep. BUT…the social scene at UDub is very lively and with so many students it will NEVER EVER feel like a ghost town. The advantage of UDub over Oregon in my view is because it IS in Seattle, whereas Oregon is in Eugene and not all that much happening there that is not school related…though the outdoors are incredible and the Oregon beaches are not that far of a drive. To me, both Oregon and UDub are two of the most UNDER RATED top tier state universities in the nation. They deserve a lot more respect than they get. Both are phenomenal research institutions as well. I cant’ think of a BETTER place to go to school for Marine Biology than UDub. People who rank on UDub or Seattle, just dont get it. So move along.</p>
<p>JoeLangford: the drizzle sort of grows on you after a while. Seattle-ites consume more coffee per capita than any city in the United States…its not just Starbucks either. Several major coffee roasters are in town, and a HUGE Scandanavian population have always meant for high coffee consumption. The weather is conducive to a good book, a good cup of joe and just having a good time.</p>
<p>I lived there for awhile, so I know.</p>
<p>also, Florida DOES have some strong programs and is rising in the ranks of academia rapidly…some of that is the highly selective admissions standards, but a lot of it is academic programs as well, not just hot girls and parties. </p>
<p>To a great extent, picking between Georgia Tech, Clemson, Georgia, UTexas-Austin, UDub, Oregon, UCLA, Oregon, Wisconsin, Florida, UVa, Michigan, Colorado depends more on YOU than on the school. It depends on what YOU want out of a school experience, the strength of a particular program you want, the quality of life, the fun factor, things to do OFF campus, the music scene (hint: Seattle is TOP DRAWER for music, by the way). Its always a mistake to pick a school solely because of its ranking. That is absurd. You should go where you FIT in, or where you want to experience something DIFFERENT from you usual way of life (if you are an adventurous person who likes to see different cultures), or something solid. I would not put much emphasis on what people in California say about schools outside of California unless they ATTENDED that school or lived in that city before. Californians don’t like people judging them or making superficial generalizations (particularly if they are negative), nor do people from other parts of the country like being generalized or judged by people who dont really know what they are talking about. If you know what you want, then go after it and be content with your decision. If you end up at Oregon, that is fine. Its a fine school and if that is YOU, then you will be happy and thrive.</p>
<p>nocousin- I agree about UW. It’s a gorgeous campus in a really nice area. I’m not sure about your assessment of Eugene. It seemed like there was plenty to do in the area for college students. It’s hard to compare it to Seattle, because Seattle is a major city.</p>
<p>What is the perception of Pepperdine? I know the students tend to be wealthy, but going to college in Malibu would be incredible and Pepperdine has a great baseball team. I love to surf, but I’ve heard that you need a car to get to the beach from campus.</p>
<p>I’m also really interested to hear what others have to say about University of Colorado. How does it compare to Oregon in terms of atmosphere and the type of people that go there?</p>
<p>MickJag, I was going to definitely suggest Colorado for you once you talked about Oregon and your wants in a school, I didn’t because of the weather. It is a perfect fit for you, IMO. Amazing outdoor activities that are untouched by most schools, beautiful environment, BCS conference sports, good academics. Boulder is a perfect setting and a great college town. Here is a ranking of America’s best college sports towns, a lot of your schools are on here. [SI.com</a> - SI on Campus - Best College Sports Towns - Thursday September 11, 2003 10:59AM](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/index.html]SI.com”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/index.html)</p>
<p>Also, you may want to apply to UCSB/UCSC, seeing that you are in-state for California. I know that they don’t have the sports you are looking for, but UCSC has a ton of recreational activities and is 4 miles from the beach! UCSB has it’s own beach on campus! Those schools don’t really have the competitiveness that UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UCD will have in the UC’s. UCSB is a party school, UCSC is more like Oregon. They’re affordable safety schools if nothing more, and UCSC is less than an hour from your house. UCSB is Pepperdine’s environment with Wisconsin’s party atmosphere and Oregon’s student body.</p>
<p>BTW nocousin, I would strongly contest “I cant’ think of a BETTER place to go to school for Marine Biology than UDub.”. Miami?</p>
<p>Wolves: Miami has some amazing programs. It also has some “interesting history”. For years it was a covert operation location for CIA, despite the law saying CIA cant do domestic work…they skirted it because the purpose of the station was to plan Operation Mongoose: taking out Castro. They did a lot of “research” there.</p>
<p>It does have Marine Biology. So does Florida and Florida State and USF. But I have to say that UW is consistently ranked and rated one of the best if not the best program…faculty, government grants and assistance, research, etc. You are free to differ, of course.</p>
<p>MickJag: Pepperdine is a great school, and a superb location, gorgeous campus. Been there. But it doesnt seem to fit the “mold” you are seeking. Its more conservative, its quasi religious…a religious history and a lot of “Christians” go there, its a tad bit preppy and yuppy, and its sort of the antithesis of Oregon or UW in “culture”. You may visit, fall in love and say, “I want to go here.” Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. Its sports history is not as strong either.</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara or UC San Diego perhaps fit what you are looking for better: more laid back and so forth. Of those, UCSB is my fave.</p>
<p>A2Wolves6- thanks for the link to that article! I’m definitely going to have to look more into University of Georgia</p>
<p>nocousin- I had no idea that Pepperdine was so conservative, thanks for the information.</p>
<p>Regarding the other schools you suggested
UC Santa Cruz- I actually really like Santa Cruz. The area is really nice and so is the campus. I love the laid back environment at UCSC. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t have the big time sports and I think without a major athletics program, my college career wouldn’t be complete. The same goes for UCSB - love the school and the location, but it lacks the big time sports programs.
UC San Diego- not a big fan of this school. I visited a friend there last year. The campus isn’t very nice looking and while La Jolla has great weather, it’s more suited for wealthy old people than college students. UCSD is more than 50 % Asian. I’d prefer not to go to a school where I’d be a minority. It’s a great school academically, but not my type of scene.</p>
<p>Ironic how the OP criticizes top schools for being “snooty”, when it seems that he’s even snootier than the “snooty kids at Stanford”. I think the OP should douse his head with water because what he is saying is absurd and probably reflects more on his own insecurities than on any “elite” student body. He has just been thrown onto a level playing field, and his ego is afraid of being average. Naturally, he finds a way to condescend those he’s afraid of: he calls them “snooty” and “pretentious”. In order to maintain his position at the “top of the hill” he plans to go to a state school. We see from this that he not only condescends the people at “elite” schools, but also the people at state schools, because he asserts that it’s a small hill at a state school, and that he’d be the one on top. The OP is probably a greater snob than all the snobs at Stanford combined; in one post he has managed to condescend not just one particular demographic, but all the American college-goers. What now, will he condescend blue-collar factory workers? Will he condescend women? blacks? latinoes? the French? The fact that he just very casually had to mention his GPA and SATs shows that this is not just a conspiracy theory – that he very likely has a superiority complex. Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of academic superstars, or just in general exceptionally smart people, who go to state schools as their first choice, but none of them who have a good reason for going have to brag about it to justify their decision, or do it just to remain on the “top of the hill”. I think it’s time for the OP to practice a little introspection. Senior year is always a good time for introspection.</p>