Personalities of these colleges

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm international so I haven't really heard much about the colleges I've applied to, and didn't realise that some colleges had specific reputations, like Oberlin is supposed to be liberal etc, so I would be grateful if anyone could describe some of the characteristics or stereotypes of following colleges to me so I can make a more informed choice :D Thanks!</p>

<p>Amherst College
Cornell University
Dartmouth University
Hamilton College
Johns Hopkins University
Middlebury College
Oberlin College
Smith College
Swarthmore College
Wesleyan University
Yale University</p>

2

<p>You’re international, so please note that “liberal” and “conservative” and other political terms carry different meanings in different countries.</p>

<p>For example, if you were from Ireland and chose a school because you were a “republican,” you would be sorely disappointed by the different meanings.</p>

<p>When people in the US say “liberal,” look at the US Democratic Party. When people in the US say “conservative,” look at the US Republican Party. “Liberal” is in between “moderate” (by US standards) and “socialist” (which is more normal by some countries’ standards). “Conservative” is usually between “moderate” (US) and “laissez-faire capitalist” (not common in other developed countries).</p>

<p>That said, most of those schools are considered “liberal” by US standards. That, however, is not nearly everything that goes into a school’s personality. I don’t know enough to give full answers, so hopefully others can. You can also ask on those schools’ forums.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the reply :smiley: I’m applying from the UK. </p>

<p>I guess liberal and conservative don’t just apply to politics. I’ve done a bit of research on Smith and it seems too liberal for my taste; does any of these colleges have any particular reputation or notoriety?</p>

4

<p>Yale University</p>

<p>Amherst College, Swarthmore College, Dartmouth University</p>

<p>Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Middlebury College, Wesleyan University</p>

<p>Hamilton College, Oberlin College, Smith College</p>

5

<p>^ That looks like a ranking by selectivity (Yale=more selective,Hamilton=less selective), not a list of distinct “personalities”.</p>

<p>Every one of them will attract a more or less broad range of students with respect to many personal characteristics (liberal-conservative, rich-poor, worldly-provincial, etc.) As for politics in particular, the ISI’s collegeguide.org site, which reviews colleges from a conservative perspective, assigns a red-yellow-green rating for tolerance toward their positions. Regardless of your own leanings, you might find the reviews informative.</p>

6

<p>Stereotypes:</p>

<p>Cornell University - people study all the time
Dartmouth University - academically strong, obviously, but also a bit of a party school
Hamilton College - somewhat liberal, but not too much; rumors about drugs, wild parties, date rapes, etc. (don’t know if true)
Johns Hopkins University - cutthroat competition
Oberlin College - free spirits, academically challenging
Smith College - strong personalities, political awareness/activism
Swarthmore College - very, very intense academics</p>

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<p>It’s Dartmouth College, not University.</p>

8

<p>Ghost listed stereotypes. Please do not assume that the stereotypes accurately reflect a school’s personality. For the most part, they do not. For example Johns Hopkin’s was described as “cutthroat competitive.”. Hopkins has long been stereotyped that way (maybe since 1876) but like most Institutions, it’s personality evolves over time. If you ask current students, very few would say that the stereotype is accurate. Hopkins is competitive to be sure-- that’s what happens when you put a bunch of highly intelligent,hard working, ambitious people together. But very few today would describe it as cutthroat–meaning that students don’t help each other but intentionally try to undercut or harm other students. To the contrary, most students are highly cooperative. I would describe Hopkin’s personality as a place where students and faculty converge with the goal of increasing knowledge. In other words, it is a serious academic place. But that doesn’t mean that fun can’t be had. It can and, for most students who strive to lead balanced lives, it can be a very fun place.</p>

<p>The stereotypes for the other schools listed similarly don’t necessarily mesh with reality.</p>

9

<p>Either I or one of my siblings looked at all of these colleges, and I know quite a bit about some of them, so I’ll share what I know. </p>

<p>Cornell University (visited) - The stereotype is that people here study all the time and half will commit suicide. That’s not true. It is a difficult school (perhaps more so than the other Ivies) but you can go there and do well. It’s really large, which means it’s very diverse (which is a big part of the schools “any person, any study” mission). The size means there really is not one stereotype that you can put most students under, as there is a sizable community of every type of kid here. Academically, it’s a great school with many unique programs that are worth looking into. I really think Cornell is a great school, but it should be noted that I come from a Cornell family, so I’ve been raised to feel that way. I loved Cornell for myself, and came extremely close to going there. One downside is that you might have bigger classes here (but this is not necessarily true). It could be more difficult to stand out and develop a relationship with professors, but if you make the effort you will be able to. My sister was a sciences major and saw this (although despite relative anonymity, she still did very well). Conversely, her boyfriend was a history major and he is friendly with many of his professors. I think that will depend on you major. </p>

<p>Dartmouth University (visited) - First off, it’s Dartmouth COLLEGE. This is where I’m going next year. Strangely, I’ve heard Dartmouth being stereotyped as both the most conservative and most liberal Ivy. There are a lot of things to love about Dartmouth. Small classes. Undergraduate focus. Community feel. Beautiful campus. The D-plan. Nature. Good social life. Dartmouth also has a stereotype for being kind of WASPy, but I will say that I think any elite school is going to be fairly WASPy. Also Dartmouth grads have the highest mid-career earnings of any college. Dartmouth is awesome. Also, everyone at Dartmouth is super friendly. Do you think I like it?</p>

<p>Hamilton College (visited) - Hamilton is an even smaller school than Dartmouth (I think about 2,000). This is pretty much what you think of when you think of LAC. The classes are really small, and you will know your professors well. Hamilton is really isolated though, that’s one downside. People here are also quite friendly. I really liked this school.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins University (visited with sis) - I personally didn’t look here, but one of my sisters did so I’ll tell you what I know about it. It’s a pretty nice campus in an alright area of Baltimore (but it gets bad quickly). This was one of my sister’s top choices, although she did not choose to attend. She visited on accepted students day, which was pretty much a perfect day. The determining factor for her was the despite the weather, there was no one on the quad but the libraries and labs were packed. The students here do take their work seriously, but I won’t say that’s a bad thing. If you are thinking about pre-med, Hopkins is first rate. </p>

<p>Middlebury College - Ultimately did not visit, but the school seemed really nice. Similar to many other NESCAC schools. Strong international focus, which was a plus. Also in a beautiful location. Came highly recommended. </p>

<p>Oberlin College - I know nothing other than what you said, it had a liberal reputation. </p>

<p>Smith College - Women’s school in western Mass. </p>

<p>Swarthmore College (drove through campus but did not tour) - Intensely intellectual school in the Philly suburbs. Location would be a plus because it is very close to the city without being in the city (so it is still a green campus). I believe it is also liberal. </p>

<p>Wesleyan University (visited with sis) - Also known as a very liberal school with a hipster feel. </p>

<p>Yale University (visited with sis) - I think it has a rep as kind of WASPy and stuffy, but is extremely diverse as a result of the aid they can offer. First rate education in any field. Can’t go wrong with this choice. New Haven is kind of seedy, but the campus itself is gorgeous. </p>

<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the schools I visited. I think doing something like this is really important, but only if you cannot visit. I would highly recommend coming to visit the schools once you have acceptances, if possible.</p>

10

<p>liberal socially may mean something entirely different in the U.S. than it does in the UK. For instance, in the U.S. you can binge drink to your heart’s content and still be considered “conservative” but, the moment you take a toke from a joint being passed around, somehow that puts you in the liberal or “hippy” category. It makes no sense when one considers how rare it is to get busted for one without the other.</p>

<p>In the U.K. tolerance for gays, or at least tolerance for schoolboy bromances, have been a subject of English public school literary fiction for generations, whereas in the U.S., it is a sub-category of gender politics and consequent jockeying for open recognition as both a cause and an academic sub-discipline.</p>

<p>At the other end of the spectrum are athletes who probably compose the largest contingent of recruited students in the United States. I’m not even sure there is any version of it to compare it to in any other developed country. In some of the larger universities they are treated almost like pre-professionals, in that there is a whole system in place to guide their path toward some of the highest paying jobs in the world of televised sports. Needless to say, recognition as a feeder school for any one of the nationally televised sports teams (mainly, basketball, and American football) confers great prestige upon schools that would otherwise be known only for their large classes, low graduation rates and great distance from any of the nation’s cultural meccas. And, for some reason, the binge drinking, the high rate of fraternity/sorority membership, and attendance at sporting events are posted on the “conservative” side of the ledger.</p>

<p>Of the schools listed in the OP’s post, none would fit the stereotype of what the average American would call, a big-time sports school although Dartmouth, Yale and Cornell, in their heyday, had huge followings. Likewise, Wesleyan, Amherst and Swartmore were founding members of the NCAA (the successor to the old Intercollegiate Athletic Association) and, in many ways, you can still tell where a school falls along the liberal/conservative continuum by how often you hear their students and alum refer to them as “work hard, play hard” schools. The “playing” part rarely refers to a musical instrument, dancing, poetry slamming, or a hard fought game of Mario Kart.</p>

<p>To that extent, the schools on the OP’s list are more like, “work hard, work harder” schools.</p>

11

<p>i don’t know much about the differences between political/social terms here and in other countries, but here are my takes on a few of your schools, using US definitions. </p>

<p>Amherst College- preppy but academic
Middlebury College- great school, pretty athletic
Oberlin College- hippy school
Smith College- another hippy school
Swarthmore College- very intellectual, very liberal and politically involved
Wesleyan University- supposed to be liberal, i found it pretentious </p>

<p>hope that helps! :)</p>

12

<p>If you want student perceptions with a higher “N” than our individual responses, rendered by students who actually go there, check out each school’s listing on PrincetonReview.com.</p>

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<p>^ You can also check out students_review.com (remove the underscore), but be wary of harshly negative reviews that might represent an outlier with an ax to grind rather than the typical student experience.</p>

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<p>there’s a ton of multi-media, student generated material available at you-knee-go dot com (not the real spelling, but really five letters that sound like the phrase)</p>