<p>NearL, I can TOTALLY sympathise with you. In fact, i feel the exact same. Me, too, want a prestigious degree that can get me a good job, without having to go thru a miserable four years studying and doing massive thinking.</p>
<p>I would think any of the Southern schools should do fine for you. Vanderbilt and Emory especially. Georgetown would be pretty chillax too.</p>
<p>Colgate, no.</p>
<p>Go to a Southern school like the guy above me suggests.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is tough to get into but it’s keggers on frat row and major school spirit. But if you’re talking money, I think it’s expensive.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is looking good. I’m staying away from Emory. Duke’s top ten so it must be impossibly challenging. Tulane looks like fun, but supposedly has a bad reputation among academics. And isn’t particularly prestigious. I begin to wonder if I should care about academe’s opinion on Tulane, since I’m neither an intellectual nor an academic (sorry!). Brown’s a great school, but it’s super-intellectual. Colgate’s an LAC, so it probably drowns its students in work. I just want fun, free time, and a good job in four years. </p>
<p>Can anyone suggest a school other than Vandy and Indiana? Maybe OSU?</p>
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<p>I suspect the posters who are suggesting Vanderbilt for you actually have little–if any–experience with the school. Grades are not easy to come by, and the professors expect students to take their studies seriously.</p>
<p>jerzgrlmom–
No, I haven’t attended Brown. My alma mater is Berkeley and I’ve done and doing postgraduate work in Penn and Cornell. In any case I am aware that Brown has Open Curriculum (i.e., no core requirements) and the students can in theory take all classes Pass/Not Pass (or they call it Satisfactory/No Credit). Please note however that most Brown students take classes for a grade anyway, esp. those set on going to grad school.</p>
<p>Naturally, I take offense to whoever mentioned Brown as being prestige without the work.</p>
<p>As with every school, it depends on your major, not the school overall.</p>
<p>Oh noes! I don’t wanna think too hard while learning or my brain might not like it!</p>
<p>If you want prestige, you’re gonna need to do the work…or just get a shallow major that doesn’t matter at all.</p>
<p>
Amen! People are confusing the laidback nature of Southern schools with a lack of academic rigor. Southern schools are no less rigorous than their NE counterparts. </p>
<p>
Bobbobbob nailed it. Most of your free time depends on your major and coursework, not your college. Engineering majors will have problem sets, geology majors will have labs/fieldwork, music majors will have practices/performances, etc., at all universities. </p>
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Have you considered the University of Florida? It’s a very reputable school, and you could possibly get a full ride with your stats.</p>
<p>I have never heard anything bad about Tulane’s academics, by the way.</p>
<p>Fine, a 3.3 in non-science (including economics) majors shouldn’t be impossibly hard anywhere. I don’t want to go to a school where I’ll be forced to study four or more hours just to get a B. If that means no science majors that’s great – I dislike science. </p>
<p>Problem solved.</p>
<p>Michigan is a hard school. Brown is a hard school. Vanderbilt is a hard school. </p>
<p>If you think getting satisfactory grades at Vanderbilt will be easy…you’re out of your mind. Vandy kids party, but they also work their butts off. Professors expect a lot from them. </p>
<p>And on that note, Tulane’s academics are fine.</p>
<p>If you truly want an easy ride though, try Ohio State or other lower-tier publics. They have huge alumni networks (helpful for getting jobs), but are typically more party than work.</p>