<p>I live in NY and I really want to go to a school in Northeast (not any farther south than VA). however, I know that many colleges in the Northeast have a reputation for being extremely stuck-up and snobby so I'm looking for colleges that have really nice, friendly, genuine students.</p>
<p>We just got a flyer in the mail from Muhlenberg claiming they have the friendliest students, for what that’s worth.</p>
<p>I can vouch for Muhlenberg. My daughter is a freshman their and is loving it. She said it has been easy to make friends. During our two visits before she decided to attend MC we had smiling kids holding open doors for us (once on a tour, once on our own). Anytime we stopped a student to ask a question they were happy to reply and very polite. My daughter said her floormates in Prosser are “great” and they get along vey well.</p>
<p>We toured a lot of smallish liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, and I’d say the two with the friendliest kids were Muhlenberg and Clark. We also got good friendly vibes from Dickinson.</p>
<p>Mt. Holyoke (MA) Wheaton College (MA) St. Lawrence University (NY)
Connecticut College (CT) Holy Cross (MA) Hood College (MD)</p>
<p>Muhlenberg and these others are all decent schools, but what about “top” schools? Where do the friendly A students go?</p>
<p>*but what about “top” schools? Where do the friendly A students go? *</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>Think this over - do friendly kids naturally gravitate to one campus and not another? You’ll find friendliness and some lesser degree of unfriendliness everywhere. Campus size may determine how much friendliness you might perceive as may campus architecture, weather, and the cultural norms of the region. But to believe that “many colleges in the Northeast have a reputation for being extremely stuck-up and snobby” is just buying into outdated movie stereotypes. My daughters at Harvard have, in fact, encountered much friendliness and very little snobbery from fellow students - far less snobbery than I encountered during my undergraduate days at Wake Forest.</p>
<p>I mean no disrespect, I’m just saying an Ivy-caliber student is probably not going to Muhlenberg no matter how friendly it is.</p>
<p>OP did not specify “top”. He/she asked for friendly student bodies. </p>
<p>Just about all the schools mentioned are in the top 100 LAC’s with the exception of Hood College (it is a regional university, not an LAC). Clark is a National University ranked at #86. (USNWR) </p>
<p>In no particular order: LAC’s previously mentioned: </p>
<p>Mt. Holyoke #26
Holy Cross #32
Conn #41
SLU #55
Wheaton #59
Muhlenberg #75
Dickinson #47</p>
<p>Holy Cross, Bowdoin.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg was definitely my first thought, too. When I told my guidance counselor I wanted friendly, she immediately suggested UMBC but I can’t personally vouch for it.</p>
<p>I personally found Lehigh to be a very friendly school, and it is almost like an ivy in terms of academic opportunity.</p>
<p>The kids at Swarthmore are really friendly!</p>
<p>I think this has at least as much to do with the attitude you project as with the college environment. If you develop a friendly, attractive personality, then others will tend to respond in kind.</p>
<p>That’s not to say the environment does not matter, but the specific characteristics that matter most will differ from person to person. Do you like sports? Indie music? Beer pong? If you go to college expecting something that just is not there, it may affect your ability to make friends and enjoy college life. </p>
<p>Suppose you are a bright, well-rounded kid without clearly-defined interests, and you just want to make lots of friends easily. In that case, I think a good choice would be a moderately selective school located in a nice setting with a reputation for happy students. Princeton Review maintains a “happiest students” list (along with lists for other quality-of-life factors such as best food and dorms).</p>
<p>NYU-
My aunt went there for her MBA and she says that she got out with plenty of connections throughout the US. My cousin also goes there as well for his undergraduate degree and he seems to like it there.
Other schools to consider: Dartmouth, Columbia, BC</p>
<p>Bowdoin and BC are NOT that friendly.
Dartmouth, yes. I would also look at schools like Haverford.</p>
<p>For a good mix of nonsnobby kids I would suggest looking into public universities. In my home state PA we have two great schools known for happy friendly kids, Penn State and Pitt. I have heard that U Del and James Madison University have a similar friendly vibe, but have yet to visit there.</p>
<p>We toured Muhlenberg with my D when she was a junior last year and she noticed a lack of diversity in the student body. Mainly upper middle class mostly girls from PA and NJ. Not to say its not a friendly place, but you might want to look to a larger school to get more diversity in friends.</p>
<p>We toured Dickinson this year and I’m surprised to see it suggested as not snobby. We had a very snobby sorority girl as our tour guide. Also, the admissions presentation was pretty stiff and academic in tone. </p>
<p>Are you looking for a small school or a large one, because most of the schools suggested have been small liberal arts colleges. I have heard second hand that among the LACs, Skidmore, Connecticut College and F&M are very friendly.</p>
<p>Here are some top schools (in no particular order) I have heard that are nice (and I have known a substantial amount of individuals to fathom a general good vibe):</p>
<p>Yale: Yes, Yale kids are nice people. They are really nice, friendly, and humble. Some of the nicest people I know go here.</p>
<p>Tufts: People are very friendly. They compete with themselves and not others. Tufts students are really happy.</p>
<p>Brown: Same as Tufts in this regard. Like Tufts, there are very friendly, happy, and nice people.</p>
<p>Dartmouth: I think someone has already mentioned Dartmouth–really humble people.</p>
<p>NYU: Even Stern kids are pretty nice and cut-throat like people would have you imagine. The students, despite being in the city, are very cheery and nice people.</p>
<p>And there are also the LAC’s which people have mentioned (I would add Bowdoin to the list though if no one has mentioned it).</p>
<p>These are all from my own experiences and are of course anecdotal and generalized. But I don’t think many people would disagree with these statements. Sure there are probably outliers at all these places, but in general, I feel they give off friendly vibes.</p>
<p>
I’ll never forget my Brown visit, as it was the first time I’d ever been north of DC. As I was walking to campus that morning, I greeted people with a wave and a “good morning” (this is fairly customary in the South). Most people looked at me as if I had grown two heads. :o In contrast, the campus was noticeably more friendly, which I found a relief.</p>
<p>I agree with Swatmom; the students at Swat seemed immensely friendly to me.</p>