In my college search, something truly terrible has happened to me: I’ve fallen in love with Yale.
I know, I know.
The logical side of my brain is pointing to the single-digit acceptance rate and my not-quite-there scores and concluding that I should probably look elsewhere. But the, er, non-logical side is pointing out that ISN’T THE CAMPUS SO PRETTY and HEY, DIDN’T YOUR MOM TELL YOU THAT YOU WRITE REALLY GOOD ESSAYS? You get the picture.
Now, of course, there are many reasons one might want to go to Yale - top notch faculty, research opportunities, great student body, IT’S FREAKING YALE, etc. But one of the most appealing things to me about the place - and one of the things that, I think, sets it apart from other top schools - is the sense of community. You’re assigned one “college” all four years, alumni go on about how close you get with people in your house, etc, etc. There’s a reason the essay was titled “The Opposite of Loneliness”. It’s like Hogwarts without the wands (and constant threat of death). So, in my quest to find sliiiiightly less competitive colleges to apply to, I ask the denizens of College Confidential: what are some other schools that have something similar to this tightly-knit residential system/sense of community? And, y’know, preferably acceptance rates above 6.3%.
Not to attempt to dissuade you, @petitbleu, from a housing structure – and university – to which you are clearly drawn, but a residential college system may actually be a sign that a school has grown too large – at least in some ways – and has developed this system to perhaps ameliorate the negative aspects of its size. For a college-wide sense of community, you may want to take a close look at a few smaller colleges to see if they offer an overall environment that appeals to you.
If what you are keen on is a strong sense of community where you all eat in the same dining hall most of the time and you get to know people outside of your year well, then check out some of the excellent LACs out there. Schools with 1600-2400 students provide exactly that kind of strong community feeling that a ‘house system’ tries to create. Don’t be seduced by the idea that there are more classes you can take at a bigger school - no matter how many courses a school offers, you still have only 8 semesters (or 12 quarters) with 4-5 classes so you are unlikely exhaust the course offerings even at a small school (and if you did, breadth has a value educationally too - as does study abroad for a year.)
If you are open to something smaller, try Vassar. Strong house loyalty and fun traditions. Gorgeous campus, especially the library and art museum. I don’t believe that living on campus is compulsory, but the vast majority of students stay on-campus all 4 years.
Rice (the obvious suggestion) is already suggested. UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz have similar albeit larger systems, but unless you’re in California it’s not worth the price tag.
Another possibility is looking at the Claremont Consortium, and seeing if any of the five colleges (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, Scripps) appeal. There are other consortiums across the country, but Claremont’s is especially tight: cross-enrolling is just as easy as enrolling in your own college’s courses, and the colleges are all clustered together. But no Gothic architecture.
You cam also find equivalents at large schools, such as the residential college at Michigan and honors colleges/housing at many publics. If you are engineering and/or science focused Caltech has a house system
Princeton. I know that P’s residential college system is just like Yale’s (which was of course copied from Britain). But basically you don’t have your typical dorms, but rather something like a townhouse where there are dining halls, entertainment centers, intramurals, etc.
People I know who went to ND have said they really liked that system. They said that even if people move off-campus they are still affiliated with their house thru their 4 years at ND.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I live in the Northeast, so Rice and Pomona haven’t even been on my radar - I’ll check them out. I agree that what I’m describing could probably apply to most of the top LACs, although I’m a little wary of the reeeally small ones (I’m coming from a tiny high school, and frankly I’m tired of knowing the gossip about everyone’s brother’s girlfriend’s pet dog). I guess the trick is to find a balance where you can keep the sense of community, but also see some new faces once in a while.
You gotta love CollegeConfidential people: you ask for a place that’s easier to get into than Yale, and somebody recommends Princeton.
A notch easier to get into than Yale:.Chicago and Northwestern, both of which might be nice consolation prizes. Outside the US, U of Durham, U of St. Andrews, U of Aberdeen…and U of Toronto (large, but elite and has residential colleges). Georgetown? Queen’s U in Ontario?
