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<p>Here’s the context I’m looking for: other elite urban universities. I’ve been to UPenn; I’ve been to Yale; I’ve been to Harvard. Take my word for it, Morningside Heights is a far more interesting and less threatening combination of streetscapes, locals, shopping and recreation than ANY of those three. I haven’t been to UChicago, so if if someone wants to assert Hyde Park’s superiority in that regard I’m willing to listen.</p>
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<p>In my opinion, Morningside Heights >>> south side of Chicago. If only DePaul and UChicago would switch locations…Georgetown has a pretty nice setup for an urban university as well, in my mind.</p>
<p>That’s fine, but for SOME that is a choice between Scylla and Charybdis. </p>
<p>For the nth time, observers will look at the various choices with a certain subjectivity. Not everybody is enamored with a school located in a major city. It so happens that schools that are several hundred years old are often located in or within the vicinity of less than desirable areas. That is simply part of the urban fabric of large cities. A similar subjectivity can arise when looking at the pastoral and bucolic environment of residential LACs that are in the “middle of nowhere.” </p>
<p>Again, it is a matter of individual perception.</p>
<p>^^that’s just stating the obvious.</p>
<p>It seems that some have problems in accepting the “obvious!”</p>
<p>Regarding the topic of this thread, Quality of Life at top ranked schools, it’s obvious to me that the Princeton Review rankings are meaningless. Because everybody has different definitions of what is a good quality of life. When I chose which school to go to, quality of life was my highest priority. That’s why I chose Pomona College. Excellent weather, beautiful ivy covered campus, single rooms instead of doubles, elegant dormitories, free parking, short walking distance to downtown Claremont, suburban location near both the beach and the mountains, and small size. I would have been miserable at Barnard. But others obviously are not. Personal choice. Not worth arguing about.</p>
<p>I’m familiar with a couple of the “C” colleges. So if there is any element of truth to these rankings, it suggests to me that the baseline for all these “top 50” is pretty darn high. At some schools we visited, food for example was way over the top (wood-fired pizza ovens, Thai/Chinese/Tex-Mex stations, omelette chefs, ice cream bars.) Gone are the days I remember when dinner meant a nightly choice of brown stuff or grey stuff.</p>
<p>Does anyone know why Oberlin got such a low QoL score? I understand how subjective it is, but surely it is based on something. Small town? (That’s actually a plus, in my opinion). Tough winter? Did Oberlin score better in previous years?</p>