What are these schools most known for?

College Search & Selection
21

<p>gabriellah,
I know that you are a big fan of PA and I agree with other comments that this isn't the place to debate that again. But I do think that there is a LOT of evidence that graduate school prowess generally seeps into institutional reputations which in turn finds its way into USNWR PA undergrad rankings. </p>

<p>As for Hopkins, I agree that it is a first-rate school with a fabulous medical school. I think the school is more like the others in its group than the other schools and I also think that the 4 schools in that group (U Chicago, Wash U, Tufts, and JHU) have some of the most talented students in the country. Please don't interpret my comments or mini-rankings as any kind of slam to JHU as I think very highly of the school.</p>

22

<p>Univ. of Chicago has a big, new, impressive building devoted to biology, chemistry and physics research. Much of the money came from the makers of some popular candy (can't remember which one, but a big bowl of it is available for all visitors). Potential students can get a tour of the facilities and a description of the program they are using to match up student researchers with active labs. I guess somebody noticed that science had been slipping.</p>

<p>The poster Idad knows more about this, but there is discussion going on about establishing a nanoengineering major.</p>

23

<p>Enrolled student scores are an interesting number, valuable for assessing certain data. However, if you are interested in applying to a certain school, you need to deal with the "accepted student" data...After all, that is approximately what one would need to be accepted to the school. What happens after, in terms of the data for the students who decide to enroll, is another matter, which would probably vary from year to year. For Hopkins, for 2006, that figure, without the writing score, was 1440. I already posted the website. Please take a look at it. Pulling imaginary data out of the air is not helpful to anyone. Always go directly to the source.
Also, not to be rude, but rather with the intention of being helpful, let me correct your grammar: "me and Columbia are saying...." No. "Columbia and I are saying...." Best of luck to you with your college choices.</p>

24

<p>Gabriellah, thank you for correcting my grammar. If you do go to JHU you are making it look bad. </p>

<p>Anyways, the actual average student that chooses to enroll at JHU has a 1390 (collegeboard.com). JHU accepts kids with an average of 1440, but many of these kids turn JHU down for better schools (that might be more fun too). Students who turn down JHU for a stronger school aren't making the student body more competitive.</p>

<p>I'm already in college btw.</p>

25

<p>if you want to know which schools are notorious party schools, the princeton review's website has compiled some interesting lists (top ten party schools, top ten schools for beer/liquor consumption, top ten schools for kids who never study, etc.)
Also, college ******* has some good information on nightlife, social scene and guys/girls for various schools. they have a really good book called "untangling the ivy league" that covers standard college information, as well as some quirkier facts and figures.</p>

26

<p>for some reason, cc has censored the word P R O W L E R</p>

27

<p>Skidmore is also known as "Smokemore..." haha weed. I believe they're on Princeton Review's "Reefer Madness" list. However, still a good LAC, named a "New Ivy" by Newsweek</p>

28

<p>midmo,</p>

<p>UChicago rankings in sciences:
bio: 18th
chem: 12th
physics: 8th
comp sci: 34th</p>

<p>20 years ago, I was told it's easily thought of being top-10 in every science. That's why it "slipped". "Big Science" schools to me are Harvard, Stanford, CIT, or MIT. By the way, many schools have new buildings for science research. UChicago isn't alone.</p>

29

<p>what a fun list of schools! wow i'm a loser. anyway...</p>

<p>Duke: sports are a big deal, read "I am Charlotte Simmons" for a detailed overview of the social scene. i have no idea what duke's strong academic programs are. that's probably not a good thing.
Georgetown: amazing location but "don't underestimate the influence of the catholic affiliation" is advice from a friend who goes there; prestigious school of foreign studies
Johns Hopkins: awkward location; premed craziness
Tufts: top notch IR program; lots of students who want to "make the world a better place"; international influence=ecclectic student body and faculty.
Colgate: strong econ; remote location; greek scene rules the social scene
Wesleyan: alternative type kids who probably couldn't see themselves going anywhere else
Northwestern: good theater and top journalism; nice kid types; overlooked by snobs who think that the US is made up of two coasts and that therefore the midwest doesn't exist
Vassar: hippy-ish student body; beautiful campus
William and Mary: standout public school
Vanderbilt: really southern; home coming queens and hs football quarterbacks
University of Virginia: prestigious honors program; cool architecture
University of Chicago: nerdy; good econ; students like learning for learning's sake
Skidmore: skid what?
Washington University in St. Louis: lots of premeds; awkward location; really into sending people mail; cares too much about USNWR rankings</p>

30

<p>My post may offend some</p>

<p>Duke- basketball, lacrosse, attractive campus/unattractive student body, wealthy students
Georgetown- wealthy, political, well rounded students
Johns Hopkins- Pre-med, ultra completive, career oriented
Tufts- preppy, liberal, the red headed stepchild of the Northeast
Colgate- cold weather, in the middle of nowhere, excellent academics, pretty good social (party) scene
Wesleyan- hippie haven, big stoner school, very intelligent students who love to learn
Northwestern- in the Big 10, great journalism department, very cold in the winter, big greek system
Vassar- another hippie college, more liberal than Reed college, large gay population, a little bit extreme
William and Mary- LAC with public tuition, outstanding school
Vanderbilt- sports, parties, attractive women, huge greek system, a “Southern Ivy”
University of Virginia- a public version on Vanderbilt - big time sports, preppy, Greek life is huge at UVA, diverse in terms of ethnicity (but not social class), great academics (particularly in Business and Engineering).
University of Chicago- intellectual, great economics department, “nerdy” according to my friend who went there
Washington University in St. Louis- very wealthy student body, great for the sciences</p>

31

<p>
[quote]
Northwestern - looks like West Point with sororities. Socially, somewhere between Duke and Chicago

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I don't get the West Point with sororities part. Campus? Atmosphere? Social scene?</p>

32

<p>hawkette's post #7 is about as comprehensive and accurate as it gets, i second it</p>

33

<p>
[quote]
I don't get the West Point with sororities part. Campus? Atmosphere? Social scene?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>he was kind of joking, but i think he was referring to the architecture and the fact that west point is on a large body of water (like northwestern)</p>

<p>and possibly the fact that west point is near-ish new york and northwestern is right next to chicago.</p>

<p>here's west point:<a href="http://www.aogusma.org/soc/elpaso/wppc/wp.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aogusma.org/soc/elpaso/wppc/wp.jpg&lt;/a>
here's northwestern: <a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/photogallery/images/fall_05.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/photogallery/images/fall_05.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>i thought it was hilarious</p>

34

<p>^Just architecturally. A whole lot of granite everywhere you look, overlooking a body of water:
<a href="http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ000105.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ000105.jpg&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ001207.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ001207.jpg&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ000807.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/architecture/images/SQ000807.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

35

<p>^ Aha I see now.</p>

<p>I had no idea West Point looked like that. It's actually very scenic really.
I always imagined it'd look sort of like boot camp, but it's apparenty quite the contrary. Hmm.</p>

36

<p>^^ the military schools all have incredibly attractive campuses... the problem is when you go there you spend too much time looking straight ahead to appreaciate any of it :p</p>

37

<p>Duke: Excellent undergraduate education, very strong Biology and Biomedical Engineering departments and Basketball powerhouse. </p>

<p>Georgetown: Excellent International Relations program, preppy, Catholic, strong Basketball tradition, mature party scene.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins: Biology powerhouse, strong in the Humanities, "think tank" feel.</p>

<p>Tufts: Very similar to Georgetown minus the Basketball and the whole Catholic thing!</p>

<p>Colgate: Very strong in the Social Sciences and Mathematics, excellent LAC, very preppy.</p>

<p>Wesleyan: Very strong in the Social Sciences, great Film school, very liberal, excellent LAC.</p>

<p>Northwestern: Very strong in Journalism, Drama, Music, Education, Economics and Chemistry. </p>

<p>Vassar: Excellent in the Humanities, once an all-women's college that still has a clear female majority (60/40). </p>

<p>William and Mary: Very strong in the Humanities, very historic, often confused for a private university.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt: Strong in the Humanities and Social Sciences, excellent Education program, laid back students, good party scene.</p>

<p>University of Virginia: Very strong in the Humanities and Social Sciences, excellent Business program, gorgeous campus, spirited athletic tradition.</p>

<p>University of Chicago: Academic powerhouse accross all traditional academic disciplines, intense intellectual atmosphere, serious social scene.</p>

<p>Skidmore: Don't know enough. </p>

<p>Washington University in St. Louis: Excellent Biology department, strong Social Science and Business programs, down to Earth students and friendly administration.</p>

38

<p>When I think of Vassar, I do not associate it with lesbians, lol! I love Smith but I think that if you want to relate lesbianism to a particular women's school (whether it be ex or present), it would be Smith.</p>

<p>Vassar is more known for its girls-over-boy ratio, and definitely its' artsy-ness although Vassar is not as artsy as Sarah Lawrence.</p>

39

<p>is this your college list? or how did you come to choose just these schools for a comparison?</p>

40

<p>First, thanks for the honest information and the good laughs. </p>

<p>I'm not exactly looking for a party school, that was just an example. I wanted to know what the student body was like: artsy, activist, party-animals, study-animals, all of the above, etc.</p>

<p>wuwei, This is a list of schools that other people have told me they were great, but when I asked why, it was usually because of name recognition or because they heard from someone smart that they were good schools. I wanted an honest opinion of what the schools were like. If I had asked "Which of these schools is better for XYZ major?" then there would have been a fierce 'rankings' battle. IMO, schools within 10 or so US news rankings of each other are too similar in general for academics to make a big fuss over it.</p>