<p>Gut feeling- Smart kids who don't do much independent thinking, i.e. if there are 50 white kids at a party they'll never wonder why no minorities showed up. Conservative.</p>
<p>I truely do appreciate your honest answer Slipper1234. So do you equate the word "conservative" with liking everything to be lilly white? Do you think that is what people outside the South think, that is, that kids that go there are prejudice (sorry I don't know if that is spelled right)? I bet a lot are, but thank goodness we are not....I would not like anyone to think that of my child, that is why I appreciate these gut feelings.</p>
<p>Gut feeling - smart kids, but not the smartest from their Southern high schools (many private), conservative, lip service religion, but raised going to church. Aiming for a career in law/medicine, predominantly. The slightly more liberal kids, with slightly higher grades and an interest in study abroad prefer Davidson. More PhDs come out of Davidson, but lots of overlap. These kids want a beautiful setting, to have a good time, learn stuff, and get into med school. Often there is some tie to the school - but not always a legacy.</p>
<p>Thanks cangel....like I said these perceptions are exactly what I am looking for...please keep them coming.</p>
<p>I don't think they are prejuduced intentionally, but are rather prejuduced unintentionally. I find people gravitate towards environments that fit them, and if a predominantly white, conservative, southern school doesn't concern a person, thinking about life from a different perspective probably doesn't concern that person either. Perhaps I am practicing my own prejeduce in that judgement, but I once again I don't think have little respect for intolerance is wrong. Also, I am sure there are plenty of people at W&L that are not like this, its just my gut on how most students operate.</p>
<p>Do you think that is what east coast employers and graduate schools would think also? It is definately true that there is not much ethnic diversity there, but believe it or not, there are tons of students from the east coast there also....but obviously W&L's public relations has not succeeded in conveying this fact.</p>
<p>I don't think that many employers care that much about the social stratifications at top LACs. Most really won't know the difference between Skidmore and Swarthmore. And graduate schools will look at GREs and professor recs as well as grades, and will know the schools by academic reputation. </p>
<p>Graduate school-level academia is pretty left-wing these days, and I suppose there might be some latent bias against an applicant from W and L or a similar relatively more conservative/less monolithically liberal school, but I suspect that the right applicant in the right field with the right bells and whistles will do fine. I don't think the same difficulty would exist at law/med/business school as in the liberal arts graduate fields.</p>
<p>PA Mom, I'm actually the OP (slipstream vs. slipper, what are the odds?!)</p>
<p>I used "southern" instead of "less diverse" was because I often hear people disparage an entire set of colleges simply because of where they're located: in the South. I actually attend Vanderbilt, so I'm not looking for advice on where to enroll, but searching for an answer to what sort of negative images people conjure up when talking about southern schools. For me, I find the South to be a very welcoming, relaxed, and downright awesome place so I couldn't wrap my head around why it was used practically as an insult. I think from all the responses now, though, I have a much better idea of the misconceptions people have about the South and understand why they would stay away from southern schools (heck, if what they were saying was actually true, I would stay away too!).</p>
<p>rogracer, great story! just goes to show you that the prevailing opinions on CC are not always reflective of the truth!</p>
<p>Are you a Congressman? Do you make the legislation or agenda for the Republican party? No? Didn't think so. Of course lots of people will have their own unique ideas. Have we already forgotten that the "traditional" conservative was a balanced-budget small government advocate, the antithesis of today's radical right wing? Well, all of that doesn't matter because look whose got the votes and the mandate.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That's why Michael Moore is a douche -- his statements are in general a whole lot of propaganda designed to create a cultlike "anti-Republican" mentality among the uninformed through outright lack of objectivity.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I love this. This is brilliant. Statements like these are what help the conservatives hold on to power. Who has made "liberal" and "Democrat" dirty words over the past 20 years? Who has planted in the popular mind the image of an atheist as some sort of baby-sacrificing Satan worshipping terrorist? Who passed legislation illegally redrawing the voting boundaries in a state to help maintain their hold on power? And when Michael Moore makes two movies to protest this - what was that about diversity of opinion that I heard from conservatives earlier in this thread? - he's a bad man who spews forth venomous propaganda and is working to create a cult-like anti-Republicanism among the masses, masses that actually voted MORE Republican after his movies came out. Right...</p>
<p>Slip - another tidbit. Aside from my normal job function in research and development, I have a side role as a hiring/recruitment manager for a major aerospace company. If I come across an arrogant, snot-nosed elitist (not unlike myself many years ago...) from a top school, I will pass them by in a heartbeat. And I certainly don't overlook the wonderful talent available at southern schools.</p>
<p>Xanatos, You are correct about the words "conservative" and "liberal" becoming dirty these days. That is what I meant by people thinking that conservative equated with prejudice.</p>
<p>slipstream,</p>
<p>Do you like vandy? Do you find it mainly has students from the South or is that just another misconception? Do you feel the campus is safe? It is on my D's list also.</p>
<p>Ooops - sorry slipstream - I thought that those posts seemed to convey a very different attitude and I just did not read the posters names carefully enough !
Now I understand where you are coming from much better. I also attended a southern school though I am from the northeast, and my daughter has chosen to attend a southern school as well. I did not find the atmosphere really any different than what I was used to - except they speak slower and with an accent - LOL. When we visited the southern schools we noticed that everyone was very nice and friendly. Maybe it's from all of the beautiful weather...It is just a shame that people believe the stereotypes of southerners just as much as it is a shame that they believe any stereotypes.
I am not sure if the views posted here reflect the general population, but my experience and what I have heard about Vanderbilt is all good.It sounds like you have had a great experience as well.<br>
Good luck to you.</p>
<p>who made "liberal" a dirty word? easy...liberals did, by promoting a fruitcake agenda that the majority of America will never support.</p>
<p>Cough <em>bias</em> Cough.</p>
<p>What do you expect? He's from Arkansas...</p>
<p>^^ HAHA</p>
<p>Back to this topic... I'm not going to apply to many "southern" schools next year because I've traveled a little in the south (Georgia, Florida, NC, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi) and I was pretty uncomfortable there.</p>
<p>Making fun of someones state of residency is extremely low-class</p>
<p>tabularasa, what made you feel "uncomfortable"?</p>
<p>Why do people always like to say that Duke ISNT diverse? I mean if you want to say that their isnt a huge amount of race interaction (the case at the majority of diverse schools sadly but truthfully) is one thing... but Duke has a diverse student body. The school is about 60% white, 35% minority and 5% international which means minorities are actually overrepresented in comparison to the country as a whole.</p>
<p>Duke is about average/ slightly worse than average in terms of deiversity when compared to the rest of the top 10-15 schools in the country, but I think people find its culture intimidating rather than just the numbers of minorities.</p>