<p>I am surprised and disappointed when I read in some of the discussions of highly respected schools that students rarely discuss classroom learning or academic subjects out of class. I think my D would thrive in an atmosphere in which students are eager to talk about intellectual pursuits after class.
Thanks for your advice.</p>
<p>Reed (LAC) is famous for its intellectual environment.. or thats what I<code>ve heard. Sorry, I dont know of any others, but I</code>m sure alot of other ppl could comment on that!</p>
<p>University of Chicago.</p>
<p>I once taught at UChicago, and have visited Reed, and would agree that they are likely to be the two most intense in that respect. (I think they are lacking in other ways - but for the right student, they are just terrific places.) Other places where you might find this would include Swarthmore (known to be nerdy and geeky, in a good way), Smith (women attend, often because they are seeking intellectually and have felt that lacking or hindered in mixed gender environments), Bryn Mawr (ditto Smith) St. John's (the Great Books place), Harvey Mudd (for science students). There are probably others.</p>
<p>mini, could you share about ur exp at Uchicago and what do you feel it is lackin. thx a lot</p>
<p>Actually someone commented negatively about that aspect of Smith on the LAC thread.</p>
<p>"mini, could you share about ur exp at Uchicago and what do you feel it is lackin. thx a lot"</p>
<p>It's really a very long time ago, though from what I can tell, it hasn't changed much. (Now they sell "we're #316" sweatshirts! referring to quality of life.) The student body is very self-selecting (like Reed's) and for that very reason, not very diverse, intellectually or otherwise. The classroom experience is excellent - the out-of-classroom experience, for a school of its size, less so. There is signficantly less in the way of music, art, and theatre than in fine schools of comparable size, and they clearly take a backseat in the eyes of most attending students (that could be a plus in some student eyes.) Hyde Park is this very strange enclave - some bars and coffeeshops, and several bookstores, but not too much else. Many students do NOT take advantage of the general Chicago scene, and because Hyde Park is so cut off, often barely know it is there. It is not a campus known for much in the way of community service. The college, after long discouraging it (like Yale and Harvard) is now putting more energy into foreign study (which I think is great!)</p>
<p>So it is a place which is known for intellectual pursuits, and I think it is terrific that students have that as a choice. Mind you, all these other things exist - they are just less encouraged. To the degree that Smith (or any of the LACs generally speaking) has more offerings in all of those other areas, there is less singlemindedness in that regard.</p>
<p>Frankly, none of these schools are chopped liver. From the little experience I have, I'd just say that Reed and UChicago are more extreme, and if that's what the student is seeking, they could be great places.</p>
<p>I very surprised no one has suggested Swarthmore. If there is any one thing that defines swat, this would be it (other than hyper-liberal........like Reed).</p>
<p>Mini did mention Swarthmore, in post #4.</p>
<p>I would say :
U.Chicago
Swarthmore</p>
<p>I did.......</p>
<p>Aside from what anybody else might think, Reed is THE college for the self-proclaimed future intellectual leaders of the free world.</p>
<p>Do you think the intellectual atmosphere is lacking in the Ivies? Could anyone offer their views on the relative atmosphere at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton? Thanks.</p>
<p>Although it is repetitive, I, too, believe that the University of Chicago, Reed College, and Swarthmore College have the most intellectual atmospheres. However, I would also like to add St. John's College (MD, NM).</p>
<p>tycew: Although I am not an expert in these matters, it seems to me that the Ivies do not necessarily lack in the intellectual atmosphere. Many close friends of mine who have been accepted/or have attended Harvard College, Yale University, and PENN are very bright - and aren't the type of student who works hard "just for the sake of getting an A." All of those individuals had a genuine interest in learning and were talented in many academic areas. So, from my limited perspective, I would say "No, the intellectual atmosphere is not lacking in the Ivies." Of course, this is only from personal experience; if I am wrong, please feel to correct me.</p>
<p>If you look deeply into the matter, you'll see that Ivy graduates are usually the doctors and lawyers of tomorrow. In other words-nobody will remember (most) of them a century from now. Whereas LAC graduates tend to take their liberal ideas to the intellectual extreme and ultimately go against the Ivy graduate by criticizing capitalist elitism. This grants them a place in the history books.</p>
<p>University of Chicago and MIT.</p>
<p>Even though it's a big generalization, I think MzLover3 is pretty much right. The intellectual atmosphere is diluted when too many students are pre-med, business, aiming for Wall Street, etc.</p>
<p>MZlover3</p>
<p>"intellectual leaders of the free world"</p>
<p>how very liberal of you. ;)</p>
<p>The highest rate of future Ph.D.s over the past 30 years has come out of Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Students tend to self-select. Students at all the Ivies and the best 25 LACs are all (or mostly) intelligent, able to use their intellects in engaging, interesting, and creative ways. Some schools have bent over backwards to stress the "life of the mind" by explicitly de-emphasizing athletics, music and art, or heavy party scenes - this is true at Chicago, Reed, and Swarthmore. They do have them, of course, just not to degree that other places, with similar student bodies, do. Others do it through curricula formation - this is true at Chicago and St. John's, and to a lesser extent, Columbia. Others do it by limiting outside "distractions" - this is true of the women's colleges - Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Wellesley.</p>
<p>The point is that each choice comes with its tradeoffs. These are all great schools, and there are 50-75 just as good - but they are all different in their own way.</p>
<p>Quote: "Students at all the Ivies and the best 25 LACs are all (or mostly) intelligent, able to use their intellects in engaging, interesting, and creative ways."</p>
<p>What about the other non-ivy Universities????</p>
<p>Same (sorry! Chicago of course is in that group - and the Ivies are just an east coast athletic conference.)</p>