<p>I remember, the UPenn admissions video has this one swimmer guy whos answer to everything the person asked him was "i don't know" or "im not sure yet" or "i just swim, stop asking me hard questions". If you want any proof that UPenn isn't a nerd school, look at that kid. He's on the ADMISSIONS video. lol.</p>
<p>btw, I'm a swimmer, and I'm not trying to insult them. just making an observation on one person at UPenn. He had the whole room cracking up.</p>
<p><em>Sighs</em> Well, being a nerd is much different than being an intellectual. You can be a skater and be an intellectual, or you can be a complete idiot and still be a nerd. Intellectual's are the one's who are smart, no matter which clique they're a part of. Nerd's are the dorky one's who haven't learned how to adapt to the social scene (no offense to any nerd's out there).</p>
<p>And, why do we want to apply to "intellectual" schools? Well, frankly it's cuz their degrees will net us more money, prestige, etc. 'Member, it's gonna be the smart people who rule over you for the rest of your lives.</p>
<p>after all, Jesus DID say "the geek shall inherit the earth..."</p>
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Are my schools nerdy? I like Vanderbilt and Davidson.
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<p>No, those schools, particularly Vanderbilt, are the opposite of nerdy! They're schools for kids who "do it all": extremely intelligent kids who also like to party and know how have a good time. To me, that's the best it could possible be. Intellectual when they want to be, crazy partiers when they want to be. Best of both worlds.</p>
<p>semiserious - Do you know a girl named Taylor. . .she's from Newport Beach, went to school with me at Tulane, and now she's coming out to Brown with me for the semester.</p>
<p>Back on topic; Vanderbilt isn't nerdy.</p>
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They're schools for kids who "do it all": extremely intelligent kids who also like to party and know how have a good time. To me, that's the best it could possible be. Intellectual when they want to be, crazy partiers when they want to be. Best of both worlds.
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<p>Oh, come on. That's a situation you can find at any top college, even the ones which are considered "nerdy". You can find students at any school who work hard and play hard.</p>
<p>I do find a disproportionate amount of trolling for "underrated" schools like Chicago, Swarthmore, and Cornell simply because they have a reputation for being more rigorous and grade deflating. On the other hand, lots of people seem to be of the opinion that more relaxed schools like Duke are less serious and filled with people looking to grab easy A's on their way to rich career paths, no intellectualism at all.</p>
<p>There is alot of drinking, football games and random hookup-ing at HYPS, too....not just at state schools!</p>
<p>Ecliptica - Name doesn't ring a bell, sorry. :) I did know a girl named Lexi who went to Tulane...don't know where she is now. She was just in my math class one year.</p>
<p>Molliebatmit - sure, but schools have a reputation for a reason. There are intellectuals at the biggest party schools, and partiers at the nerdiest schools. But it's not the dominant culture. If it were, we wouldn't be having this discussion.</p>
<p>Cornell is not nerdy, to the contrary, kids here are very chill, fun, and smart at the same time. I have met tons of kids here who have turned down everything from Yale, Stanford, Harvard to Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, and Columbia. Most of my friends here turned down Northwestern, in fact, it seems that most ppl at Cornel got into Northwestern, idk who wins cross-admits, but if I had to make a bet, Cornell wins against NWestern.</p>
<p>bball87 who is talking about cross admits??? lets try to stay on topic because I doubt anyone cares about that data in a thread about the nerdiness of schools.
When I was choosing my colleges I wanted to go to a school where academics were important and I would be around people who were intelligent all the time. At the same time I like to drink and party hard so I knew that some schools werent for me. But i dont think that makes schools like chicago bad or anything, they just attract a different sort. seriously i hate when people call others nerds. they just arent like you. sure some people are socially awkward but its really rude to judge them.</p>
<p>"idk who wins cross-admits, but if I had to make a bet, Cornell wins against NWestern"</p>
<p>-And I'm sure I can name just as many people who chose NU over Cornell, myself included... Not everyone wants to be in a school with over 10000 students....</p>
<p>I agree with Amused. My biggest issue with some schools (Chicago) is that students there look down on having fun as intellectually inferior. My friends at Dartmouth were brilliant during the week and we had amazing conversations and discussions - but we also had an amazing time on the weekends. I don't think having a good time and being a top student are mutually exclusive at all.</p>
<p>My friends at Dartmouth were brilliant during the week and we had amazing conversations and discussions - but we also had an amazing time on the weekends.</p>
<p>-Pretty much the same at Northwestern, just fewer conversations and more drinking, lol.</p>
<p>What nonsense. My S chose UChicago because it is intensely academic, he loves the city of Chicago, and he had great fun at his campus visit. He found the students to be very social, and not "nerdy" at all, whatever that means. Is my S a nerd? Does being interested in being in an intense intellectual atmosphere make one a nerd? If so I guess he is. He is an accomplished athlete, holding Black Belts in 3 different martial arts (he intends to continue competition while in college), he has competed internationally, likes to have fun, has a girl friend (not his first), is very interested in clothes, getting the right haircut, and his car. Does all that make him not a nerd? I think any effort to categorize schools or people is pointless. Most schools have all kinds of people, and people tend to find others pretty much like themselves.</p>
<p>exactly idad, people need to admit that the top 20 universities are the same. None of them lose anything to any other in terms of "intellectual environment". You can find your Aristotles next to your champion beer pong players anywhere.</p>
<p>Idad,</p>
<p>Your son might not be a nerd, but Chicago prides itself on its intellectualism" as a distinction, whereas the truth is many of the top schools are full of intellectual people who care about academics. No one can dispute the Chicago social scene is lacking compared to competitive schools. At Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, Duke, Northwestern, etc scores of students are out on the weekends mingling and running around campus. At Chicago this just isn't the case. That's not to say the school doenst socialize, it just doesnt socialize nearly as much. It is a more "nerdy" school than the others. And this suits many Chicago students just fine. When I hung out on the campus during the weekend we hung out in a dorm with a few people then went to the one party that was happening on campus, which was at a frat, and it was OK. When I visited UNC it felt like the whole school was on Franklin street, at house parties, etc. There is a difference.</p>
<p>slipper: Have you spent a great deal of time on campus at UChicago? I attended what is commonly known as a very social state undergrad school, and was a grad student at UChicago. I knew many undergrads who had as much fun and socialized nearly as much as my state school compatriots (UChicago folks did have to study a little more). I also have had the opportunity to be involved with many of the so-called elite schools during the past years, and to tell the truth, I have personally observed little difference from campus to campus. I did not find, for example, the students at NW or Harvard were socially much different from those at Chicago.</p>
<p>I have spent two weekends there and I know a number of students who went there, including one of my best friends. I am not saying there is no social scene, It just doesnt have the social scene that many other top schools do. Students don't choose Chicago for the social scene. Look at studentsreview, talk to alums. They usually love the academic experience, but you will find a rare student raving about the parties.</p>
<p>I'm telling you-->>>> $$$$the dollar bills$$$$$</p>