<p>Which colleges are best for students without a competitive personality?</p>
<p>My son is an excellent student whom I believe will get into many of the best colleges, but I’m focusing on where he’ll be happiest. He is totally non-competitive about academics. It’s not that he prefers cooperative learning; in fact, he prefers to study on his own for the most part and doesn’t really enjoy group projects. But he doesn’t care if someone else got a higher score; he is more interested in learning as much as he can. If another student asks him for help, he helps without thinking about how it will affect the curve, or whatever. He is disgusted by the stories you hear about certain schools where hyper-competitive students rip pages out of library books or deliberately give other students incorrect answers.</p>
<p>What are some good colleges for this kind of student? What are some colleges to avoid? (At a college fair last year, the representative from Harvard came right out and said that he probably wouldn’t fit at Harvard for this reason.) (Also, he’s not going to be pre-med, which I’m told is pretty cut-throat at most colleges.)</p>
<p>I would suggest the small liberal arts colleges (LACs), especially those in the midwest. The small class sizes and close relationships between the students fosters a more nurturing, uncompetitive environment, even when the academics are very demanding. I suggest the midwest where ‘sharp elbows’ are generally frowned on and understatement is the norm, culturally (as opposed to the east coast, where we live). For an excellent student, you might take a look at Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester and Oberlin-all highly regarded LACs with non-competitive cultures.</p>
<p>In one of Howard Greene’s books, he reports the survey results of questions posed to a number of students at various top colleges. The surveys were taken more than a decade ago now, but campus cultures change glacially. One question was “Are your classmates cut throat?” Nobody at Wesleyan University in Connecticut said yes. One-half of one percent of Brown U. students said yes. (The high was 40% at one school.) I think that’s a pretty good sign that these schools don’t have competitive cultures.</p>
<p>Thanks for your suggestions. I’ve heard great things about Carleton and Macalester and will look into them further. I know what you mean about the Midwestern manner, which I like very much.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Haverford has a highly competitive atmosphere? I hear about the Honor Code and the school’s Quaker roots, and I think it probably isn’t cut-throat. Can someone comment?</p>
<p>My d says that students of this type (which includes her) are very happy at University of Rochester. High academics, but no one talks about grades. And everyone helps each other, even the pre-meds.</p>
<p>I’m not a student there yet, but I would suggest Brown.</p>
<ul>
<li>Open Curriculum = amazing.</li>
<li>freedom in scheduling = students are in classes bc they WANT to be there = enthusiasm for learning</li>
<li>“Satisfactory/No Credit” option = less competition for grades and more emphasis on learning</li>
</ul>
<p>I think you could really go to any school and find a noncompetitive environment, especially if you aren’t pre-med. Maybe stay away from engineering and science, where grades are usually set to a curve.</p>
<p>Mantori,
D1 graduated from Haverford in May of 2008. Two months into her 1st year, she commented that all of her classmates were bright. And, some, were so unassuming. One peer was an amazing math student but was majoring in classics. Fords are definitely “supportive” of one another and are self-driven to do well…not competitve with each other.</p>
<p>If you haven’t seen these already, Loren Pope’s books Colleges that Change Lives and Looking Beyond the Ivy League describe a number of schools that your son might find right up his alley.</p>
<p>^I agree with the recommendation of Haverford. He seems well suited to a school that has its roots in Quaker beliefs and practices. Swarthmore would probably also be a good bet. He’ll receive a stellar education at either school.</p>
<p>Fords, but not Chevy’s are supportive of each other? Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. I was reading so fast I had to stop and ask, “A FORD?” I had no idea that’s what the student body calls one another.</p>
<p>I think the students at UChicago are supportive of each other. Chicago isn’t for everyone, but if your son likes that sort of intellectualism, take a look.</p>
<p>Your son sounds like a Carleton poster child. </p>
<p>Think bright, intellectually driven, hard workers happily (a requirement on this campus) chasing mastery of a rigorous curriculum. Students are supportive of one another to the extreme, competition is left on the Frisbee field (Carleton won the men’s Ultimate Frisbee National Championship this past week!). </p>
<p>Agree with M’s Mom about midwestern LACs in general. Agree also with recommendations regarding Wesleyan and Brown.</p>