Hi everyone,
One of the things I’m looking for in a college is an atmosphere that isn’t extremely competitive. In other words, students aren’t competing against one another to get better grades, and students aren’t studying 24/7. At the same time, however, I’m looking for a top-tier college with a next-to-Ivy League education. Are there any colleges that fall in this zone? I’ve heard that Brown, Michigan, and WashU might be like this – can anyone confirm this?
Thanks!
You are likely to find more of less cutthroat competitive behavior based on your major (or major and college):
a. If your major is popular among pre-meds, that may increase the competition level due to the need for pre-meds to earn A grades to avoid being knocked out of the running for medical school.
b. If your major at the college requires competitive admission to declare after completing the prerequisites, that may increase the competition level due to needing high grades to successfully pass such a secondary admission process.
Since you did not mention your possible major(s), it may be harder for others to help you further.
I definitely agree with @ucbalumnus - what major or fields are you considering? I’d personally suggest looking at Rice - with the possible exception of the common pre-med majors, Rice is a top-tier school that isn’t competitive - students work hard but also work together, and in my experience, people often work and study together rather than competing.
In regards to the schools you mentioned, I can’t say anything with certainty because I don’t go to those schools. However, I applied to both Brown and WashU, and I found Brown students (and those applying) much more competitive while WashU lacked that “cutthroat” vibe. Again, super limited exposure to both of those universities, but just throwing that out there.
I’ll give the same reply to this query as I did to your question about undergraduate focus: Rice University.
In 2017, Princeton Review ranked Rice #1 for “Happiest Students.” Rice also ranked #1 for “Lots of Class/Race Interaction.” These metrics reflect Rice’s institutional commitment to encouraging a friendly and collaborative campus culture.
I would agree that WashU is a school with a similar emphasis on maintaining a positive environment for its undergraduates.
I would disagree, however, that such universities offer a “next-to-Ivy-League” education. They may rank lower in popular awareness and in the all-important CC “prestige” hierarchy, but that doesn’t mean that the undergraduate education they provide is necessarily less rigorous or comprehensive than that provided by the schools which belong to the Ivy League athletic conference.