<p>What colleges & universities can you think of that emphasize coursework rather than extracurriculars and the “complete college experience”?</p>
<p>One that I hear often at CC is UChicago.</p>
<p>Reed College.</p>
<p>Uh…what is the premise of this question? Is it some closet elitism? Or if a serious concern, what are you really concerned about? Who are you? Parent or student? </p>
<p>ALL colleges focus on academics. That many state schools and some private schools have athletics as a diversion for entertainment and school spirit is just another angle of the experience. Many feel that is essential for a healthy process of transition from childhood to young adulthood, and part of the socialization of students preparing them for the competitive real world. We aren’t a nation of robots or geeks working in cubicles…yet.</p>
<p>All colleges focus on coursework. It’s the student who decides how much emphasis is placed on the extra-curricular.</p>
<p>In no particular order, I’d say that the research universities that are known as the most challenging to get through (as opposed to the most challenging to get into) include MIT, CalTech, Johns Hopkins, Chicago, and Cornell. I’d also consider the service academies as very challenging but they are not research universities</p>
<p>Probably some schools that have “Mines” or “Mining” in their names. However, they have limited selections of majors.</p>
<p>Schools that emphasize coursework rather than the complete college experience? Isn’t that the very definition of a commuter school? And often a description of an urban community college?</p>
<p>^^^ or even commuter satellite campuses of many universities</p>
<p>@sovereigndebt I’m looking to transfer/return to school. I went to a large Division 1 school and I felt it was all about athletics, partying and going out to town. It seemed studying was important but just something to get through and extracurriculars were just as important as schoolwork rather than supplementing actual schoolwork.</p>
<p>Well, there is a reason for that other than fun. In all honesty, students who spend 100% of their time doing coursework and no ECs don’t get a rounded college experience that turns them into a good worker and citizen. There are a lot of things you can learn from extracurricular activities - not just things like sports, but clubs like Model UN, university senate, a social society for your field like National Society of Black Engineers, or a service organization like Alpha Phi Omega. Employers do like to see people who have some kind of experience outside of the classroom - otherwise, how do you learn to work with people and some of those soft skills that aren’t acquired through academics?</p>
<p>Studying is often something to just get through. I don’t know many people who genuinely enjoy studying. And what does it matter if ECs are just as important as schoolwork, as long as people are getting their work done and achieving?</p>
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<p>Many feel otherwise, and are not interested in going to a school where athletics (for example) are a prominent distraction from studying. The OP, for one. Informing us that some people look for things other than the features outlined in this thread does not actually contribute anything to the discussion.</p>
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<p>The OP is obviously one of them, so I really don’t understand what you’re trying to say. “You’re looking for a school that fits your personality, but I don’t know many people with your personality, and I don’t understand why you’re like that when you could be more like me instead”…?</p>
<p>There are people who genuinely enjoy studying, do not see it as “something to get through,” and are not interested in pursuing the same college experience as you. There are schools that provide the college experience they are looking for. Shocking, but true.</p>
<p>It is really strange to me that some people here feel the need to inform college applicants that their personalities, needs and desires do not conform to conventional wisdom and/or are wrong. If someone asks for recommendations for big state schools with strong football programs, will you immediately swoop in and tell them that paying too much attention to football may have adverse effects on your GPA? That “many feel” that big schools feel impersonal and cold? That they should be looking for small Division III schools instead? I didn’t think so.</p>
<p>To answer the OP’s query, I’d say UChicago, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Haverford, Oberlin, Caltech and MIT are known for these things, among others.</p>
<p>Haverford College. I visited there and…yeah. Yeah you’d like it.</p>