<p>It is said that between the top schools and lower ranked schools in the country, there is little discrepancy in actual quality of teaching. That the difference in overall education ultimately lies in the quality of the student body–how each student gathers knowledge and experience from other equally (or more) intelligent peers. In many ways I agree with this viewpoint, as the students I met at Northwestern and Harvard offered much more intellectual virility than students from say a local community college (in general). From the ability to speak in nuances and indulge in subtle humor, I’ve gained much from highly intellectual students at elite universities. </p>
<p>In terms of intellect, cleverness, dialogue, and ability to inspire, which colleges have the highest quality of students?</p>
<p>I guess this is a kind of absurd. We cannot simply say that a group of students are high quality. Everyone has different talents and offers different things to the schools and the communities that they belong in. Judging by your question, it would be more approprate to discuss what school has the highest average of SATs and high school GPAs.</p>
<p>JHU has 85-90% medical school admit rate (uber hard to do in general), 100% law school admit rate, and almost everyone gets involved with research. but that’s all after people get in…and doesnt count social aptitude either. And I could be a bit partial…</p>
<p>True enough about being imo way too general a question.</p>
<p>intellect, cleverness, dialogue, and ability to inspire- You don’t need to go to an elite university to have any of those traits. I have been among the so called “cultured elite,” and to be honest, they don’t offer anything uniquely better than the average Joe on the street. Everywhere you go you will find unique and interesting people, even if they don’t speak in parables and fancy prose.</p>
<p>Maybe the people who possess those traits in elite universities have more credibility because of their alma mater.</p>
<p>From personal experience, and this will sound really cliche, but I’m going with Harvard or maybe Stanford. The students at CalTech and MIT seem more technical to me, and not as intellectually diverse.</p>
<p>It can also be said that the students at Harvard and Stanford are “too nontechnical.” MIT is pretty intellectually diverse, but I would have to agree that Caltech isn’t.</p>
<p>the66aghans,
I think you pose an interesting, but nearly unanswerable, question as there are many very, very good colleges that have excellent students possessing a variety of charms, but the vibes of their colleges are dramatically different. </p>
<p>For example, compare Northwestern and U Chicago. No one doubts the intellectual strength of the students at either school, but those associated with U Chicago revel in their “intellectual” reputation and attract a quirkier student body while those at Northwestern would likely define themselves more broadly as seekers of academic excellence while also enjoying themselves in the more traditional sense of a college social experience (parties, Greek life, athletic scene for football games, basketball games, etc.). Each is right for the right student and both are full of students who are smart, clever, etc. </p>
<p>The list of schools that have student personalities like that you are seeking certainly includes all of the USNWR Top 20 (although I would agree with other posters that the more technically inclined schools are often a different flavor) and certainly segments of the student bodies at some of the top publics. </p>
<p>The only thing that I would add is that I urge you not to limit your selections to the usual HYP and the like. While these are undeniably great academic schools, consider other parts of the country as there are great schools almost everywhere and great students with high common sense and intelligence and attractive personal characteristics such as humility and an appreciation for the talents of others.</p>
<p>I’ll ditto Hawkette. I love, love, love Chicago because I feel encouraged by my professors and my friends to expand my own interest and involvement in academics. Chicago students don’t always talk about school or academically-related topics, but they always can. It’s never in bad form, never taboo, and happens in the most unlikely situations.</p>
<p>This is not to say that you can’t find bright, interesting, witty, informed students at other schools, because you absolutely can, and I don’t think that the typical Chicago kid is smarter than the typical kid at any of the schools already mentioned, but I do think that he or she is probably more academically inclined. However, I think certain schools tend to encourage students to embrace their inner nerd more than others.</p>
<p>“I guess this is a kind of absurd. We cannot simply say that a group of students are high quality. Everyone has different talents and offers different things to the schools and the communities that they belong in. Judging by your question, it would be more approprate to discuss what school has the highest average of SATs and high school GPAs.”</p>
<p>It is not absurd. From first hand experience, one can gather a “vibe” from a college, and it is easy to distinguish which schools have more intellectually inclined students in general. I also stated clearly which qualities I was looking for. Of course every student has a multitude of talents, but despite the many talents some students may possess, in terms of intellect, wits, and wisdom, they are dwarfed compared to <em>truly</em> great students. And it is not an overstatement to have an opinion on which colleges have more of these <em>truly</em> great students as opposed to simply <em>hardworking</em> students.</p>
<p>“intellect, cleverness, dialogue, and ability to inspire- You don’t need to go to an elite university to have any of those traits. I have been among the so called “cultured elite,” and to be honest, they don’t offer anything uniquely better than the average Joe on the street. Everywhere you go you will find unique and interesting people, even if they don’t speak in parables and fancy prose.”</p>
<p>I never said that one has to go to an elite university to have these traits, but rather that more students with these traits attend elite universities. And of course some students who are among “the elite” indeed offer no more than the “average Joe”, and we typically refer to these people as “snobs” or “brats”, but more often than not you’re likely to find more students at an elite university who can inspire, share knowledge, and motivate as opposed to students at “Podunk” university.</p>
<p>That said, I agree with Hawkette in her U Chicago vs. Northwestern example, and also have to say that the Chicago students I have encountered are indeed among the most diverse I’ve ever met, from discussing which is the best Mahler symphony to Maxwell’s equations. But while U Chicago may put more emphasis on an “intellectual community” as opposed to Northwestern, it can be said that both universities contain large numbers of students with the traits I previously listed.</p>