People who went to duke, Northwestern, Rice, Penn, Vandy, WUSTL, or any other top school that’s just short of HYPSM:
What makes your school special and why did you go? What’s the “thing” about your school that’s different?
How does your school “feel” in terms of culture, identity, and unique quirks?
What are your likes/dislikes about your school?
feel free to share your reasoning if you committed senior and are going there next fall!
“People who went to duke, Northwestern, Rice, Penn, Vandy, WUSTL, or any other top school that’s just short of HYPSM:”
It is a matter of opinion that those schools are “just short of” anything. Your phrasing is offensive.
Upon rereading it I have to agree with you (I can’t seem to edit it though).
But then again, the very existence of the phrase indicates that they are elite. While many of the schools I mentioned are excellent schools who can give any other school a good run for the money, they are, at least on an admissions level, not as cutthroat-competitive to get into as the others (again making gross generalizations that obviously have exceptions). Sorry for the offensive phrasing but I think what I’m getting at is mostly clear.
Only at CC could alumni or fans of schools with 8% acceptance rates feel marginalized or insulted. Well done but I suspect your responses will be limited.
Which did you get into or aspire to?
I’m looking to ED to one of them (leaning towards Duke right now) but I want to make sure that my personality matched the “personality” of the school I actually apply to so I figured I’d ask some people who had more knowledge/experience
You should very carefully read the entries in the Fiske Guide to Colleges. They definitely reveal the personality of the school.
Duke is all about balance. Students tend to be very “well-rounded”. That means that they have good social skills in addition to being accomplished academically. Not everyone fits that mold. I definitely didn’t and I still had a great experience. The type of student who thrives at Duke would probably also thrive at Stanford. The Fiske Guide used to refer to Stanford as “Duke with a touch of MIT mixed in”. I think that is a very apt description.
Penn is slightly more pre-professional than Duke. Philly beats Durham decisively (I’ve lived in both cities) but the difference is not as stark as most people think (at least from a college student’s perspective). Duke’s campus is far nicer than Penn’s in my estimation (prettier + more creature comforts). Penn’s student body may be slightly more liberal than Duke’s but the difference is fairly marginal. If you want a “traditional” college experience, Duke may be a better bet. If being in a huge city is important to you, pick Penn. It’s worth noting that a former Penn Provost is Duke’s current President and several other Duke administrators have ties to Penn.
@sumguy Will you be visiting these schools in person before deciding where to apply ED? We don’t know you so everyone’s impression is based on their own personality, experiences, and impressions. There’s nothing like a first hand visit to determine fit, IMO.
Read The Yale Daily New’s “Insiders Guide to Colleges”. It gives great insight from the student perspective. An go visit. Best to get a personal feel for a school if you can. Listing to online cheerleaders for some schools is less likely to be helpful. Good luck!
Rice is known for its top notch academics and its inclusive residential college system which is similar to Yale’s. Rice does not have Greek life. Students are assigned to one of the university’s 11 coed residential colleges when they enter the school and remain with that college throughout their time at Rice. Each residential college is a microcosm of the university with athletes, artists, STEM, humanities, and social science students, ethnic and social diversity, etc.