I put my D’s grades into an online database of college matching. Get approximately 40 emails per day from various colleges about the events. OK, it boosts the morale.
On the other hand, I do believe in true love(deleted) - in intellectual fit. World class faculty, smart students, the atmosphere of intellectual camaraderie. Where is it??? GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. All info that we get describes athletics, campus improvements, clubs, diversity, fun, and other marketing bla-bla-bla. Nothing about academic prowess or famous faculty. Even from the top-20 universities. MIT and Caltech did not replied.
Briefly,
I understand that there are hundreds of colleges in US that want to admit my D(deleted) - to use my money.
What is happening with US educations? Is it an entertainment? Circus? Las Vegas venue?
The reality is there can be “academic fit” and rigor at many, many colleges.
Most high school students don’t care about famous graduates…and the info is really targeted to,the student…who is the one attending college. Students want to hear about the other things that make a college an appealing place to live for four years. I don’t have any problem with this. My kid had to live at college for four years…and any famous grads were really not pertinent to eithe of my kids (as it happens, both went to schools with lots of famous grads…but they really didn’t know this until they were students there).
Why do you think the info about intellect and famous grads is important? There are some famous grads from some very small and unknown colleges…ones I bet you would not choose for your kid.
You can also go onto Wikipedia and most major schools will have a list of famous alumni and/or notable faculty.
It’s of course tons of fun to brag that so-and-so went to your school - my and my son’s alma mater has a lot of famous actors/actresses in particular and my D’s has the potential next president - but it really doesn’t relate to your kid’s educational experience.
My kid graduated from a college where current cabinet members attended, and the current state governor. So,what? They weren’t there when she was there…and they were not even in her major.
A couple of very prominent women’s soccer players graduated from there too…and coach there now. Again…so,what?
Californiaa, are you willing to entertain the idea that there are quite a few schools that are just as intellectual as HYPSM/Caltech/Berkeley? Or not. It’s as simple question.
Gee- I see an ad for a BMW and it’s got a handsome guy driving and a skinny blond in the passenger seat. Am I delusional enough to think that if I buy a BMW I’ll be the skinny blond?
OP-There is no shortage of information on the issues you are asking about. Every single college on its website will have areas which highlight their archives, museums, centers for scholarly research, grants which faculty have won, the number of members of august societies and intellectual award winners. Every field has its own version of the Nobel prize and every college will publicize which of its faculty and alums have won them.
The truth is that few 17 year olds are going to pick Quinnipiac over Stonehill because one has an archive of Colonial ephemera and the other doesn’t. So the colleges grind up the marketing machine- the skinny blond in the passenger seat as it were- to get the kids attention.
If you aren’t interested in sororities, football, sushi and social life, you don’t have to wade through this stuff. It isn’t hard to find a college which matches your kids intellectual interests.
I just went on three random US top 20 school sites and every single one had an academic achievement on their very first page. And not buried, but huge, blasting headlines.
The information is out there, it just requires a little digging (or asking, as @intparent pointed out!). Glossy marketing materials from most colleges are pretty much useless, and quick marketing emails even moreso. Check out college guides. Fiske gets a lot of love on these forums, and I’m also partial to Princeton Review. The latter has top 20 lists like “Students Study the Most” and a host of other categories, along with ratings for academic rigor, quality of teaching, etc. It also has helpful descriptions of campus life and the type of students that tend to be prevalent. Fiske is very good on that qualitative stuff, too.
If you’re looking for an intellectual environment and excellent faculty that are dedicated to quality teaching, I could rattle off dozens of liberal arts colleges that would meet that description (and some larger schools, too!). They’re out there. You’ve come to the right place. If you get more specific about what you’re looking for, you’ll get more specific suggestions.
Of course you get colleges marketing to you. Of course. That’s really what’s behind this search tool and I personally believe it’s one of the lamer ways to match. What did you expect? MIT Chris to pm you with a personal invitation?
This kid doesn’t even have scores yet.
This sure looks like real-time tigering, but by grasping at straws.
" believe in intellectual fit." - You do not want the match to whole personality and wide range of current and potential interests? Some students do not want to be always in intense academic crowd, they are not into discussing academics and other “intellectual” stuff with their friends, they just want to relax and have good time while not studying to have some kind of normalcy in their very challenging academic pursuits. Simply, they are looking for the balanced life no matter what they are doing, “intellectually fit” environment may not work.
We know where smart students and intellectual camaraderie can be found.