Least superficial Southern California Colleges

[college24x2]

I would also love to hear this information about Scripps!

[UTmeritseeker]

@tsbna44

We visited so many colleges - East coast mainly - and my daughter knows girls at BYU and BYU Hawaii - and I think you’re going to find this anywhere but yes more so at some than others.

As an aside - and I know this was posted a while ago, but I wanted to add a quick comment related to BYU and beauty standards. Utah Mormon culture has a very interesting relationship to beauty; being beautiful is very important and after death Mormons believe you will be the “perfect” version of yourself, free from any “deformities” and “defects”. Utah has high plastic surgery rates (Salt Lake City has the second most plastic surgeons per capita in the country). Driving to and from Provo (where BYU is) you will see more plastic surgery billboards than you can imagine. This is partly why I am looking for something different for my D. Utah is bad enough!

In pursuit of perfection: Inside Utah's plastic surgery industry - Utah Business

and

Reshaping Utah: Understanding the plastic surgery epidemic - The Daily Universe

[tsbna44]

That’s why there was so many - I just drove Ogden to Phoenix - and back to Provo (I flew from there). There was a lot.

Which state is first? Arizona? Scottsdale is loaded with it…seriously…more than Beverly Hills.

[UTmeritseeker]

It looks like there is a lot of jockeying for position near the top, but from my search, at least by city, it is Miami, Salt Lake City, then Los Angeles.

[AustenNut]

@UTmeritseeker

Adding another possible school: Scripps College. Does anyone have thoughts about Scripps (specifically concerning the level of the students’ focus on appearance, how it ranks with other SoCal schools on the vaguely defined “superficiality” spectrum, etc. as discussed above)

@college24x2

I would also love to hear this information about Scripps!

After reading this post, perhaps @aquapt might have some of the insight on Scripps and the degree to which there is a focus on appearance?

[aquapt]

Oh, sorry I missed responding to this earlier. I’m not sure my indirect experience qualifies me to answer thoroughly, but my impression of my daughter’s friends at Scripps was that they were far more concerned about their various pursuits and causes than about appearance. Some also seemed very fashionable and Instagram-ready at all times, and others weren’t; and that didn’t seem to be a determinant of who was friends with whom. It did seem like a bit of a privileged bubble at times, but not superficial or lacking in substance.

[UTmeritseeker]

@Gumbymom

I think most of the posters have covered their opinions about the schools listed. I really do not like to stereotype since all these schools have a fairly diverse student body.

That said, the best way to determine which schools would be good choices for your daughter @UTmeritseeker, is to visit and form your own opinion.

The least: UCSD, Cal Poly SLO and UCI. (In no particular order)
The most: SDSU, USD and UCSB (In no particular order).

Thought I would report back on our visit, since we visited all the schools listed here except SDSU.

You were spot on. UCSD, CAl Poly and UCI seemed down to earth. UCSB actually surprised me - the kids we saw and interacted with didn’t fit the party school or vain pretty people stereotype. Seemed like a lot of hard-working, studious kids. (Maybe the partiers were still sleeping off their hangovers).

We didn’t see SDSU, but USD is most definitely not the vibe she is looking for. (Too bad because the campus and the food are amazing.) Pretty sure we saw Stan Gable from Revenge of the Nerds there

And Steff (Pretty in Pink)