Looking ahead - LACs vs. small universities

blossom
Thu, 08 May 2008 15:33:36 +0000

NewMassdad- I won’t argue with your description of G’town and N’western as Preppy whereas Chicago is not. The point is- can a non-preppy kid find a home at G’town and N’western (and I’d argue yes, based on the crunchy/beatnik/vegan kids we know at both places who are thriving) and can a preppy kid love U Chicago (yes but only if the preppy kid is also a serious intellectual on the side.)

I think it’s a mistake to pick schools on the basis of the “vibe” even if the reputation is well deserved. There are jocky kids at MIT who love it; there are artsy kids at Notre Dame who love it; there are Belles at Harvard hoping to get their MRS by age 22 who love it… etc. Not every 18 year old needs to spend four years surrounded by their own archetype, and the bigger the school the less of a problem I think it is. You couldn’t meet everyone at U Michigan in 40 years let alone 4; if the average kid has 5 close friends and another 15 buddies and 40 acquaintances who they’d be happy to spend a Sunday with… do you really need more of a support system than that?