<p>notice they are pretty much Friday MORNING classes.:)</p>
<p>Columbia does have language and a few other classes on Fridays, as well as sections meetings, but the students try to avoid them. (My son’s physics class actually has a section on a Sunday afternoon.) I can testify, that even without attending all his sections, he is in classes about 20 hours a week and that his reading, papers, and problem sets take him more than 20 hours a week. He’s also in two bands, earns money, and has pleged a frat (ugh). Which is what I mean about no sleeping. It seems to be the culture there to push yourself to the limit both in class and out.</p>
<p>I agree that some majors are time consuming everywhere. The difference is that in places with a core curriculum like U of C, Chicago, Swat, Reed, etc, whatever your major, you still need to take some heavy duty classes in areas that might not be your forte. I’d guess that Columbia might have more grade inflation in the humanties than some of those other places I’ve just named, but that’s not as true in science and math.</p>
<p>I think Georgetown University may fall into this category- though only the College, the Business school, and the Nursing school (because SFS is pretty difficult from what i hear). I have also read that it it has a very good social scene.</p>
<p>audiophile, I assume that slacker is being used ironically here and that your daughter is really looking for a school with a good balance of academics and social life. I see that shes in an IB program, not exactly the slacker route. </p>
<p>I subscribe to the belief that the hardest aspect of the super-selective schools is getting in. Once youre in, the schools want to keep you and offer multiple support mechanisms to make sure you dont stray too far off the academic path. You may not get all As, but maintaining a solid B average with a scattering of As and Cs – is not beyond the grasp of most students.</p>
<p>I like the way Cangel describes the kids at Williams like ducks, they are paddling furiously underwater, but gliding along on the surface. Since your daughter has managed to keep up her grades while having an active social life and multiple ECs, I suspect she may be one of those ducks. Academics at Williams are rigorous, but the kids are also happy and involved in a myriad of other activities. They care very much about their course work (and their grades, even though it is verboten to brag or compare) but at the same time they care passionately about their non-academic activities and social involvement and this includes having fun. </p>
<p>I could say the same about quite a few other schools Amherst, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Hamilton, Colgate, Bowdoin all come to mind. Frankly, I dont buy the place-where-fun-goes-to-die perception of Swarthmore, Chicago, JHU or CMU either. I think the kids at most American colleges know how to enjoy themselves, it just that they may have different ways to deal with the academic pressure and different ways of expressing their intellectual intensity.</p>
<p>Momrath, you’re correct about my D. She’s just different from a lot of the kids I see on this board who are overly concerned with their stats, prestige, and use ECs to pad their resumes. In fact, I’m the one who’s become obsessed with this discussion board and the college selection process. She’s somewhat interested, but more concerned about the social and club opportunities on campus (meeting interesting people and doing interesting things). However, her stats match or surpass many of the “strivers” on this board. She has so many more opportunities than I had at that age. We can fortunately afford to send her anywhere she is admitted. Like most parents here, I want gently guide her in the right direction so she may meet her incredible potential. Of course, I also want her to be happy, so I don’t want to put her in a pressure cooker situation that would make her neurotic like her dad ;)</p>
<p>I think using the term “good social appeal” is much better than “slacker”. I am sorry I even used that term because of the not so nice implications of the word.</p>
<p>I also want to add that though many slackers in highschool end up at community college, not that many get through those programs. A friend of mine wanted to sign up for a business course as a refresher at the local community college, but the course was full. The prof told her to just audit the class and join the waiting list; she was sure to get a spot after the first exam and project grades came out. Sure enough, half the kids dropped the course within a few weeks. I would not put my nose up to kids who excell in comm college. In many ways the number of adjunct profs, the fact that it is not a whole world experience, that the courses may be disjointed and your peers not always helpful, often distracting does not make it an ideal environment to really focus on the studies. Kids who go through this gauntlet and do well need to focus and stay on the ball. The graduation rate for comm college is very low, and included in there are kids who just couldn’t get into the wor. Also there is not much in the way of an active social life, campus life at ccs.</p>
<p>I started this thread because your brother (the “brilliant slacker”) reminded me of my daughter. My best childhood friend was also like this, he even sailed through medical school without doing much work.</p>
<p>As far as community college, I agree with you. When I met my wife, she only had an AA degree, yet she was a highly paid data base analyst at a Fortune 50 firm.</p>
<p>There may be slackers who get into UCLA but most have a hard time sticking. With an acceptance rate under 25 percent, not all that many weasel their way in in the first place.</p>
<p>I’ve been out of town. Sheesh, Columbia a slacker school? Then I take back what I said about Princeton. Re the comments on ECs, I would agree that the students involved in these work incredibly hard, produce professional or near-professional results, and run their organizations in a very businesslike way that is great preparation for the future. That’s a whole lot different from what I think of as slacking. In my day people slacked by smoking in their dorm rooms while listening to music. ;)</p>