<p>Generally speaking, some schools are known for breeding smart and wholesome students. Amherst, Middlebury, Carleton, Williams, Bowdoin, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Vanderbilt, Davidson and Dartmouth come to mind. They educate future businessmen, lawyers, doctors, teachers, politicians, philanthropists and scientists.</p>
<p>Then there are other schools better known for nurturing a more volatile student body. Brilliant but far moodier in disposition, they are usually too inconsistent to succeed in traditional professions. I think of Yale, Wesleyan, Vassar, Bard, Oberlin, Reed, Brandeis and Brown as having these kind of individuals. Schools where artists, musicians, writers, activists and humanists thrive. These are the schools I’m interested in. </p>
<p>From your experience, which schools fall in the latter category: schools whose graduates are usually described as temperamental?</p>
<p>It’s really tough to answer this question because you’re generalizing about whole schools. There may be (or have been, in the past) some truth to the stereotypes of “institutional ethic.” But still…I know a lot of unique, “wild,” off-the-beaten-path (in terms of academic interest) individuals at places like Carleton, Duke, Williams, even Harvard. If you’re looking for schools which actively support that type of student/ethic, then your lists are decently accurate–but don’t cross off schools just because they aren’t known for those certain characteristics. Schools of a high academic caliber are still breeding grounds for intellectuals and bohemians.</p>
<p>Given the huge overlap that exists between the students who apply to both Harvard and Yale, I’d be reluctant to ascribe any fundamental differences in temperment (or any other characteristic) of their respective student bodies. Any differences will likely be noticed more around the edges rather than on the whole.</p>
<p>I think, based on attending one of the schools you mentioned (Harvard) and two other Ivies as well, that those generalizations are wildly off base and completely useless.</p>
<p>I think they ATTRACT students with those dispositions. Not very many hipsters are that attracted to a place like Williams and not too many Williams types will look at Bard or New College.</p>
<p>Certainly your inclusion of Oberlin students as “usually too inconsistent to succeed in traditional professions” is wildly inaccurate. Oberlin produces more undergraduates who go on to PhDs than any other American college or university. And more Oberlin grads become teachers than any other profession. Oberlin does produce many “artists, musicians, writers, activists and humanists”–but lots of them become teachers, lawyers, doctors, scientists…</p>
<p>I have to admit that your description of politicians, lawyers and businessmen as “wholesome” types confused me a bit…
but if you are asking where else you can find creative thinkers, activists, artists—Bennington comes to mind.</p>
<p>Carleton doesn’t offer a business major. It is in the top ten in number of students per capita who join the Peace Corp. Much of the class joins Teach for America and similar programs… I don’t really see it as breeding businesspeople, really. I’d say it has a lot more in common with Oberlin than it does with Duke or Vanderbilt or Harvard. It has a veneer of normalcy compared to places like Reed, but it’s not all that staid.</p>
<p>Not that that’s a bad thing! Oberlin produces its share of hippies, but also produces many admirable academics and leaders. Take a look at any leading museum in this country-- I bet you’ll find an Oberlin graduate there!</p>
<p>I think you’re confusing “radical” and “unconventional” with “unable to find a job.”</p>
<p>As a result of the students perhaps being bigger risk takers, many of the schools on your “tempermental” side also produce a lot of entrepreneurs. They look for the road less travelled.</p>