<p>I guess I’m not really certain of what “down to earth” means in this thread.
Thanks, lefthandofdog. Isn’t part of the ideal college experience breaking out of whatever bubble the kid lived in, and living in a different bubble for 4 years? Perhaps a bigger one in which the kid meets and interacts with many different kinds of people? How many rich kids/snoots are too many, in this situation? Aren’t rich kids/snoots (not at all necessarily the same, in my experience) people too, a group everyone else might just as well learn to tolerate/live with?</p>
<p>It surprises me that people are so willing to judge others solely on the basis of their income brackets or other superficial criteria. Isn’t it just as dumb to judge someone (positively or negatively) for wearing a popped collar as it is to characterize someone else, for good or ill, who’s wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt? </p>
<p>paying3tuitions makes some great points about SU, particularly the Newhouse School. A very good friend of our family’s is a recent grad who is already producer of the #1 TV news segment in our area. She loved her undergrad experience; however, her mom, who is apparently sensitive on this issue, considers the campus full of snobby, overindulged rich kids. Perhaps the definition of “down to earth” is largely dependent on the viewpoint one starts with.</p>
<p>You can be in a school with too many rich people/snoots. My sons were for 6 years (JR/SR high school). Not ALL the kids were rich, but there was enough critical mass to sort of take over the culture of the school. These were kids that had no idea what it was like to not get everything they want all the time. It was infuriating to my sons, especially younger son. The idea of having a hard time making ends meet, being economically challenged, was a fairy tale to them. They gave it a lot of lip service, to be PC, but had no clue. It gets to be intellectually exhausting to be around kids that have not a care in the world.</p>
<p>I’ve been to many schools be it community college, state school, private school and I found Stanford has the most down to earth and friendly people around. Even the admin staff are friendly and they can joke!!</p>
<p>Hey Colorado School of Mines has an M on the mountain (actually foothill) behind their school too. Visible from the plains east of Denver. And yes…great, very down to earth student body and faculty in a ‘to-die-for’ location. I’d describe the students as smart, hardworking and humble. I should know…my husband is a Mines alum. Having worked in the admissions office at Mines, I can tell you we had our fair share of wealthy kids, sons and daughters of oil company CEOs, Senators, Governors, etc…but you couldn’t pick them out of a crowd. All seems to have a practical, pragmatic and mature attitude about how to achieve success…which in large part requires brains, an ability to fit in and knowing when to ‘listen and learn’.</p>
<p>Btw…Not only are the people great, but Golden is a beautiful little town nestled in the foothills west of Denver. (Home of Coors brewery and the famous student ‘short tour’…lol!)</p>
<p>I echo the plug for UMD - it is very large, but it is very diverse, and MD (state of most students there) is a state that drills respect for other’s traditions/religions/origins from elementary school through high school. Students tend to be “down to earth,” but they’ve had a humane-oriented education and a good school system - it’s second nature to them. I’d say that out of state students could easily find welcoming individuals and groups there. </p>
<p>On coming from a thriving metropolitan environment and going to a more rural, low-key environment, I can report that a number of my son’s friends who chose that option have transfered, back to east coast schools - they wanted a bouncier pace of life and wanted to be in an environment that had a large variety of activities off campus. Bright lights, big city, and all that.</p>
<p>frazzled, when we went there were 12 tour guides, and they were all Greek, and spoke mainly about the Grrek life. Our tour guide was premed and he spent all his time talking about Greek life, and finally, I asked about kids who didn’t want to be Greek, and he said there was alot for them to do, too, but he didn’t really know about that, because he only mixed with his brothers. That was our experience. It turned D off, and she never applied.Interestingly, she now attends a top LAC that is considered pretentious, and has many friends, both rich and poor, and while there are some pretentious kids there, her firends are not. I think you can find all kinds of kids at all schools. It’s just that our only contact with W&M was what it was, and all we saw was the pretentious side.</p>
<p>I think you confused pretentiousness with someone that enjoys the greek system and your D doesnt. Im glad she found a good fit. W&M is extremely down to earth and non conformist. Pretentiousness is secret societies and dressing up for football games. W&M is definitely not that.</p>
<p>Princeton University; not all of them but most of the ones i know. I go there and my parents earn less than $10000 a year, don’t have any college degrees and are divorced. I have the humblest of backgrounds but it rarely shows. my best friends have families with earnings of plus $100000 but ive nver found myself isolated because of my background. reputations do not accurately reflect the actual reality. Im perfectly happy at princeton irrespective of my financial situation.</p>
<p>I believe your tour guide did that, I’m just saying that it is not necessarily the most accurate observation of Greek life presence, comparitively. At W&M, it’s really toned down compared to other top southern schools (Duke, UVA). Non conformist is maybe a good way to describe the culture. Some people like this, some people don’t. I also want to make clear that I agree with your point about your daughter going to a school known for being pretentious and finding perfectly nice kids. This is possible anywhere. And I do not think Duke or UVA are bad schools, they are just different from UVA. </p>
<p>These tour guides can throw people off, maybe at southern schools in particular, because they are from a very certain set of people. They are the very spirited, clean cut, preppy kids. These are not only the kids who apply to a job like that but the ones the school wants to choose to maintain a good image or try to excite kids who may be a little more interested in hearing about frat life than how the new science lab works. These are very nice kids, they just may not mesh with everyone, and may not be what the CC crowd looks for. It is, from my experience, often a very skewed image of the school. And it can make kids think, well I’m not like that person, so I won’t like this school. What they don’t know is that the kids like them just didn’t sign up to be tour guides </p>
<p>Whenever possible, an unofficial visit is really the way to go, or hooking up with kids from your area who already attend the school. This is much easier with state schools, but Facebook also makes it a little easier for other schools.</p>
<p>very good advice, Princedog. and we did not judge a very wonderful LAC by the tour guide who arrived half asleep, wet hair dripping, belly on display and chewing gum to address a large group of prospective parents and students. she was decidedly not the fratty prep type, but it is up to us to work hard to get a broad spectrum grasp of a college culture. Although Dartmouth for instance is hugely Greek, it also seemed full of alternative kids from varied backgrounds. UVa is very out there in dressing up and tradition, but also has a very large more laid back Outing Club sort of culture that is equally represented and has some great international groups too. I also like to challenge people’s limited views of Nashville for instance and also of Vanderbilt. I totally agree with other posters…don’t stereotype a college, be open and fair and ready to alter your impression. In the end, you still have April to make your final decision and to visit to get a face to face look at your future peer group. My son is attending the school he was least attracted to on his first tour.</p>
Having worked in the admissions office at Mines, I can tell you we had our fair share of wealthy kids, sons and daughters of oil company CEOs, Senators, Governors, etc…but you couldn’t pick them out of a crowd. All seems to have a practical, pragmatic and mature attitude about how to achieve success…which in large part requires brains, an ability to fit in and knowing when to ‘listen and learn’.</p>