Yet Another List: Top 'Coolest' Schools

Parents Forum
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<p>Sierra Magazine just came out with its list of the Top Coolest Schools, i.e. those schools most committed to environmental stewardship and reducing greenhouse gases ([Cool</a> Schools: Top 100 Schools - September/October 2010 - Sierra Magazine - Sierra Club](<a href=“http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201009/coolschools/top100.aspx]Cool”>http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201009/coolschools/top100.aspx)). It is an interesting list, and while many in the Top 10 were expected (Evergreen, Hampshire, U of Washington) some were a little surprising to me (Harvard, Dickinson, UC-Irvine). Of course, like all lists, one has to question the selection methodology, and it is apparent that many of the 900 colleges queried chose not to respond.</p>

<p>I’m wondering how many students factor in issues such as the ‘greenness’ of the campus when they select colleges. I’ll bet that it is more of a factor than it used to be, and it could be an important marketing point to prospective students. </p>

<p>Its gotta’ be better than listing the Top 10 Party Schools!</p>

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<p>Anything based entirely on a self selected survey is garbage.</p>

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<p>We toured Dickinson last summer and I must say that they are totally dedicated to the whole green thing. They even have one of their dorms dedicated to green living. Limited showers, lighting, etc and their own garden to grow the veggies.</p>

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<p>I noticed that on this round of college tours that LEED certification was mentioned on most campus information sessions as well as other green initiatives. My son’s #1 choice right now claims to compost everything, including the plates! I wonder what happened to all of those cafeteria trays that seem to have disappeared overnight.</p>

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<p>If being Green is now what defines Cool, then UC Davis was very Cool way before Cool was cool. The school and the town have been earth shoes, crunchy granola, solar, organic, and recycling-minded for over 40 years - way more than UCI, which for some baffling reason is ranked higher in this list.</p>