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Does College "Culture" Matter?

Smilephantomhive

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And by culture I mean the student life stuff, such as the majority the student's ideals/political party, and whether or not it's a party school. So right now I am trying to look at potential colleges, and I don't like the 'culture" the ones I can currently get into. Should I let this affect my choices or not?
 

SearchingforPeace

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Yes, it matters. A large commuter school feels very different from a small liberal arts college. A tier 1 research university is very different from a party school. A private school with heavy Greek life focus will feel different than a large urban campus.

College mismatches can take what should be a great 4 years and turn it into a painful experience.

That all being said, knowing your career really matters the most. It is really useless getting $100,000 in debt to become a elementary school teacher.

And many great careers don't really need an elite education.

And some are useless if you go to the wrong schools.
 

Tater

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it depends on what your choices are and whether you're willing to bite the bullet in order to enhance your job opportunities.

the college experience is also about 'finding' oneself, so you should find one that at least somewhat fits with your own norms.

sometimes, student culture sabotages one's ability to thrive and make decent grades. a good chunk of students dick around their first year, so that portion is negligible. but if it's a place that will undermine your ability to succeed during your second/third/fourth years, i'd advise against it.

do a lot of research and apply for as many schools as you can.
 

Smilephantomhive

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Yes, it matters. A large commuter school feels very different from a small liberal arts college. A tier 1 research university is very different from a party school. A private school with heavy Greek life focus will feel different than a large urban campus.

College mismatches can take what should be a great 4 years and turn it into a painful experience.

That all being said, knowing your career really matters the most. It is really useless getting $100,000 in debt to become a elementary school teacher.

And many great careers don't really need an elite education.

And some are useless if you go to the wrong schools.


So if I am not interested in partying whatsoever then I should try and avoid party schools? I currently have a low ACT score (trying to get that up though), and all the schools I looked in to that will accept a low enough score are party schools at least according to student reviews. I was wondering I could ignore all that stuff and do just fine.

I agree with your third point, but idk what my future career will be.


it depends on what your choices are and whether you're willing to bite the bullet in order to enhance your job opportunities.

the college experience is also about 'finding' oneself, so you should find one that at least somewhat fits with your own norms.

sometimes, student culture sabotages one's ability to thrive and make decent grades. a good chunk of students dick around their first year, so that portion is negligible. but if it's a place that will undermine your ability to succeed during your second/third/fourth years, i'd advise against it.

do a lot of research and apply for as many schools as you can.


Wow I didn't think a college's culture could mess things up that much. But I guess it would depend what directly affects the person in question.


How do you know if it's the wrong school? Does checking out the campus help? And yeah I have been researching, but I will continue to do so. I know I should look at the college website, but I am also interested in hearing student's opinions (I found one site, but it didn't have very many). Does anyone know where I can find a good place for that?
 

SearchingforPeace

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So if I am not interested in partying whatsoever then I should try and avoid party schools? I currently have a low ACT score (trying to get that up though), and all the schools I looked in to that will accept a low enough score are party schools at least according to student reviews. I was wondering I could ignore all that stuff and do just fine.

I agree with your third point, but idk what my future career will be.





Wow I didn't think a college's culture could mess things up that much. But I guess it would depend what directly affects the person in question.


How do you know if it's the wrong school? Does checking out the campus help? And yeah I have been researching, but I will continue to do so. I know I should look at the college website, but I am also interested in hearing student's opinions (I found one site, but it didn't have very many). Does anyone know where I can find a good place for that?

If you don't know what you want to do, a community college is a great option to save money and to find out what you like.

I would suggest that you research careers. Talk to everyone you know. If you are looking at a career, go and talk to people doing it. Find out what it really is.

But it takes awhile to figure yourself out. Some stuff takes time to figure out.

Unless you get a scholarship, try to get through college with the least amount of money spent and avoid debt.

College is what you make of it.
 

Beargryllz

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You can always just operate in a culture you hate and subvert it for personal gain or amusement.

I do it almost every day.
 

Yama

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I'm the type of person how goes to class and then goes home. I'm not involved in any clubs or school activities and I don't have any friends who go to the same school as me. So for me, it doesn't actually matter. I guess it depends on how involved you want to be on campus.
 

Tater

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How do you know if it's the wrong school? Does checking out the campus help? And yeah I have been researching, but I will continue to do so. I know I should look at the college website, but I am also interested in hearing student's opinions (I found one site, but it didn't have very many). Does anyone know where I can find a good place for that?

checking on the campus helps. student opinions help as well. you may be able to schedule an appointment to walk around the department you're interested in.

Best Colleges | College Rankings | US News Education - US News

College Reviews: StudentsReview : Over 224000 College Reviews â„¢ (4,421 colleges reviewed!)

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i agree with sfp that community colleges are a good solution at the moment. they're usually pretty stress free and cheaper. additionally, they can often feed you into local universities if you wish to pursue education beyond an associate's program or certificate. compared to for-profit institutions, they're pretty great. many of them even support online classes.

ideally, you want to know what you're going to do after you get out of college because it streamlines the path you take. you won't have to spend as much tuition on classes that don't amplify your major's program. you won't have to spend as much time, either.

if you don't know what career you want, then figure out your major. what program you wish to engage in may also inform your decision, because some colleges are stronger than others in specific categories.

but yeah. college culture matters because it can often come from the top-down, influencing staff, advisers, and professors. if you go to a bigger school where the student to teacher ratio puts students at a disadvantage, you're going to want to be more of a self-starter. if you go to a smaller one, you'll probably get more personalized help. additionally, the culture may determine how you're treated. for instance, a christian college will probably stack the cards against you if you're an atheist. alternatively, a secularized school will probably make you feel uncomfortable if you're highly religious. demographics are important; gender even plays a role and some schools give more opportunities and leverages to women than others. furthermore, some cultures may even be abusive. for instance, you don't want to be in a psych program where you yourself feel like a test subject.

in determining my major/career, i'd ask myself: was there ever a time i felt most fulfilled? what was i doing to gain that fulfillment? can that activity be mapped to anything that will make a profit? i think you're smart and you probably won't have any issues persisting in whatever field you want to go in to.

if you're more interested in what will give you financial assurance, you can also research income levels and the health of various fields. you really can't go wrong with health care or finance.

if you don't know your major either, i'd opt for general credit and take core classes like english and math, since they will carry you through whatever program you decide on later.

College Majors & Career Search - Explore your interests for College

good luck! :rock::nice::hifive:
 

Lark

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I think it certainly does, I dont think that politics is as important as you're making out, particularly if you're a big fan of some of the more oddball politics on this forum because you're simply not going to find that many people who identify as strongly with those ideas offline as you will find here or other places online.

Instead I'd say that culture is very, very important in the sense of do they have a social scene, how many extra curricular societies and activities are there, are they "open" or "closed" clubs as in do you need to be a subscribing member or can you just go along to their movie screenings, trips, parties, whatever and can you do something every night of the week you decide to take a break from studies besides drinking (or maybe dating).

I went to two different universities, two different campuses of one, and I only enjoyed one of those experiences because of the community and social scene, I was living furtherest away from home at that time, despite it being the shortest, ie one year as opposed to two or three years.

Uni isnt just about the obvious things, the first chance to live independently of parents for some, the academic side of things, possibly meeting a future partner for life, networking but its a couple of years when you can concentrate on your personal and professional development, you dont get many chances at that once you have kids, commitments, a steady job and bills to pay etc. Its not like life stops or anything but its something to think about, I didnt, largely because I was one of the first in my family to ever go to university.
 

Lark

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You can always just operate in a culture you hate and subvert it for personal gain or amusement.

I do it almost every day.

I hope no one gets hurt.

Or, you know, people could be plotting your demise.

Or that of your loved ones.
 

Evo

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I'm the type of person how goes to class and then goes home. I'm not involved in any clubs or school activities and I don't have any friends who go to the same school as me. So for me, it doesn't actually matter. I guess it depends on how involved you want to be on campus.

This is me as well.
 

Hawthorne

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Chances are there will be a pocket to fit into at the vast majority of unis. In some ways that can make for a closer knit "fringe" community but also runs the risk of getting stuck in echo chambers. Like someone else said, it's usually easier to find those exceptions on larger, on-campus universities than smaller commuter ones.

Some students don't really do the social clubs and just focus on classes, academic orgs, and honor societies. Others, especially those with jobs or social connections elsewhere, just focus on class. Being free to tailor the experience to suit your needs is a major part of the appeal.

Side note: You mentioned lower ACT scores and I'm going to make some assumptions and ask if you've considered starting out at a community college and finishing at a 4-year?
 

ceecee

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It does. This is why we spent last summer going to colleges and spending a few days and letting our daughter get a feel for them. Naturally it matters what a student wants to major it so, that pared down the list for us, plus she was offered full or nearly full academic scholarships. In the end, the selection she made has a great program and it had a compatible "culture" for her. We met extensively with the program heads, many instructors and I'm confident she will be successful and happy there.
 

Lark

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It does. This is why we spent last summer going to colleges and spending a few days and letting our daughter get a feel for them. Naturally it matters what a student wants to major it so, that pared down the list for us, plus she was offered full or nearly full academic scholarships. In the end, the selection she made has a great program and it had a compatible "culture" for her. We met extensively with the program heads, many instructors and I'm confident she will be successful and happy there.

I think this is brilliant, I could celebrate the way that the US does this and pretty much all of its parenting with regard to developing and bringing up kids, the next generation etc.

Its such a contrast to here, where there's largely low, low expectation, which is then automatically met, and it struck me in watching the movie Chronicle, in which a character is supposed to be an archetypical over achiever type, who has a room full of awards and medals, is popular and networked and thinking about a career in politics, that is contrasted with a kid who has an awful home life, but subtract the violent, angry parenting and most of the lives of most of the people I know here are the same as that kids in that their parents dont have much interest in structured time, planning things, deciding things and university being part of that.

I'm in part a product of that too, I've got a great, very loving, family home but my parents themselves never went to university, neither did any of the generations before me stretching back into the eons of time, it just wasnt a thing, and going per se, to any uni was seen as amazing. Equally the education, schooling and career guidance I got was lousy, seriously so, they suggested I forget about university or academic study and just become a cop or soldier or prison guard, which I think is freaking ridiculous when I reflect on it (but totally a reflection of their assessment tools and statistical instruments, I could detect the bias in the question even then).
 

CitizenErased

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I think the environment can have its ups and downs, but the will and passion to study something, which is why you choose something you like and decide to invest on it, should override everything else.

I changed university last year, from a swanky, expensive one with snob people to a smaller, more "homey" one. Truth is, when I was fine with the previous career, the environment and its "culture" didn't matter to me. I went, studied, socialized with the people I needed to do tasks with, went home. The sense of belonging has never been one of my problems because I always feel I'm an outsider everywhere I go. On the other side, when I "moved" tot he place I'm studying now, I still feel an outsider, but the feeling that the career is the right choice makes me be happier and accept more the environment I'm in.

There's this guy here who studied industrial design, and he didn't have a house (where he lived before was far away and he was spending the money of his job on materials and food), so every night he slept inside an abandoned car. Wanting to do the career was more important than everything else. If someone can sleep inside a car for 6 years, you should be able to manage being in a place where the "culture" is not a dream come true.
 

Typh0n

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I'm the type of person how goes to class and then goes home. I'm not involved in any clubs or school activities and I don't have any friends who go to the same school as me. So for me, it doesn't actually matter. I guess it depends on how involved you want to be on campus.

I guess, but in last year's classes, people would try to get you into politics whether you liked it or not. Some of the students were upset at our school so they acted like they wanted to start a "revolution". And politics and social issues is all we ever discussed in class, though usually I kept my mouth shut even if I didn't agree.

So while I admit that I was also the type of person who just wanted to go to class, then go home, not really be "involved" the "revolutionaries" wouldn't let it go. :mad: I did want to make friends, just not be involved with activities on campus. It was painful having to sit through class half the time, I'm just glad I won't see any of those people next year.

TLDR: it matters because even if you are not interested in these things, they may take an interest in you..at least in my experience.
 

Smilephantomhive

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lol my current college is too big for it to really matter. If anyone else is worried about this then go to a bigger school, and at least one person will be "culturally" compatible with you.
 

Lark

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And by culture I mean the student life stuff, such as the majority the student's ideals/political party, and whether or not it's a party school. So right now I am trying to look at potential colleges, and I don't like the 'culture" the ones I can currently get into. Should I let this affect my choices or not?

In terms of getting your academic qualification the answer is not much, most of the times I've been to university I've thought I could have completed the courses from home with the right reading lists, anyway, the one time I went to a university which had lots of clubs and societies and lots of activities all week long and over the weekend was the experience I loved the most.

If I were going to university again now I would try and get an experience similar to that one, I'd try out as many extra curriculars as I could, also spend a lot of time on the gym, track etc. whatever's available, I did not take full advantage of those things, I just did caving, study and the bars with friends (there were three or four on campus).

You could learn and experience a lot besides the academic side of things.

One thing though, I would be careful of the party scene or universities described as party universities, I think those scenes are more fun to laugh at or witness in movies or TV shows like blue mountain state but in reality they are not just that much fun, the whole "fun" drinking can quickly descend into the sad trailer park variety.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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College mismatches can take what should be a great 4 years and turn it into a painful experience.

I went to a small private college, ranked one of the top party schools in the country at the time. Heavy emphasis on Greek Life. It was miserable, I didn't want to go but my parents pushed me into it, when I wanted to go to the state university nearby that was half the price and would allow me to commute.

I didn't adjust well to the party life and I didn't really fit in with the mostly Waspish, wealthy and upper middle class background of most students, myself coming from a lower, working class family.

The type of college or university does make a big difference and it isn't a decision to be taken lightly.
 

Cellmold

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Get a trade.

Be useful.

I think college is largely a waste of time for the vast majority of people.

If you are certain though, go ahead. But yeah the culture would definitely affect your experience of a campus, particularly if you are away from home.
 
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