Having seen some incredible universities in the States, I would argue to almost anyone making university choices that America is a better option than the UK.
But that does not mean I would say that any US university is better than any UK university. You have to choose carefully.
While I have been in agonies because each university seems so nice that I would joyfully spend four years studying there, and I find it impossible to write a negative review of any of them, I do feel that it is important to note that there are a variety of pluses and minuses at each. UK students have been looking ever-more westwards for their education due largely to the massive overcrowding of universities in Great Britain. One complaint that is being ever more loudly expressed in Britain is that, because of this, the amount of contact you actually have with teachers is shrinking disastrously.
In America, meanwhile, the economic downturn has meant that few people can afford the top colleges, and universities like Harvard are having to dig unprecedentedly deeply into their waiting lists to fill spaces. This means that there has never been a better time to apply in the US as a Brit, especially since the distance between trans-Atlantic prices is also shrinking. But it doesn’t mean that things like student-to-teacher ratios are getting better. At school after school, the students I talk to mention the impact of budget cuts. The worst hit universities are the state schools, where state funding is being rapidly rolled back and large lay-offs of professors have become necessary.
So if you want to be able to have good contact with your teachers, where do you go?
Well, unsurprisingly, I would say you still go to America. There still exist a plethora of other (smaller) schools which offer excellent levels of teacher contact. But you can’t pick any American university and hope it’s good; you obviously have to give as much detailed attention to your choices as you would in the UK. If you go to a big state school, you’ll need to be prepared for lectures with hundreds of anonymous students who barely know the professor’s name, at least for some of the lower level classes. But you get other things in return – like incredible campus life, a wealth of friendly and diverse students and top-notch facilities.
To help make sense of this and many other confusing aspects of American universities, I’ve created a highly unofficial summary of what I consider the four main types of schooling available in American universities. But be warned, even within each category there can be serious fluctuation.
1. The Big Famous School
Generalisation: This is probably the category that most people think of when they imagine American universities, but in truth it’s probably the smallest of the four. Big Famous Schools are where everyone would love to go – in their dreams. Due to huge endowments and high fees, these behemoths of US education can afford the best students, the best professors, the best facilities…the best everything really. Although there is a danger of institutional elitism at some of them, and perhaps a lack of diversity or imagination among the student body, generally these schools are large enough and take enough students on financial aid that everyone can have a good time here, as well as a world-famous quality of teaching. Note also that some public schools can be Big and Famous too.
Money: These schools are seriously expensive, but they want the best students at all costs, so financial aid and scholarships abound.
Uni in the USA picks: Harvard, Yale, University of Virginia, MIT
2. The Big Public School
Generalisation: The classic American education, Big Public Schools are essentially just that: extremely big, and financed by the state. The best thing about these universities is that they are normally so big (expect 50,000 students at times) that you can do quite literally anything. You will always find like-minded souls there, if you look hard enough. The range of courses available is stunning, though the quality of classes will range as well: it’s important to make good picks for your course choices (ask around to see which professors and which curricula are best). Normally Big Public Schools are one of the favourite haunts of fraternities and sororities, which have a tangible impact on the already extremely vibrant campus life: expect parties that will make American Pie seem dull. Sports and facilities are also fantastic at most of these schools, and extreme university spirit is compulsory.
Money: These schools are designed to be very cheap for students from their own states, but this is little comfort to international students, who have to pay higher fees, and normally are ineligible for financial aid (unless you fancy living in that state for a year prior to application). Still, by US standards, they’re probably the cheapest option available.
Uni in the USA picks: University of Texas, University of California (Berkeley and LA), University of North Carolina, University of Washington
3. The Medium-Sized (Private) Research University
Generalisation: These schools can be extremely desirable, and normally have excellent reputations. This category is perhaps more open to variance from school to school than the others, but normally these universities have first-class academics and great social lives. They might have some of the aspects of the Big Famous Schools, but also some of the Small Liberal Arts Colleges, meaning that facilities are normally superb, faculty is incredible, and there’s a lot to do on your time off. They will generally be harder working than the larger Big Public Schools, but are big enough so that you don’t feel trapped. Though these schools are normally private, one or two have public funding too.
Money: Expensive, with some scholarships on offer.
Uni in the USA picks: Tulane, NYU, Rice, University of Chicago
4. The Small Liberal Arts College
Generalisation: These schools are normally less famous but they have a lot going for them. With only a small number of students, teaching can be intense but very fulfilling. You’ll get unmatched levels of contact with professors. The Liberal Arts curriculum means you get to explore a big range of subjects and get a very well rounded education, and your contact with professors is normally very high. Plus there are no grad students so you don’t have to worry about your professors’ time being taken up by research and being taught by boring post-grads. The community will be very tight, and in some places you’ll get to know almost everyone in your university. Facilities might not be that great, but some Liberal Arts Colleges are affiliated with bigger schools (e.g. Barnard or the Clairmont Consortium) and benefit from it. Though students love their school, they might not have as intense a spirit as some of the big schools, and social life might be quieter, though usually there’s plenty to do for everyone.
Money: These schools maintain their awesome student-to-faculty ratios by charging a lot, but some are open to the idea of financial aid for international applicants.
Uni in the USA picks: Reed, Pomona, Amherst, Barnard
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Tea parties and Sarbatoriuman Land
I write on the verge of a bold 24-hour journey back into the middle of the country, but my last few days in the East Coast have been great.
New York was scarily similar to the movies. I had a good time hanging out in the famous NY boroughs of Greenwich, Soho, Whitehall and Chelsea. No, you didn't mis-read. New York has flagrantly plagiarised all it's neighbourhoods from London. They're not even ashamed about it. The only areas that are not named after the UK capital have boring names like "The Upper East Side" or "Little Italy".
I think this is all part of the great symptom of American place-names: imaginative dysfunction. These guys had a whole continent at their disposal and they could have named stuff anything they wanted. What would you or I have done in such a situation? Naturally, we would have spent hours cooking up the most ridiculous things you could think of. New York? What's wrong with Sarbatoriuman Land? But no, the Americans named everything after places that either already exist, which is just outrageous cheating, or after themselves. Look at New York state, for example. In this one state you can visit Hamburg, Ithaca, Geneva, Rome, Amsterdam, Dunkirk, Carthage or Norwich. Did they not realise that those names were already taken? And then there's the city Washington. What would people think if we named our capital "William the Conqueror"? How do they get away with this stuff?
It's the same with street names. You have an infinite number of names to choose from, yet in every city the street names are the same: the roads going one way are numbers (how boring can you get?) and the roads going the other are either numbers too, or they're Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and Independence. Or they're the names of the states. It's unbelievable.
Aaaannnnyyway, New York was amazing, but I don't think I'm completely sold. The "alternative" bits were a bit too pretentious, the buildings were just showing off sometimes, and the subway was a bit too run-down to be believable. Still, it would be an incredible place to live, and for this reason I was impressed by the two schools I visited, Hunter and Barnard.
I managed to find a couch with Joe (to whom I am eternally grateful), a classic New Yorker with the proper accent, who lived on Brighton Beach (there it is again!) in Brooklyn, right next to the iconic but really grimy looking theme park and a beautiful stretch of beach that reminded me of sunny Bournemouth. I recognised the area from the movie Requiem for a Dream, which I had seen just a few days before.
Boston is a great city. It's brimming with universities - I've never seen so many crammed in to one town. I was officially looking at Boston University, but I couldn't resist taking a peak at Harvard too. The historic centre was also nice, especially the incredible street-performers, and I gazed nostalgically at the harbour where the cruel, evil Americans wasted all that lovely tea that the caring British had kindly provided for them. I mean seriously, who would throw away decent tea? From India? If they wanted to offend me as a Brit they couldn't have chosen a better way.
My host Dory was awesome - she was a hip-hop DJ or something cool and also studied Japanese stuff. I also stayed with another dude named Cole and his myriad friends who have a billion musical instruments and are all extremely creative. That was cool.
Now for the non-stop express to the mid-west! Hold on to your hat Dr. Jones!
New York was scarily similar to the movies. I had a good time hanging out in the famous NY boroughs of Greenwich, Soho, Whitehall and Chelsea. No, you didn't mis-read. New York has flagrantly plagiarised all it's neighbourhoods from London. They're not even ashamed about it. The only areas that are not named after the UK capital have boring names like "The Upper East Side" or "Little Italy".
I think this is all part of the great symptom of American place-names: imaginative dysfunction. These guys had a whole continent at their disposal and they could have named stuff anything they wanted. What would you or I have done in such a situation? Naturally, we would have spent hours cooking up the most ridiculous things you could think of. New York? What's wrong with Sarbatoriuman Land? But no, the Americans named everything after places that either already exist, which is just outrageous cheating, or after themselves. Look at New York state, for example. In this one state you can visit Hamburg, Ithaca, Geneva, Rome, Amsterdam, Dunkirk, Carthage or Norwich. Did they not realise that those names were already taken? And then there's the city Washington. What would people think if we named our capital "William the Conqueror"? How do they get away with this stuff?
It's the same with street names. You have an infinite number of names to choose from, yet in every city the street names are the same: the roads going one way are numbers (how boring can you get?) and the roads going the other are either numbers too, or they're Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and Independence. Or they're the names of the states. It's unbelievable.
Aaaannnnyyway, New York was amazing, but I don't think I'm completely sold. The "alternative" bits were a bit too pretentious, the buildings were just showing off sometimes, and the subway was a bit too run-down to be believable. Still, it would be an incredible place to live, and for this reason I was impressed by the two schools I visited, Hunter and Barnard.
I managed to find a couch with Joe (to whom I am eternally grateful), a classic New Yorker with the proper accent, who lived on Brighton Beach (there it is again!) in Brooklyn, right next to the iconic but really grimy looking theme park and a beautiful stretch of beach that reminded me of sunny Bournemouth. I recognised the area from the movie Requiem for a Dream, which I had seen just a few days before.
Boston is a great city. It's brimming with universities - I've never seen so many crammed in to one town. I was officially looking at Boston University, but I couldn't resist taking a peak at Harvard too. The historic centre was also nice, especially the incredible street-performers, and I gazed nostalgically at the harbour where the cruel, evil Americans wasted all that lovely tea that the caring British had kindly provided for them. I mean seriously, who would throw away decent tea? From India? If they wanted to offend me as a Brit they couldn't have chosen a better way.
My host Dory was awesome - she was a hip-hop DJ or something cool and also studied Japanese stuff. I also stayed with another dude named Cole and his myriad friends who have a billion musical instruments and are all extremely creative. That was cool.
Now for the non-stop express to the mid-west! Hold on to your hat Dr. Jones!
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Sailing to Philadelphia....a world away from the coaly tyne
After a second overnighter from North Carolina to Maryland, I was taken to my aunt’s house in the suburbs of Baltimore, where I spent a few lovely (and free) days with my family (including mother and sister who came over from England) and went to my cousin’s wedding which was a suitably joyous occasion.
From there I toggled south a tad to DC, and had a great time meeting up with all my fantastic friends from the Obama campaign last autumn. My old partner in phone-banking crimes and fellow music obsessive Steve was good enough to host me, and drive me all over the place. I took a peek at American University, and zoomed off to Annapolis for a day to visit crazy St. John’s, the nation’s third-oldest and most bizarre university.
The students at St. John’s don’t choose their courses. Instead they are given a mammoth reading list, filled with authors like Epicurus and Kierkegaard, and having read all these incredibly insightful and visionary tomes, they form discussion groups of about 15 people and talk about them. That’s pretty much it for four years. It was pretty awesome.
I was fortunate enough to get one of Greyhound’s new fancy buses for my trip to Philadelphia. Greyhound’s made a big deal of these things, but really the only differences are power outlets and wi-fi, and since only about 3% of the clientele own laptops it seems an odd marketing ploy. I enjoyed it at least. And Philadelphia had the first bus station that I’ve been to in America that wasn’t in the very worst, most run down part of town.
As it turned out, this was a shame because Meg, my host in Philadelphia, actually lived in the very worst, most run down part of town, so it would have saved me a trolley ride if the bus station had been there. Meg was a first-class host, and along with her sister and friends I had a great time in Philly. She also worked at Starbucks, meaning free drinks, hurrah! One of her housemates is a Latin teacher, and so I spent perhaps the most surreal evening of the trip so far sitting on the front porch playing chess with some crazy old dude I didn’t know while simultaneously arranging Virgilian hexametres and discussing the minutiae of how to pronounce the word “vincit”, all in visual and audio range of the crack dealers shouting at each other on the street corner.
On day one I strolled round all the historic bits, including the massively overrated Liberty Bell and the massively underrated City Hall, as well as a cool market-place in the centre. I munched a cheese-steak or two (also overrated). On day two I had a quick peek at U Penn (though not for official review – it’s already in the guide) and its anthropology museum (the Egyptian part was breathtaking) before spending a few hours welcoming in the summer solstice at a really really supercool little hidden gem on bohemian South Street: The Magic Garden.
If you ever visit Philly you have to go there – it’s the brainchild of visionary artist and urban reconstructionist Isaac Zagar, and it’s basically a small, multi-facetted apartment and garden all made of pieces of broken glass and mirrors, and old bicycle wheels. You have to see it to believe it, but trust me, it will blow your mind. On the longest day of the year, moreover, it happened to host a special solstice festival with loads of insanely talented, unheard of niche bands and performers, including an incredible DJ set at the end. The Sri Lankan drumming was my favourite, probably.
Anyways, now I’ve found myself, through various accommodation-related mishaps, in the trendy Gershwin hostel in mid-town Manhattan, looking forward to taking a few chomps of the Big Apple in the coming days and hopefully relocating to a less expensive couch asap. Take it easy folks, and stay tuned for the next installment of these quixotic fulminations.
From there I toggled south a tad to DC, and had a great time meeting up with all my fantastic friends from the Obama campaign last autumn. My old partner in phone-banking crimes and fellow music obsessive Steve was good enough to host me, and drive me all over the place. I took a peek at American University, and zoomed off to Annapolis for a day to visit crazy St. John’s, the nation’s third-oldest and most bizarre university.
The students at St. John’s don’t choose their courses. Instead they are given a mammoth reading list, filled with authors like Epicurus and Kierkegaard, and having read all these incredibly insightful and visionary tomes, they form discussion groups of about 15 people and talk about them. That’s pretty much it for four years. It was pretty awesome.
I was fortunate enough to get one of Greyhound’s new fancy buses for my trip to Philadelphia. Greyhound’s made a big deal of these things, but really the only differences are power outlets and wi-fi, and since only about 3% of the clientele own laptops it seems an odd marketing ploy. I enjoyed it at least. And Philadelphia had the first bus station that I’ve been to in America that wasn’t in the very worst, most run down part of town.
As it turned out, this was a shame because Meg, my host in Philadelphia, actually lived in the very worst, most run down part of town, so it would have saved me a trolley ride if the bus station had been there. Meg was a first-class host, and along with her sister and friends I had a great time in Philly. She also worked at Starbucks, meaning free drinks, hurrah! One of her housemates is a Latin teacher, and so I spent perhaps the most surreal evening of the trip so far sitting on the front porch playing chess with some crazy old dude I didn’t know while simultaneously arranging Virgilian hexametres and discussing the minutiae of how to pronounce the word “vincit”, all in visual and audio range of the crack dealers shouting at each other on the street corner.
On day one I strolled round all the historic bits, including the massively overrated Liberty Bell and the massively underrated City Hall, as well as a cool market-place in the centre. I munched a cheese-steak or two (also overrated). On day two I had a quick peek at U Penn (though not for official review – it’s already in the guide) and its anthropology museum (the Egyptian part was breathtaking) before spending a few hours welcoming in the summer solstice at a really really supercool little hidden gem on bohemian South Street: The Magic Garden.
If you ever visit Philly you have to go there – it’s the brainchild of visionary artist and urban reconstructionist Isaac Zagar, and it’s basically a small, multi-facetted apartment and garden all made of pieces of broken glass and mirrors, and old bicycle wheels. You have to see it to believe it, but trust me, it will blow your mind. On the longest day of the year, moreover, it happened to host a special solstice festival with loads of insanely talented, unheard of niche bands and performers, including an incredible DJ set at the end. The Sri Lankan drumming was my favourite, probably.
Anyways, now I’ve found myself, through various accommodation-related mishaps, in the trendy Gershwin hostel in mid-town Manhattan, looking forward to taking a few chomps of the Big Apple in the coming days and hopefully relocating to a less expensive couch asap. Take it easy folks, and stay tuned for the next installment of these quixotic fulminations.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Trekking northward
One’s experience of a city can be considerably shaped by one’s couchsurfing host, so perhaps I got a rather warped view of Savannah, Georgia, which was my first stop after leaving Florida. I arrived drenched to the bone in a tropical thunderstorm. My curious hosts lived in an enchanting wooden-walled mansion, swarming with folk who didn’t really seem to notice me at first. At least half of them were young children.
I had arrived at a community (definitely NOT a commune, they insisted) of the “Twelve Tribes”. Also known as “The Commonwealth of Israel", this is a spiritual group based on community living and good, old-fashioned values....And probably hypnotism (just kidding!). Anyhow, it was an extremely interesting thing to be part of, kind of a mix between the Amish and a hippy collective. They claimed not to be Christian, but they did read the Bible and sing songs about God (who they called Yahweh rather than Jesus or Lord). They did use mobile phones and dishwashers, but the women wore old-fashioned dresses and the men all had centre-partings. Everyone seemed to think that their little corner of tranquility was the last bastion of niceness in a ridiculously evil and hell-bound world.
The whole thing took me completely by surprise as I had been a bit rushed and hadn’t properly read their couchsurfing profile, on which all this was explicitly stated. Thankfully, everyone was extraordinarily kind and hospitable, and as soon as they knew who I was they took a great interest in my travels and didn’t try to convert me at all. They gave me tons of free food, and even though I kept a wary eye out for any Kool-Aid they might offer, there was nothing but warmth and friendship showed to me.
All of which put Savannah itself in an interesting light, but in no way lessened the grandeur and loveliness of the place. Savannah is a historic city, apparently spared from destruction in the Civil War by the early surrender of its fun-loving inhabitants, meaning that it is one of the best preserved examples of Southern refinery and original glory.
Old but immaculately preserved colonial wooden houses, every other one seemingly the one-time residence of some key player in the jigsaw of history, were exquisitely painted and set around charming, tree-filled squares. I saw one couple that had apparently been so smitten by the atmosphere that they were getting married on the spot next to a particularly fine fountain.
Abandoning the interesting corner of spiritual co-living that I had stumbled across, I headed north through Georgia (no red dirt, no cotton), arriving in Atlanta in time to go with my next host, Ken, to watch the Atlanta Braves baseball team lose ingloriously. The last time I had been to a baseball game I had somehow been given free tickets to excellent seats for the Oakland As against the Seattle Mariners, back in 2007. The As, playing at home, had lost 0-4, in a hopelessly boring and low-scoring game, and this time the Braves did even worse, losing 0-3. I seem to attract poor games. Still, attending a baseball match is a great experience for any Brit, and again I had great seats with all the crazy fans, expensive baseball food, and of course the bizarre tradition of singing the national anthem before EVERY sports game, even when the teams are both American.
Ken was a fun host – he worked at Georgia Tech, was doing research for a Masters at Georgia State and was also in training for the army, expecting a posting to Afghanistan within a year or so. On day two we went to a shooting range with his own pistol and his friend’s big army rifle. I hadn’t fired a gun since I was about 12, when I did shooting club at my prep school. The club was run by the legendary Mr. Gardiner, an ancient WWII vet, who would swear in German and tell unbelievable stories. He must have been a good shooting teacher, because I fired some very respectable rounds, achieving better accuracy and grouping than the gun-owners themselves. *grins smugly*
While in Atlanta I took a look at two great schools: science hot-spot Georgia Tech, and also a great little private school called Emory that seemed as good as its excellent reputation would suggest. I also visited Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace, and his grave which is just down the road. Has anyone noticed that his initials (including the Jr) are in exact reverse alphabetical order? Weird. Another cool place in Atlanta is the former home of Margaret Mitchell, journalist and famed author of Gone with the Wind, which I found quite exciting and had lots of cool information about her early life and career.
Leaving Atlanta I sped into the Carolinas, changing buses in Charlotte where I had originally touched down to catch my flight to Seattle. I spent two days in Chapel Hill, a small but awesome college town and home of the University of North Carolina, which I really, really liked. I think it might be my favourite school so far. To find out why, read my review which I should be getting up on the site within the next few days.
Having completed my whistle-stop canter through the South, I said a tearful goodbye and headed into an exciting new land known only as…(drumroll)…the North East! Stay tuned to see what happens to yours truly in those blasphemous liberal tree-hugging elitist baby-killing blue states. Damn Yankees.
I had arrived at a community (definitely NOT a commune, they insisted) of the “Twelve Tribes”. Also known as “The Commonwealth of Israel", this is a spiritual group based on community living and good, old-fashioned values....And probably hypnotism (just kidding!). Anyhow, it was an extremely interesting thing to be part of, kind of a mix between the Amish and a hippy collective. They claimed not to be Christian, but they did read the Bible and sing songs about God (who they called Yahweh rather than Jesus or Lord). They did use mobile phones and dishwashers, but the women wore old-fashioned dresses and the men all had centre-partings. Everyone seemed to think that their little corner of tranquility was the last bastion of niceness in a ridiculously evil and hell-bound world.
The whole thing took me completely by surprise as I had been a bit rushed and hadn’t properly read their couchsurfing profile, on which all this was explicitly stated. Thankfully, everyone was extraordinarily kind and hospitable, and as soon as they knew who I was they took a great interest in my travels and didn’t try to convert me at all. They gave me tons of free food, and even though I kept a wary eye out for any Kool-Aid they might offer, there was nothing but warmth and friendship showed to me.
All of which put Savannah itself in an interesting light, but in no way lessened the grandeur and loveliness of the place. Savannah is a historic city, apparently spared from destruction in the Civil War by the early surrender of its fun-loving inhabitants, meaning that it is one of the best preserved examples of Southern refinery and original glory.
Old but immaculately preserved colonial wooden houses, every other one seemingly the one-time residence of some key player in the jigsaw of history, were exquisitely painted and set around charming, tree-filled squares. I saw one couple that had apparently been so smitten by the atmosphere that they were getting married on the spot next to a particularly fine fountain.
Abandoning the interesting corner of spiritual co-living that I had stumbled across, I headed north through Georgia (no red dirt, no cotton), arriving in Atlanta in time to go with my next host, Ken, to watch the Atlanta Braves baseball team lose ingloriously. The last time I had been to a baseball game I had somehow been given free tickets to excellent seats for the Oakland As against the Seattle Mariners, back in 2007. The As, playing at home, had lost 0-4, in a hopelessly boring and low-scoring game, and this time the Braves did even worse, losing 0-3. I seem to attract poor games. Still, attending a baseball match is a great experience for any Brit, and again I had great seats with all the crazy fans, expensive baseball food, and of course the bizarre tradition of singing the national anthem before EVERY sports game, even when the teams are both American.
Ken was a fun host – he worked at Georgia Tech, was doing research for a Masters at Georgia State and was also in training for the army, expecting a posting to Afghanistan within a year or so. On day two we went to a shooting range with his own pistol and his friend’s big army rifle. I hadn’t fired a gun since I was about 12, when I did shooting club at my prep school. The club was run by the legendary Mr. Gardiner, an ancient WWII vet, who would swear in German and tell unbelievable stories. He must have been a good shooting teacher, because I fired some very respectable rounds, achieving better accuracy and grouping than the gun-owners themselves. *grins smugly*
While in Atlanta I took a look at two great schools: science hot-spot Georgia Tech, and also a great little private school called Emory that seemed as good as its excellent reputation would suggest. I also visited Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace, and his grave which is just down the road. Has anyone noticed that his initials (including the Jr) are in exact reverse alphabetical order? Weird. Another cool place in Atlanta is the former home of Margaret Mitchell, journalist and famed author of Gone with the Wind, which I found quite exciting and had lots of cool information about her early life and career.
Leaving Atlanta I sped into the Carolinas, changing buses in Charlotte where I had originally touched down to catch my flight to Seattle. I spent two days in Chapel Hill, a small but awesome college town and home of the University of North Carolina, which I really, really liked. I think it might be my favourite school so far. To find out why, read my review which I should be getting up on the site within the next few days.
Having completed my whistle-stop canter through the South, I said a tearful goodbye and headed into an exciting new land known only as…(drumroll)…the North East! Stay tuned to see what happens to yours truly in those blasphemous liberal tree-hugging elitist baby-killing blue states. Damn Yankees.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
University Rankings, Pt 1.
These rankings are entirely subjective, covering the first chunk of my travels, everywhere that I've gone so far:
The University of Washington (Seattle)
Lewis and Clark (Portland)
Reed (Portland)
The University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
Scripps (Claremont, Los Angeles) [women only]
Pepperdine (Malibu, Los Angeles)
The University of Texas at Austin
Rice (Houston)
Tulane (New Orleans)
Florida State University (Tallahassee)
The University of Florida (Gainesville)
1. Best Academics
Winner: Reed
Runner Up: Rice
2. Most Beautiful Campus
Winner: Pepperdine
Runner Up: The University of Washington
3. Best Campus Life
Winner: Rice
Runner Up: Lewis and Clark
4. Craziest Parties
Winner: The University of Southern California
Runner Up: The University of Texas
5. Best College Town
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: Tulane
6. Best Overall Social Life
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: Florida State University
7. Coolest Students
Winner: Lewis and Clark
Runner Up: Florida State University
8. Best Educated Students
Winner: Scripps
Runner Up: Pepperdine
9. Quirkiest Students
Winner: Reed
Runner Up: Rice
10. Kindest Students
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: The University of Florida
11. Best International Program
Winner: Lewis and Clark
Runner Up: Tie - Florida State University and Pepperdine
12. Best Sports (for your average undergrad)
Winner: The University of Florida
Runner Up: Rice
13. Coolest Science Facilities
Winner: Reed (nuclear reactor for undergrads)
Runner Up: Florida State University (High Magnetic Field Lab)
14. Overall Best Public School
Winner: The University of Florida
Runner Up: The University of Texas
15. Overall Best Private School
Winner: Rice
Runner Up: Scripps
NB: Many of these categories were extremely difficult to pick a winner for, and the result was a little random. Don't take these rankings too seriously.
The University of Washington (Seattle)
Lewis and Clark (Portland)
Reed (Portland)
The University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
Scripps (Claremont, Los Angeles) [women only]
Pepperdine (Malibu, Los Angeles)
The University of Texas at Austin
Rice (Houston)
Tulane (New Orleans)
Florida State University (Tallahassee)
The University of Florida (Gainesville)
1. Best Academics
Winner: Reed
Runner Up: Rice
2. Most Beautiful Campus
Winner: Pepperdine
Runner Up: The University of Washington
3. Best Campus Life
Winner: Rice
Runner Up: Lewis and Clark
4. Craziest Parties
Winner: The University of Southern California
Runner Up: The University of Texas
5. Best College Town
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: Tulane
6. Best Overall Social Life
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: Florida State University
7. Coolest Students
Winner: Lewis and Clark
Runner Up: Florida State University
8. Best Educated Students
Winner: Scripps
Runner Up: Pepperdine
9. Quirkiest Students
Winner: Reed
Runner Up: Rice
10. Kindest Students
Winner: The University of Washington
Runner Up: The University of Florida
11. Best International Program
Winner: Lewis and Clark
Runner Up: Tie - Florida State University and Pepperdine
12. Best Sports (for your average undergrad)
Winner: The University of Florida
Runner Up: Rice
13. Coolest Science Facilities
Winner: Reed (nuclear reactor for undergrads)
Runner Up: Florida State University (High Magnetic Field Lab)
14. Overall Best Public School
Winner: The University of Florida
Runner Up: The University of Texas
15. Overall Best Private School
Winner: Rice
Runner Up: Scripps
NB: Many of these categories were extremely difficult to pick a winner for, and the result was a little random. Don't take these rankings too seriously.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
You never know which one you're gonna get
Greetings from the Deep South, where your correspondent has been having an unusual amount of fun, and has seen fistfuls of universities. Last time I wrote I believe I was in Louisiana, famous for seafood, corrupt politicians and jazz music. The person that I had thought would be hosting me wasn’t answering their phone, so through a weird series of links I ended up on the futon of the couchsurfing queens of New Orleans, Robin and her sister Lisa, to whom I am eternally grateful for taking me at the last moment.
They had some pretty cool stories about the millions of couchsurfers who had passed their way, and also of Hurricane Katrina. They also introduced me to some awesome local food, including the amazing novelty of crawfish – mini lobsters that require skill and practice to eat, but taste delicious. I explored the French Quarter at length, including classic conversations with disenfranchised musicians and watching incredible buskers by the river. The river, by the way, none other than the Mississippi itself, is a terrifying, swirling mass of evil-looking water, which lurks in a gargantuan expanse across the city, just waiting for the tiniest excuse to burst the totally inadequate-looking banks. Whoever decided to build a city next to that thing, 20 feet below sea-level, had had one mint julip too many.
Also in New Orleans I had a look at Tulane University, a really fun looking place to study right on the mansion-lined St Charles St.
Leaving such a fun city after only two days was tough, but I was very excited about my destination, so I was actually quite happy to turn up the Lynyrd Skynyrd and head into…Alabama! Specifically, my destination was Mobile (pronounced Mo-beel), site of a key Northern naval victory in the civil war, and the only city in the country to have been owned at various times by six different empires – the French, the Spanish, the British, the original thirteen colonies, the Confederacy and the USA.
Alabama was everything I hoped it would be and more. The town was so beautiful, especially the “sweet homes” built of wood complete with pillars, porches and “shotgun style” design, meaning the rooms are arranged in such a way that breezes, or alternatively a shotgun pellet, can pass through the entire house. The weather was warm and balmy, but not yet roasting. Delightful little squares and churches were dotted round the spacious tree-lined streets. Cool art galleries and coffee-shops had happy looking customers. People greeted you warmly on the pavement.
I was staying with Fuzzy, who was really nice and accommodating, and her house-mate Alicia. They took me to an awesome party where I met the assembled youth of Mobile, as fun a bunch as you could hope for. There were various local heavy-rock bands playing, a change from the mountains of (mostly British) classic-rock that I’d been hearing on radios and in shops. There were more yummy crawfish to be eaten, though apparently I missed the deer sausage. Actually my expectations of Mobile had been skewed by this video (entertainmentfans.com/16) that the folks in New Orleans had showed me, but fortunately magical Irish creatures were notable for their absence.
By the end of my scarcely-more-than-24-hours in Alabama I was deeply in love with the South and everyone I met there. But there were more places to see and people to meet, so it was on to the fine state of Florida, specifically the state capital, Tallahassee, which in my opinion has to be the coolest name for a town in the country. It wasn’t the biggest or most jaw-dropping city I’d been too, but I did enjoy myself with my supercool host Mckensie and her awesome friends. We went to eighties dance parties, very local folk concerts, interesting vegan coffee shops slash alternative culture centres of a kind that I hadn’t seen since Seattle, and also a horror movie which was…interesting.
Thence to Gainesville, another small college town, home of the University of Florida, which like Florida State University in Tallahassee is a huge public school with over 50,000 students. The University of Florida was also where they invented Gatorade, so named because the college sports teams are called the Gators. There was even a lake on campus which apparently has lots of reptilian monsters in it but I didn’t see any. I stayed with a really nice geography teacher, Nick, who was very hospitable and fun to talk to, though Gainesville isn’t the most “happening” place on the planet.
Luckily I’ve still got a few more days in the South. Next stop is Georgia, back on the Gone With The Wind trail. I’m expecting red soil and cotton fields, and preferably some belles wearing ball-gowns. Until next time, just remember that liiife is liiike a booohx of chooohc-laaahts.
They had some pretty cool stories about the millions of couchsurfers who had passed their way, and also of Hurricane Katrina. They also introduced me to some awesome local food, including the amazing novelty of crawfish – mini lobsters that require skill and practice to eat, but taste delicious. I explored the French Quarter at length, including classic conversations with disenfranchised musicians and watching incredible buskers by the river. The river, by the way, none other than the Mississippi itself, is a terrifying, swirling mass of evil-looking water, which lurks in a gargantuan expanse across the city, just waiting for the tiniest excuse to burst the totally inadequate-looking banks. Whoever decided to build a city next to that thing, 20 feet below sea-level, had had one mint julip too many.
Also in New Orleans I had a look at Tulane University, a really fun looking place to study right on the mansion-lined St Charles St.
Leaving such a fun city after only two days was tough, but I was very excited about my destination, so I was actually quite happy to turn up the Lynyrd Skynyrd and head into…Alabama! Specifically, my destination was Mobile (pronounced Mo-beel), site of a key Northern naval victory in the civil war, and the only city in the country to have been owned at various times by six different empires – the French, the Spanish, the British, the original thirteen colonies, the Confederacy and the USA.
Alabama was everything I hoped it would be and more. The town was so beautiful, especially the “sweet homes” built of wood complete with pillars, porches and “shotgun style” design, meaning the rooms are arranged in such a way that breezes, or alternatively a shotgun pellet, can pass through the entire house. The weather was warm and balmy, but not yet roasting. Delightful little squares and churches were dotted round the spacious tree-lined streets. Cool art galleries and coffee-shops had happy looking customers. People greeted you warmly on the pavement.
I was staying with Fuzzy, who was really nice and accommodating, and her house-mate Alicia. They took me to an awesome party where I met the assembled youth of Mobile, as fun a bunch as you could hope for. There were various local heavy-rock bands playing, a change from the mountains of (mostly British) classic-rock that I’d been hearing on radios and in shops. There were more yummy crawfish to be eaten, though apparently I missed the deer sausage. Actually my expectations of Mobile had been skewed by this video (entertainmentfans.com/16) that the folks in New Orleans had showed me, but fortunately magical Irish creatures were notable for their absence.
By the end of my scarcely-more-than-24-hours in Alabama I was deeply in love with the South and everyone I met there. But there were more places to see and people to meet, so it was on to the fine state of Florida, specifically the state capital, Tallahassee, which in my opinion has to be the coolest name for a town in the country. It wasn’t the biggest or most jaw-dropping city I’d been too, but I did enjoy myself with my supercool host Mckensie and her awesome friends. We went to eighties dance parties, very local folk concerts, interesting vegan coffee shops slash alternative culture centres of a kind that I hadn’t seen since Seattle, and also a horror movie which was…interesting.
Thence to Gainesville, another small college town, home of the University of Florida, which like Florida State University in Tallahassee is a huge public school with over 50,000 students. The University of Florida was also where they invented Gatorade, so named because the college sports teams are called the Gators. There was even a lake on campus which apparently has lots of reptilian monsters in it but I didn’t see any. I stayed with a really nice geography teacher, Nick, who was very hospitable and fun to talk to, though Gainesville isn’t the most “happening” place on the planet.
Luckily I’ve still got a few more days in the South. Next stop is Georgia, back on the Gone With The Wind trail. I’m expecting red soil and cotton fields, and preferably some belles wearing ball-gowns. Until next time, just remember that liiife is liiike a booohx of chooohc-laaahts.
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