The College as Country Club

, Malcolm A. Kline, Leave a comment

If universities really want to be taken seriously as sources of scholarship, they might stop imitating Vegas hotels. “Believe it or not, the number of students going to college has been shrinking in recent years, and that means colleges and universities are having to get creative with their recruitment,” according to collegeconsensus.com. “One of the biggest ways colleges are attracting students is with top-of-the-line amenities, and campus recreation leads the list.”

“At some schools, you’d be hard pressed to guess whether you were at a university, or a luxury resort. From lazy rivers and waterslides at the natatorium, to massage therapy and spa treatments at the wellness center, colleges and universities are making sure students have all the challenge and pampering they could ask for.”

Yes, and arguable it is not just the rivers which are lazy. College Consensus rates the top 50 schools offering the deluxe package outlined above. The top ten are:

• The University of Chicago

• Penn

• Colby College

• UCLA

• Rice

• Vanderbilt

• Wabash College

• UT-Austin

• Pepperdine

• University of Miami