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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mr. Draco" data-source="post: 2978274" data-attributes="member: 521">(This is a repost of a reply I made in the giant, recently dug up "Are gamers really that pathetic" thread that I felt was different enough to be it's own thread)I'm in a fairly unique situation, and this thread [Are gamers really that pathetic?] brings up some questions in my mind.First a little bit about my situation, so you can understand where I'm coming from.----- ----- ----- ----- -----Once the fall picks up, I'll be in my third year at Caltech. Caltech is a very small (and I mean it, we only get about 215 freshmen each year, and have a total undergraduate body of around 900), very selective science/math/engineering University in Pasadena, CA. There are many unique phenomena at Caltech, and one is the "Ratio." If anyone on campus ever mentions the Ratio, it's immediately understood by all involved that the particular statistic in question is the ratio of male students to female students at Caltech. The ratio is about 2.4 : 1 (with more males than females). This has been a very slow and gradual improvement from the Caltech of decades ago, which was a male-only school.Now, this normally wouldn't be so bad for a university right in the middle of Los Angeles, with plenty of other schools around, but because of the intense workload (trust me when I say that, even when they try, the average student has a very difficult time getting off campus for more than just a couple of hours, even on weekends) socializing at other schools is extremely difficult. With such a small student body, a very heavy workload that largely precludes getting off campus, and a house system that leaves the students extremely closely-knit, this all leave Techers (as we refer to ourselves) with Techers.Many male students at Caltech complain about how bad the Ratio is incessantly, and even among the most upbeat and optimistic students (among whom I count myself) dissenting voices can and will be heard. There's a saying that for girls "the odds are good, but the goods are odd," which is a result of Caltech attracting plenty of, and almost exclusively, nerds. More empirically, greater than 70% of the girls at Caltech are involved in a relationship at any given time, while less than 20% of the guys at Caltech are similarily involved. A girl may go two weeks to a month, or less, between relationships and have more than five interested guys approach her during that time (and likely several more who are interested, but don't make any effort). Many guys have simply never dated at Caltech (yet many of them dated in highschool, so this isn't likely to be a result of complete social ineptitude). Sure, there are a fair share of creepy guys, but there are similarily creepy girls, so I believe that they have a canceling-out effect on each other.I count myself among the higher end of socially-apt guys, and I've had several girlfriends (though only one at Caltech, but not from lack of trying--I've picked up half a dozen rejections as well, and they aren't things I regret), and when I find myself among people from other schools, I have no problem with fitting in with them, so I hope my view of the situation at my university is relatively unbiased and free from regrets and complaints.----- ----- ----- ----- -----My question is, what's the scene like at other universities/colleges? I haven't had the chance to get out and experience it myself, and even if I had, I doubt I'd have the insight of someone attending another school, so I'd be interested to hear what the situation is like elsewhere (with regards to the type of information I posted about Caltech).</blockquote>

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