Seems like the school culture can shape behavior and varies a lot. At my undergraduate college, my fellow math undergraduates* conformed to the stereotype of fo

Seems like the school culture can shape behavior and varies a lot. At my undergraduate college, my fellow math undergraduates* conformed to the stereotype of focusing on academics. Other activities like sports, games, and anime were considered less-serious, and someone who spent too much time socializing was frivolous. A student won more respect from peers by being capable in class than by being good at Smash Bros in the lounge, and they attempted to portray, whether true or not, the image of being hardworking and studious. At my graduate institution, the undergraduate attitude was quite different; socializing was important, learning the minimal amount was efficient, and cheating was socially accepted (by peers, not necessarily the profs). I was shocked at the difference in academic achievement this caused. The tests at the second institution were far easier, yet people were failing them. This was a difference between scoring 80% on nontrivial proofs, vs scoring 60% on one-step theorem applications. I don't think the incoming freshmen were vastly inferior. Rather, the culture at the first institution forced students to apply themselves through peer pressure, because that's what they perceived everyone else to be doing, and also what was valued. My advisor at the second institution seemed quite pessimistic about changing its culture, and viewed the first institution as a rare exception that would not be emulatable. He did agree on the extent of the difference. From the prof perspective, this is all irrelevant because it's quite rare for a school to develop a good culture, so it's not the experienced reality for most profs. Asking to become faculty at a top institution where the undergraduates also all care about academics is like wishing for unicorns. * Some selection bias here: I took grad classes, so these were the only math majors I had exposure to. Although, these were the only classes available because the school was small, so I'm not sure what an undergraduate could take if he didn't want to take grad classes.