I’m looking to add a few liberal arts schools to my list. I’m trying to keep it at 10, right now I have 7
Kenyon College
Denison University
College of Wooster
Centre College
Rhodes College
Macalester College
University of Kentucky Honors (safety)
A few of the schools I have narrowed my long list of schools to add down to are Vassar, Bard, Depauw, Grinnell, Beloit, Oberlin, and Barnard.
For admissions/merit sake I have a 3.6 uw gpa 4.4 w at a prestigious magnet program with all honors/10 AP classes, 32 ACT (just took it again hoping for a 34), lots of extracurriculars and leadership. I’m looking for a pretty campus with a true liberal arts experience, not a big greek scene (doesn’t dominate social scene or is very chill), study abroad, good academics and fun smart people. also more comfortable with a left leaning student body in general. looking to study poli sci or psych most likely
basically what I am asking is if anyone knows any little bits of info about these colleges that set them apart from one another? lots of liberal arts look very similar on their website and I’d love to be able to find some distinguishing qualities about each one to prioritize which ones to spend time applying to. any tidbits or advice is welcome! also feel free to add any colleges that you think would be a good fit
Sewanee, Furman and Hendrix are some others worth checking out. Also, take a look at a thread called Southern LACs. A few of the schools on your list are discussed in that thread.
LACs do tend to have very little or no Greek life and very left-leaning student bodies, but there are a few exceptions I see on your list: Centre, Rhodes, and Denison (and of course U of Kentucky, but it’s your safety and you probably knew that already). I’ve heard Greek life is pretty big at these schools, and while they’re definitely not right-leaning, they’d probably be better characterized as “moderate” than “left-leaning.” Of the ones you took off, Depauw definitley stands out: the vast majority of students are involved in Greek life. But the others you took off seem to match what you want exactly.
One thing that sets these schools apart from each other is location. Going to school in the middle of a big city like St. Paul (Macalester) will give you a very different experience than going to school in middle-of-nowhere Ohio (Kenyon). It seems like most of the schools you picked have similarly isolated settings though. The only real urban schools are Macalester and Barnard.
if you want to know more about the differences between these schools, reading student reviews might help a lot. Check out niche.com and ■■■■■■■■■. Both have sections where different aspects of a school can be ranked, rated and reviewed.
There are many other schools that fit your needs that you could check out. It seems like you prefer the midwest though, so I’ll just leave these two: Carleton (reach) and St. Olaf (low match/safety).
Denison, Kenyon have beautiful campuses with a more rural feel. Denison is on a hill top in a sweet little town, more center leaning than left leaning. Both Denison and Kenyon have greek life but the presence is probably felt more at Denison. Both have a certain level of a drinking culture, probably due to their more isolated locations.
Macalester is a compact but pretty city set in the middle of a nice neighborhood in St. Paul with plenty of places to cafes, restaurants, and shops just a short walk off campus. Very international feel. Great campus food. Left leaning.
Agree with the recommendation of Carleton and St. Olaf. Other schools to consider with a mix of selectivity: Lawrence U, Haverford, Grinnell, Dickinson (good study abroad), Colorado College, Bryn Mawr.
Oberlin is very left leaning (perhaps overly so) and has no greek life. In fact, fraternities and sororities are banned. Because of their conservatory they also have a tremendous music scene. It’s less rural than Kenyon (but what isn’t…) and has a nice small town around it but it is very much a small town atmosphere.
It’s tough to get into but I know some people who got in with less impressive credentials than yours.
Kenyon is beautiful, small, vibrant community in the country. Great writing program. Oberlin is less ‘traditional’ in campus architecture, but has an amazing music scene for a LAC. It is very progressive and liberal despite being in a small town. Both great schools. Have you considered Wiilliams College, another beautiful campus in the Berkshires. They have an affiliation wtih Oxford and implement their method of teaching in their tutorials.
Grinnell meets all the criteria you mentioned: beautiful campus, no greek scene, liberal with smart, fun students. What sets Grinnell apart? No distribution requirements (some quibble that you can’t take all your classes in one area (defined as STEM, social sciences and humanities but other than that and a freshman tutorial, nada.) The political science dept has a Grinnell-in-Washington semester that focuses on an area of politics provides student internships in DC. Check that out. A huge endowment compared to the other schools you are looking at which translates into amazing facilities - like palatial gym and sport facilities, the smallest average class size of any LAC, generous grants for student activities, merit aid, etc…The negative? You have to be okay with a small, rural town. It’s 45 min from Des Moines and from Iowa City. If you want urban, this isn’t the right place. If you want a tight college community where everything is happening on campus - where the faculty live nearby and participate in campus life- than this is a good choice. S and D-in-law both had a great experience.
I also think Oberlin is a great for those interested in music - there’s a different concert every night of the year due to the conservatory and an unusually high percentage of the student body (non-conservatory) are engaged in music and the performing arts.
All schools offer study abroad these days - it’s a huge industry internationally catering to American students. Generally if your school doesn’t have a pre-existing relationship with a program you want to attend, but other reputable American schools send students, chances are good that your school will accept the credits that you earn. (Example: SITA in India. D attended a study abroad option in Greece that was offered by Duke which was accepted by her school.)
also feel free to add any colleges that you think would be a good fit