<p>I just got back from visiting Goucher College, and I was actually impressed. I loved the campus, and they have a great philosophy department that sends students straight to doctorate work at top universities; as this is my goal, I have no gripes about this. Also favorable, to me at least, is their core curriculum and study abroad requirement. One of the strongest draws however, is the prospect of good (merit) financial aid that will make this college affordable to me.</p>
<p>Firstly, I had a question about Goucher students and life. It seems to be a somewhat laid back school in terms of inter-student competition, but how much are students personally driven, and how politically aware and active are the students?</p>
<p>I've also seen the school be described as "artsy", what exactly would this entail? I'm a pretty serious, dry, and uncreative guy and there is a large disconnect with me and the fine arts; is this going to affect my interaction with the college and its students?</p>
<p>Secondly, does anyone know colleges like Goucher (private liberal arts college with good merit aid)?</p>
<p>I know of a student at Goucher who is VERY politically active and driven (in a leading protests, not working on a campaign kind of way). She loves it there.</p>
<p>I can’t answer your Goucher-specific questions, but you could post them on the school’s sub-forum.</p>
<p>Also, I can name plenty of schools like Goucher in size, selectivity and good merit aid. They’re mostly in the Midwest, though, so are you alright with that?</p>
<p>My D and I visited Goucher. There were several aspects of the school we really, really liked. But the small size (she preferred 10,000+) and artsy students (she’s a health sciences person) were too much to overcome.</p>
<p>FWIW, I think the key issue is whether you want to spend your college years with students that are very much like you, very different from you, or somewhere in between. When you sit down in the cafeteria, what do you want to discuss with the others at the table? How do you anticipate spending your evenings and weekends? Do you tend to hang out with people like yourself? Do you like spending time with people who are really different? Who’s in your current posse?</p>
<p>Take a look at Grinnell College, in Iowa-a top LAC with generous merit aid, a huge endowment and outstanding facilities. S just finished his freshman year and can’t wait to go back. </p>
<p>Most top LACs don’t offer merit aid, so Grinnell is an exception. His safety was St. Mary’s College (a University of MD public LAC) which is a bargain if you are an in-state applicant.</p>