<p>D rising junior with a 2240 SAT and 4.0 GPA is looking for schools in the midwest only with a less liberal political "vibe". She is christian but the school doesn't need to be. Are there any that exist besides Hillsdale and Grove City? She plans on studying history as a major so the professors should be at least near "center" as well. Thank you so much. I am specifically wondering about Kenyon and Centre.</p>
<p>Kenyon is liberal.</p>
<p>2240 SAT and 4.0 GPA are pretty good. Can’t she look at better schools? I may be missing something. Is cost an issue?</p>
<p>Have you checked out Washington & Lee in VA?</p>
<p>Have you checked out schools listed on “Choosing the Right College?”</p>
<p>[CollegeGuide.org</a> - Browse](<a href=“http://www.collegeguide.org/itembrowse.aspx?f=&m=1&p=1&s=]CollegeGuide.org”>http://www.collegeguide.org/itembrowse.aspx?f=&m=1&p=1&s=)</p>
<p>If you pick 3 schools from that guide that interest you, you used to be able to use the code 3FREE at checkout to see if their reports interested you. We found them to be quite helpful.</p>
<p>informative–yes cost it most definitely and issue–so merit and need aid is important to us.</p>
<p>A better school? I suppose with these numbers she has a lot of options, thus the reason for my question. She does not want to go to a small LAC where her conservative mindset is in the minority. She enjoys good debate and doesn’t need to be sheltered, but too liberal a campus wouldn’t be a good fit for her. For these reasons schools like Hillsdale and Wheaton are on her list. Kenyon seemed okay but I have heard their party scene is probably more than she would like. I was wondering if there were any others that people could recommend. She would like to stay in the midwest, or northern part of the south (if that makes sense), Kentucky, etc. We like Washington and Lee but VA is too far–though it’s not completely out of the radar–just in case.
Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Rhodes College and Austin College (far north Texas) are on the fringe of your geographical focus, but might be good options in other respects. Both might be safeties for her. St. Olaf is another possibility.</p>
<p>Notre Dame comes to mind if she does not mind attending a catholic insituion</p>
<p>Was going to say Notre Dame as well.</p>
<p>Davidson; Washington and Jefferson (very good merit money there); Wake Forest: Furman</p>
<p>Rice, WUSTL, and Georgetown should probably all be on the list. Also add ND and BC if they aren’t too far geographically.</p>
<p>thank you. i’m not sure how i haven’t heard of washington and jefferson before. any other thoughts on it?</p>
<p>Grove City College is a sort of blend between Wheaton and Hillsdale; many people who apply to the latter also apply to GCC. Tuition is quite reasonable, and its education department is excellent (if she is interested in going that route).</p>
<p>Most colleges have a wide diversity of thought on campus, both among the students and the faculty. So most campuses should suit your daughter just fine.</p>
<p>If cost is an issue then I wouldn’t spend much time on Notre Dame or WUSTL. You won’t get much merit aid from either of them.</p>
<p>If Washington & Lee is geographically out then so is Georgetown and BC (cost issue for these too).</p>
<p>Rice is pretty far south.</p>
<p>University of Dayton or Xavier (Cincinnati) are both midwest and likely lower cost than ND or BC.</p>
<p>A public school you should consider is Miami (OH). While its politics are not absolutely uniform and there are liberals on campus, it definitely has a right of center vibe. Remember, Paul Ryan is an alum. There are significant merit scholarships available. Miami is known as “J Crew U” - the vast majority of students come from upper and upper-middle class backgrounds from the 4 “C’s” - Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Chicago. Based on conversations with my DS who is a senior, the conservatism is more economic than social, which isn’t surprising given the demographics. </p>
<p>A lot might depend on whether you would qualify for significant need-based aid, or whether merit is realistically your best bet. Generally, the most selective schools are most likely to have deep pockets and be genuinely generous with need-based aid. She would probably have to drop down significantly in class to a school that is a true academic safety to get substantial merit. Running the online NPCs is key. It depends what you need.</p>
<p>I would think that WUSTL and ND would be better bets on the need-based side.</p>
<p>How about Case Western and the University of Chicago?</p>
<p>OP, since cost is a consideration, travelling a bit out of your geographical range might include some possibly affordable choices. Elon, in NC, started as a church college but is now a more diverse university. If your D would consider a women’s college, she may be eligible for merit aid at Meredith College in Raleigh, another religious founded college which has also become more diverse. U South Carolina has a nice honors college, as does University of Georgia. You would need to look into it, but I think there would be faculty and students right of center at these schools. While these colleges are farther than you would like, they are accessible to airports, so travel time may not be much more by plane. Furman and Sewanee, and Wofford are also good choices- very nice LAC’s that I think would also have a percentage of students and faculty that are right of center. </p>
<p>I love both Kenyon and Centre (my dad went to Kenyon)</p>
<p>Kenyon is liberal, yes, but is not hostile to conservatives. The party scene is not actually very wild, but rather typical for college.</p>
<p>Centre is actually a very good choice. The students are definitely on the conservative side, although some professors might be a bit liberal (but respectful of opposing views).</p>
<p>Someone mentioned Miami.U of Ohio. Yes, a conservative vibe there. Medium to large state school. Not LAC.</p>
<p>Hope College in Michigan is pretty conservative with a diverse range of Christian students and faculty.</p>
<p>People have mentioned Notre Dame. Some people call it conservative, but many call it liberal. 85% of students are Catholic. Your daughter would need to be okay with that. Students are tolerant and diverse.</p>
<p>If you are okay with the Catholic church, then Saint Vincent College near Pittsburgh is very generous with scholarship money and is quite conservative. However, she might be a bit too smart for SV.</p>
<p>Chicago, which has been mentioned. Is Baylor too far away? It is quite conservative. Her stats would give her a good shot at merit aid. </p>
<p>Sewanee. She’d probably get good merit there, too.</p>