Hello all,
I’m applying to college this coming year and I’m looking for somewhere that fosters creative, unique learning. Right now I’m planning on majoring in Physics but I really just want a well-rounded education with insightful, friendly professors. I also love playing music and want somewhere with a music/ artsy community. I need a chill learning atmosphere. I don’t want crazy parties, but I can deal with a city and I don’t want a dead town in the middle of nowhere. I live in west NJ currently, so I’m mainly looking at places in PA, NJ, and NY but I’m willing to check out anywhere in the Northeast. The more I look into small private schools and LACs the more they appeal to me, but I’m still open to bigger schools as long as I can find a niche to fit into. Additionally, does the benefit of going to a small college with more undergrad research opportunities outweigh that of a larger institution with greater research funding?
Here are some schools I’m interested in as of now. How might I like these places based on the criteria above? If you have suggestions for other schools to check out, send them over. Thanks everyone!
Rutgers (fallback in-state school)
McGill
Florida State
Lehigh
Swarthmore
Haverford
Hamilton
Richmond
Colgate(?)
Middlebury(?)
Temple(?)
Is it correct to assume that you have no financial constraints and can afford $55k p.a.?
Take a look at Oberlin. A LAC of 1,800 but with an additional 600 students in the music conservatory. Friend’s son says there’s a different music performance every night of the week, the question is not ‘do you perform?’ but rather ‘what do you perform?’ The campus vibe is definitely creative and unpretentious in a small but pleasant college town about 45 min from Cleveland. Good science depts. as well.
Another option if you are willing to look further afield and have the stats for a Swarthmore and Haverford: Harvey Mudd, part of the Claremont consortium of LACs but with a STEM focus - 5 contiguous campuses where you get a medium-sized school’s worth of activities, music, etc…but the benefits of a LAC learning environment, in the suburbs of LA with great weather year round.
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“do the benefits of going to a small college with more undergraduate research opportunities outweigh those of a larger institution with greater research funding?”
Yes, in my opinion.
Ideally, do you want to choose a college with simply an interesting arts community, or do you want to go even further and choose one that would be more generally considered “artsy?”
Skidmore, Bard, Perhaps Hampshire if you want some serious flexibility regarding curriculum. Decide ahead of time if you care about a Greek presence on campus, a few of your schools listed definitely have a strong Greek presence.
If you want to venture outside of the east coast consider Colorado college and its unique block plan. Also Macalaster could be a good fit for what you are describing.
First off, thanks so much for all the responses already.
Now to address some questions:
As far as grades and standardized tests, I still have about 5 months to get those to a level where I can decide where I want to apply based on that. For now I’m just trying to find places I would enjoy- that’s hard enough.
I do have financial constraints. My absolute max is about 30k a year. From what I’ve seen though, a lot of good privates have 45-55k price tags but the actual average cost is around 20-30k.
I would say I just want a solid art community with art shows and live music (both concert style and rock/blues/jazz gigs) and not necessarily be surrounded by a crowd of theater and dance majors all the time.
I would prefer no Greek life on campus, but if it’s there I can make do and avoid it.
Look into New College of Florida. If they offer the same scholarship to out-of-state students who apply by a priority deadline, the cost of attendance will be under $30k and comparable to in-state costs at Rutgers.
University of Rochester should be on your list. I read a while back that in some specialized areas of Physics it is one of the go-to schools.Cornell as well.
Of the colleges on your list, the one that is most likely to be underrated in terms of educational innovation is Hamilton. At a time when other colleges were rigid or monastic, Hamilton was creating a progressively-oriented women’s college under its auspices. Although Hamilton has long since been one unified institution, the curricular and, to some extent, cultural legacy of this era sets the college apart from some of its more conservative peers. This does not make Hamilton a Hampshire or a Soka, or even a mainstream but artsy Vassar, but it does create a balance within Hamilton that may be hard to match elsewhere.
I don’t think Swarthmore and “chill leaning environment” mesh. It’s a pretty intense academic environment but you may like it. Definitely visit before applying.
What are your scores and grades? You may want to check out Lawrence in Appleton, WI but that may be “in the middle of nowhere” for you.
" At a time when other colleges were rigid or monastic, Hamilton was creating a progressively-oriented women’s college under its auspices."
Kirkland. And the two constituencies were completely different “types” that coexisted awkwardly together because they had so little in common. Is what has been reported to me, from an ex-Kirkland.
Eckerd College has great merit and financial aid. It also has a wonderful mentor program, study abroad opportunities in winter term, semester, spring into summer programs as well as local and international spring break service trips. A local theater company has made Eckerd its’ home base. There are a number of bands and performances. It has a chill atmosphere, yet has a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and a new science center as well as renovated to new physics, math, and computer science labs.
Ithaca College may be a possibility if it is financially doable. The physics department is decently sized, and should you need to take more advanced courses, the internationally acclaimed Cornell University is less than 2 miles away. Ithaca has an outstanding music department and the actual town it’s in is generally considered a solid college town, particularly for hipsters and outdoorsy young adults.
At some point it might be useful to describe further what you mean by creative, unique learning. It may come down to whether you are looking to break the rules, or just bend them.
You say you want chill and artsy? Well, I would say that would disqualify many schools currently on your list…
Swarthmore and McGill are extremely intense academically. Essentially, the polar opposite of chill.
Truly artsy, musical kids may be tough to find at Lehigh, Hamilton, Richmond, and Colgate, particularly at the last two. These schools are known for being very preppy and on the more conservative/less “artsy” side for LACs (though Lehigh is not an LAC).
I think Haverford is really the only school on your list, aside from your safeties, that has the vibe you’re looking for.
I would recommend Oberlin; it sounds right up your alley (although it’s not on the east coast). You should also check out: Wesleyan, Hampshire, Vassar, and perhaps Brandeis.
“Truly artsy, musical kids may be tough to find at Hamilton … and Colgate.”
Colgate is building an impressive Center for Art and Culture. Hamilton offers over 40 courses in its music department. As a “type” these kids may be tough to find at these schools – I don’t really know – but substantively they either exist … or these schools have done some really poor planning.
As far as arts go, I really just want somewhere where I can find plenty of people to jam with, listen to different local bands, and just have a general sense of music and art appreciation in the student body and in the surrounding area. Music department is a big plus but it doesn’t necessarily need to be spectacular- i’ll probably only take a few classes.
And although I want chill, I still want an education that seems worth my while. I want great professors who really know their stuff and really want people to be able to think outside of the box. I want to be able to have conversations with professors, know them as people, give them a fresh mind to help with research/ theories, and be right there on the edge of discovery as opposed to just having to teach myself with a textbook/ the internet (like I’ve had to do with a lot of high school teachers). I want to be challenged mentally in the way of creative problem solving rather than being challenged by the strenuous manner of thousands of plug-n-chug math problems.
Also, the list I gave is very preliminary, I change my college interests all the time. Thank you for all the suggestions so far- the new ideas are always welcome in my mind.
