<p>There are 271 colleges in the “Baccaureate A&S” Carnegie classification. Many of them would fit at least some of your criteria. Virtually all of them have small classes. Many have little or no Greek life and little emphasis on sports. If you want these features plus extra-challenging academics, an intense intellectual atmosphere, and liberal politics, have a look at Reed. A less selective, perhaps less intense school with a liberal vibe is Earlham. Both of these are CTCL schools. A non-CTCL school that might match your interests is Macalester College. </p>
<p>An interesting, less selective, non-CTCL LAC is Eugene Lang, located in NYC (Greenwich Village). A Wikipedia article on ELC cites some of its previous Princeton Review distinctions:</p>
<p>“Dodgeball Targets” (#1)
“Great College Towns” (#1)
“Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular Or Nonexistent” (#1)
“Class Discussions Encouraged” (#1)
“Long Lines and Red Tape” (#1)
“Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton Politics” (#2)
“Least Religious Students” (#2)
“Nobody Plays Intramural Sports” (#2)
“Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians” (#3)</p>
<p>I can attest (from family experience) to the seeming contradiction of its being simultaneously small yet also prone to “long lines and red tape”. </p>
<p>I’ve never seen a list of schools with thesis or other research project requirements. Maybe someone here can produce that. Reed used to require a senior thesis (don’t know if it still does) and comprehensive oral exams that could include subject matter from any courses taken up to that point. Swarthmore College has an honors program that includes a PhD-like oral defense of a senior paper and examination by outside (non-Swarthmore) scholars. </p>
<p>A very nice public LAC is St. Mary’s College of Maryland. An OOS student is probably unlikely to get much if any merit aid. However, even the OOS full-sticker cost (~$40K) may be lower than your net cost after typical merit aid from many private LACs.</p>
<p>Centre College is a private CTCL school with a relatively low sticker price and fairly generous merit aid.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago appears to be the research university with the smallest percentage of large classes (>= 50 students). It offers many small, discussion-based classes. Greek life is very understated. Sororities were banned for decades. So, too, was football (but it was restored in the late '60s to the fanfare of a kazoo marching band.) The student body could be said to enjoy philosophical discussion (almost to a fault). The school’s Quantrell award for excellence in undergraduate teaching has gone to some very distinguished faculty, such as Nobel laureate James Cronin and author Norman Maclean ([Llewellyn</a> John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching | The University of Chicago](<a href=“Page Not Found | University of Chicago”>Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching | University of Chicago)). It is one of relatively few highly selective private schools to offer merit aid (although the competition for it must be intense.)</p>
<p>“Reed used to require a senior thesis (don’t know if it still does) and comprehensive oral exams that could include subject matter from any courses taken up to that point.”</p>
<p>These are still requirements. BTW, our Reed grad never heard of anyone “failing” their orals, though a few may need a second try.</p>
<p>There is another set of schools out there for kids who seem to think they need a college to bigger than their big public high school and who want some D1 sports that I think are similar to the CTCL schools, I.e., smaller classes, no TAs, admissions aren’t too competitive, liberal arts focus.</p>
<p>These include what US News classifies as regional universities. Examples in the Midwest - Butler, Creighton, Drake, Bradley.</p>
<p>^ The “regional” universities have a few characteristics that distinguish them from many CTCL and other LACs. First, many of them (or at least the top-ranked ones) are Roman Catholic. Examples: Creighton, Xavier, John Carroll, Loyola MD, Villanova, Fairfield, Providence, Marist, St. Joseph’s. Second, their most popular majors often include business, marketing, communications, or other pre-professional (not liberal arts) fields. Third, their student bodies typically are drawn largely from their own or neighboring states.</p>
<p>^Agree with this. For my son, we wanted a school that did NOT have a lot of preprofessional majors. For my daughter, it might be the opposite. It would be great if someone with some knowledge of these regional schools started a thread on them.</p>
<p>Note that many of the less selective, non-PhD-granting state universities also have small faculty-run classes at the frosh/soph level (e.g. most classes at San Jose State have 35-student limits).</p>
<p>Such schools usually have a more pre-professionally focused student population (e.g. about 75% of San Jose State students are in pre-professional majors), although their large size does mean that there are plenty of liberal arts students and course offerings in liberal arts departments (the 25% of San Jose State students in liberal arts majors is larger in number than the entire student populations of many liberal arts colleges).</p>
<p>Some of the Southern regional schools with a “LAC-type feel” would include Rollins College, Stetson U., Elon U., Mercer U., Belmont U., I’m sure there are others I’m missing. Obviously not LAC’s, but all small enough and all with a focus on undergrads.</p>
<p>Another feature that might distinguish some of the “regional” schools from “national” LACs is the number of commuters. At Belmont (a Southern regional university), 48% of students are on campus during weekends, on average. At Earham (a national LAC), 95% are on campus during weekends, on average. I assume these numbers (from USNWR) reflect the number of commuting students, although some of the “commuters” may in fact be living in off-campus housing nearby.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for an academically intense school with “socially-conscious” students who enjoy philosophical discussion, then you’re probably not looking for a suitcase or commuter college. Maybe better to stick to the CTCL or USNWR National LAC lists. </p>
<p>LACs whose alumi have the highest rates of earned PhDs in the humanities include:
St. John’s College (CTCL)
Reed (CTCL)
Amherst
Swarthmore
Carleton
Bryn Mawr
Wesleyan</p>
<p>LACs whose alumni have the highest Peace Corps volunteer rates include:
Earlham (CTLC; avg. merit scholarship ~= $10400)
Whitman (CTCL; avg. merit scholarship ~= $8500; 54% of freshmen get merit aid)
Lewis & Clark (avg. merit scholarship ~= $10600; 35% of freshmen get merit aid)
St. John’s (CTCL)
Warren Wilson
Carleton
Colorado College (avg. merit scholarship ~= $7900; 12% of freshmen get merit aid)
St. Mary’s College of MD</p>
<p>Generally, I agree with tk and others. However, we haven’t found any of these, i.e., Butler, to be suitcase schools. More than 50% from out of home state also (but somewhat regional as tk said). I was simply providing an alternative to the LAC. Also, at least some of them require the liberal arts core to be fulfilled even if in the business school, etc (again Butler). These regional universities can provide a happy compromise for parents who wish their kids would prefer a LAC.</p>
<p>My son is now a sophomore at Hiram College, which is a CTCL school in NE OH. We have been so pleased with this college. My son was somewhat of a slacker in HS, doing very well in classes in which he “liked” the teacher and poorly in those he didn’t. We knew he needed to go to a college where the professors put a lot of emphasis on engaging their students. </p>
<p>Over the past year, we have seen a complete change in his work ethic. He is completely engaged and excited about his classes. He even made Dean’s List last year. He’s hoping to participate in a study abroad this Spring, where he will study a foreign language that he has decided to minor in. Hiram has a number of school-specific trips that make it easy for students to study abroad one or more times.</p>
<p>Hiram has an somewhat unusual calendar that divides each semester into a 12-week session and a 3-week session. Students take 3 or 4 classes during the 12-week, and one intensive class during the 3-week session. Taking one class every day for 3-weeks makes for a great way to immerse oneself in a foreign language or do an off-site class with a professor and a dozen other students.</p>
<p>My son loves his school, and more importantly, he loves learning again.</p>