<p>I'm applying to schools next year and my first choice is George mason university. However, when I read about the diversity and the ahem, diverse political opinions I took a step back. Being conservative/republican in my political and social ventures is something that is important to me and likewise, finding a school that will fit these needs.
Just throw some out there.</p>
<p>Some southern schools are typically more conservative. Ditto with some mid-western schools. Considering DC voted for Obama 92% and all of the northeastern states are blue (and have a large population of northeastern/mid-atlantic students), I wouldn’t recommend anything north or east of DC, excluding Catholic University and other schools with close religious ties (although that is not always a good notifier). On the other hand, very political schools like George Washington and American have outspoken conservative groups. But conservatives are a minority.</p>
<p>wheres the real world value of going to college where you won’t be exposed to any views other than your own?
you’ve barley lived life, how do you know what you think now is anything like what you could be thinking after years of being in a completely new setting.
your being a little foolish actively putting yourself in a bubble like that aren’t you?</p>
<p>While you should definitely open yourself to new views, I can sympathize. Basically any school in the south that’s not near a major city should be a good yield.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with nblazer201. I’m open to new beliefs, but my political beliefs are pretty much already set. So are those of many other students, especially at politically active schools. While I am not actively seeking out a liberal college, I think it’s fair to say I want to go to a college where (and consider I’m quite passionate) I don’t have to constantly be bombarded by what I feel are “ridiculous” beliefs. I want to go to a school with a healthy dose of conservatism, but I’m at a point politically where I don’t need to be converted. I’m sure the OP is the same way. If s/he wants to go to a conservative school, great; I hope s/he is the person that puts the Republican party back on its feet.</p>
<p>Then you should definitely go to a deep south state school or any other school where the median SAT is somewhere between 900 and 1100.</p>
<p>is the OP referring to the homecoming queen?</p>
<p>Being exposed to some amount of ‘liberal’ beliefs will work to strengthen your own. Don’t sacrifice an opportunity at a good university just because of their beliefs. But don’t go to Berkeley, either.</p>
<p>I know Pepperdine–in CA–is fairly conservative. I’d say that if political affiliation is the only problem with your dream school, still go there, but I can understand wanting to be in the majority. That’s one of the reasons I only applied to liberal campuses–like you, my beliefs are pretty set, but I feel I’d be more comfortable places where I didn’t feel like I had to justify my beliefs to people, especially since I’m an avowed atheist, and know that many religiously conservative people (don’t know if that’s you) aren’t comfortable with that, and I wouldn’t be comfortable with them.</p>
<p>If your reasoning for wanting to go to a conserative school is mainly to get away from people like Rferns, he’s not the like majority of people, just one of the more outspoken type. You should do what you think is right but like others I would highly reccomend you rethink whether the political affiliations are the most important thing when picking a college.</p>
<p>Beyond that I don’t have any real reccomendations (I don’t really know anything about different colleges, I’m mostly hear for learning purposes), but I would imagine state-schools in largely conserative areas would be conserative. Not too helpful as I imagine you already figured that but I feel obligated to say something.</p>
<p>Most colleges are liberal. Just about all colleges are very open-minded. There will be heated debates in your poly sci classes, whether the college is liberal or conservative. If you go to a liberal college and you are conservative, you won’t be “blacklisted” or something like that, as long as you aren’t an ass about it. If you feel comfortable in your beliefs, then you have nothing to worry about with standing up for them in a debate.</p>
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<p>I agree with this statement with one exception - the College Republicans at American do a lot of griping, so I’ve heard.</p>
<p>look for the book " Choosing the Right College". I can’t remember the author; perhaps some one else does. It discusses the political leanings of alot of schools with the purpose of helping students such as yourself.</p>
<p>My daughter is politically liberal but also a Christian. She is applying to William & Mary. Should she shy away from mentioning her open-mindedness? I know you need to be yourself but sticking it in their faces seems unwise as well… so, any thoughts? For instance, she’s straight but she is really vocal on her support of gay rights.</p>
<p>Most colleges are pretty liberal, but all the top colleges have strong conservative student groups.</p>
<p>Religious schools like Pepperdine or Brigham Young tend to be more conservative.</p>
<p>The more educated you become the more liberal you tend to be, so most colleges will be (for the most part) liberal. So Rfferns is sort of right in a way. I’m sure at most colleges there are groups for people with different political beliefs to participate in. Don’t let something so trivial inhibit you. Do you really expect people to be talking about politics in a lecture style class anyway? No one cares… Really.</p>
<p>I would hate to go to college to be embroiled in our American political divide. Some people have too much time on their hands if politics are how they choose their schools. </p>
<p>During my UG engineering program, I was way too busy to worry about political views. Also, my classmates were from all over the world representing many different religions. The last thing an engineering student needs is a closed mind on day one. If you want to be a great engineer, learn everything you can and be open to new ideas.</p>
<p>While I wouldn’t recommend actively avoiding certain schools based on political affiliation (basically, because the majority of the best 100 schools or so in the country are liberal arts schools or private schools that tend to be very liberal) I agree with the majority of this thread who are telling you that most schools in the south are conservative. State schools like Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, South Carolina, and UGA are pretty conservative. Some of the private schools in the south (i.e. Emory, Duke, Stetson, etc.) are pretty liberal.</p>
<p>UGA isn’t as conservative as you think it would. (Thankfully) And most people are right, you will probably be too busy to discuss politics once you start college. Don’t worry about whether its conservative/liberal, go to a college that gives you the best experience (and if you really need a conservative colleges, southern colleges then).</p>