Hi–
I know it is difficult to find a school of diverse thought these days, but I would like to find a school that is not adverse to republican thoughts. Preferably, I would like to be on the East Coast. Thanks!
Washington and Lee
Just some names to throw out: Washington & Lee, U. of Richmond, Wake Forest, Villanova, Holy Cross.
I suggest that you first look for academic matches, then use factors such as political climate to narrow the list.
George Mason U, Liberty Univ.
You could look at:
- Trinity College (CT)
- University of Notre Dame (IN)
- Grove City College (PA)
- Washington & Lee University (VA)
- Liberty University (VA)
- University of Virginia (VA)
- Hampden-Sydney College (VA)
- Wake Forest University (NC)
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (NC)
- Clemson University (SC)
- Rollins College (FL)
- University of Georgia (GA)
- Birmingham-Southern College (AL)
- University of Alabama (AL)
- Auburn University (AL)
- Southern Methodist University (TX)
- Texas A&M University (TX)
- Pepperdine University (CA)
Delete
@gr8gatsby Trinity college??? That is not a right leaning University.
Perhaps Trinity is politically diverse. I didn’t sense that OP was looking for a hard-care right-wing place like Liberty or Hillsdale (which are themselves different from each other), but rather a place where Republicans were “in the mix,” so to speak.
UNC leans more left than many blue states.
Wake Forest
^^^^Auburn University - plenty of independent and liberal thinkers at this college - if you want all conservative, this is not your university. It is a relatively hamonious and respectful campus.
I think it would be very useful to have a good solid list of schools that are balanced more than anything. My kid would love to be in a more apolitical or low key traditional academic environment. He loves history and english but not when it is suffused with political dissection and nothing can be discussed with attributing some awful right wing malevolent agenda but neither is he hard right or conservative leaning.
West Point.
Bucknell
Furman
OP probably just doesn’t want to be shouted down for expressing views in support of free enterprise, hawkish international stances, and/or traditional social stances.
Plenty of schools have a sociopolitical scene that supports diversity of thought – those mentioned in this thread and many more.
Respectful debate is good – it will build your research, thinking, persuasion, and speaking skills, and may end up bringing you friends you otherwise might not have met. Short of a known culture of violence or severe intimidation, i wouldn’t shy away from a so-called liberal school just on account of that reputation. But if you have to have a centrist or center-right political vibe, many such schools are mentioned in this thread.
Carolina is extremely liberal, which the beleaguered conservatives on campus have often complained about. Wake Forest has long been moderate and is arguably left of center these days, but a Republican would not feel out of place.
With your current stats – 28 ACT and 3.6 GPA – Wofford (SC), Presbyterian (SC) and Samford (AL) are worth a look. Millsaps (MS), Furman (SC), Sewanee (TN), Rhodes (TN), and Centre (KY) are great moderate options.
You have some good suggestions here, and I would particularly refer you to the list by @warblersrule, which provides schools that would be solid matches for a student with your current stats.
I would add that Samford–a moderate Baptist school located in Birmingham–boasts an honors program known as the University Fellows. This program offers a four-year scholarship (though not a free ride), a brief term of study in Italy, and a humanities core curriculum that touches upon the classical roots of the Western tradition; a traditional conservative (classical republicanism, natural rights/law philosophy, etc.) would probably find such a core quite appealing.
If you like pristine natural locales, dig the Oxbridge/Harry Potty “collegiate gothic” look, and are drawn to the humanities, then Sewanee would be a great choice.
Any flagship state university in the Southeast will have a large contingent of conservative students, though the faculty will likely be far to the left of the student body. Still, the sheer numbers of conservatives at such a school can provide a critical mass that helps insulate individual students from unfair treatment by activist professors.
Trinity College (mentioned by several posters above) is a truly “preppy” school–i.e., a significant percentage of the student body attended elite Northeastern boarding schools. This socioeconomic elitism lends the campus something of a “conservative” air, but more in a pre-Wall-Street lifestyle sense than in a philosophical or ideological sense. (Tucker Carlson is a prominent Trinity grad who embodies both varieties of conservatism.)
If you’re interested in a business-related major, consider Babson. For STEM-related fields, Stevens Institute will be pretty apolitical: not necessarily conservative, given proximity to NYC, and ethnic diversity, but not a haven for heavily leftist ideology, either. Some Catholic colleges in Northeast, like Providence College, might be decent fits. The Citadel, in Charleston, will be very conservative, if a military college appeals to you. College of Charleston is another possibility.
Hillsdale College
@makemesmart I’d like to disagree about George Mason. It’s in the middle of the NOVA/Fairfax area where it’s so diverse that usual minorities would become a majority. It’s extremely diverse, and really liberal there.