<p>I'm very involved in horseback riding (equestrian sports), and I am very interested in Writing, though I'm undecided as for my major. </p>
<p>I'm considering Dartmouth and Stanford as my top two, but what other colleges should I consider? What are Dartmouth and Stanford like compared to what I want in a school?</p>
<p>Also, I'm an Episcopalian and I'm conservative. Are there people at either of these schools that would share my beliefs? I don't need a school where everyone is like me, in fact I'd probably hate that, I just want to find a place where other people share my religious and political beliefs and opinions.</p>
<p>I would caution against Stanford, but it is California, so anything goes really. It is nevertheless very liberal/environmentally conscious from what I saw when I visited and I have heard from my friends who go there. For what it’s worth, religious and political considerations swayed me away from Stanford.</p>
<p>The Catholic Masses there have liturgical dance. <em>shudder</em></p>
<p>My daughter rides on the high school team at Stanford’s Red Barn. The people on the Stanford equestrian teams help with the high school teams. They are very talented riders, and great people over all. And I have never seen a nicer equestrian facility.</p>
<p>Dartmouth has a very heterogenous population. I don’t agree that Stanford is so left-leaning. While the campus is liberal (welcome to Elite Schools USA) it is by no means exclusively so. There is little they don’t do well and club and intramural programs there are very well supported. I know nothing of equestrian offerings, but among the elites Princeton, Vanderbilt, Rice and Northwestern will offer more middle of the road religious and political climates. I’d presume Princeton would be most likely, from a location standpoint, to support equestrian opportunities.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the Red Barn before, and it’s positively stunning. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to ride. My main worry is how liberal I’ve heard Stanford is overall. Of course I have nothing against liberal ideas, but I don’t want to be the only conservative one there.</p>
<p>Princeton actually doesn’t have a very large equestrian program, though I appreciate the insight. I’m definitely leaning towards Stanford now that I hear it’s not exclusively liberal, mainly because of the equestrian program and facilities and the warm weather, which I prefer. Both are amazing academically, so it’s a very tough choice.</p>
<p>Any other comments would be greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>So a socially conservative Episcopalian would be respected on campus completely? I feel like the OP would have a better chance of that happening at Dartmouth or Princeton than HYS. This may not matter to her, though.</p>
<p>Not as highly ranking academically as Stanford or Dartmouth, but take a look at TCU and Texas A&M, both have amazing equestrian teams and fit your political criteria.</p>