<p>Hey, I'm applying to both liberal and conservative schools and I was just wondering what the differences in the people they attract would be like. In other words, what are the students at liberal colleges like? Conservative colleges? Thanks!</p>
<p>I guess the best way to put it is if a school is known for certain views, then they will attract more students with that viewpoint. How conservative/liberal are you talking?</p>
<p>Honestly, there are very few conservative schools unless you’re thinking of going to a religious school. </p>
<p>Liberal schools have people that are generally more people that are “open-minded” for lack of a better word and conservative schools have more people that tend to stick to the rules. Even these generalizations don’t hold too well unless you’re at extremely conservative religious schools.</p>
<p>Go Moderates?!?!</p>
<p>I would say I’m mostly moderate, but slightly liberal? I have certain veiws, but it’s not like I’d go out of my way to make others change. In other words, social issues in politics are not very important to me. Politicians are all talk, no action. </p>
<p>The colleges that I’m mainly interested in are Knox, Kalamazoo, Kenyon, Wooster, Wheaton IL, and UChicago. I won’t get accepted to all of them, but hey. Worth a try as I’ll never be applying as an undergrad again. No regrets.</p>
<p>Liberal vs conservative aren’t nearly as important as tolerance for opposing views and those who hold them. In my humble moderate opinion, we need both liberals and conservatives to keep the ship upright; too many on one side or the other always tips the boat. Americans are becoming more polarized and more intolerant of those who disagree – so whichever side you’re more comfortable with, please understand that there is a huge difference between an opponent and an enemy. In the grand scheme of things, we all want more or less the same thing. We just differ in how to get there, and neither side is always right.</p>
<p>I agree with spdf.</p>
<p>spdf hit it on the head. </p>
<p>Also, of the colleges you listed, I don’t really notice any that strongly lean to one side or the other. They’re mostly LACs which tend to be a bit more liberal, but all the ones I know of on there are pretty moderate.</p>
<p>I feel like people have become more intolerant of conservatives these days.</p>
<p>I think liberals and conservatives are equally open-minded. most of them are both pretty close-minded when it comes to the others’ viewpoints.</p>
<p>Hehe I like your thinking. :)</p>
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<p>It’s worth noting that while there are liberal aspects to UChicago, it’s considerably less liberal than many of its peers. </p>
<p>Prior to WW2 and at the start of the Cold War, many prominent isolationists associated themselves with the school. The Chicago School of Economics, which is one major facet of American libertarianism, originated there. Most (of the very few) conservative writers for such liberal media outlets as NYT and others had their starts at UChicago. </p>
<p>UChicago is a different animal than a lot of these top-ranked schools. I don’t think it allows itself to be politicized as easily as they do.</p>
<p>There is no pronounceable difference between the political climate at UChicago and the political climates at most of its peer institutions. A lot of conservatives like to think of it as their champion in higher education because of the Chicago School of Economics and… hm, yes, something to do with the Cold War, of all things, but the truth is, in 2011 UChi is not “considerably less liberal” than any other prestigious national research university.</p>
<p>OP, if you absolutely need a specific assessment of the schools you’re applying to, Wheaton is the stand-out in terms of enforcing a socially conservative code of conduct among its students. I don’t think any particular set of political views would preclude you from enjoying yourself at any of the others. Kenyon tends to attract a slightly preppier crowd than some of its peers, and consequently the political environment there is more moderate, but really, these are superficial differences.</p>
<p>As spdf (I think) said, what you should be looking for is not a particular political environment, but a particular intellectual environment, one where people who hold divergent views are open to coexisting with and learning from each other. Wheaton, imo, does not offer such an environment; we’re talking about a school that dismisses faculty for stuff like endorsing human evolution and converting to Catholicism.</p>
<p>Our family is conservative Republican, but in general, the VAST majority of educational systems are liberally minded. I think that generally, 18 - 22 year olds are much more liberal in their thinking, and become more conservative as they age. Although our daughter is more liberal than we are (following in that trend) she looked carefully at comments and statistics for things out of her comfort zone. For example, for her first dorm experience, she wanted an all female floor. Why? Why walk to the bathroom looking your worst and run into someone good? One of the colleges indicated that the “path” to the stairs is actually THROUGH the bathroom. That one got crossed out. Another got crossed off the list when every book in the bookstore in her area of interest had a liberal agenda. Keep your eyes and ears open - you’ll make a good decision!</p>