<p>My son is looking for a sense of intellectual community with a lot of interaction with faculty. Which excellent Midwest LACs could he get into? He is presently a junior.</p>
<p>Current GPA: 3.9
Probable Nat'l Merit Scholar: 217 in Iowa
ACT: 30 Hasn't taken SAT yet
ECs: Varsity Golf; Tutoring Business; Flute, Orchestra; Regional Science Fair, 1st Place in Category; State Science Fair, 2nd Place Senior Seminar; Student Government; TAG Programs</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The Midwest is rife with outstanding LAC's ... too many to list here. But you can start by checking out Beloit (Wisconsin), Macalester, Carleton (MN), Grinnell (Iowa), and Oberlin (OH), which are among the better known and most selective (and your son should be in the running at all). All of these colleges are pretty left-leaning overall, so keep this in mind if your son is more conservative. (In that case, try St. Olaf in MN or Cornell College in Iowa.) And, again, there are many others that should fit the bill, regardless of his political predilections.</p>
<p>Also try the College Board's "Matchmaker" site, if you haven't already, and plug in the states, college size, etc. that most appeal to your son. See College</a> MatchMaker - Type of School</p>
<p>Happy hunting!</p>
<p>Also check into Denison (OH), Knox (Ill) and Lawrence (WI).</p>
<p>Just an FYI Cornell College is definitely not conservative oriented and St. Olaf is probably one of the most liberal religious LACs.</p>
<p>Second Beloit, Macalester, Oberlin, Knox, Lawrence, Carleton, Grinnell. Also look at Kalamazoo.</p>
<p>Also for less well known LACs, that provide amazing education try Luther (most beautiful campus in america easily), Gustavus Adolphus, Hope, if you are really religious try Wheaton (IL).</p>
<p>With those numbers, he has a shot at any school in the midwest.</p>
<p>Many thanks for the information!</p>
<p>Kenyon might also be a good one...</p>
<p>Sorry ... I didn't mean to imply that Cornell College and St. Olaf are truly conservative, only that a student who would feel like a fish out of water in a very liberal environment should be fine at those two places.</p>
<p>Your son will be attractive to many top mid-western LACs. Our son shared your son's apparent interest in science and music. S visited Macalester, Oberlin, Carleton and Grinnell and liked them all. He ended up applying ED to Grinnell (and going) because:</p>
<p>-the smallest class sizes (including intro classes in the sciences-his area of interest) of any LAC
-the most outstanding facilities, many brand new, especially science facilities
-the lack of distribution requirements (which they replace with extensive personalized guidence from faculty)
-amazing music facilities with many opportunities to perform
-walk-on sports teams (he golfs too)
-the largest endowment of any LAC which translates into excellent merit aid and very generous support for student research</p>
<p>We've been astonished at his easy access to and rapport with the faculty. They are really there for the students.</p>
<p>The caveat is that he's fine with rural. His life is on campus and being an hour from Des Moines and Iowa City doesn't bother him. Of course, he's grown up in a major metropolitan area, so he can get his 'city fix' when he's home. For some kids this is a deal breaker.</p>
<p>There are some excellent schools on this list; if your son wants to continue with music, performing and/or musicology and/or lots of music going on, Oberlin and St. Olaf's are the most musical of them by far.</p>
<p>Our son is fine with rural too. All these schools are appealing. We'll have to roll up our sleeves and start visiting. Thanks to all who weighed in!</p>