<p>University of Puget Sound might be a good safety for you. You’ll certainly get in, and probably with money. However, not the same vibe as the other colleges you’re interested in. Gorgeous campus but Tacoma’s not so great. Also, the part of town closest to UPS is kind of small and unimpressive. As you can tell by its courses, it runs along the lines of being a bit more pre professional than liberal arts, but the student I know there is a great kid and he absolutely loves it. Rains a lot.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg could be a good saftey
Occidental if youre interested in the west coast</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. What about Lewis & Clark in Oregon?</p>
<p>Is Muhlenberg diverse? I read that it was ranked 6th in terms of homogenous students.</p>
<p>both Hampshire and Reed sound like they have the vibe you are looking for.</p>
<p>Lewis and Clark. Closer to what you’re looking for in a safety I think than UPS. Gorgeous campus, 15 min. from a great city (Portland), global emphasis, don’t know about their economics. You mentioned that you are looking for students who are politically aware. Some of the colleges on your list may have very politically aware students, including L&C, but the campuses are known for being very one-sided in their views. Open, intellectual dialogue may be slim to non-existent. This is one of the most tangible aspects of diversity that’s often overlooked.</p>
<p>^^Open, intellectual dialogue as in mild political debate? Or in everything?</p>
<p>Oh and thanks for the info kolijma :)</p>
<p>noo, I think you’ll find good intellectual dialogue at all the schools on your list plus at several of the recommendations you’ve received. I just don’t think the political dialogue will have as much fire as you might imagine since students at a lot of these colleges have pretty homogeneous political views. The atmosphere is just not conducive to voicing any conservative views even if they did exist, so that debate won’t happen. There are schools that have better balance politically, but none that I can think of that also exude a liberal/hippy/artsy feel. Carleton, Mac, Pomona, Skidmore, Colorado College and Whitman might be on the border.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Univ of Puget Sound, you might like Seattle U. Very artsy even though it doesn’t look like it on the web site. The kids I know who went there were very nice and had a very “hippy” vibe. They have a great art dept and a lot of kids who are interested in things like the Peace Corps plus I think they have quite a few gays.</p>
<p>The epitome of gothic architecture in a suburban location is Villanova, and it’s great in economics, but it does have a bit of a preprofessional vibe - stronger in business than econ plus it has the nursing school. It also felt very Catholic. The kids seemed like they were right out of parochial school.</p>
<p>From what I understand, Macalester has a big international focus. I think Kofi Annan went there, though I could be wrong. It might be a good safety for you.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence
Earlham
Grinnell
Beloit
New College of Florida</p>
<p>^Many of those schools are far too small.</p>
<p>As for Villanova, I visited last summer and didn’t really like it.</p>