I want to attend a PREPPY college, with a good Government/Political Science program. I would prefer it to be conservative, but anything is fine as long as its not Ueber-Liberal. Which one of these schools would fit me?
Don’t know anything about Hamilton or Gettysburg, but from my limited knowledge, Colby seems significantly preppier than Bates which is more artsy/alternative, although not overwhelmingly so.
Hamilton has a good political science program and has a popular semester in DC option where students live in Hamilton housing and can simultaneously take classes/seek internships. Being private liberal arts schools, I am sure that each of them has its share of preppy students. Out of the ones in the NESCAC division, Colgate definitely has the reputation for being the most preppy though
Minor correction- Colgate isn’t in the NESCAC. 
Have you checked out any of the Southern LACs. Many are quite preppy, some are rather more conservative than the New England schools and the weather is nicer! Take a look at Davidson for starters.
My bad! It’s often compared with those other schools and the town it’s in is actually called Hamilton, New York hehe. I can’t believe I almost forgot southern LACs. Washington and Lee would be a good example. Compared to most liberal arts colleges, they actually lean conservative and have a large percentage of students in greek life. That may translate to a more “preppy” atmosphere but I am not certain. You can always check out for yourself
Gettysburg is very popular with my daughter’s high school. From what I hear, it is preppy and moderate to slightly conservative.
Sue22,
Minor correction or otherwise… Colgate would not be Colgate if it were in the Division III NESCAC conference.
Go to gocolgateraiders.com for the context.
Go 'gate!
Markham, I get it. Just thought the OP would want to know that Colgate wasn’t a NESCAC school in case that affected his/her feelings about the school. Being Div.1 makes Colgate a much stronger sports competitor, which could be a plus or minus.
In many ways Colgate is similar to the NESCACs and a lot of kids apply to both Colgate and NESCACs. They’re all great schools!
Gettysburg – very preppy, Greek dominated social scene, very good government/political science program.
Another LAC that is known for being preppy and good for government/political science is Claremont McKenna, in California.
Agreed with Southern LACs, though - second the recommendation of Washington & Lee and Davidson, and I add University of Richmond to that. You may also be interested in Birmingham-Southern College, Furman University, and Elon University. Wake Forest is a research university but it’s actually pretty small.
From my own knowledge, if you’re conservative, Bates and Colby probably aren’t for you. My father went to Colby, and he assures me that the college is VERY liberal. Bates is similar. I’m not saying the niche for conservatives isn’t there, but it will be small and hard to find. If you want preppy and conservative, you’re going to want to be south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
NOT Colby, for sure. My husband is an alum and I read ther magazine and follow the news through him. It’s never beena very preppy college and is probably one of the most liberal colleges in America. And it’s really cold in Maine, and there is nothing to do off campus at all. It’s beautiful there in the summer though, the alumni network is unreal and scholarship $$$ is plentiful. Good sports too for Division III.
I second the recommendations above by juillet about University of Richmond, Wake Forest University, and B’ham-Southern.