<p>I have daughters at Earlham and Smith. Either might be a good match. Visit and see which is a good fit.</p>
<p>You should look at UNC Ashville it’s a small public lac (read:affordable). And you might get some money on top. Even though it’s not in a big city, Ashville is pretty cool. It’s in the Appalachian mnts of NC, but not what you would expect. It’s very you - and should read about it or visit. I live in Philadelphia but Ashville would be my top choice to live if I ever moved back down south.</p>
<p>OP, you sound like a great fit for Earlham, except for your desire that the school be in/near a city. One of their strongest programs is [Japanese</a> Studies](<a href=“http://www.earlham.edu/japanesestudies]Japanese”>http://www.earlham.edu/japanesestudies), and they also offer a minor in [Japanese</a> Language and Linguistics](<a href=“http://www.earlham.edu/japaneselanguage]Japanese”>http://www.earlham.edu/japaneselanguage). </p>
<p>BTW, most Earlham students do a semester abroad, if that’s something you’re interested in.</p>
<p>Ceildhl8: Thank you for your input. :)</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: Yes, I don’t think I’ll be applying to Reed. Maybe if it was on the East Coast, but it just seems too much of a reach and perhaps a little too “intellectual” for me. Thank you, though.</p>
<p>Auspicious: I’ve heard promising things about Beloit’s financial aid, and mixed reviews about their social life - students seem to either love it or hate it. They do actually offer a Japanese Language and Culture major, and their Modern Languages department seems pretty strong (according to Fiske, at least!) Thank you! </p>
<p>NEmomof2: I’ve considered Smith, too, and it seems like a pretty nice place. I’ll perhaps try to visit at least one of them. Thank you. :)</p>
<p>JohnBlack: I probably wouldn’t have considered a public univiersity, especially one in the South, but I’ll definitely take a look at their website. Thanks for the suggestion!</p>
<p>LasMa: Yeah, that’s the one bad thing about Earlham! If it was anywhere near a city, I’d be there in an instant. I actually have a friend who goes there who says the town surrounding it is horrible, but the community is so fantastic that she doesn’t mind. And I am definitely into doing a semester abroad. So I am seriously considering Earlham. Thank you for your input. :)</p>
<p>I’ve also been throwing this around… does anyone know about Pitzer College? I love the LA location, the consortium, and it seems like there are some eclectic students. Any info on Pitzer would be great!</p>
<p>Brandeis seems to be welcoming to quirky kids of all stripes. May be worth a look.</p>
<p>I am going to recommend Bard (as previously mentioned). It is definitely a quirky mix of students (I visited last fall) and they have Japanese. They do however require the Noncustodial CSS.</p>
<p>My D1 applied to Pitzer and attends CMC (part of the consortium). I don’t know a lot about Pitzer itself but the students there are known to be more “granola”. Each of the 5 C’s has their own personality and I think you should consider Pitzer given your interests. I know at least Pomona has Japanese (you can take classes at any of the 5 colleges). Pitzer also requires the Noncustodial CSS.</p>
<p>OP, if you have any interest in Brandeis, feel free to PM me. D1 is a junior and loves it.</p>
<p>Question for the posters who said Occidental isn’t a good fit for the OP - could you elaborate? D2 is very interested in Pitzer, and several of the other schools mentioned here are or have been on her list. She has ruled out the Midwest - born and raised here and wants a change - and prefers warm weather. We are planning to visit Oxy when we visit Pitzer next month, but we really know very little about it other than it is a LAC in LA.</p>
<p>Yes, you and my D would be great friends, lol! She LOVED Oberlin by the way. I really hope you are able to visit since it’s so close. </p>
<p>I can’t really get a read on Beloit either. It’s on my D’s list, bc of the strength of the Japanese program, but I’m not sure if the students are more intellectual. They offer a summer language program we were looking at for next year.</p>
<p>Warren Wilson is probably at the top of her list at this point (thought she’s a junior and that may change a lot over the next year). Their aborad program to Japan is near Kyoto and you can go for a semester or a full year. The art program is very good as well as creative writing. It’s not high in the rankings --#183 (ouch). But I will say that Warren Wilson is known to be resistant to the rankings in general and doesn’t cooperate well with those at USnews/world report (sending in the data). </p>
<p>JohnBlack mentioned UNC Asheville --it’s a good public school, and a good fit, but it’s only affordable if you live in NC. The avg. accepted GPA is now up to a 4.0. Warren Wilson is also in Asheville and he’s SO right about the town of Asheville. It’ the perfect college town in my ever so humble opinion :). </p>
<p>Lewis & Clark still comes to mind for you, as does Pitzer. Macalester is also ideal. You’ll have some great options with the stats! Good luck!</p>
<p>Guilford College in Greensboro NC
[Guilford</a> College](<a href=“http://www.guilford.edu%5DGuilford”>http://www.guilford.edu)</p>
<p>NewEnglandMother: I am definitely attracted to the more earthy, activitsy type students, so “granola” is good for me. 
I also like the proximity of the 5 C’s (as opposed to the Consortium in Amherst/Northampton, in which it seems the schools are around 20 minutes apart, give or take). And Pitzer itself doesn’t offer Japanese, but I can take it through Pomona. Does your daughter find it easy to take classes in the other C’s? And I don’t actually know what the Noncustodial CSS is, but I’m sure I will be finding out very soon. Thanks for your input! :)</p>
<p>DeskPotato and PRJ: Brandeis actually seems… awesome! It’s East Coast and super close to Boston, too, which is a major attraction for me. Their sociology and Japanese departments seem pretty strong, too. It seems a stretch for me (as much as Oberlin?), but it couldn’t hurt to have a Boston college I like on there! If I have any questions, I will be sure to send you a message, PRJ, thank you. :)</p>
<p>jkiwmom: Thank you for your continued input! I get the feeling that Oberlin would be the place for me, and I will certainly go if all of the financial stars are aligned (and they accept me!). Warren Wilson does seem like an interesting place. I’m not a big fan of the US News/World Report rankings anyway. Anyway, thanks for your continued input, I really appreciate it. I hope your daughter finds her perfect school eventually! :)</p>
<p>I second looking at Warren Wilson…and isn’t Evergreen College in Washington state kind of similar? They have a strong environmental studies focus, I believe, and creative “earthy” students. I’m not sure about the Japanese program, although they do appear to have Japanese.</p>
<p>^true, Evergreen State WA has a real hippie/activitst atmosphere. They do have Japanese. It’s about 30K OOS. It’s “second tier”, but it sounds like the rankings aren’t an important factor for you. </p>
<p>Another [second tier] hippie school out west is Humboldt State in CA. Also 30K OOS. Academically, HSU is stronger of the two. Known especiallly for the biology and environmental science. The facilities are also better maintained. They do not offer Japanese, but do have abroad programs.</p>
<p>Visited both Earlham and Oberlin w/ dd last year. I highly suspect either college would have the personality you are looking for. I would like to echo the Kenyon suggestion also.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help you’ve given me in thinking. I’ve decided to apply to:</p>
<p>Oberlin
Earlham
Beloit
Macalester
Lewis and Clark</p>
<p>I dont think I could go wrong with any of these schools. 
again, thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Kelly - that looks like a great list and I agree - you can’t go wrong with any of them.</p>
<p>Good luck. I’m subscribed to this thread cuz both my D and niece are interested in some of the same schools, so keep us posted on your progress, okay?</p>
<p>Great list. When you get into all of them, pick Oberlin.</p>
<p>Great list! I wish you the best where ever you attend! :)</p>
<p>That is indeed a terrific list for you. Keep us posted on results!</p>
<p>Look at W&M. More cla$$ diversity as well as much better weather:)</p>