<p>This is totally what I’m into! Save the money issue…I’m going to worry about that later. But a really chill school in a nice location with access to a city, students are smart, smoke weed, kinda hipsters, strong art program, no Greek or rah-rah *<strong><em>. I got a 2010 on the SATs, so pretty smart but not Ivy material. (Although I love Brown and you probably would too…my friend goes there and he’s happy as hell.)
Okay so schools I’m considering are Lewis & Clark in Portland, OR (it’s in this beautiful lush forest, an hour from Mt Hood and a fifteen minute free shuttle ride to downtown Portland-really cool city, great art and music scene. L&C students are chill as *</em></strong> and they pretty much all smoke, but they’re smart stoners, if you know what I mean). Reed, in Portland as well (chill students but really intense academics). Pitzer in Claremont, CA (beautiful, right near the San Gabriel Mountains, sorta close to LA, and even though it’s really small, you have immediate access to the four other Claremonts, so that’s awesome socially and academically). Also, Occidental in LA, and U of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
You sound like you’d be more into the west coast, but in case you’re considering east coast, I’d suggest Bard (even though I got kind of weird vibes there) or Vassar, both in NY but not ideal locations. Bennington in VT, but that’s tiny. Or University of Vermont, they’re really outdoorsy, with skiing, hiking, climbing, but I’m sorta reluctant to recommend that since my friend just dropped out because she was so bored academically. Then again, I have no idea how you are academically, ashtopia.
Hope these suggestions help! We seem to be in the same boat.</p>