<p>How does the College of Wooster compare in terms of ideology to other Midwestern liberal arts schools?</p>
<p>pretty liberal I’d say</p>
<p>Moderately liberal</p>
<p>I know a LOT of kids at Wooster, our HS sends several students there every year. I can honestly say they cover the full spectrum, such as it is for HS students, politically. </p>
<p>I didn’t get a political vibe of any kind from visiting there, like you would at Antioch or even Oberlin or on the other hand, Hillsdale or Hope.</p>
<p>How is it socially? I’m checking it out for my sis. I go to Beloit and she calls it the Freak Show and I’m trying to get her out of that mindset.</p>
<p>I loved it. My good friend’s D loves it there, she’s got friends from all over the US. She joined a sorority, which is not the norm there (it’s under 20% Greek), and enjoys that. Has your sister visited?</p>
<p>In what sense is Wooster liberal? Is it just liberal for the region, or nationally? Would a liberal from LA also consider the school to be liberal or would that person find it more conservative, compared to his “home region”?</p>
<p>No, my sister hasn’t visited yet, but we’re going to Cedar Point next week and we may visit then.</p>
<p>Liberal it that most campusesare liberal but moderate in that it’s middle of the road with a basic spectrum. Not sure how it would compare to LA but someone from there definitely wouldn’t feel uncomfortable .</p>
<p>Neither Pepperdine nor UCSC . 
Think Whittier perhaps ?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t expect it to be as liberal as Beloit or Oberlin. I do know two “mom-age” women (sisters) who went there who are both incredibly cool and accomplished people–both work in Democratic politics in DC.</p>
<p>How does the “liberalness” of Wooster compare to Kalamazoo? We’re making a trip to Wooster and we could have a chance to go to Kzoo on the way to Wooster, but my sis keeps saying that “Kalamazoo is more of a freak show than Wooster.” I’m not sure what to tell her.</p>
<p>I think you need to define what your sister means by “freak show.” What schools does SHE like? She seems more like a big state U kid than a LAC kid, from what you have said about her.</p>
<p>She’s looking at Michigan Tech. When she means “freak show,” she said “people who sit in the grass barefoot drinking wine.” She only said that because that’s what happened at Beloit. She thinks it’s weird.</p>
<p>I just can’t get over the fact that she wants to go to a State school.</p>
<p>Oh the horrors of going to a state school where there’s almost guaranteed to be a greater diversity of thought and course work. However will she survive? ;)</p>
<p>It’s not that. I just think she would like a small school. She’s definitely not the “A-type.”</p>
<p>Consider the source of that bias. There are good and bad universities just as there are good and bad LACs. Some people prefer one environment to the other and that’s fine. I love the immensity of opportunities at larger universities or consortium colleges, while others thrive in a smaller, more intimate setting. Your sister sounds like she favors the former.</p>
<p>I just think she doesn’t like the hair colors, piercings, and tats that she thinks “freaks” have. There actually isn’t much of that at Beloit, actually. She’s pro-gun, pro-life, and anti-gay. Anything that isn’t “normal” sends her running. I think she could use a change of perspective.</p>
<p>It’s not as though competing perspectives are absent at larger universities. In fact, they may be more prevalent than at a school like Beloit where the average student is extremely liberal owing to the effects of self selection when deciding where to apply.</p>
<p>Yes, Beloit is predominately liberal, but I know at least 5 students who identify as conservative, and I don’t know a ton of people.</p>
<p>It wasn’t my intention to ask about universities vs. liberal arts schools, though. I can’t stop her from applying to any state schools, but I will try my hardest to get her to apply to some LACs too just so that she has options. That way we both win. Plus she’s not applying for another year yet.</p>