<p>Love Kalamazoo!</p>
<p>It probably is worth checking out Pepperdine, if you are willing to consider the west coast. It is gorgeous, Christian, with a pretty large music program, and within the orbit of L.A. No idea about financial aid, but with your scores and experience, I'll bet you'll do well in the merit category.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I am leaning towards English or Music, but I'm also interested in history. I absolutely love reading and discussing great books. I'm definitely an intellectual as apposed to a pre-professional. I'd prefer a small school with a tight-knit student body and little drinking. I would also prefer a college on the moderate but leaning conservative end of the political spectrum.
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I'm really surprised no one has mentioned U of Chicago yet. It sounds right up your alley in every respect, including great financial aid for top students. I also heartily second Carolyn's recommendation of the ISI guide "Choosing the Right College." I just received my 2005 edition, and it just keeps getting better. Chicago isn't "small" due to its extensive graduate schools, but it only has around 4300 undergrads. With your interests, Columbia would be another school worth a long hard look.</p>
<p>OP seems intellecutally curious. </p>
<p>IMHO you should avoid an Evangelical Christian school. You will have 100% homogeniety of world view. Intellectual Christians will probably relish the opportunities for debate, growth, & cross-cultural understanding in a non affiliated or loosely affiliated school, like St Olaf. </p>
<p>You might want to look at schools in the south (like Davidson or Centre or Vanderbilt) for a slightly more conservative student body. Many of these give merit aid too.</p>
<p>Finally, have you considered St John's? Sounds like a program that might interest you and suit your learning style.</p>
<p>How did I forget St. John's in Annapolis/Santa Fe?? Great call, SBmom!</p>
<p>Thank you for all your guidance. All of the colleges you've mentioned are definitely interesting. Ever since I've got St. John's brochure in the mail, I've been drawn to its program, but I have a few erious reservations. First of all, would I be able to find conservative christians to associate with on campus very easily? Secondly, I know it doesn't have a music major in the normal sense of the word. However, would the required music classes be enough to prepare me for graduate study in music? If someone who has experience with the school could answer I would greatly appreciate it. The same questions go for University of Chicago, another school I like.</p>
<p>Chicago has a music major, minor, and graduate studies in music through Ph.D. It has a recommended sequence for students interested in composition. I don't think the music tutorial (required, as is everything in the curriculum) at St. John's is geared toward composition or preparation for graduate studies in music per se. It seems more designed to familiarize students with the works of the great composers as part of the larger liberal arts immersion at St. John's.</p>
<p>As for the Christians question, perhaps you should check the websites for student organizations, or contact the admissions office directly with your question.</p>
<p>An excellent alternative to St. John's might be Thomas Aquinas College in California. Like St. John's, it has a rigorous "great books" format but it focuses a bit more on Christian thought in its curriculum. Not only do 39% of their students come from a home-schooled background, their admissions website has a separate page just for homeschoolers. A quote from it: "Over the years, our homeschooled students have indeed fared well at Thomas Aquinas College: so well, in fact, that the Admissions Committee looks forward to receiving their applications!"</p>
<p>It is a Catholic school (don't know if that would be an issue for you) but warmly welcomes people of other faiths. Small, supportive community, students tend to be very religious and socially conservative, excellent academics. Here's a link <a href="http://www.thomasaquinas.edu%5B/url%5D">www.thomasaquinas.edu</a></p>
<p>Driver, I would hesitate to recommend the U of Chicago to an evangelical Christian, or, for that matter, to someone who is politically conservative. Last fall, there was a father here on CC (MassDad?) who posted about how his daughter's religiously conservative roommate at U of Chicago was ostracized there for (1) watching Fox news (2) reading Anne Coulter (3) expressing her religious views about homosexuality. Of course, this is just one anecdotal story, but it has stuck in my mind and I would hesitate to recommend it to someone politically or religiously conservative unless they had a high tolerance level for sticking out in the crowd.</p>
<p>I have one more question specifically about St. John's that I forgot to ask earlier. When I read college guides, I get the impression that the St. Josn's social life involves a lot of heavy drinking. Is this really the case? And, if it is, do a sizable minority choose to entertain themselves in different ways? I'm not really a stand out in the crowd person, but I can deal with quite a bit of peer pressure. Still, I would like to be able to find freinds I could hang out with well others were partying.</p>