<p>A lot of kids who consider Carnegie Mellon look at Case Western and University of Rochester (not to be confused with RIT). As your d is a junior she can also look into the Bosch and Lomb award from U. or R. as she needs to be nominated by her school in the winter of Jr. year. As your d has recently lost her dad, she may want to stay closer to home more than you realize. So the suggestion that she try a short summer program away from home may be a very wise one. Good luck.</p>
<p>mombot - there are threads here on cc on publics - state universities - honors colleges, honor programs, better merit aid schools. search on those threads too for more info.</p>
<p>Wooded, fairly cold, socially conservative, technical...check out Michigan Technological University in the Upper Peninsula. Excellent school for brainy, non-preppy types in a beyootiful part of the country!</p>
<p>
[quote]
xiggi, we are reading her differently. I read "socially conservative" and see tee-totaler, non-druggie, not into "hook-ups" , conservative in attire and body art. I don't see religious right, anti-choice, anti-evolution, pro-Republican.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's how I read the mom's phrase "socially conservative" as well. Like you, I didn't read into the description the notion of a student looking to be the next Ann Coulter on campus, but rather a student looking for a place that is not out there in terms of partying and the social scene. It is indeed quite possible to have a college that is socially conservative and politically liberal. </p>
<p>For example, Swarthmore is certainly liberal politically, but as far as the day-to-day culture, the campus experience tends to be quiet, studious, and decidedly "old-school". I would hazard a guess that there are more pocket protectors at Swarthmore than nose rings. Or take the opposite extreme: a school like Washington & Lee that is heavily Republican politically, but where a "socially conservative" quiet, non-drinker would likely be overwhelmed by the frat party scene.</p>
<p>It's one of the reasons that injecting superficial political catch phrases into the college selection process drives me nuts. The meaning of these buzzwords is so imprecise.</p>
<p>Whitman is near home and worth a look. So is Lewis & Clark.</p>
<p>Certainly, you will find liberal kids anywhere... but schools that would be comfortable for politically conservative kids are also frequently "preppy" in nature. Since that is what she did not like about Penn it makes the combo a bit tough. </p>
<p>Basically-- short of strict, religiously-guided institutions-- any expensive college will have its share of preppies, any college will have its share of drinking, and any college will have it's share of sex. Also, most young people tend towards liberal. Thus you will get at least a bit of what she doesn't want anywhere. </p>
<p>I wonder if by socially conservative you mean re her personal behavior-- as opposed to politically conservative? For example, conservative views on sexual activity and booze and maybe abortion, but possibly progressive views on other things like war? </p>
<p>Would it bug her to have an "out" gay community? Would it bug her to have a huge frat scene and tons of drinking? Would it bug her to have many rich preppies, many hippies, many GWB fans, many moveon.org-ers? What would bug her most?</p>
<p>My D is very liberal politically and very open-minded, but behaves quite conservatively herself re drinking, relationships, etc. She truly respects other viewpoints and can be friends with anyone whether drinker or non, gay or straight, republican or democrat, sexually active or not, any race, etc. Throw in that she is an athlete.</p>
<p>It was hard to find a school that reflected her unique combo too because "liberal" can sometimes mean "PC" and socially/sexually "wild." OTOH, "conservative" can sometimes mean "drunken/preppy" (and often just as wild).</p>
<p>It will help her to define what enviornment will be most comfortable on the whole. Here are some basic catagories-- All these schools suggested are academically excellent.</p>
<p>Welcoming of political conservatives, but somewhat preppy & drink-y:
Washington & Lee
Davidson
University of Richmond
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
a bit more politically liberal but still preppy:
Dartmouth
Kenyon
Williams
Amherst
Claremont McKenna
Rice<br>
Trinity CT
Hamilton
Colgate</p>
<p>Socially conservative (re drinking) but politically moderate or liberal:
Scripps
Earlham
Hendrix
Guilford</p>
<p>There is a component of "genuine intellectual" to your description of your D which is probably what grabbed her about MIT-- love of learning.</p>
<p>Some places that have intellectual excitement but a very liberal political and social environment (can verge into pressure cooker):</p>
<p>Reed
Swat
Columbia
U Chicago
St John's</p>
<p>Places that have an open curriculum would also potentially fit. These schools tend to admit very self-directed kids who are not competitive except maybe with themselves. The enviornment would be politically & socially liberal, but also non-competitive and relaxed.</p>
<p>Brown
Vassar
Wesleyan</p>
<p>For some reason I could see her being quite comfortable at Scripps. </p>
<p>It is not too far from home (easy flight to LA), the campus offers a socially conservative "retreat" environment (all women, serene, few parties) yet it is surrounded by 4 other diverse schools within a few minutes' walk (plenty of guys and parties; other vibes), and finally it is academically excellent yet non-competitive.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Whoops crossed lots of posts and also had Scripps in wrong list-- see edits-- Scripps is socially conservative but politically moderate/liberal.</p>
<p>Mombot, come on back and help us out a little here!!</p>
<p>if you are not personally familiar with Reed- I think it would be worth a look- not sure what "out there" social environment means-
Fetish Ball?
( if that is shocking you might want to check out the thread re: ivy league parties i.e Brown Sex Power God, or Harvards H-bomb magazine- * out there* is everywhere)
However- my fairly restrained daughter- is quite happy at Reed- she lived for 3 years in a sub free dorm- students aren't pressured to use substances or drink- and it certainly is a culture where academic discussion thrives
US news has an article on Reed in their latest edition that i think you can read on line- that represents pretty fairly the Reed I know- if not the Reed, students know.</p>
<p>But if you are personally familar and still think it is "out there" she may like Whitman or Carleton better- plus Reed doesn't offer merit aid- but Carleton does :)</p>
<p>Based on your comment about her reluctance of leaving home for summer internships and the recent death of her dad, I am curious why she visited colleges on the east coast?</p>
<p>The fact is that most students prefer to attend colleges w/i 200 miles of home. I am not suggesting that this is a firm criterion for your daughter, but it seems that a westcoast college would be a preference. One college that leaps out for me is Gonzaga, mid-sized, Roman Catholic, well respected academically and in Washington! Others include Puget Sound, Whitman, Lewis&Clark, Colorado College among many others. </p>
<p>That is my 2 cents worth. Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA is an excellent school with strong academics and a more socially conservative reputation.</p>
<p>OMG unsoccermom is channeling par72! ;)</p>
<p>EK, Carleton is a great call. It'd be on the same list as Reed & U Chicago in my book.</p>
<p>"I read "socially conservative" and see tee-totaler, non-druggie, not into "hook-ups" , conservative in attire and body art. I don't see religious right, anti-choice, anti-evolution, pro-Republican."</p>
<p>First off, despite my strong rethoric, I did not want to step on anyone's toes or hurt feelings. I only reacted when I read a number of suggestions that seemed odd to ME! Posters who have suggested that the issue of disagreements starts from a different read of the term are obviously correct. If I read it incorrectly, my apologies are in order. </p>
<p>This said I do not define a socially conservative in the same terms as Cur did. </p>
<p>IMHO a social conservative could be a reasonable social drinker as opposed to a tea-totaler, open minded as far as attire, respectuous of the religious rights of others, reasonable about abortion, and pro-Republican when the party does NOT depart from a centrist base. I believe that it is incredibly unfair to consider all conservatives as bible-toting fanatical cavemen. </p>
<p>From the above, I have left out issues such as conservative opinions on marriage and sex. For what it is worth, go through this exercise: Replace the socially conservative position of the OP with ... "my daughter is openly gay and wants a college that has a liberal view on bisexuality and has a vibrant LBTG population." Now go to the schools that were suggested and need to be eliminated. Would Smith and Mt Holyoke not survive the new criteria with flying colors? So how could they be socially conservative at the same time as being one of the most liberal campus for gays and lesbians? </p>
<p>As far as my comments about the faculty, it goes a lot further than simple red versus blue politics as I look at the curriculum offered by the schools that support the unabated erosion of core values. I am sure that you'll understand that I do not view kindly a class entitled "Study of lesbianism in Europe during the pre-Victorian era" as I do not consider it to be a valuable replacement for a class on Shakespeare or British Lit. </p>
<p>I believe that everyone should make his or her own decision about fit. IMHO, a school where a minority view is barely tolerated does not provide a good fit.</p>
<p>xiggi--is Claremont McKenna socially conservative in your view? . Perhaps the OP's daughter might find a fit there? What do you think?</p>
<p>Anyway, I am interested in this thread, so am going to come back and look at all the suggestions more thoroughly later--I have a Jr. daughter with some of the same traits as the OP's daughter, interested in math and science but loves learning languages. She said today "I don't know what I want to do with my life but I think I've narrowed it down to studying science and/or languages in college." I wouldn't describe her as conservative politically at all, but she is not a partier/drinker. She is also not comfortable with "too preppy/pretentious." </p>
<p>Bit of a highjack here--She is exploring the idea of spending a year in Germany before she starts college. Is it best to apply to schools senior year and then defer? Or wait?</p>
<p>What a great family! Your daughter obviously is a winner.Davidson sounds like the perfect fit.University of Dallas,Notre Dame,Thomas Aquinas might be ok.ChoosingThe Right College 2006 and The Fiske Guide To The Colleges will help.</p>
<p>I agree that it is almost impossible to find easy labels. My favorite example would be Yale. Has among the highest "entitlement indices" in the country - among the highest percentage of students from prep schools, among the lowest receiving need-based aid, and likely among the highest in per capita family income. Lots and lots of drinking, and lots and lots of Republicans, or at least those from Republican families.</p>
<p>It also has the largest, best funded, and most reputable Lesbian/Gay Studies program in the country. Likely the largest gay male population of any of the prestige schools, probably more than the lesbian populations at any of the women's colleges (remember that in the general population, gay men outnumber lesbians by about 5 to 1.)</p>
<p>Could it be that there are substantial numbers of Republican-leaning, drinking, well-to-do, prep-school attending men who are also gay and want to have access to the best lesbian/gay scholars in the country? Well, why not? Having attended a then all-male, heavily preppy, and well-endowed college pre-Stonewall, I think I can say with some certainty that the gay male population was as high then as it is now. What is different now is that it is not closeted, and, for some students, it is a subject of respectable academic inquiry. </p>
<p>So, yes, there could be an academically conservative curriculum. Or a politically conservative student body (or faculty or administration). Or behaviorally socially conservative student body - which could be defined as either "sexually conservative" or "alcohol conservative". Or it could be simply that majority of students are top 5%ers in family income. You can define what you want and then mix and match.</p>
<p>"xiggi--is Claremont McKenna socially conservative in your view?"</p>
<p>One of the best attributes on CMC is that its student body and by large its faculty are distributed in a manner that closely mimics the United States' population. However, when compared to most schools, the balanced population of CMC would make it more conservative. This said, the Claremont Colleges are not exactly lighter versions of Bob Jones or Wheaton.</p>
<p>Of course, there are schools so conservative that they believe that art (history or applied), music (history or applied), dance, and theater are not subjects of serious study (not an Amish school either), and aren't real big on the sciences either, preferring real subjects, like studies of the Laugher Curve.</p>
<p>Hey, to each her own! ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Would Smith and Mt Holyoke not survive the new criteria with flying colors?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No. But, then again, the fact that I wasn't thinking in terms of politics should have been apparent from the fact that I recommended looking at both Smith and Davidson.</p>
<p>I was looking at it from the standpoint of suggesting a range of schools where a relatively reserved, studious, unpretentious, non-preppy, slightly nerdy, hard studier with a great sense of humor might find a circle of like-minded friends. Smith might push the boundaries in one direction a bit. But, no more so than Davidson might push them in another direction. Both have signficant segments of the student body who would fit the poster's descriptions.</p>
<p>I didn't see any indication in the decription that would indicate a particular preference for a decidedly pro-choice/pro-life or pro-gay rights/anti-gay rights or any other pro/con political slant. The only thing even close to that kind of indication was the perception that Reed was a little too "far out" -- probably not a totally unjustified perception. My understanding is that Reed does have a decidedly "counter-culture" feel. But, even there, I interpreted it more as a lifestyle, dress, personality type kind of observation.</p>
<p>I don't even read any politics into religious preferences. Here in my home state, both Senators have extremely liberal voting records and are Catholic. The most recent President from my original home state, Georgia, was both a devout born-again evangelical Christian and liberal politically on many issues.</p>
<p>I-Dad, are you really saying that Smith and MHC are NOT great fits for students who seek a nurturing and accepting school for LGTG's? </p>
<p>If those two schools are not, which ones would be? </p>
<p>By the way, here is the Wikipedia definition of social conservatism:
[quote]
Social conservatism is a belief in traditional or natural law-based morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. Social change is generally regarded as suspect, while social values based on tradition are generally regarded as tried, tested and true. Its opponents commonly associate it with conservative religious groups, militarism and nationalism.</p>
<p>Opponents of social conservatism argue that tradition is not necessarily a source of wisdom. Many views and values, for instance, which were at one time viewed as "traditional" are now viewed as outdated or unacceptable. Proponents of social conservatism counter that many "modern" values are also vapid and corrupt, often pointing to the deterioration of the traditional nuclear family over the past century as a result of increased social acceptance of divorce, promiscuity, and homosexuality.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Xiggi, you have hijacked this thread. This thread wasn't about politics.</p>