<p>My daughter has looked at or considered several colleges on your list. </p>
<p>She wants a school with a quirky student body, a strong sense of community, no frats/sororities, and an open-minded yet liberal student body. All of the schools on your list would fit that description. A few other schools that she has found also fit with what she is looking for include Beloit, Goucher, Skidmore, and Hendrix in Arkansas so you may want to take a look at them as well, although I am not sure how their environmental science programs would stack up.</p>
<p>At present, Earlham is at the top of her list and she will probably apply early decision there. We spent two days on campus last spring and she attended Earlham's summer program last month. She came away convinced that Earlham is what she is looking for and it certainly is a unique school. What we've found is: strong academics (it's easy to get in, hard to stay in because the workload is demanding), very high concern with social and environmental issues, a real sense of community among students and faculty, and a very open and accepting student body. Earlham is a very gay friendly community (Quaker values stress respect for all viewpoints). Their environmental studies program is strong, as are the sciences and social sciences. The campus is very pretty - 600 acres with red bricked buildings but not particularly fancy (I have some pictures on my website - click on my name to your right, then see Carolyn's website, then see Carolyn's webpage, then click on July and look for Earlham). Richmond Indiana is a small city --- not much there, but it's not the boonies either. Dayton, Indianapolis, Cincinatti are within driving distance. One thing my daughter does like about Earlham is that it attracts a national student body --- only 18% of the students are from indiana. There are also a high percentage of international students and it's fairly diverse for a small school. The study abroad options are great (lots of school led programs) and 75% study abroad. The one negative about Earlham is that the arts, including theater, are not Earlham's strong suit. However, my daughter has decided that she can still find enough of interest to do an art minor, even if the facilities aren't as spectacular as at other schools we've visited. </p>
<p>We also visited Lewis & Clark --- my daughter liked it quite a bit - nice campus on the edge of Portland, which is a terrific city. My daughter thought the students were a bit edgier at Lewis & Clark but one of her friends who visited on a different day thought they were on the preppy side --- probably a combination of both I suspect. Good theater department. However, she didn't get the same community feeling at L&C that she got at Earlham, perhaps because a relatively high percentage of students move off campus after sophomore year there, but you may have a different take. If you're visiting L&C, also take a look at Reed.</p>
<p>UCSC is a beautiful campus but much, much larger than the other schools on your list. The size is somewhat mitigated by the college system, however that doesn't translate into small classes at the introductory level. </p>
<p>I like Humboldt State alot -- it has the smallest class ratios in the cal state system and a very pretty campus. Absolutely terrific environmental science programs that have received national awards and attention. Theater is good there too. Has a rep as a "druggie school" but as with all reps, not sure how much of an issue that really is.</p>
<p>Hope this helps ---</p>