<p>My son is a good, solid A-/B+ student who is taking honors and AP classes. He's very intellectual, loves to talk politics, history, religion and philosophy 24 hours a day. We're looking for a place where he'd find kids like him, not a pressure cooker but a very intellectual environment. We live in California but would also consider schools on the East Coast, particularly Northeast, DC and Virginia. He'll probably major in history or poli sci.</p>
<p>A Jesuit school like Georgetown, Boston College Fordham?</p>
<p>Reed, Lewis and Clark, Willamette. I like all of those schools.</p>
<p>I’d look into LAC’s if he’s the type. I think they tend to fall more on the cooperative end of the cooperative-competitive ethic. JMO</p>
<p>U of Chicago comes right to mind. But some of the most intellectual kids I know have gone to Hampshire and loved it, made great use of the open curriculum and the 5 college consortium. Also–what about St. John’s College, in Annapolis, MD? I have a wonderfully intellectual, original, brilliant friend who graduated from St John’s and really loved it.</p>
<p>I like the University of Chicago also and historically Chicago has not been shy about taking interesting kids with A-/B+ GPAs although they seems to be on more people’s radar he past couple years. Why only east coast or west coast?..there’s a few midwest schools that fit your description very well.</p>
<p>Reed, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Vassar.</p>
<p>I would suggest William & Mary in VA. American Univ. in DC would also be great for someone who loves politics.</p>
<p>My D1 is quite a bit like your son (also A-/B+ in honors & AP classes, loves intellectual discussion). She is thriving as a junior at Dickinson (LAC in Pennsylvania).</p>
<p>I am sure others may have a different opinion, but when D visited American (mentioned above) and attended a class, she found the academic level well below her expectations (Newsweek article for class reading that she happened to have read, and most of the class apparently had not bothered to do the reading). So while the location of American appealed to her (Poli Sci major), she was not impressed with the academic rigor from her (admittedly limited) visit. I guess there is a lesson in this – make sure your son attends a class where possible on his visits.</p>
<p>Colby, Bates, Skidmore, Brandeis, American (Politics!), Connecticut College, Dickinson, Bard, Vassar, and I would also suggest Grinnell and Macalester.</p>
<p>Sorry (again, others may disagree), but the intellectual vibe at Colby and Connecticut College just wasn’t there at all in the classes D attended or the tour guides. She did not apply to either primarily for that reason.</p>
<p>Nice list, but those are generally too much of a reach for A/B students. Try Pitzer, Occidental or Lewis & Clark on the west coast. Further afield, consider Beloit, Gaucher, Hampshire (among others).</p>
<p>I agree with ALF, Beloit comes to mind.</p>
<p>Reaches: Tufts (esp. international politics), U of Chicago
Matches: Brandeis, Reed, George Washington (more for politics than intellectualism)
Safety: American, St. Johns (not sure about politics, but great for philosophy)</p>
<p>Dashmom, my daughter is similar. She was definitely looking for an intellectual school with a cooperative rather than competitive environment. You may want to check out Colleges that Change Lives ([Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)). I think any of those may be worth looking into (and several have been mentioned here). Here is my daughter’s list (which overlaps with both the ctcl and others mentioned here): Pomona and Oberlin (reaches!), St. Olaf (kinda reachy), Pitzer and Hampshire (her favorites), Skidmore, Sarah Lawrence, Goucher, Ursinus, Beloit.</p>
<p>Hopefully your son can get that GPA up as far as possible. My daughter was concerned about getting a couple of C’s in 9th grade, but she went on to make A’s and B’s and then all A’s for the last two years. Admissions people we talked to on visits said they liked to see grades trending up and wouldn’t care about the 9th grade C’s, but might be concerned about grades trending down or 11th and 12th grade C’s.</p>
<p>Dashmom, has he taken the SAT or ACT yet?</p>
<p>Look at Bard.</p>
<p>I think my son falls in that band … he was accepted to Connecticut, Wheaton (MA), Lafayette, American, and Boston U.</p>
<p>Yes, he has a combined score of 1790 –
Reading 670
Math 590
Writing 530</p>
<p>Test optional schools might be a good fit for him. Ones that come to mind are: Bard, Drew, Muhlenberg, Lawrence, Sarah Lawrence (won’t take scores) and Hampshire. </p>
<p>You can find a full list here: [Optional</a> List | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]Optional”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)</p>
<p>“I would suggest William & Mary in VA.”</p>
<p>My impression is that W&M, though small for a state school, and with a liberal arts focus, is more at the pre-professional end of the spectrum of such schools than at the intellectual learning-for-its own sake end of the LAC spectrum. </p>
<p>If you want such a school and live in VA and can take advantage of the instate tuition, thats one thing. If youre out of state, I think you can find better options.</p>