Reduce the number of reaches.
Considering what you seem to like in colleges, I would recommend that you drop Cornell, and maybe Tulane and Vanderbilt. Have you looked at Washington & Lee and University of Richmond?
I was very libertarian as well in college and still am. I voted for Gary Johnson while at Bates. Had many talks about politics with other students and got along well with people ranging from self-described socialists to staunch republicans. I think you’ll do just fine there.
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Please note that the OP included the University of Richmond in his or her list.
You may be disappointed, then, to learn that some issues dwell in a sort of gray morass of acceptable/defensible/plausible views. IE, nobody is 100% right.
College should teach you how to research an issue, form an opinion, and defend it. You will do this countless times in the papers you will write.
But dispatch the thought that one side in every argument is irrefutably right – that just isn’t so in many cases. Why? People have different standards for behavior, rights and responsibilities, goals, beliefs, causes for failure and success. We place blame differently, expect different responses to failure, etc. There are like 8 billion of us (maybe I’m a few years behind on that number. hehe), and no two of us would agree on all of those aspects of life.
It would be a worthy goal, I think, to learn to listen, read, research a topic; present its main points concisely and as comprehensively as possible; choose a side/stance; and defend your choice.
Edit: The above will mainly apply, obviously, to controversial topics covered in courses in areas like Sociology, Economics, Psychology (the brain is the last frontier truly), Political Science, Criminology, and History.
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Missed that one.
I’m visiting Cornell, Tulane, and Vanderbilt soon. I’m not sure about Cornell. Going to school in Nashville would be awesome. Tulane I’ve heard mixed things on, but I like consistently having the option for parties which would eliminate a lot of FOMO.
I looked at Washington and Lee, and not much stood out about it to justify it as a reach. Richmond is on my list.
That sounds excellent. Thank you!
Apologies, this is what I meant in shorthand.
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That looks like a good and coherent list! Bates seems like a little bit of an outlier, in terms of geography and not having Greek life, but I see the common threads in terms of other attributes. Are you trying to pick an ED school? (Initially I thought this might be why you were asking about Bates, but maybe you were just wondering whether to include it at all?)
The high reach that seems to fit the pattern (perhaps more so than Princeton and/or Cornell) is Duke - did you consider and rule out?
I’m definitely looking for where to put my ED, and I’m visiting some schools later this summer to see. I was also asking whether to include Bates at all, as I want a place I can speak my mind.
I looked at Duke as my uncle went there. However, it’s a little to big, urban, and focused on sports for me.
It seems like the original question has been answered to the OP’s satisfaction. The discussion has now turn into a match me post. But since there is no need for two, I’m closing this thread and directing users to their other thread.