<p>I'm really confused right now. The time to apply for schools will be here sooner than later, and I'm having a tough time. The conclusion I have come to after years of searching for the right school is this: I don't think there is a perfect match for me. Maybe I'm too picky, or maybe (hopefully) I just haven't seen Mr. Right University yet... </p>
<p>What I DON'T want in a school is the cliched college atmosphere. Ideally, my dream school has no Greek life, and most students would not live on campus (including freshmen). I also really like small towns (e.g., Davis is one of my favorite towns ever), and I also like small schools. I've never attended a school with more than 400 students, and so I'd like my dream school to have 5,000 or fewer students. Professors would be attainable, and pass/no pass would be optional.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Am I too picky? Any schools that you could suggest would be great. </p>
<p>The current list I'm considering:</p>
<p>Reed College
UC Davis
UC Santa Cruz
University of Oregon
University of Washington
Mills College</p>
<p>Also, does anyone live in/around Portland or Eugene? I live in a small town in CA, and these towns seem to have a good, small-town, liberal vibe...</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I am a 4.0 student who just took the SAT without really studying and got an 1890 (meh).</p>
<p>UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, University of Oregon and the University of Washington do not fit your criteria for small (under 5000) schools. What about Lewis and Clark in Portland (no Greek and SAT optional with "portfolio path") where many students do live off campus after the first year? Other northwest smaller schools are Whitman (may be too conservative for you), Willamette, and Evergreen.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know those schools don't quite fit my criteria. I only like Santa Cruz and Davis because I am very familiar with the towns, and enjoy the atmosphere. Especially Davis, which I know very well and just love.</p>
<p>Thanks a huge bunch for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to look into Lewis and Clark; that school sounds really interesting.</p>
<p>I completely agree about Santa Cruz -- one of the best places on earth in m opinion! There is also the University of Puget Sound in Washington. I don't know much about it but it fits the small northwest criteria.</p>
<p>Santa Cruz is GORGEOUS, and it's actually been a vacation spot for my family for years. </p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion. I'm kind of wanting to check out the pacific northwest because I've never been out of this area of California before, and I'm curious to see what's out there... At the same time, I'm a little scared to be too far away from home (The Bay Area/Sacramento area).</p>
<p>Your SAT would make Reed a reach. Plus, about 75% will live on campus (including 99% of freshmen), Portland is a big city, and there's no pass/no pass.</p>
<p>Thanks for the posts. Yeah, I know Reed is a reach for me, but... I think I'll still try. I've only taken the SAT once, and I took it without studying... I'm planning on taking the ACT instead... Reed just seems like a great environment, and the campus is gorgeous... At least, from the photos I have seen it is. </p>
<p>Thanks for that statistic about living on campus; I appreciate it. For some reason, I was under the impression that most students didn't live on campus... Whoops.</p>
<p>I was also going to suggest Whitman, and I actually think that it's known for being pretty liberal, not conservative. The town itself (Walla Walla) is relatively conservative, but the college is (I think) a different story.</p>
<p>Hey, I looked at schools along the west, and I will be going to Willamette. I didn't like Whitman because of its location in Walla Walla. It was too rural for me, although it was a very very nice small town (they even have a pretty good sushi restaurant!). If you like smaller towns, I think it would be great for you. I really liked the school itself, and yes, it is very liberal. I think you should definitely check it out. UPS and Willamette are very nice schools as well, although they don't fit your criteria as much.</p>
<p>Acutally Whitman only has a residential requirement the first two years, most students move off campus for Junior/Senior year into houses or apartments close to campus (walking distance).</p>