I’m looking for a selective (20 to 45% acceptance rate) liberal arts school.
I want a school with a strong social science program, no more than 8,000 people, within an hour of a medium to large metropolitan area, no religious denomination, (I am agnostic) and a school that is liberal politically.
My top two at the moment are Oberlin and Carleton.
I am also female and would apply to female only schools.
Traditionally, LACs tend to be much smaller than 8000 students. You could get a lot of what you want at a university with some LAC attributes, such as the University of Rochester, or you can decide to look only at exclusively undergraduate-focused colleges. They are really different categories.
Within the traditional LAC category, in some ways you have described Vassar College. You may want to research their social sciences. The distance from Poughkeepsie to New York City is over an hour, but the train makes it convenient.
Bryn Mawr or Haverford may also appeal to you. Oberlin should stay on your list.
DD2 also loved Carleton. Try Lewis and Clark in Portland OR.
Pitzer fits your description. Colorado College and Reed are worth looking into.
@merc81 @“Erin’s Dad” Thank you both!
Remember that just because a school is affiliated with a particular religious denomination, doesn’t mean that it shares the religion’s values or philosophies. For instance I went to Oxford College of Emory (a school which like the main Emory campus meets your criteria) as an atheist Jew. Though Emory is technically affiliated with the Methodist church, only a very small minority are actually Methodist, with far more students identifying with Islam, Judaism, non denomination Christian, and agnosticism/atheism.
A very large number of schools meet your criteria. For instance, on the West Coast, Occidental, Reed and Scripps all match exactly what you say you’re looking for. If you expand your search criteria to include schools which are selective (as measured by test scores) but admit more than 40% of applicants, the number of matches further increases.
As a side note, many schools are not as selective as measured by admission rate simply because of where they’re located. The Northeast tends to have many more selective liberal arts colleges than the rest of the country, even though test scores at many non-Northeastern schools which admit the majority of students are actually higher than their selective Northeastern counterparts.
In general the OP should become aware of acceptance rates and what they may mean. Colleges with acceptance rates of 30% and up might be very selective, but a strong student stands a good chance of admission. At schools with acceptance rates below 25%, some – or many – strong students will be denied. ED can help at these latter institutions.
Here are my favorite LACs that meet your criteria: Bates, Bryn Mawr, Carleton, Connecticut, Haverford, Kenyon, Macalaster, St. Olaf, Wesleyan. Some of these colleges are right around that 20% acceptance rate and some have higher acceptance rates.
Colorado College meets your criteria but its acceptance rate has been below 20% the past few years. If interested, I would suggest making sure you apply EA to increase your chances.
@doschicos Oh gosh about CC - I really like the look of it but I’m pretty sure I won’t get in now.
Carleton and Oberlin are my current favorites, I’m quite nerdy
@ohwildyouth - If you apply early action (not binding) to CC it would maximize your chances. Not knowing your stats, if you have a solid favorite, consider applying early decision.
I’m a huge fan of Carleton. Haverford and Bryn Mawr have similar vibe.
Reed, Macalester and Scripps sound like good fits for you.
I would take a look at Pitzer, Scripps, Occidental, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Macalester, Wellesley and Barnard since they are all good LACs in or close to a city. Two friends of mine who loved Carleton and Oberlin also really liked Grinnell (not near a city, though) and Reed, so I would look into those two as well. They may not all fall into the 20%-45% acceptance rate you are looking for, but I think they all come pretty close.