<p>There are so many great LACs, it's overwhelming trying to narrow down my list. I'd like to be in a major city...preferably in/near New York City, Boston, or San Francisco. Maybe Chicago, Seattle, and Sacramento too. :) I don't want to be in a place that is too isolated from a city, I'd ideally want the intimacy and personal attention of a LAC with the resources of an exciting city extremely close by.</p>
<p>Any suggestions or help?? There are just so many that look great.</p>
<p>My stats, btw, are: 2130 SAT I, 740/710 SAT II's, 3.8 UW GPA, ~4.5 W GPA, top 2% of my class...</p>
<p>Macalester is in St Paul, in a wonderful area and you’d also have all of Minneapolis at your doorstep. It’s a terrific school. San Francisco and Sacramento have nothing small of the same caliber. </p>
<p>Besides being in a city, what are you looking for in a school? What are your leanings for a major? What kind of social environment do you want? Southern California has some great LACs and good weather, with access to LA.</p>
<p>Are you going to need financial aid, need based or merit? There are many things to consider as you start your quest.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, though, probably 80% of the great LAC’s aren’t in cities. And if you choose one that’s relatively close (i.e. Haverford) you should check whether students really go into the city very often. If not, maybe just choose a vibrant school and you should find plenty to do. A school in a consortium like Claremont or Amherst might provide more activity options than a school on it’s own. Also realize that some LACs are bigger than others----Middlebury and Wesleyan have 2300 or so students and others have 1700. The slightly larger might be more appealing. Lehigh and Bucknell are more in the 3000 range, I think. Bowdoin is really only 45 minutes from Portland but you’d have to ask how much Portland is really a resource for them. Some urban LACs are Macalaster and Occidental.</p>
<p>As discussed in your thread “Personalities of NY schools”, LAC’s are typically not in the large population centers like NYC, Boston, and so on. </p>
<p>Wheaton College (MA) is 16 miles from Providence, RI & about 30 miles from Boston, MA.
Connecticut College (CT) likes to say they are midway between NYC & Boston.
Sarah Lawrence (NY) half hour train ride into NYC. </p>
<p>There are others with similiar proximity to large cities.</p>