<p>As a reach, take a look at Davidson. A little more conservative than most LACs of it’s caliber, rural, top academics.</p>
<p>thanks for the suggestions! :)</p>
<p>New College of Florida - it’s Florida’s public honor’s college. It’s known for it’s tough academics and a student-led curriculum (independence is highly encouraged). An aptitude for writing is a must as you have to write a thesis your senior year. The school is located in Sarasota (a city, but a relatively quiet one). NCF is very small - 800 students - and produces the second highest number of students per capita (behind U Mich) that go on to grad school (and good ones, like Yale and UC Berkeley…NCF produces many, many pre-law and pre-med students). The student teacher ratio is about 12:1 and all of your professors are doctors in their field. They don’t operate on a traditional grading scale…they do individual written evaluations (which can work to your advantage for grad school). New College also has great study abroad opportunities (I’m prob looking at South America myself). I visited the campus and talked with some of the students…<em>very</em> fun, creative, tight-knit atmosphere. The campus is fairly liberal…but bear in mind part of the college experience is learning from those different from you! I did 6 years in the military (so it’s got all kinds) and will be attending this Fall. I would <em>highly</em> recommend checking out this school!</p>
<p>if you absolutely are NOT looking for a party school and you ARE conservative, stay away (FAR away) from Reed–no matter how amazing their academics are.</p>
<p>Middlebury may be a bit more of a party school than you would like: [YouTube</a> - MIDD KID (Official Music Video)](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZzCHcMKyDc]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZzCHcMKyDc)</p>
<p>If you are looking for a slightly more traditional/conservative school, I would suggest you look into Washington and Lee and University of Richmond. Of the two, Washington and Lee has more of an “old South” atmosphere, and one might worry if it would be a comfortable place for African-Americans, but our tour guide was a very gracious and smart African-American man from Houston and he seemed delighted with his choice of school. University of Richmond has a stunningly beautiful campus (both of these schools are in Virginia), and both schools offer large numbers of FULL merit scholarships, so they might be worth a shot!</p>
<p>OTOH, in light of what I just posted, Middlebury is WAY less of a party school than Washington and Lee. The problem with southern schools is that for all their conservatism politically, it doesn’t always carry over into the personal behavior realm, especially on weekends. Just sayin’…</p>
<p>I know Reed students have plenty of fun, but a party school? Princeton Review currently has Reed #3 (behind Cal Tech and MIT) for “Students Study the Most.” Reed is indeed very liberal!</p>
<p>John Wesley–you could have a point about that!</p>
<p>I looked at New College of Florida–but I am not exactly too sure ofthe concept of a student-led curriculum. I would prefer to have some required courses and a set track.</p>
<p>I looked at Washington & Lee, and I really really liked it–but I’m worried about diversity and frat/sorority scene (parties). I will look at University of Richmond, thank you!</p>
<p>DecidingSoon: I will make sure to stay away from Reed!</p>
<p>Colorado College, albeit liberal, received a ‘green light’ rating on some conservative think tank’s ranking. I feel like a lot of LACs that are liberal are also really accepting so if you don’t mind being the only right leaner on campus check out some of the midwest LACs (carleton, grinnell etc). Definitely not party schools and both are rural.</p>
<p>Franklin and Marshall would be another reasonable choice, but it also has an active frat scene.</p>
<p>Holy Cross, Davidson.</p>
<p>Franklin and Marshall is a lovely school. One cool thing that they do is divide the school up into four houses (or something similar) a la Hogwarts. It didn’t seem overwhelmingly fratty to me, and it definitely seemed more middle-of-the-road than some of the more totally lefty schools. They had some fairly generous scholarships and it was ina very pretty place (Lancaster, in the middle of Amish country). I didn’t get the sense that it was all that fratty, compared to W and L, for instance.</p>
<p>Grinnell is definitely on the left politically, but the whole mantra there is inclusiveness and accepting people for who they are. In the incoming freshman class (which seems to be consistent with prior years) there will be 27% of the class “domestic students of color” and 14% international students. For a small college, this is alot of diversity. the incoming president is African-American.</p>
<p>No frats. While my son is a political liberal, he is interested in the exchange of ideas and asked how opposing viewpoints were treated – and he was told that while people might argue against the ideas, they do not demonize the students. We also spoke at length with the current head of the student Democratic party on campus, and she said that she and her Republican counterpart were making efforts to engage in constructive dialogue on campus. My son will be a freshman in the fall, so there will be at least one more student there who is interested in meaningful, not one-sided, debate. </p>
<p>Make no mistake, students do party there, but those who don’t drink or do drugs have plenty to do and plenty of like-minded friends.</p>
<p>Definitely a good place for students who love to engage in discussion both in and out of the classroom!</p>
<p>Everyone stressed the sense of community at Grinnell. It seems this is due to: the location, the size and layout of the campus, and the system of self-governance which fosters a sense of respect and responsibility for others. The school considers the kids young adults and treats them as such by giving them this governing system, but at the same time, it offers a lot of institutional supports. Not an anarchic freedom, but a very purposeful system designed to promote self-reliance and accountability to others. </p>
<p>I made a point at looking at how the kids dress when I visited colleges, and my sense of Grinnell was that the students all just looked comfortable. Not many fashion statements, and a few kids who made a personal statement with the way they dressed, but for the most part, you couldn’t really tell much about the kids’ identities from the way they dressed (which to me was a good thing).</p>
<p>whoops, I just saw that you want required courses and set track. Grinnell does not have this. But, they do say that most kids end up taking a diversified courseload, even without distribution requirements, because they are just interested in so many things. This sounds like you, FSP!</p>
<p>also, Grinnell has a very strong academic advising system, so this may help if it’s a concern about too much freedom with course selection! </p>
<p>I guess I should say that if your focus on conservatism does extend to a discomfort with students who express different sexual preferences and gender identities, then Grinnell will not be for you. In keeping with its focus on inclusiveness, the school extends this to being sure that students of all types feel comfortable. In housing, this means that there will be “gender neutral” floors, for those who prefer this, for example.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the town of Grinnell, a small town, has something like 20 churches! (maybe more, I can’t remember). Twice a month there is a “Black Church at Grinnell” worship service. And, there is alot of town / gown interaction. Lovely, friendly, neighborly place! </p>
<p>Okay, I’ve done enough dominating this thread with Grinnell!</p>
<p>Davidson is “a bit more” conservative with intense academics and great study abroad. W&L would fit as well.</p>
<p>I looked at Grinnell, but then I heard it was more party-ish so to speak. Thanks SDonCC–I will take another look! I do love the Midwest!</p>
<p>Thanks for the other suggestions–this thread has been really, really helpful!!</p>
<p>I think that all schools are going to have a party culture, whether it’s the dominant lifestyle or not. The question I would ask, is how students who don’t partake fit in and feel about the community and their social life. </p>
<p>This may be stereotyping, but it seems that the “conservative” side of you is going to find schools that are less diverse and more frat-like; while the “diversity” side is going to find schools that feel too liberal for you!</p>
<p>My advice, then, is to apply to a range of schools – even if they seem like they don’t belong on the same list – and then once you get in, go visit when school is in session and then go with your gut.</p>
<p>It is highly unlikely that you will find a school that has absolutely 100% of everything you are looking for. In the end, you will just have to decide what aspects are critical and what aren’t, and sometimes it’s not what a school has on paper, but what it brings in terms of the community you feel most comfortable in.</p>
<p>You sound like a really good candidate for Wellesley. The education is superb and known to be very intense, and the environment is quite conservative from the perspective of parties, alcohol, drugs, etc. They have a great abroad program. Of note, it is liberal on the political spectrum, but (generally) pragmatically so.</p>