<p>Mastacos- it appears that we live in the same city (more or less).</p>
<p>What about U of Alabama at Birmingham?</p>
<p>Culturally it is very different from U Alabama-Tuscaloosa. Greeks and football do no dominate as they do at other southern universities. Certainly UAB has football and other D-1 sports but again, the culture of the campus community is not suffocated by the rituals of sports. And UAB has put big $$ resources into making the physical layout of its campus more traditional and attractive. New dorms for example, and an award-winning new recreation center. Itās not a scene from an Currier and Ives image of a New England college, but UAB is on the move. The arts and culture and important at UAB. Thereās a fine performing arts venue right on campus.</p>
<p>Academically, while it doesnāt have all the resources of a UTexas-Austin, Georgia Tech, UVirginia or UFlorida, UAB does have great departments. The life sciences departments are among the best such facilities in the southeast and they pull in a lot of research money.</p>
<p>Finally, because UAB is in the heart of a metropolitan area, you get the lifestyle benefits of urban life.</p>
<p>Millsaps is very Greek and not what the OP seems to be looking for.</p>
<p>You mentioned Furman and my D is a freshman there. We are from the New England area so from her perspective she thinks the school is less conservative than its reputation. In all honesty, I would not consider the school liberal by any sense of the word but it is a little more balanced than its reputation.</p>
<p>Elon does have a more mixed blend of students and I would consider it a moderate campus. I think the recommendation of Tulane is a good one. Finally, I love the recommendation of Kenyon and Oberlin. Great options. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Sounds like the OP should really give Hendrix a good look. Solid academics and liberal-to-moderate in its ambiance. </p>
<p>If TX is in scope, maybe Trinity U in San Antonio? Rice, of course, but itās pretty selectiveā¦</p>
<p>U of Miami is middle-sized and isnāt of any particular political leaning but it will be sports intensive. New College, as has been mentioned, might work well, too.</p>
<p>We are liberals from Mississippi (yes, they do exist), and my son, a junior, is looking for a similar type of school. I took him to visit Hendrix, and we both were very impressed. Hendrix certainly leans hard to the left, and it is a place where individuality is appreciated. On top of that, it is the top-ranked āup and comingā liberal arts college in U.S. News and World Report. We also visited UNC-Asheville, and I think that would be worth a visit. UNCA is a good school, and Asheville is very cool.</p>
<p>Davidson is well recognized</p>
<p>Yeah I agree about UNCA. Even though itās rated as US News as a āthird tierā college, a lot of well known college guides like Fiske and Princeton Review have had nothing but good things to say about that school.</p>
<p>Mom of Wild Child - Music City USA!</p>
<p>I see a lot of posts about New College. Has it changed over the years? Because my sister was accepted there and was turned off by the fact that it appeared to be primarily a commuter school that attracted older students (she ended up going to Tufts).</p>
<p>New College has definitely changed a lot. Itās well-respected academically and popular among FA residents (as well as OOS students) looking for a cheaper small LAC experience, although the curriculum structure is a bitāunusual. Some students donāt do so well in the extremely self-driven environment.</p>
<p>The Fla schools are pretty liberal. Davidson is NOT liberal. Scratch that from the liberal list. Agree with the others oin teh list (Emory, Duke, Tulane, UNC, even College of Charleston is liberal-ish. DSās ex gf is at Centre. She is pretty liberal. Agree that Rice is liberal- it is in the south compared to the north, in terms of warrm and below the mason dixon line 
Liberal would also be comforable at Vandy, dont you agree, MOWC?</p>
<p>yeah from what Iāve heard New College of Florida has changed a lot. Now itās designated as the āPublic Honors College of Floridaā and is attracting a lot of great students. Though I agree, you have to be extremely self driven to succeed there.</p>
<p>I would give Tulane a strong look. New Orleans is an interesting and vibrant place. Great music, food, and fun times! In my opinion NOLA is a place that touches the soul. The school is large enough to have all different types of kids (and from all around the country). There is a heavy emphasis on community service (something that I feel helps to unify and not exclude). There is a greek scene but it does not dominate. Great academics at a school that is climbing the ranks.</p>
<p>Thanks, how hard is it to get into Tulane? My S will have solid credentials but not Ivy or near-Ivy creds.</p>
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<p>Davidson must have changed a bit since the mid-late '90s when a college classmate from South Carolina turned down admission there.* His perceptions were that it was filled with far too many preppy conservative rich kids and that the school was overrated academically after visiting it several times during high school. </p>
<p>To be fair, he seemed to have had a strong desire to get out of the South for school as he said similar things about other southern schoolsā¦even UNC-CH and Vandy.** He ended up being quite happy at Oberlin. </p>
<ul>
<li>Parents forced him to apply.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>** Surprised as I knew plenty of liberal high school classmates who were happy and felt the academics were top notch at those schoolsā¦and weāre from NYC. However, no one from my graduating class applied to Davidson.</p>
<p>Come on over to the Tulane forum and post stats-- youāl get tons of good info there!! My Ds is a junior there-- very happy (and very liberal )</p>
<p>Vandy has plenty of liberals, but DOES have a big frat scene and SEC sports, so probably is not what the OPās son is wanting. Besides, Vandy is the home-town school.</p>
<p>Yes, we can see Vandy from our porch. Thereās nothing they could offer him that would persuade him to go. </p>
<p>We will go over to the Tulane forum, thanks for that. But probably too early to post stats, heās still only a sophomore and doesnāt have test scores yet! Just excellent grades, good ECs and heavy involvement in music on 6 instruments. But we are definitely interested. NOLAās a cool town!</p>
<p>Iām not intimately familiar with Davidson, but my perception is that its academic reputation (and generous need/merit aid) has attracted a geographically diverse student population and its political spectrum is moderate on a national scale, which in practice often translates to liberal for the South. It has a Greek-like social life, though.</p>