<p>Davidson College is much more well-known among the NYC high school kids I know nowadays than it was when I was in high school during the early-mid’90s. I’ve also noticed it soared considerably in the rankings over the last 15+ years. </p>
<p>The way that South Carolina undergrad classmate perceived it, Davidson College during the '90s attracted a lot of rich preppy conservative kids mostly from the South and that several such kids each year ended up there from his high school. Incidentally, the very types of kids he wanted to get away from. </p>
<p>While he’d definitely be a flaming radical liberal by Southern standards…he was center-right to downright conservative by Oberlin standards…keeping in mind that Oberlin was much more liberal during the 90’s than it seems to be nowadays judging by what I’ve heard from more recent graduates. </p>
<p>As for liberal Southern schools, has the OP considered Duke even if it is extremely sporty?</p>
<p>If you want a liberal arts feel in warm weather, really, go look at Rice. Can’t say enough wonderful things about it. Also, what about Washington and Lee?</p>
<p>Mastacos- We should meet for lunch or coffee and I’ll sell you on Rice. We can conference in jym on the phone! Washington and Lee would be way too conservative, I think.</p>
<p>I have the sense that Rhodes is about the same level of moderate/Southern liberal as Davidson? Certainly their core curriculum leans traditional and the Religion department is oriented towards ministry preparation (vs. other LACs where Religion is a quintessential liberal arts smorgasbord–for better or worse, it can be a useful political barometer).</p>
<p>W&L is equivalent to Sewanee, and I’d stay far away if he likes Oberlin.</p>
<p>Rice is wonderful, but… didn’t the OP want close-to-TN Southern schools, rather than warm-weather Southern schools?</p>
<p>I would suggest Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Small and quirky, it attracts artsy kids. It is also part of a consortium of Atlanta colleges where you can take classes at other colleges.</p>
<p>I graduated from Davidson in 2001, and I’d say its academic rigor is unmatched. (I went to grad school at Northwestern and found it far less engaging and challenging than Davidson.) I’d say that like many places in the South, professors tend to be more liberal than the student body, but it’s definitely no haven for conservatives. </p>
<p>I often think students say they want a “liberal” school because it’s culturally popular to want a liberal school, but the best places (in my opinion) are are homes to smorgasbords of ideologies. Davidson is like that. And with its no-loan financial aid policy, I get the impression that it’s attracting a much more diverse student body. (I was a middle-class kid when I enrolled in the late '90s; my friends were split about 40/60 between public-school grads and private-school grads.)</p>
<p>Davidson students are hyper-involved and very concerned about the world–which prospective students might equate with a “liberal” mentality. I have to add that some of my best friends who were conservatives were the most involved in establishing and running off-campus service programs, both in the local community and across the world.</p>
<p>I report on education and education policy now, and I think it’s very important for parents to encourage kids not to find places that are perfect matches for their ideologies but to find places where their ideologies will be respected AND challenged. Sure, if you self-identify as a liberal, you probably don’t want to go to Bob Jones. But most high-quality LACs are going to leave plenty of room for political, spiritual, religious (choose your adjective) ideologies. And we all know the real world doesn’t allow us to avoid contact with folks who don’t agree with us–and isn’t that half the fun?</p>
<p>Oh, and I’m a huge fan of New College. Kind of a “hippy school”–the students so dubbed it–but academically fantastic. The professors are an incredible bunch, and I’ve never met a group of more confident, engaging, honest kids in my life.</p>
<p>Just came back from lunch with another transplanted northerner. Part of the discussion hae to do with the politics of the north vs the south. Made me think about this thread. Having grown up in the north and having gone to a LAC, I would reiterate that Rice is about as close to a liberal northern LAC “feel” as one can get int he south. Emory and Tulane are good options too, but definitely, of your s wants to stay south, look at Rice. He will love it.</p>
<p>I think that depends on the geographic location, high school peers, parents, and the student him/herself. I can easily see that happening in where I’m from in NYC. </p>
<p>In the case of my college classmate, however, the fact he wanted a liberal school like Oberlin during the early-mid-'90s made him stick out like a sore thumb in a sea of mostly conservative high school peers at his South Carolina public school and caused some family tensions. In his high school at least, desiring a “liberal” school made him almost into a freak for most high school peers, many neighbors, and even some family members.</p>
<p>Transplanted moderately liberal Northerners here living in the Southeast. Our son insisted on going to a college with a good climate for his sport, and we wanted a small-ish school with good academics and NO Barbie and Ken factor or major Greek presence. Came down to Rhodes and Trinity U. We checked them out very carefully to make sure they wouldn’t be super conservative.</p>
<p>Blizzard - WELCOME TO COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL!!! I’ve been preaching that as best I could, looking for others to help take up the message. A word of warning - you’ll get flamed for suggesting that ideologies, unlike ethnicity, sex, or disability, are changeable orientations that are not permanently fixed in 17-year-olds. Teens seeking liberal campuses will just recoil at the thought of having to interact with conservatism, while teenage “conservatives” - and their parents - will accuse you of being part of the insidious liberal movement that’s already infiltrated higher education and is now trying to influence them!</p>
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<p>Brilliant! I’ve been neglecting to highlight the “fun” that an open mind begets!</p>
<p>Defining what makes a college “liberal” is somewhat subjective,IMO and the opinion of or now twin about to seniors who are Furman. I think most people would look at Furman and think small, LAC in Southeast-former ties to Southern Baptist Convention-viola`. Wrong. Obama won the student straw polls by fairly significant margin and I would say the majority of the faculty are quite to left of center. The new president, Rod Smolla,is a prominent First Amendment attorney with a number of significant cases argued at the supremes. He is also former Dean of W and L law school ( which I think of as very conservative. Smolla is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and Slate.com. The moral to my story is that looks are often deceiving. If you S/D wants a certain atmosphere they need to spend time on campus in as normal an environment as possible. </p>
<p>Would second Ogelthorpe in Atlanta if child could live in small school environment. Tons of opportunities to take classes at the consortia in the Atlanta area. Emory is considered fairly liberal. UNCA-fabulous liberal arts college for the UNC system. New College of Florida continue to exceptional quality school and affordable. Guilford, a small LACinGreensboro, also known for just this thpe of childl</p>
<p>My D also wanted warm and liberal and (in her case) small. She looked at Rhodes, Hendrix, Millsaps, Centre, New, and Eckerd but her favorites are Southwestern U (Georgetown, TX) and Oglethorpe (ATL). I agree that Oglethorpe is pleasantly quirky with attention to the individual. . . take a look, I think it is under-appreciated. She also liked New but as a public OSS, the merit aid was about 1/3 of other schools . . .</p>