<p>I am looking into some LACs after visiting a college fair last weekend. I still dont know if I would prefer the very small class sizes, small student body, and somewhat isolated environment or the large traditional university feel.
I thought I may try and find a median.</p>
<p>What are some (If any) LAC that </p>
<p>a) Want to promote diversity (URM) </p>
<p>b) Have larger class sizes than most small LACs. </p>
<p>c) Have a good campus with PLENTY to do, nice housing, and good amenities</p>
<p>d) Have good economics, english, and philosophy programs?- I figure most strong LAC's do since these are pretty broad fields. </p>
<p>e) Have a good reputation for sending kids to possibly wall street, Investment Banks, hedge funds etc...
I am not sure if I will continue to law school or not.</p>
<p>Pretty specific, I know but thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Well, Wesleyan, Colgate, Vassar, Oberlin and Skidmore also all come to mind as LACs that are larger than most LACs. Also perhaps check out Claremont McKenna and Pomona, since the concortium means that even though the schools are each kind of small, the general concentration of college students is much larger.</p>
<p>Also, have you thought about unis that pride themselves on having a LAC feel? That might be a nice comprimise. Dartmouth, Tufts and Brown asll come to mind, though I'm sure there are many others.</p>
<p>nate, some LACs that have good track records for graduate school placements and connections with Wall Street are Williams, Amherst, Trinity, Hamilton. </p>
<p>As you note, most LACs have good Economics, English and Philosophy and all want to maintain or increase their diversity percentages. Those that are located in rural areas are especially interested in recruiting URMs.</p>
<p>I don't know how to respond to "Have larger class sizes than most small LACs." LACs pride themselves on small classes and one-on-one contact with professors, but they do also have a fair number of large-ish (maybe 50-100) lectures.</p>
<p>As far as PLENTY to do, it depends on what you like to do. The determining factor might be location -- urban vs rural -- instead of size. If you like shopping, clubbing and generally experiencing a city buzz, you're not going to like an isolated rural campus. Kids who do well at small insular campuses are those that thrive on the community interaction. It's really a matter of preference.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion to look at LAC-sized universities like Dartmouth, Brown, Rice, and Tufts. For example, Tufts has the same faculty -to- student ratio as Amherst, but has the facilities of a research university—the best of both worlds! :)</p>
<p>I would also recommend Pomona and the Claremont Consortium. Elite LAC with small classes but shares one big "campus" with 4 others (Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, and Pitzer), with over 6,000 total students. Lots of interaction with the other schools (can cross-register, eat in other schools' dining halls, campus-wide school-sponsored parties, etc). Truly the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Pomona (and CMC) also offers the PPE major (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) which may interest you.</p>
<p>My daughter is also looking for similar things in a LAC but wants Film,International studies,woman's studies and possible pre-law. We are really struggling to find safety schools. Advise or suggestions would be very much appreciated. On paper she has it all so to speak 99 average,national community service honors,summer abroad etc. We'll see how the SAT thing goes early next year but we need to start looking. We also want to stay with 4 hours of NYC,</p>
<p>Motherof2girls: I'd recommend Tufts for your D too. Top notch international relations (studies) plus a unique program called International Letters and Visual Studies which combines intl studies with philosophy, film, literature and art history. Woman's Studies program is small but tight-knit and tons of one-on-one attention by top professors. And Tufts is known for practically forcing its kids to study abroad and learn languages. It's Boston location is exactly 4 hours driving from NYC.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions for safety schools. She has a 99 average in a specialized HS and a long list of EC's but has not taken the SAT'S yet,</p>
<p>Motherof2girls was asking for schools within 4 hours of NY - Oregon may be a little out of range.</p>
<p>You realize without standardized tests back, it's pretty hard to make recommendations with much clarity. But if she'd consider women's colleges I'd suggest Smith, Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr, all much stronger (especially in her fields of interest) than their lower level of competitiveness would suggest. Bard and Hampshire on the smaller and Skidmore on the larger side of LACs are somewhat less competitive as well, similarly offering strong programs in her areas of interest. Wesleyan and Vassar would possibly be the best fit, though more competitive, of small schools to consider within the northeast.</p>
<p>Barnard would also be great, but not a safety for anyone.</p>
<p>Safer: Bard, Hampshire, Clark, Emerson, Conn. College, Hobart and William Smith, Drew (strong theater & maybe film.)</p>
<p>I second Wesleyan (probably the best) and Vassar, but these are competitive. I'm not saying she won't be admitted, by my understanding is that you are looking for back-ups.</p>
<p>Went through a similar process with my D so feel free to PM if you'd like.</p>
<p>Wow...thanks for the great replies. We have looked at Wesleyan and she totally loved it. Bard looked great on paper but when we visited it was a big disappointment. Vassar was one we visited several times for my older daughter (now a freshman and she was accepted for the class of 11) and she did not like it for a variety of reasons. We also looked at Drew just last week and we thought it was OK for a super safety but was very concerned when we picked up the student newsaper and saw that close to 100 freahman would not be returning next year. So here we go again looking for safefy schools. Someone just today suggested American ?</p>