<p>You might also want to check out middlebury in vermont.</p>
<p>Austin College (Sherman, TX)</p>
<p>Second Colorado College, also Colby, Kenyon, Lawrence U, Macalester and Vassar. Small, with neuroscience major.</p>
<p>Cayuga - Deep Springs is all men. The OP doesn’t qualify.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, you guys!</p>
<p>Mercer University in Macon, GA. It’s a small liberal arts college, but is strong in almost everything. They are also generous with scholarships.</p>
<p>Beloit, Clarkson, Illinois Tech, Lafayette, Swarthmore, Stevens Institute, and Rice and maybe Bucknell might also work. St. Johns also has a campus in Santa Fe, NM.</p>
<p>Pepperdine and University of Tulsa are perhaps also worth considering depending on how strict you are on your size requirements.</p>
<p>Maybe UC Merced too.</p>
<p>St. John’s in Santa Fe, 436 students.
Out west near you. 
Meets your criterion of “tiny”
[Colleges</a> That Change Lives - St. John’s College, NM](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.com/colleges/st_johns/santa_fe/Default.htm]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.com/colleges/st_johns/santa_fe/Default.htm)</p>
<p>Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, 1200 students.
In the midwest near me.
Small and much loved by students who attend there. Really cool school year plan, with two short sessions each school year for special classes or travel. The professors really get to know the students and support (and love) them.
[Colleges</a> That Change Lives - Hiram College](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.com/colleges/hiram/Default.htm]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.com/colleges/hiram/Default.htm)</p>
<p>Mills College in Oakland. As an all-womens’ college it provides the safety you need, combined with excellent academics.</p>
<p>another vote for colorado college – you sound like an excellent fit and coming from Nevada, it won’t be such a culture shock.</p>
<p>I definitely second (third?) Carleton.</p>
<p>Rice has <3000 undergrads and has a huge emphasis on undergraduate research. Check it out :)</p>
<p>dottified:</p>
<p>You are just getting names thrown at you like throwing you know what against a wall to see what sticks. </p>
<p>Pick up the USNEWS so you have a complete list of small liberal arts colleges. Then, read through the Fiske Guide I mentioned to see which are “academic”, which are “party” schools, which are sports schools, etc.</p>
<p>You are a legitimate candidate at the very top schools (Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Williams) and a strong candidate at the schools just below including Haverford, Carleton, Grinnell, Davidson, Vassar, Wesleyan, etc. I think you should also take at look at the women’s colleges if that suits your fancy: Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Mt. Holyoke, Scripps. These would probably be fairly sure bets admissions-wise for you, so you might find a really good college or two that are also safeties.</p>
<p>Lots of good advice both general and specific in many preceding posts. However, no matter how traditionally safe a campus feels, it is possible that a 16-year-old girl (and I use the term deliberately rather than young woman), may not feel fully comfortable in the social settings that are part of a college experience. I am considering not just the standard sex/substance issues but the overall sense that one or two years in the mid to late teens can be a major factor in how interpersonal relationships develop. I wonder if it might be possible for you to do something interesting and useful in the way of a gap year–perhaps deferring admission to a school after acceptance, since you are a strong candidate–so that you will be better able to enjoy the nonacademic aspects of college as well as the intellectual/academic ones.</p>
<p>What does everyone know about Simon’s Rock College of Bard? It’s an early college where kids can go after their sophomore or junior year of high school. It seems interesting, but I don’t know much about how good it is in comparison to other LACs.</p>
<p>^I know a few people there, and they all really like it. I’d say definitely look into it; I’m surprised no one mentioned it yet.</p>
<p>Simon’s Rock College of Bard</p>
<p>It’s more of an alternative to high school than an alternative to college. </p>
<p>I don’t want to sit here and give you my views on Bard. Get the Fiske Guide and read between the lines of the descriptions.</p>
<p>Summary of dottified’s requirements:</p>
<p>coed
Preferably under 2000 students
occasional basketball game, don’t want sports to be the focus of my college experience
heavy drinking scene is a no
collaborative learning environment
care about learning
don’t want a pretentious sort of place
classes discussion-based</p>
<p>I’ll be a fourth vote for Carleton - seems a great fit.</p>
<p>Other excellent choices: Davidson, Grinnell, Haverford, Pomona, Swarthmore</p>