Looking for "Intellectual" Schools

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone! I am trying to narrow my schools for RD and was hoping to get some advice. Let me start off by saying that I know that Intellectual and Pre Professional are not mutually exclusive - they can have plenty of overlap.

I applied ED to Columbia and EA to UChicago, MIT, and my local state school (safety). I picked Columbia because I’m in love with the core. I love to read, and such a heavy reading curriculum really excites me. As well, I love NYC. And even though I know I’ll be really busy in college and may not have the opportunity to explore the city, it’s nice to have the idea of it right there too. I can’t stand the thought of being secluded in the middle of nowhere even if I will spend all my time on campus anyway. I applied to UChicago and MIT for similar reasons. Furthermore, I love the “intellectual” vibe I felt at all these schools. When I visited Columbia I got into a random conversation with a student about how Nabokov reflects both modernism and post-modernism; I was in love!

So the things I’m mostly looking for in a school is being near a city, a small to mid-size school, and the “intellectual” vibe. I kind of want to go into academia in the future (even though I know it’s incredibly competitive) and I just want to “learn for the sake of learning.” so I don’t particularly care for the whole “Pre Professional” vibe that I felt at schools like UPenn, Northwestern, etc.

As of right now, in addition to my early schools, my tentative list is as follows:
Georgetown
Harvard
Yale
Swarthmore
Haverford
Carleton (it’s kind of near the twin cities… right?)
Davidson (same as above except near Charlotte?)
Brown

Ideally, I take some of these schools off - I’m not actually sure I would go to Harvard, but I’m a legacy so I thought I should apply. My friend suggested Vandy - I’m not sure if it has the “intellectual” vibe - I don’t know a ton about Vandy. And another friend also suggested Stanford - although I’m not to keen about living on the West coast. I would ideally like to go east - I’m not a big fan of the weather in California - I love having seasons.

Also, please know that I do know that these schools are incredibly difficult to get into and there is a very solid chance I will rejected from most of them. Though, if you do really want to know my stats, I have a 35 ACT, 4.53 Weighted GPA (3.93 UW), ave solid subject test scores (800 M2, 800 Lit, 780 Bio-M), I took 11 AP classes (and got 5s on everything except APUSH). I also have plenty of ECs, etc…

FYI the reason I don’t have a safety (with the exception of my state school) is because I already was admitted to McGill. Let me know your thoughts!

2

I don’t think Vandy is what you are looking for. Carleton isn’t super close to the Twin Cities (~45 minutes), but it has the intellectual vibe.

Are you comfortable attending McGill or your state flagship? Most of your other schools are reaches with a couple matches.

3

You should look at Reed. Pay no attention to their ranking. They don’t participate. I think USNWR still ranks them, but they don’t supply any data. It is a very knowledge for knowledge, reading intensive vibe. It’s in Portland. Good luck!

4

Good suggestion.

5

As far as universities in the South go, Duke would be a better choice than Vanderbilt. Durham NC has all four seasons, but considerably milder and more pleasant winters than the Northeast.

6

Georgetown may feel more like Northwestern in that is has a pre professional vibe.
For an intellectual vibe, you may want to look at Vassar or Wesleyan.

7

I second Reed College. One of the finest humanities program and very intellectual small school in Porland Oregon.

8

Totally agree with Reed. Your might like Tufts. I would suggest you look at Macalester.

If you are willing to look at Vassar, I would also look at Bard. Both are more secluded but have access to NYC.

A few of these are less reachy than the rest of your list.

9

If you love to read and would be interested in a quirky curriculum, St. John’s of Maryland/New Mexico might be something you’d like and is probably close to a safety. They have an interesting Great Books program.

10

With respect to LACs that are accessible to large cities, look into Vassar.

11

Pomona.

12

Reed is located in Portland, Oregon, one of the hippest urban areas in the country, and a magnet for twentysomethings

less than 1500 students

check out their PhD production rank: https://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html

California may not have seasons, but the Pacific Northwest does

For 2016, Reed issued as many Philosophy degrees as Economics degrees. Bet you won’t find that at any of the other schools you are considering.

Other points about Reed that distinguish it from the other schools on your list:

  • Senior thesis is mandatory for all students
  • No football, or any other NCAA sports for that matter
  • Refusal to play the college ranking game, which means that their ranking is artificially low. See their rationale at: https://www.reed.edu/apply/college-rankings.html
13

If you are a STEM major, my kid whose goal is to be a polymath :slight_smile: applied to several of the schools on your list (and got in), but settled on Harvey Mudd. It was great for her.

14

Oberlin, St Johns (Santa Fe or Annapolis), New College of Florida (Sarasota).

Oberlin is a classic LAC with a world class conservatory. There isn’t another school quite like it. St Johns is the Great Books school, utterly unique. New College provides an intense intellectual environment with beachside hammocks.

15

@intparent Yeah I’m okay with McGill or my state flagship. I feel good about hopefully getting into one of these schools though. I’m actually in the midst of a gap year and this is my second year going through the college app process. Last year, however, I had no idea what I wanted, so I made the last minute decision to take a gap year and reapply to schools this year. Last year, I was accepted to UMich (EA), Georgetown (Deferred EA, Accepted RD), Cornell (RD), NYU (RD), Yale (RD), USC, Cambridge. I was rejected from UVA and Princeton. And I’m hoping to major in Classics, Philosophy, or Comparative Lit. I’m very much a humanities guy :smiley:

@gardenstategal Does Tufts have the “intellectual” vibe? My college counselor recommended I look at Tufts and Boston College.

Well, I guess I will be looking at Reed! Does anyone know much about Haverford, Swarthmore, and Davidson?

16

What are you doing during your gap year? That will figure into your application.

17

@takacatboy What you are really looking for is a particular social climate which is often labelled “intellectual”.

18

Swat definitely has the vibe (my kid’s top 4 were Swat, UChicago, Carleton, Mudd – as I said, she got into all and picked Mudd).

19

Ah… lol. No.

20

Yes, I think Tufts does have an intellectual vibe. I know students who were looking at Vassar and Reed and the other schools mentioned here and who chose Tufts and are happy.

I really like Haverford and think it might interest you. Small, tight community, ability to take classes at other excellent schools, easy access to Philly. You can visit this one at Swat at the same time.

I think BC is a great school but probably not the vibe you’re seeking. If you can visit, do. You will know your own gut better than anyone here!4