<p>Does this school exist - without worrying about prestige - those schools that deliver a top-notch academic experience with small classes, great professors, lots of intelligent discussion among students, lots of interactions with professors inside and outside the classroom, the ability to balance work and fun, lots of extracurriculars that are accessible to all, lots of speakers, concerts art exhibits and other events, where there's collaboration rather than competition, where you don't have to get all A's, 800's and write a major symphony to get in, where there is diversity of race and class (and integration - which is harder to find), where kids are open-minded, and a wide range of people with differing political, religious and other views or preferences feel comfortable and accepted, where students care about their community, politics and want to make a difference in the world, where students are happy to be there, where graduates have top choices in graduate schools or jobs, ...</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a "perfect" university/college, just as there is no such thing as a "perfect" job, a "perfect" boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse, a "perfect" store, or a "perfect" anything. If you can approach the selection process acknowledging this, you will have a much better, happier, and successful outcome.</p>
<p>Every school has its pluses and minuses, which vary from individual to individual. You need to list your desires in terms of "dealbreakers" (if the school doesn't have each and every one of these items, you won't go), and "negotiables". Then consider each school and weigh the negotiables against each other.</p>
<p>This is not a precise process. Gut feeling when you step onto a college is important too.</p>
<p>Yes I realize this, and looking for the perfect college is not how my D is approaching her search. I was just curious about which colleges people thought came closest to this ideal ...</p>
<p>So you want a liberal arts style classroom, with the power of a major research university w/o prestige and open to the international community?</p>
<p>Um... I don't think there's a college even close to that. There are colleges to fit 2-3 of what you want, but not all, not even close to all...</p>
<p>Holy Grail University ??</p>
<p>It also depends on what you mean by certain of your criteria. For example - "lots of extracurriculars": Which ones are important to your d? My d is a dancer. A school could have 500 clubs, and 50 Division I sports teams, but if there aren't enough dance opportunities, she'd turn it down in a heartbeat. Your criteria are too vague even to approach giving a response.</p>
<p>Yet - this is how all admissions officers describe their colleges at info sessions! And, these are the ingredients that make for a really great college experience (I think). I'm not asking because I'm looking for the best school for my daughter (we have some ideas on that based on her explicit requirements). I know that there is no school that is perfect across the board; I'm just wondering, in general, which schools really are doing a terrific job in coming close to this ideal. And it can be a prestigious school - just not limited to that.</p>
<p>Your description sounds a lot like Oberlin to me. Wesleyan too.</p>
<p>Oberlin I agree. Carleton and Macalester too.</p>
<p>Swarthmore comes to mind. Possibly Rice and the Claremont colleges.</p>
<p>I think you need all 800's and A's to get into Swarthmore...</p>
<p>^^ and Wesleyan (if you mean the one in CT).</p>
<p>i would have to agree and say carleton (i am bias). I agree that Oberlin and Wesleyan come close but in regard to both institutions- there is essentially no political diversity</p>
<p>what small college does, IYO?</p>
<p>Tufts could possibly fit, but still no cake walk to get into</p>
<p>I think Rice comes close.</p>
<p>The Claremont Colleges, as said, are (speaking of them as a whole) very, very close. There's a wide range of admission standards, and almost everything else on the list holds true. Diversity is "iffy"...the consortium is quite racially diverse compared to many peer institutions, but still not representative. There's okay economic diversity, I believe...not stellar, not non-existent...honestly, I can only roughly guess because it's just not addressed. Geographic diversity as well as diversity of interests/beliefs are both alive and well, and I think that the value of these gets too often overlooked. Everything else, *in my experience<a href="very%20key%20qualification">/i</a>, has been true.</p>
<p>But like the OP points out...most schools seem to plug this entire list in their info sessions. It's hardly a unique set of ideals. You'll find at least one student at every institution in America, be it public, private, residential, commuter, or online, who will be able to paint his school as the perfect fit based on the given list.</p>
<p>it sounds like Rice to me.</p>
<p>Smith and Mount Holyoke offer much of what you describe but for women only--so men in significant numbers would be mostly missing. Especially MountHolyoke has a very diverse but "integrated" student body.</p>
<p>Read Colleges that Change Lives by Loren Pope, or go to <a href="http://www.ctcl.com%5B/url%5D">www.ctcl.com</a>.</p>
<p>The schools listed there fulfill most of the criteria.</p>