<p>Hmmm…some thoughts (not really helpful on cutting now, but, well, anyway): </p>
<p>–Of the schools you’ve listed, Wesleyan, Vassar and maybe Macalaster are probably the most liberal. You should visit them (or at least one) and decide if you think they’re too “crazy liberal” for you or not…by some people’s definitions they would be, but they aren’t, say, Bard or Hampshire. As a Wes student, I don’t think Wes as a whole is really crazy liberal, but YMMV. But definitely check them out, because all three fit your other criteria really well.</p>
<p>– I think visiting will help you narrow your list a lot. There’s a big difference between a school as (relatively) large as Harvard or Stamford and one as tiny as Haverford; there’s also a huge difference between a school located in NYC (Barnard) and ones in the cornfields of Iowa, even with a lot to do (Grinnell). You might decide you really like or don’t like all girls schools, etc, etc. Visiting will help you figure out what you like the best, and you’ll be able to narrow down from there. For example, if you end up loving the tiny school feel, you’ll probably cut most of the Universities on your list — or visa versa. </p>
<p>I don’t know if you’ve already got your visiting schedule planned, but if not, I’d suggest definitely making sure you hit at least one of the various kinds of schools here. IMO, its more important that you get a variety than hit up a bunch of the same schools — visiting, Wes, Harvard and Barnard will give you a better picture of what kind of environment you’re really attracted to than Harvard, Yale and Stamford. Obviously, the more you visit the better, because you never know which school will just click, but I’d suggest you try to hit up at least on of each of these:</p>
<p>–The most liberal schools (Wes, Vassar, Mac)
–The schools in cities (Mac, Barnard)
–The all girls schools (Duh)
–The more isolated schools (Grinnell, Williams, Dartmouth)
–The smallest schools (Haverford, Bryn Mawr)
–The Unis (Duh)</p>
<p>Again, sorry if the visit is all planned out, making this pointless, but that’s my 2 cents. I learned a lot about what I like just from visiting a couple LACs and Unis, even though none of them ended up on my final list. </p>
<p>– I’d say definitely cut Chicago. It’s a great school, but is both in a really cold climate and has a large core…it just isn’t nearly as a good a fit as the other schools you’ve listed. </p>
<p>–If you end up really liking some of the colder schools (ESP Mac and Carleton), try to visit in the winter or at least talk to some students about what the cold is really like. From talking to a friend who goes to Carleton, despite the fact that I loved the school, I’ve become really glad I didn’t go there. I think the cold would just make me miserable, so you should really consider if you’ll be able to handle it. </p>
<p>–Another (safer) school to consider, esp. if you end up liking smaller LACs and/or city schools, is Occidental in LA. It’s a really neat school and, along with Mac and Barnard, is one of the few LACs directly in a city.</p>