My ideal school

College Search & Selection
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<p>It isn’t true. The vast majority of Smith students are wonderful, supportive, and thoughtful. Students really look out for each other and help each other. Smith tends to be more of a liberal school, yet because students are open-minded and respectful of each other’s beliefs, those with more conservative viewpoints are comfortable. And the idea that Smith is a gay school is nuts. The majority of students are straight. </p>

<p>Northampton is a wonderful town with great shops and restaurants. Northampton has it’s quirky people, but so does NYC and many other places!</p>

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<p>Whitman College sounds like it might be a good match/safety school.</p>

<p>Population: 1,500. Undergrads only, since it’s an LAC.</p>

<p>Reputation: While the school has more of a reputation in the Pacific Northwest, I think it’s recognized nationally in academic circles. A large percentage of students go on to grad school, if that’s any indicator.</p>

<p>Student body: When I visited, it seemed like everyone knew and liked most everyone else. Also, lots of conversations going on about the reading in English, physics concepts etc.</p>

<p>Campus: Honestly, one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve seen. While it’s not an in-your-face kind of beauty, I really liked the balance between the natural setting and aesthetically pleasing architecture (for the most part).
With the abundant, well manicured greenery (3:1 tree to people ratio), the stream running through campus, the ducks, and the cute red brick buildings, I would consider it a gorgeous campus.</p>

<p>Proximity to city: While Walla Walla is no Seattle, students there say that there is so much to do on campus that they hardly notice the isolated location. Though to be fair, Walla Walla has an ample anount of small-town charm.</p>

<p>Weather: From what I can tell, Whitman definitely has 4 seasons. Fall is relatively mild (and worth it to see the leaves turn!). Winter can be harsh, but it’s not long and there’s not a whole lot of snow. Spring comes quickly and it’s nice to see the campus in bloom.</p>

<p>Social life: As stated by another poster, there are non-drinking kids everywhere. While there is a sizable drinking contingent at Whitman, no one will force you to drink, and after you find a group of non-drinking friends there are lots of other things to do on campus.</p>

<p>Relationship with professors: One of the big draws about Whitman when I was considering it was the fact that people seemed to really get along with professors. While part of it is a product of Whitman’s small size, I think that most of the professors there are genuinely nice people. Professors often have classes on the grass when the weather is nice, and more than a few students have been invited to a professor’s house for classes/cram sessions.</p>

<p>Core curriculum: Other than the year-long freshman core english class, there aren’t any specifically required classes. While there are a few distribution requirements, they can be fulfilled by a variety of different classes within the subject area, so it’s not especially restricting.</p>

<p>Political leaning: While definitely a liberal school, I think it’s more of a mainstream/middle of the road liberal as opposed to say, Bard or Hampshire liberal.</p>

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<p>Rice, Duke, William & Mary, Georgetown are all good matches for your requirements.</p>

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<p>I’d say Stanford is your ideal school. Although it has more than 7000 students it has roughly 7000 undergrads. (Don’t know if you wanted the cap on grad students or undergrad students). Stanford obviously has a great reputation that really can’t be beat. I’d say Stanford has an intellectual student body, one of the essays asked on the application was to write about your intellectual curiosity. As for Stanford students being movers and shakers, I’d say there is a certain entrepreneurial but not pre-professional per se, feel on campus. Stanford is absolutely gorgeous and is about an hour from SF and close to San Jose. In addition, due to the “Stanford Bubble”, there is constantly a lot to do on campus as well. Considering most of the other schools you listed are in the northeast or Midwest, I can tell you you’d find Stanford’s weather superior to most of the other schools on your list. As for the social life at Stanford, you can basically do what you want and people will respect you. Even though there are a significant number of drinkers at Stanford, it is not say, a Dartmouth, and one can definitely feel comfortable not drinking. I believe you’ll get close relationships with professors at nearly all the schools you listed there, so I really don’t feel I should discuss this issue. As for Stanford’s “liberalness” it is pretty liberal, but more lazy liberal than anything else. As with most top schools, the majority of the student body is liberal, and you’d find that at virtually every other school on your list. Of course, apply to other schools, but I’d say Stanford really fits what you’re looking for. Also, remember that I’m not biased at all… ;)</p>

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<p>I just left this reply to another person looking for safety schools, but have you tried any online matching services? They will give you a list of matching schools based on your criteria. I think myUsearch.com, petersons.com and collegeboard.org offer the best services.</p>

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<p>^^i like princeton review’s match service, too.</p>

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<p>Whitman is a wonderful school. The professors are there to teach and mentor students, and students have a lot of interactions with them. I don’t think there are any TAs. Whitman is a supportive place with excellent academics. Definitely worth considering.</p>