<p>^^Maybe because Reed has zero varsity sports.</p>
<p>But Reed has eight varsity sports: men’s rugby, women’s rugby, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s ultimate frisbee, women’s ultimate frisbee, men’s basketball, and men’s squash. All compete with other schools (but not in the NCAA).</p>
<p>
[REED</a> VIRTUAL TOUR](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/apply/tour/index.html?events_on_campus/index.html~mainFrame]REED”>http://www.reed.edu/apply/tour/index.html?events_on_campus/index.html~mainFrame)</p>
<p>
[Reed</a> College | Sports Center | Sports Clubs](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/sports_center/sports_club_list.html]Reed”>http://www.reed.edu/sports_center/sports_club_list.html)</p>
<p>They are nonetheless eight varsity sports that compete with other schools. 
We’re using the same sources!</p>
<p>Oh, I just realized why I had to click to a different page from the Google search:</p>
<p>
[REED</a> VIRTUAL TOUR](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/apply/tour/index.html?events_on_campus/index.html~mainFrame]REED”>http://www.reed.edu/apply/tour/index.html?events_on_campus/index.html~mainFrame)</p>
<p>So Reed appears to contradict itself. I would go with “no varsity sports” because varsity usually implies a sports league and club-level teams still compete with other schools.</p>
<p>And the leagues are the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union, Greater Portland Soccer District League, Northwest Women’s Soccer Association, and the Portland Squash League.</p>
<p>No matter what they’re called, there are competitive intercollegiate sports at Reed. :)</p>
<p>Shrug. I point again to Reed’s own virtual tour. Certainly the culture IMPLIED by “varsity sports” is essentially the opposite of Reed’s.</p>
<p>Rereading, I see the OP’s “I would prefer division III athletics” so I take it all back. Sorry 'bout that.</p>
<p>Reed is one of my favorite schools in America, but I get the sense it is not what the OP wants. Whitman seems a better fit but is rather isolated. Macalester is another of my own favorites, but if Reed seems too uniformly progressive to you, then you might not go for Mac either.</p>
<p>Colorado College is a little bigger than either one and is probably a bit more of a political mix (though still predominantly liberal). It is in a city but also right at the foot of Pike’s Peak. The student body is very outdoorsy and athletic (D1 hockey, skiing and hiking, intramurals, etc.) I think the biology/life sciences there are quite good. However, you must be enthusiastic about the school’s unusual one-course-at-a-time “block plan” (which has some big advantages but is not for everyone). </p>
<p>If you can raise your reading score, you might have a shot at Dartmouth. Dartmouth is in a relatively isolated rural area but is much larger than these other schools. Very outdoorsy, athletic student body.</p>
<p>Sorry If my comments about Reed offended anyone.
I was trying to use Reed as an example of a higher-end liberal arts school and some of the like and dislikes I have about LACs in general.
I have nothing against Reed.</p>
<p>I know that most liberal arts schools are going to be liberal, hence liberal arts not conservative arts. Does anybody know what the political diversity at a slightly larger school, like MIT, Cal tech, or U of Chicago, is like compared to LACs in general.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you take a look at Davidson in North Carolina. It has wonderful academics, is located about 19 miles north of Charlotte, NC, but is also near some mountains and beaches. It meets 100% of need with no loans and it is on the conservative side for a liberal arts college. The only problem with it is that it has Division I cross country, but I don’t know if that’s a dealbreaker for you.</p>
<p>It is quite a distance, but you might like Cornell.</p>