Nature and environment focused hippie colleges

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone! I’ve seen a lot of threads on here about hippy schools, but I guess my thread might be a little different. I may be wrong in assuming this, but based on the research I’ve done looking at colleges that others consider “hippy”, I’ve noticed that some schools are more “urban” hippy, while others are more naturey, if that makes sense. For example, I see Sarah Lawrence College considered hippy a lot, but it seems more the “urban” type. I’m the type who is more interested in “going back to nature” and environmental pursuits, rather than politics, but that is not to say I am not interested in politics! I’m also interested in social justice, but I suppose my main passion is environmental issues, and living a life that is led and inspired by nature.

Some of my goals/interests (whether realistic or not, that’s another story) are to make my own natural soaps/cleaners, possibly make my own organic clothes, growing my own food, off-grid self-sustainable lifestyle, etc. I am very spiritual but not really religious (I have an interest in Eastern religions like Buddhism and Taoism, also Native American religions, but I am not committed to any religion) so overly atheist-dominated schools are not really my cup of tea. Another goal of mine is to live in an eco village at some point.

Politically, I grew up in a heavily conservative Christian home, I attended a Christian university my first two years of college. I dropped out in early 2018 because I realized my personal belief system no longer matched up with the beliefs I grew up being taught. Since then, my beliefs and the way I understand the world have been evolving. Currently, on the political spectrum, I don’t like ascribing to any party, but I’d say I align closest with the Green Party. I am not ultra-liberal, but I’d say I’m definitely more liberal than conservative.

Some colleges I’ve been looking into that seem like good fits from what I’ve seen are Northland College, Green Mountain College (which is, sadly, shutting down), and Warren Wilson College. I love the idea that Warren Wilson is on a farm.

Preferably, I’d like to attend a school in the western half of the US (I’m from the PNW) but I would be completely up for the adventure of going anywhere in the states.

Also, I’d like to focus on smaller schools, with 5,000 or less students, but I’m flexible.

Thank you for putting up with my long introduction, looking forward to the responses!

2

Take a look at Lewis and Clark in Portland.

3

Check out College of the Atlantic or Evergreen U.

4

Unity College in Unity Maine https://www.unity.edu/
Marlboro in VT https://www.marlboro.edu/
Paul Smiths College https://www.paulsmiths.edu/
Quest University in Canada – https://questu.ca/

5

I was going to mention Unity College, also! Our firm designed some of their “green” dormitory buildings. They have a lot of environmental projects on campus.

6

Prescott college in Arizona

7

@bopper beat me to recommending the College of the Atlantic and Evergreen State. Both sound perfect for you.

Humboldt State (CA) and Whitman (WA) are worth a look too. The latter is a bit more selective and mainstream than some of the above schools. Humboldt State (and several other CSUs) should be fairly cheap for you since it participates in the Western Undergraduate Exchange.

https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php

8

Deep Springs.

9

DO I understand correctly that you are a transfer with two years completed? Or one?

10

Take a look at Reed!

11

Prescott College (already mentioned up-thread) is where the students displaced by the closure of Green Mountain college have been offered the chance to finish their degrees. If you like(d) Green Mountain and prefer the Western US, it seems like an obvious one to check out. Also agree with Evergreen State and Humboldt.

Another environmentally-focused school in the east is SUNY-ESF. I’m not sure it qualifies as “hippy” but it definitely specializes in environmental majors and pursuits; you’d have to check out whether the vibe seems like a fit. It only has about 1800 undergraduates, but it’s adjacent to the larger Syracuse University and has cross-registration and shared resources… which could either enhance or detract from the small-school setting depending on your point of view.

12

Eckerd

13

Suny new paltz, berkeley, UVM, and SUNY Binghamton.

14

Sarah Lawrence is not urban. The city is an easy train ride away but the school has plenty of greenery. And plenty of hippie-style students.

15

My S has similar colleges on his list, good luck on your search! Warren Wilson offered the most generous package, FYI.

16

Fairhaven College within Western Washington U might be appeal. If you are located in the west, you may also be eligible for reduced OOS tuition through the Western Undergraduate exchange.

https://fairhaven.wwu.edu

17

Soka University in CA

18

UC Santa Cruz is like an Ewok Village.

19

Eckerd has many green initiatives: eckerd.edu/green/. Some of last year’s Winter Term projects: eckerd.edu/internationaled/winter/ . There are a large number of reflective service learning trips during Spring Break. It is a very welcoming community.

20

New College of Florida has a fairly robust environmental science program and a lot of student-driven environmental projects that you sound like you’d really enjoy. Its campus is on the bay in Sarasota and there is a particular emphasis on marine environments and natural barriers, etc. if you’re interested in that. They do a lot of hands-on research in the environmental sciences, like field research trips, and it’s 15-20 minutes to MOTE marine labs.