Need help finding a good fit match and reach liberal arts colleges

College Search & Selection
1

Hi! I need some help finding match and reach liberal arts schools (planning on applying to an affordable in-state public as my safety).

A bit of a laundry list of stuff about me for context:
When I apply, my GPA will be around a 3.52UW, 4.20W (3.0, 3.3, 3.9, 3.9). I’m a full IB diploma candidate (HL english, history, and philosophy), but my course rigor freshman and sophomore years was pretty bad, and I had 2 C’s freshman and one C sophomore. I go to a large, competitive public magnet and I took a humanities class at an Ivy (w/ undergrads) this semester and received an A-. My SAT is a 1410 (780R, 630M). I spend a lot of time on my extracurriculars; I’m a varsity team captain, club founder/ pres, club vice-pres, the student admin of a peer tutoring department, committee chair or co-chair for multiple large fundraisers and events at my school, a regular volunteer with 3 local non-profits/ advocacy groups, a summer intern at one, was heavily involved in one relatively unique year-long international thing, and am a low-ranking election board official in my city. I’m ranked top 3% in my state for well-known(ish) academic competition, for which I did a project on a social justice issue. Most of my extracurriculars relate to social justice in some way. My letters of recommendation and essays should be really strong, and I generally do very well with interviews. I don’t have any “hooks”, and financial/ merit aid aren’t a big issue.

I’m interested in majoring in philosophy or government/ political science, but would like the option to minor, double major, or do a concentration in something relating to public policy, human rights, community engagement, development studies, non-profit work, or anything else conducive to learning about/ doing social justice work (though I guess any school with a decent internship program would work too?).

It’s really really important to me that the student body is fairly liberal and that academics are prioritized/ there is noticeable level of intellectual engagement on campus. I would really, really like to avoid greek life. I’m okay with going pretty much anywhere in the mid-atlantic, New England, or the mid west, but would like to avoid the south and the west coast (also rural areas, if possible). I also plan on going to grad school, though I’m not sure what for yet (probably law or a PhD).

Any suggestions would be really appreciated! I started my search a few weeks ago and am completely overwhelmed by the number/ variety of schools and could definitely use some input

2

Reach and match LACs with a rather liberal vibe in the NE/Mid-Atlantic/Midwest:

Reach:
Swarthmore
Haverford
Wellesley (women)
Vassar
Wesleyan
Smith (women)
Grinnell
Oberlin
Kenyon
Barnard (women)
Bryn Mawr (women)
Macalester
Bates
Skidmore

Match:
Connecticut College
Dickinson
Beloit
Franklin & Marshall
Bard
Earlham
Hampshire
Wheaton (MA)
Sarah Marshall (women)
Bennington

I think debate is a good thing, so i’ll list these too – they (probably) aren’t as liberal as those listed above – in case you decide to include a more balanced campus politically:

Reach:
Williams
Amherst
Middlebury
Bowdoin
Carleton
Hamilton
Colby
Colgate

Match:
Union
Denison (?)
Wooster (?)
St. Olaf
Lawrence
DePauw
Gettysburg
St. Lawrence (?)
Wabash (?)
Kalamazoo (?)

Question mark – not sure how liberal it is.

3

I think Swat, Amherst, Carleton, Williams. Bowdoin, Hamilton, and Middlebury are out of reach with a 3.5 GPA and 630 Math.

Are you female? Mount Holyoke might be a match. Beautiful campus, solid academics, part of a consortium with other colleges.

4

The 3.5/630 is going to make it difficult, but Tufts has an entire (separately endowed) college dedicated to Civic Life. They weigh it heavily in admissions. Strong essays and recommendations that show you are serious about civic engagement (and not just doing it as a check box to get into college) might give you a shot

https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/

Clark University is also known for civic engagement.

http://www2.clarku.edu/community/

As is UVM
http://www.uvm.edu/~lce/

Peace Corp participation is a good proxy for this. You can use the Washington Monthly ranking and sort on Peace Corp participation field.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017college-guide?ranking=2017-rankings-national-universities

5

If applicable, Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr would be good options. Haverford is a tough admit, but fit with the Quaker tradition and community matters, so the deep engagement in social justice issues could help. Oberlin, Kenyon (25% greek life) are likely reaches. Earlham would be a match, and sounds like a good fit, also Lawrence.

6

Congratulations on improving your academic performance! That is really the most important thing in your post and is essential to success once you get to college!

Smith and Mount Holyoke are great choices if you are female. As noted, they are members of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, U Mass Amherst, and Hampshire. Students can take some classes and use other resources, etc. at the other schools. The area is beautiful but urban enough there are things to do. Smith is immediately adjacent to Northampton, which I think a terrific college town.

https://www.fivecolleges.edu

I agree with Clark, and you might also look at Holy Cross, which would be a reasonable reach. Both are in Worcester, which is an improving city, and Boston is about an hour by commuter rail. Students probably wouldn’t go into Boston often, but it would be an option. Clark is excellent, and I think academics at HC are as good as anywhere.

Denison University is a good bet. In a small town, but close to Columbus, which at least for me (not a midwesterner) is a pretty big city.

You might also look at Macalester. It’s one of the absolutely best urban LACs. It’s strong in politics/government and as an international focus.

Good luck!

7

@prezbucky - Test your list against this rank (sort on Peace Corp participation). This proxy can help separate the “limousine liberals” from the more “hands on” liberals. This proxy is biased toward those that choose to “act globally” rather than “act locally” so it can miss some good schools.

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017college-guide?ranking=2017-rankings-national-universities-liberal-arts

8

This is incredibly helpful, thank you all so much!

9

@Mastadon

That’s a lot of info, thanks!

I consulted business insider’s list of the 20 most liberal student bodies (among LACs) and my own thoughts based on what i’ve heard in here. Hence all the question marks. But most LACs lean at least a little bit left, which makes guessing a bit less risky than if the desired political atmosphere had been the other direction.

10

I would definitely take a good look at Macalester and visit if you can.

11

Kalamazoo is fairly liberal–has a social justice center and long history of experiential learning which tends to attract liberal students.

12

Depauw mentioned above has a very high fraternity and sorority participation, so it may not be a good fit if you really want to avoid that.

13

I put it in the “less liberal” category. But i didn’t know it was W&L. :slight_smile:

14

Both Depauw and W&L are near the top of the lists of highest percentage in fraternities and sororities. Wabash is near the top of the list for fraternities.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-frats
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-sororities

15

Living in Indiana, we know a lot of kids at both Depauw and Wabash. Depauw does have something like 75% greek life participation BUT – from what we’ve heard from current students, there really is a place for everyone. We know a girl there, who is the opposite of the sorority stereotype in every way, and she found her greek life home and is very happy.

We also know a number of kids at Wabash and greek life there can be quite inclusive – the dorms hold freshman, but most/many students move into fraternity houses. As an 800+ all male school, greek life plays a big, but different role at Wabash, as we are told.

For folks interested in Depauw and Wabash, it could be worth investigating the role of greek life on campus to get a better understanding of what it means, as it does not seem to be only the stereotypical experience.

16

Bard and Sarah Lawrence might make good matches as well.

17

My son will be attending the University of Vermont. They have an excellent Liberal Arts School - the College of Arts and Sciences - within the larger university. My son’s stats are similar to yours and he got in with a $17,000 per year merit scholarship (highest available is $18,000). I think it would be a match for you. He is majoring in Global Studies (switched from History) after attending the Accepted Students Day and being very impressed with the presentation. It is a very liberal school. There is Greek life as an option but there are plenty of people that don’t participate.

18

@momof2boys65 Thank you for the info! It sounds like a great place, but do you know anything about the average class sizes for humanities and social science classes? I’m a little concerned that because it’s a university, the classes will be too large for me (I prefer about 20 students and under per class)

19

For your interests and stats, these might be good choices— all home to intellectually oriented and smart students, none too rural/remote, all with either no fraternities or very few, all with good government-poli sci/philosophy/social science programs, and all leaning left of center politically:

Macalester,
Skidmore,
Connecticut College,
Dickinson,
Brandeis,
Clark,
Wheaton (the one in MA, not IL),
Goucher

Something about the way you described yourself screamed “Clark” to me, so be sure to check that one out!

Brandeis has a strong social justice emphasis; it is a little larger than the other suggestions, but still smallish and with small classes.

If you don’t mind more unconventional peers and curricula, check out Sarah Lawrence and Hampshire.
If you don’t mind a few fraternities around, check out Muhlenberg.

If you would consider a more rural area, try Bard. Bard checks off your other boxes, and with your strength at interviewing, you could select their Immediate Decision application option—probably the coolest admissions method out there, where you attend a class and go to an interview, and then they tell you the decision the next day!

20

Mac is a reach, otherwise a good fit.