<p>If New College of Florida appeals to you, then I would suggest you take a close look at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. There are many obvious similarities between the two schools, but St. Mary’s is larger (1,950 undergrads) and offers NCAA Division III women’s soccer.</p>
<p>Both schools are among the country’s top public liberal arts colleges. Both are independent “honors colleges” within their respective state university systems. They have similar US News rankings (St. Mary’s = #84 among national LACs, NCF = #94). Both have waterfront settings, and are known for sailing. Both seem to attract somewhat unconventional thinkers. </p>
<p>St. Mary’s, unlike NCF, has a [core</a> curriculum](<a href=“http://www.smcm.edu/about_corecurriculum.html]core”>http://www.smcm.edu/about_corecurriculum.html), but it doesn’t seem like a very traditional one. For example, one core curriculum requirement is that you take 4 units outside the classroom, e.g. in a study-abroad or community service program.</p>