<p>St. John’s College, if an intense intellectual environment is desired.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Perhaps because it was insufficiently liberal and unpretentious.</p>
<p>While in the Northeast, I’d suggest taking a look at Drew in NJ.</p>
<p>One sub-category of liberal is socially liberal vs. politically liberal.
They often go hand-in-hand, but with a clear culture of one or the other at a particular school. In a nutshell, drugs and sex vs. spartan political activism.
I’m not going to name names (subjective anyway). But something to pay attention to.
As an aside, re: Quaker schools, I was a bit taken aback at Haverford’s honor code. I get the academic honor code. Not much different from many schools. It was the behavioral honor code that bothered me. Having the obligation to police each other and to risk dismissal if you didn’t report each other just struck me as creepy.
“1984” and “Brave New World” forgotten.</p>
<p>William & Mary is a moderate, down to Earth LAC-type school you should check out.</p>
<p>I’d throw my Alma mater, Linfield College in Oregon, up on the list. I felt like the place was pretty blue-collar as far as liberal arts colleges go. My sister goes to Willamette University about a half-hour down the road, and I felt that my school definitely was the less pretentious and preppy of the two.</p>
<p>Ursinus College.</p>
<p>I have to fifth (?) the recommendation for Carleton
The school defines itself by its self-effacing, intellectual, and ridiculously happy student body.</p>
<p>You may want to check out these short videos:</p>
<p>Collin Hazlett - a freshman:
[Carleton</a> College: Admissions: Collin Hazlett '12](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/people/hazlettc/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/people/hazlettc/)
“A sense of humor is a big thing at Carleton”
“A mix of extreme academics and playfulness”
“People take their learning very seriously but not themselves”</p>
<p>Liz Evison - a junior with a few more experiences under her belt:
[Carleton</a> College: Admissions: Liz Evison '10](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/people/evisonl/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/people/evisonl/)
“We’re all fun people”
“The squirrels here are definitely underated”</p>
<p>Sooner or later, every school that is supposed to be LAC according to the Carnegie experts will be listed in this thread. :)</p>
<p>Looks like the previous responders have mentioned just about every school in “Colleges That Change Lives” - I highly recommend the book to the OP, in the meantime, I’ll ditto Wooster and add Juniata…</p>
<p>Another vote for Wooster here. Good luck.</p>
<p>We did a tour very similar to the one you’re planning. Same goals. D is very anti pretensious. She likes down to earth humble fun people who don’t take themselves too seriously. She didn’t like any LAC we visited enough to consider it. </p>
<p>It should be noted that Evergreen is VERY cool, but very avant garde. A dream school for us boomers who thought we were hippies. I would have gone there in a heartbeat. But a bit overboard in the hipper than thou department for D. </p>
<p>Puget Sound is a beautiful squeaky clean campus with scrubbed kids. It seemed a little too idyllic. </p>
<p>She ended up in the Honors program at the third or fourth (I can’t ever keep track) tier state school. She loves it. All the honors kids could have gone to more prestigious schools, but they just like being among lots and lots of different types of students.</p>
<p>For me, the selection criteria is too ill-defined. More specificity would help. </p>
<p>And I can only say “wow” to the suggestion someone made to cut out ALL schools in the Northeast. In one fell swoop? Geez.</p>
<p>I agree with Xiggi that every LAC is gonna end up on this thread based on the “criteria” described.</p>
<p>Earlham, Beloit, and Lawrence.</p>
<p>Try Middlebury. Evergreen has an icky student body.</p>
<p>Try Middlebury. Evergreen has an icky student body</p>
<p>As compared to * Middlebury*?
</p>
<p>[Op-Ed:</a> Tuition increases don’t help students - Opinions](<a href=“http://media.www.middleburycampus.com/media/storage/paper446/news/2007/04/18/Opinions/OpEd-Tuition.Increases.Dont.Help.Students-2847464.shtml]Op-Ed:”>http://media.www.middleburycampus.com/media/storage/paper446/news/2007/04/18/Opinions/OpEd-Tuition.Increases.Dont.Help.Students-2847464.shtml)</p>
<p>The way I look at this is from a slant of over 4 years. When my son was a junior in HS, he began to look at the states for college. He spent every summer in New Hampshire at a music school and most of his friends there were from the east coast. In his last summer in NH, we visited a few schools in the region that had some music in their curriculum: Williams and Bard. He picked these schools to visit because they were interested in him. He set up appointments with the faculty in the spring and we set out to visit in August. From the visits, he learned that he wasn’t interested in Williams and that he liked Bard. I then sent him to visit one school in the Midwest that he had his eyes on, Lawrence. He came back saying this was the one. We visited USC and UCSB college of creative studies in my “home” state of CA. He ended up applying to them. In the end, the visit he made (I didn’t) to Appleton, Wi was enough to tip the board in favor of Lawrence when all the acceptances came in. He had visited universities, LACs, east coast, west coast and midwest. In the process, he found a place that nurtured him and where he could slip and fall, change majors, change life course and pick himself up without my knowledge and set it all straight. He grew and changed. So when I hear the title of colleges that change lives, I think I understand. There is something to it or maybe he was just lucky.</p>
<p>This may be too far in the liberal/nonpretentious direction, but what about Hampshire College?</p>
<p>[Hampshire</a> College](<a href=“http://www.hampshire.edu/]Hampshire”>http://www.hampshire.edu/)</p>
<p>This may be too far in the liberal/nonpretentious direction</p>
<p>^^ this
;)</p>
<p>However
I have heard good things about * Camp Hamp *</p>
<p>My son’s best friend will be attending Chapman U. in Orange, CA next year. He’s a very bright, creative, quirky kid (facial hair, earring, tight jeans, leather jacket) and felt like he fit right in there. They are giving him a spectacular merit scholarship (he is NMF).</p>