If you would like an urban option, consider Eugene Lang College at New School in NYC. It’s sort of like Hampshire or Bennington on lower Fifth Avenue. I inferred from your original post that you wanted to get out of the city, though. There would be no shortage of Jewish students or community there.
Within 275 miles of NYC, I would think the best possibilities include Hampshire, Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, Eugene Lang, and Marlboro. There are other good possibilities (such as College of the Atlantic) if you want to travel farther than 275m from NYC.
These (and the other mentioned schools) are not all the same kind of “hippie college”.
Many colleges wind up with a contingent of stoners or tree-huggers … but they weren’t all founded as “alternative” schools. Hippies, jocks, and preppies coexist at a place like Colorado College. Reed seems to be as well known for intellectual intensity as it is for its drug culture. Warren Wilson is more exclusively a hippie college (or so it seems to me). An “alternative” agenda is baked into its program.
Everyone I’ve known who has gone to Sarah Lawrence has been far, far, more of a hipster than a hippie. In fact none of them were hippie in the slightest. SLC, while a very interesting place with interesting people, tends to draw a crowd who really want access to Manhattan. I don’t think that’s what you are looking for. Vassar would be much more your thing.
Alright. I’m okay with cities, just not NYC (I’m actually from a suburb of NYC in NJ)… it’s too much there. I find most other cities tolerable, though. Also, I checked Urban Dictionary (yes, really), and I would say I’m looking for something more “granola” than “hippie.” Their top entry for “hippie” states, “There is a stigma of drug abuse attached to the hippies that is prevalent to this day,” but the top entry for “granola” says, “The choice of not removing body hair and drug use are NOT characteristics that define granola people.”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=granola
Not sure if that changes any answers, but thought I’d put it out there.
It probably seems like I am just rambling at this point, but this is the clearest post I’ll probably write: My ideal college is probably the Reed College of the Northeast, IF it had a strong Jewish community, and was slightly less of a pressure cooker. My information about Reed comes exclusively from this thread and “The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges - 2015.”
Here are quotes that stood out to me about Reed:
- “If there’s a word to describe Reed College in a nutshell, it would undoubtedly be quirky.”
- “A small school…”
- “…beautiful campus…”
- “no sororities, fraternities, or football team…”
- “If you’re an open-minded intellectual who doesn’t like the prep or jock factor of many other selective schools, you will feel at home at Reed.”
- “…many students develop close relationships with their teachers. In fact, students tend to call their profs by their first names. 'My professors are interested in me both as a person and a student…”
- “…large lectures are uncommon.”
- “While undoubtedly free-spirited, Reed students are also extremely intellectual and focused students.”
- “…there are a lot of … crunchy-granola types…”
- “One student described her impression of the campus climate: ‘It’s true that Reedies do like to experiment, but and that can include drugs and alcohol. But I’ve never felt pressured to do anything - people respect your choices.’”
- “‘Reed is the friendliest place in the world if you’re vegetarian or vegan,’ a vegetarian student raved.”
- “…Portland’s funky, offbeat vibe…”
- “…It’s the perfect balance between freedom and structure, independence and rigor.”
THIS IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR.
Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Vassar would fit a lot of the descriptions above, within your geographic limits.
Why does your college have to be 275 miles from NYC? If Reed is a fit why not pursue it? You can’t have everything (vibe, fit, location, academic offerings) so what are you willing to give up?
Ir4550: So, Reed is not a fit for one big reason: No Jewish community. If it had the Jewish community, then I would agree with you. However, I think that I can compromise on most other things if I can get Jewish community and academic offerings. I get the sense that so far, Hampshire is the closest to the perfect school. It’s got some of the granola vibe, it has a Jewish community (at least I think it does. I’ll need to visit and investigate more), and it has stuff I’m interested in studying such as linguistics. And it’s within 275mi of NYC.
The purpose of this thread is to see what’s out there, so I can make the best choice (perhaps not a perfect choice), compromising where necessary.
I think Sarah Lawrence should also be at the top of your list. I don’t know enough people to go there to know if the vibe is exactly “granola,” but I do know that there are lots of liberal, environmentalist vegans and such. And it has a pretty strong Jewish community from what I can tell.
Lalalemma: Thanks. I think I need to visit it. I have heard mixed reviews about its personality. Some people are saying it’s more hipster than granola. This is why I need to visit.
Eckerd College has a very active Hillel and a wonderful Rabbi on campus. The Rabbi started an environmental dive club called Scubi Jew! The campus is located on a Boca Cieca Bay and about 10 minutes to downtown St. Petersburg. The relationship between mentor/professors and students is unique and life long My daughter still works on reasearch with her mentor and helps to train new students as lab assistants. The students are active with politics, environment and social justice. It is very much a “live and let live” accepting atmosphere. There is no Greek life. Lots of opportunities to study abroad for a semester, winter term, spring into summer term as well as spring service break trips with your professor and fellow students. Great merit and financial aid. PM if you have specific questions. I know of some alum in the NYC area and Eckerd frequently holds alum meetings and info sessions in your area. The fall visits are being scheduled now.
Even if Hampshire does not have an active Jewish community, UMass certainly ought to, and it is nearby. If you were willing to wander further away, New College of Florida sounds like a good fit for you. They are very small, but they have a Hillel chapter, also.
It doesn’t fit your distance criteria at all, but otherwise Pitzer would be worth looking at.
Have you talked about budget with your parents? Any limits on how much you can spend per year?
Honestly Brandeis has a very free-spirited, liberal, social-justicey vibe- at least I thought so when I visited. Not as hippyish as Hampshire or Bennington but obviously has a very active Jewish community.
SlitheyTove: I have not talked about it with my parents yet, but we are working with a group who is helping us with this. As of now, I think that they are in the process of figuring it out.
Qwerty568: If so, Brandeis sounds like a great choice. I was already planning on visiting in October, so we’ll see.
Portland itself certainly has a Jewish community. Although having grown up in Portland and from my experience I will say religions practiced in PDX tend toward the more liberal and less doctrinal–people tend to identify or segregate less by their religion than was my experiences elsewhere with both Catholics and Jews.