<p>I just posted this same question on the College Search forum but thought I'd try it on the Carleton and Macalester forums as well. My daughter and I just returned from visiting 3 schools in Minnesota; Macalester, St. Olaf, and Carleton. She really liked Macalester and Carleton, mainly because of the friendly feel of each of the campuses, along with the intelligent but rather laid back and generally interested in learning vibe. The size of each (slightly less than 2000) seemed right, and she liked both the more urban (but manageable) setting of Macalester along with the small town setting of Carleton. At this point, as a high school junior, she's not sure what she wants to major in, although I'm guessing it will be something related to history. Does anyone have suggestions about other schools similar to these two she might consider?</p>
<p>lotsofquestions, my son visited and applied to Earlham too, and he really liked its friendly student body. It's in Richmond, IN, which is not far from (IIRC) the Ohio border. </p>
<p>Also, I believe the Fiske Guide has a feature that gives other schools that are similar ("If you like X, you might also like Y, Z, A, B, and C.")</p>
<p>Grinnell would be a possibility.</p>
<p>For an intelligent..but laid back and very friendly student body your daughter may want to visit/consider Colorado College. In the beginning, my son was not very interested in Colorado College but at the last minute he decided to apply. Although he did not apply to Carleton or Macalester, Grinnell was one of his top choices. He was accepted at both Grinnell and Colorado College, but Grinnell was his top choice. He attended an accepted students visit at Colorado College and fell in love with the students. He described them as very intelligent but laid back and extremely friendly. He also found the students to be the perfect mix between schools like Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester and those at LACs in the east. He will attend Colorado College in the fall. I believe history is one of the most popular majors. Good luck to you and your daughter. I am exhausted from traveling from one end of the country to the other but I am so glad he took a chance on a school which intially was not on the top of his list.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds like me!! some of the schools i applied to (and the results, in case your're curious) were
carleton- WL
grinnell- WL
pomona- reject
haverford- reject
macalester- accepted
skidmore- WL
wesleyan- WL
CMC- WL</p>
<p>yea... i didn't have much luck but i'll be going to BC next year... definitely check out skidmore, wesleyan, haverford, pomona, and grinnell. middlebury would probably be a good choice too</p>
<p>Although highly competitive, Swarthmore and Pomona are attractive to people of this ilk (and academic prowess).</p>
<p>My son chose to go ED to Carleton, but the other schools on his list were Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Davidson, Bates, and Macalester.</p>
<p>My d is also a jr. Carleton is her first choice, but others she liked are Swarthmore, Amherst (a bit more "remote" from a major city, but 5 colleges makes up for some of that), and Wheaton (more likely acceptance). Also, as others have said - Grinnell is similar in lots of ways, Pomona similar other than location and remoteness. Others to check into- Hamilton (NY), Whitman (WA) and Reed (OR) and Claremont McKenna (CA)</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Oberlin would be a good choice, and Vassar too, even though it's not Midwestern. limner mentioned that the Fiske Guide had an overlap section and since my 2006 Fiske is sitting right by me, I thought I'd post what it had to say:</p>
<p>Overlaps for Carleton: Macalester, Williams, Brown, Harvard, Middlebury, and Swarthmore. </p>
<p>Overlaps for Macalester: Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, U Chicago, and Vassar.</p>
<p>Haverford!</p>
<p>I was deciding between Haverford and Carleton and ultimatley chose Haverford. I visited both, and loved both. A lot of people that are connected to Haverford have told me that Haverford has the advantage of being on the East Coast, BUT with a student body very similar to student bodies out in the midwest. People are friedly everywhere. </p>
<p>But, Grinnell most definitley.</p>
<p>bingle--When my daughter began her college search two years ago, Hampshire started off as her number one choice, for a variety of eccentric reasons. Then, somehow, Wesleyan moved to the front of the class, not long after which Haverford assumed the lead. This changing of the guard went on for awhile much to my confusion. Ultimately, she did not visit any of her early favorites, and is currently a freshman at Carleton.</p>
<p>I vote Haverford too! I visited both Haverford and Carleton, and found they shared a similar type of student–laid back and friendly, but serious about academics. In the end, I chose Haverford because of location, but I hear time and time again that students here also seriously considered Carleton. The Swat kids I interact with don’t always share this vibe, though, in my personal experience</p>
<p>If the small town vibe is attractive and being far from a major city is not a big negative, consider Whitman in Walla Walla, WA.</p>
<p>SMJ, my son is a Swattie and I think generally speaking, you’re right–Haverford has a rep for being more laid back, Swatties for being relentlessly driven. The two colleges look alike, have similar stats, have that Quaker je ne sais quois (sp?), and both have smart kids, but I don’t see a lot of mellow at Swat! Another high-ranking college that I hear is somewhat mellow is Pomona in beautiful southern Cali. Son’s friend did an exchange semester there and said the people were friendly (kids and profs), laid back, living their happy days in sunshine, etc. I asked, so how do you feel about coming to the rain/snow/intensity of the east, and he said, “There’s nothing like a Swarthmore class there–there’s a kind of roundness and depth to what you learn at Swat. Even if it just about kills you.” Oh, I also wanted to mention the Claremont Colleges, Harvey Mudd, etc., for being high ranking, possibly slightly mellow. (Harvey Mudd is probably not the best example of mellowness of that group!)</p>
<p>This thread is over three years old, so I’m pretty sure the OP’s D has made her decision - which is not to say the posts breathing new life into the thread have not been worthwhile. :)</p>
<p>Sunmachine is right. OP’s D ended up at Macalester.</p>
<p>My junior Carleton daughter was very attracted to the “small school in the midwest” vibe (she also liked the Haverford sensibility but rejected it based on it’s east coast locale). </p>
<p>Other schools on her list:</p>
<p>Grinnell
Beloit
Earlham
Kenyon
Oberlin</p>
<p>My other daughter goes to Pomona and while similarly laid back, the student body has a very different feel to me. Pomona does not have that midwestern “vibe” that my Carleton daughter craved (we are from SoCal). It’s still an awesome school though!</p>
<p>I would add still another vote for Haverford.</p>
<p>Guys, this thread is well over 3 years old. Let’s put it to rest. :)</p>
<p>Why end the thread if people keep popping up and showing an interest?</p>