<p>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>Oberlin, Kenyon, Earlham, and Grinnell come to mind as midwestern comparables. Urban LACs are rare, though - Barnard is one.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Oberlin and Kenyon. Some other comparable schools I strongly reccomend are Earlham, Grinnell, Cornell College, and Knox. gadad is right, urban LACs are hard to find. One that immediatly comes to mind is Rhodes College in Memphis but it is worlds apart from the countercultural atmospheres of the colleges you seem to be interested in.</p>
<p>Hendrix in Conway, Arkansas is a hidden gem that I highly reccomend. It's a gorgeous, politically and socially liberal campus nestled in a rather conservative town just north of Little Rock.</p>
<p>Bowdoin might be what you're looking for</p>
<p>You've gotten some great suggestions already. If you want east coast suburban:</p>
<p>Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr (all female) are in gorgeous old close in suburbs of Phila with rail service to Phily, NY, etc.</p>
<p>Wellesley (all female) is in a very ritzy old suburb of Boston. Gorgeous.</p>
<p>Davidson is in an beatiful suburb of Charlotte, NC. It's the southern version of Carleton.</p>
<p>There are many more possibilites in PA, NY, and New England. Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Smith, Vasser, Hamilton, and so forth.</p>
<p>The West Coast versions are the Claremont Colleges in a distant suburb of Los Angeles: Pomona, Claremont-McKenna, Scripps (all women).</p>
<p>Really, all of these schools would offer what you liked about Carleton and Macalaster, to some degree.</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack, lotsofquestions, but what was your daughter's take on St. Olaf? Thanks!</p>
<p>Small Towns: </p>
<p>College of Wooster
Denison
Washington & Lee</p>
<p>Midsize Town:</p>
<p>Rollins</p>
<p>Urban:</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve (city center)
John Carroll (suburban)
University of Tampa (city center)
Otterbein (suburban)</p>
<p>I'd agree with some of the suggestions above but not with others. Claremont McK, Davidson, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Washington and Lee, for example, are great schools but really of a VERY different NON-academic tenor than Carleton and Mac. You didn't mention St. Olaf as finding its way into your daughter's heart. It's also a great school with some strong departmental offerings (vocal music, math, etc.) and shares the town of Northfield with Carleton, but is a much more conservative (Lutheran based) college experience. Was this a turn-off for her?</p>
<p>Given a sense of her orientation, I'd suggest first considering Grinnell, Oberlin and Kenyon in the Midwest, Pomona and possibly Reed out West, Wesleyan and possibly Haverford and Swat out East. Maybe a bit less compatible with the vibe and/or academics at Carleton and Mac, but certainly worth considering at this early stage of her search: Whitman, Colorado, Williams, Earlham. </p>
<p>The "intelligent but rather laid back and generally interested in learning vibe" your daughter found appealing probably best summarizes what draws people to Carleton. They visit, see a ridiculously happy and mutually supportive student body and that usually seals the deal. They love this place.</p>
<p>Rice also has a similar vibe to what your daughter liked -- "intelligent but rather laid back generally interested in learning vibe." It's not a LAC, but has a similar feel due to its close-knit size.</p>
<p>In response to Angry Dad and 1190, my daughter thought St. Olaf was a great college, but a bit too conservative/religious for her tastes. She is looking for some quirkiness and craziness, which she picked up on at Carleton and Macalester. At St. Olaf we'd made plans to meet for lunch with a junior music major who's an alum from our high school and she absolutely loves everything about St. Olaf. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some more thoughts about this. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, and please keep them coming!</p>
<p>Also look at Occidental. One of those "hidden gems".</p>
<p>
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I'd agree with some of the suggestions above but not with others. Claremont McK, Davidson, Wellesley, Bowdoin, and Washington and Lee, for example, are great schools but really of a VERY different NON-academic tenor than Carleton and Mac.
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</p>
<p>Fair enough. Although, in an initial run-thru, it's probably best to cast a wider net, especially if the questioner isn't extremely precise in defining what appealed about the schools visited.</p>
<p>"Laid back" covers a lot of ground. For example, I would consider Williams to be a pretty "laid back" school, although probably different than Carleton. Most LACs fall under the rough rubric of "laid back".</p>
<p>If I liked a visit to Carleton, I would add Grinnell as a "must-visit" school.</p>
<p>I really loved Carleton when I visited back in the day (it was my second or third choice), and also like the sound of Mac, for reasons similar to your D (quirkiness and laid back intellectualism in a small environment were like the #1 things I was looking for). Other schools I really liked, in no particular order, were (and these have some repeats from above, but that should tell you something): </p>
<p>Wesleyan (ended up being my first choice), Brown (not an LAC, which is a big reason it was not my top choice, but I still liked it a lot), Vassar, Pomona, Oberlin, Occidental, Skidmore, Reed (but this def. seemed less laid back, which bumped it down my list), Barnard (would have been a top contender if it weren’t all girls).</p>
<p>Some other schools that could work (again, some repeats for a reason): Swarthmore, (maybe not laid back enough), Haverford, Amherst, Middlebury (has a rep as less quirky, but a friend who loves it at Carleton, was also a big Mid fan), Grinnell, Kenyon, Pitzer, Goucher, Lewis+Clark, Colorado college. </p>
<p>If she’s also interested in going even more alternative than the schools she’s already looked at, maybe also Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Hampshire and Evergreen State.</p>
<p>Lawrence University in Appleton is right in the middle of a city of 70,000 though right on the banks of the Fox River so it has a city feel with cafes, restaurants and theater life and a country feel with rabbits hopping around campus and geese, mallards and sea gulls hovering over the water. An old mill is up river from the campus and has a New England feel. The feel of the campus from the students is definitely just plain friendly. I have visited a few of the classes and the students are involved, interact with professors. The professors know the students. I am visiting right now and has been an impressive visit.</p>
<p>Goucher is definitely worth looking at. Kalamazoo may be a good choice.</p>
<p>you should check out, as tulsadem pointed out, Cornell College in Mount Vernon Iowa. Cornell is unique in that it follows a block plan; student only take one course at a time for three and a half weeks. The student are all very academically motivated but also laid back - much like carleton. </p>
<p>Cornell has many accolades
The college has been named one of 40 colleges that change lives by Loren Pope,
and the new York times named it one of 20 stealth powerhouses in higher education
The Princeton review ranks it in the top 20 for professors are accessible, class discussion encouraged, and student happy win financial aid.</p>
<p>Grinnell
Dickinson
Conn Coll
Trinity
Skidmore
Bates
Franklin and Marshall
Pomona
Occidental
Swarthmore
Haverford</p>
<p>ummm...... theses ones are rural, but wonderful</p>
<p>Middlebury (where I'm going)
Colby
Hamilton
Keynon
Whitman
Williams</p>
<p>Some other possibilities in addition to those already mentioned: Lewis & Clark, Reed, (both in Portland, Oregon), Mills College, Beloit College, Wesleyan, Bard, and possibly Sarah Lawrence. Skidmore might also be worth a look.</p>
<p>If Carleton and Mac are reaches in the Twin Cities, maybe apply to Hamline as a safety.</p>