<p>So it seems that the more I try to narrow down my list, the more I find it expanding...yet nothing seems to fit. So I'm just going to ask which schools off my list you recommend based on a few very basic criteria of mine:</p>
<p>--good music and theater
--good anthropology
--a student body that is not cutthroat competitive.</p>
<p>I am beginning to think of ruling out the schools that have super-athletic reputations; it's just not me. I'm more of a hiker/rock climber/kayaker/get muddy type than a preppy.</p>
<p>I was actually leaning towards Beloit, even though it's the least competitive of the group, because of its anthropology department. However I don't know if it is enough for me; to be blunt I am pretty smart. Would someone like to reassure me that it is a good enough school? =)</p>
<p>I’d cut Conn College. From what my friends there say, it’s rather preppy and not very outdoorsy. </p>
<p>Other than that, all of those schools are, from what I know, pretty good for an outdoors-y type who wants a not very cut throat student body. Williams might have a kind of high percentage of athletes, but it is also pretty great for the outdoors, as far as I know.</p>
<p>I think theater/music might be a good way to make a cut, since those aren’t things all schools are strong at – are you sure these are all up to par there? For instance, I don’t really think of music/theater when I think of Colby or Hamilton (though I could be off base; maybe they have great programs).</p>
<p>I can’t comment on Beloit, as I know nothing about it, except that it isn’t, as you said, as competitive, and its SAT ranges are lower. I can say that none of the schools you have listed are cutthroat competitive. All the schools have similar academic environments (i.e. learning for the sake of learning, not focused on GPA), and all should have decent outdoors programs. Most of these schools should have decent anthropology programs as well (Bowdoin and Wesleyan programs seemed good upon glancing - check out each school’s anthro. site)</p>
<p>The preppiest schools on your list: Amherst, Bowdoin, Conn. College, Middlebury, and Williams… (Midd and Williams probably have the biggest “jock culture” of these, but you can avoid it if you want, I’m sure).</p>
<p>Hamilton, Oberlin, and Wesleyan are probably the least preppiest of your list. I know Wesleyan’s music and theater programs are excellent, including the second-oldest student-run theater organization in the country. </p>
<p>Brown seems a slight outlier, as it’s the only non-LAC, much bigger than the others, and it’s very urban, smack in the middle of Providence, RI. I’m sure it has excellent music and theater, however. </p>
<p>I would probably cut Brown and Conn. College for starters.</p>
<p>Top LAC’s tend to be strong in basic departments, so I would advise you not to decide based on a perceived strength of a department (until maybe you are deciding between two with relatively equal academic strength such as Bowdoin and Middlebury.) An interest in Anthropology could turn into International Studies with an Anthropology focus (which I know, for example, that Middlebury has) or something else, so don’t focus too narrowly. Middlebury also has great outdoor opportunities. I can’t say for sure, but I have often seen Middlebury mentioned as slightly less preppy than Williams and Amherst.</p>
<p>My daughter spent a couple weeks at Beloit and liked the people she met there who were students. She ruled it out because of its size. Be sure to visit while school is in session because it does appear to attract a very different type of student. The Beloit brochures seem to feature piercings and tattoos rather than the “beautiful people” most colleges highlight. That may not be an issue at all, but if it is, you will want to find out early.</p>