<p>ACT: 35
GPA: 3.8 (homeschooled)
SAT Subject tests: Chem 770, US History 800, Physics 780, Chinese 800</p>
<p>I like smaller schools/LACs that personalize learning. I would prefer more conservative schools that's relatively less wild (drinking, parties). I would like to major in cognitive science/neuroscience OR bio/chem as well. I know it's kind of hard to find a conservative LACs strong in science, but I hope to find one's that around that area.</p>
<p>It doesn't have to be an LAC, so you can recommend other universities as well.</p>
<p>So basically in order of importance:
Academic strength is a must
Conservative
LACs/Smaller schools
Strong in bio/chem/neuro</p>
<p>Location doesn't matter, and conserative socially would be nice. IE I wouldn't like a heavy-drinking school, a school based around parties - I want to learn at college, and get easily distracted by the environment, so I hope to go to a school with a quieter environment, in which the students prefer calmer types of entertainment (anything from sports to all music to dance)...</p>
<p>Ivies certainly within your range. If you want less distracting environment, then Dartmouth and Cornell give you that opportunity more than city schools. Dartmouth has a lac type environment. Think Williams or Davidson as well, for very strong lacs with a fairly conservative student body, albeit perhaps more starchly preppy than truly conservative. Although I wouldn't say it is "conservative," and perhaps too large for your tastes, students are serious and Cornell is especially strong in sciences and Chinese program one of nation's best. And, countering Keith Olbermann as a Cornellian, there is Ann Coulter...tho of course Bill Maher too... you sound as if you will do well wherever you go. Challenge yourself.</p>
<p>Davidson,William & Mary, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Carleton, Amherst. They are all conservative on the social scene. There isnt a good college that is conservative on the political scene.</p>
<p>Swish14. First of all, let me tell you that Hopkins has a fun social scene. As a parent, I have found that the school provides a great balance for the students. Believe me, there is a lot of fun to be had, if one wants to have fun.
Secondly, Hopkins seems very balanced, politically. There are professors of all sorts of opinion, and I have never, ever heard of one professor pushing an agenda. Remember, too, that Hopkins has ROTC on campus, which seems to function nicely amongst all political persuasions. This is quite an accomplishment, considering Hopkins strong political science and IR programs, both undergrad and SAIS. My child has taken many courses in both of these departments, and has never spoken about too left or right leaning agendas.
One of the fantastic things about Hopkins, in fact, is its balanced, well-rounded approach to education. </p>
<p>I think a good way to assess whether or not a school is balanced, politically, is to find out if an ROTC functions well on the campus. In many environments, it can not, and therefore, does not.</p>
<p>Penn and Princeton party just as much as Dartmouth. Penn is probably the worst fit you amongst the three. Its going to be difficult to find a conservative, quiet, LAC. I think Swarthmore or Chicago might be good fits.</p>
<p>Wesleyan in fact IS strong in science, by this point :D I'm not quite sure if it would work for the OP. Maybe. Obviosuly, we are not conservative politically. But we're also pretty liberal socially, ie. there's a "live and let live" philosphy throughout the student body, with the basic idea being "we won't judge you for not drinking/partying/etc. as long as you don't judege us for doing it."</p>
<p>That means that there are plenty of things to do on campus if you don't like drinking or huge parties (movies, performances, smaller dance parties that are dry, etc.). That said, there ARE also a number of parties, and most students do a mix of both kind of events, though, as I said, you don't have to. OP, does that sound ok to you or not? </p>
<p>Also, as far as I've heard Williams, at least, is a very "work hard, play hard" school, where there is a lot of drinking. They might have the same deal as Wes, with there being things to do if you don't party, but from what I know it's not quiet. </p>
<p>Of course, OTOH, LACs, almost all of the time, are nothing like a typical big state "party school," whehre there are huge parties every night (at all the LACs I know of, partying tends to be confined to the weekend) so it really depends on what scale you are using to define "quite." No one looking for a big party school would come to Wes or Williams either, because they're schools where acedemics ARE valued first among the students.</p>
<p>I think you're going to find some level of drinking at any school you decide to go to. You really cannot avoid that. However, some scenes are smaller than others, or they are easily avoidable. Remember that many colleges have substance/alochol free dorms or quiet dorms, and some of the colleges you are looking at do not have a forceful drinking atmosphere. I think any LAC or top uni you go to will have a drinking scene, but not necessarily one that would pressure you into drinking or one that compromises the entirety of the social scene.</p>
<p>Now, if we were talking about state unis, then we would be talking about something entirely different, but I wouldn't make your list so narrow by saying you want little to no drinking on campus. People do it, and its something you can easily avoid.</p>
<p>Tufts. Quite a bit of their drinking and partying takes place OFF campus, so that leaves a lot of places on the weekends for people to study. Of all the NESCAC colleges, Tufts probably has the smallest campus bubble.</p>