<p>please suggest schools for someone who is old-money boarding school LL Bean and Sperrys preppy, but not really into heavy-duty greek life, and looking for an intellectual atmosphere that is accepting of rather conservative views.
I quite liked Bowdoin and Amherst, although I couldn't say why, and I did not like Middlebury so much because it felt quite artsy, although again I couldn't exactly enunciate the reasons. I'd like a smaller LAC atmosphere.
Anyone have any suggestions? My stats are competitive, 2350 SATs, about a 3.8 GPA, but I'm really looking not only for selectivity but for schools that would "fit" me.</p>
<p>Duke if your are willing not to go LAC, Duke still has a mediam undergrad</p>
<p>some of these do have active greek scenes, but otherwise fit your criteria of smart, preppy, intellectual students and a smaller student body:
Trinity, Williams, Holy Cross, Colgate, Union, Davidson, Washington & Lee, Dartmouth, Elon, Boston College, Colby, Bucknell, Franklin & Marshall</p>
<p>thanks! I would rule out Holy Cross/BC because they're Catholic and heavily so and also because they're not exactly the kind of preppy I'm looking for. I'm not sure if the greek scenes at Colgate and Bucknell would be too much for me....I really don't want big greek life. I'd consider Dartmouth because it seems to have a very inclusive Greek scene and alot of other positives for me including multiple opportunities for study abroad though.</p>
<p>Echo Colby recommendation. </p>
<p>(huskem55, BC has 9000 undergrad - not exactly "small." The rest of your list looked good to me.)</p>
<p>I wasn't aware there were different "kinds" of preppy. Isn't college about meeting new people and having new experiences? Do you really want a school that is full of kids exactly like you?</p>
<p>William & Mary, Davidson, Wake Forest are worth investigating.</p>
<p>I would recommend Amherst, Bowdoin, and Middlebury.
Midd is not an artsy school--it is an outdoorsy, friendly, environmentally conscious, New England preppy, "beautiful people school." VASSAR and NYU are artsy schools, for goodness sake.</p>
<p>If you don't like overly oppressive Catholic atmospheres--HC admittedly does have one--do consider Boston College, which is affiliated with the Jesuits, the most liberal and scholarly Catholic order.</p>
<p>definitely Duke, one of the best in the nation.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna has a balance of Conservative and Liberal, some say it's more conservative than liberal.</p>
<p>Lafalum: Thanks! I actually liked Colby a lot and I believe it's a "match" school. As for the "kinds of preppy" I mean that HC and Boston College aren't preppy in the sense that I meant. And no, I don't want to go somewhere where ALL the kids are like me, but I'd like at least SOME of them to be like me.</p>
<p>kwu: I'm half Presbyterian and half Jewish, and neither parent really wants me to go to any sort of Catholic school simply because with the exception of Georgetown, they're overwhelmingly Catholic in population (BC is like 80 percent Catholic I think)</p>
<p>Thanks for the rest of the suggestions as well!</p>
<p>You want to be preppy without being Greeky and intellectual yet conservative? Sorry, I don't think there are enough people like that in the world to fill one campus!</p>
<p>So how about Georgetown?</p>
<p>Brigham Young?</p>
<p>. . . except maybe Georgetown, like MW mom says? Georgetown can be preppy without being Greeky and intellectual yet conservative only because its Catholic, but not really very Catholic.</p>
<p>And MWmom is either playing with you, or she's LDS and doing some proselytizing if she's trying to sell BYU to a Jewish / Presbyterian kid who's leery of a poor fit at a Catholic school! :-)</p>
<p>Colby is a match, but by no means a certainty in 2009. In addition to some of the other great suggestions, and in the interests of shoring up the match/safety portion of your list: Centre (Presbyterian affiliated, like Davidson); Muhlenberg (I never spell it right -- Lutheran affiliation, but with a large Jewish population); Dickinson; Rice (southwest preppy, highly selective, but the school is expanding and trying to diversify the student body, so worth a look); ;</p>
<p>What is it that turns you off about Greek life?</p>
<p>If the greek system isn't too much for you:
University of Virginia</p>
<p>I think Trinity sounds perfect for you</p>
<p>Lafayette has reduced their Greek participation, I think it's around 30%. Might be a match. What do you want to major in?</p>
<p>I should preface that I know nothing about "preppiness" when it comes to style and fashion and personality, but given your other qualifications, I think the University of Chicago is worth a look. There's a small sector of students from New England prep schools, but ask me what they wear or how preppy they are and I'll draw a blank.</p>
<p>Also look into Princeton as a good reach for you.</p>