Political Atmosphere

<p>I've been looking at colleges and noticed that most of the good colleges are fairly liberal. I'm personally a libertarian/conservative. The only really good conservative colleges I have found are Washington and Lee and Notre Dame. Most conservative colleges seem to run along the lines of Oral Roberts or Bob Jones. I want a college that could be described as conservative/moderate or at least as having a large conservative population. Also, I cannot stand a college, liberal or conservative, that is not open to other views. What are some conservative colleges where I wouldn't have to sacrifice a decent education for conservative views?</p>

<p>" I cannot stand a college, liberal or conservative, that is not open to other views." Really?</p>

<p>I think most big schools have enough people that you can have whichever political views you want and it doesn’t matter too much. There might be some views that are dominant one way or the other (usually liberal though because it is a college campus) but usually there’s a College Republican club of some sort and you’ll find like-minded people for sure at any large school. Most big schools are open to all views, I’d say…and I go to a pretty liberal school for the most part.</p>

<p>Avoid DC, California, and NYC and you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding other conservatives.</p>

<p>I agree with RoxSox.</p>

<p>For what it’s worth though, I believe Dartmouth is a bit more libertarian/classically liberal-leaning.</p>

<p>As long as you go to a school that isn’t overwhelmingly one thing, you’ll find people like yourself, especially if it’s a big one.</p>

<p>From Princeton Review’s “Most Conservative Students” ranking:
3. Texas A&M
5. Air Force Academy
7. Merchant Marine Academy
9. Brigham Young
13. West Point
14. Southern Methodists
15. Pepperdine
16. Wheaton
17. Baylor
18. Coast Guard Academy</p>

<p>I would also add Clemson to that list. Look to the big southern schools, where you’ll certainly find many conservatives.</p>

<p>Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of schools that are overwhelmingly conservative; US colleges in general tend to be pretty liberal. But most schools seem to have a range and are open to other views. Almost every college has a college Republican club so you should be able to find other conservatives to talk to. Just think about it this way: if you go to an accepting liberal school, your views won’t be attacked but they will be challenged, so you’ll have a really great chance to grow as a person! I’m super liberal but I’m hoping to go to a school with a decent number of conservatives because I really like talking to people who disagree with me, so try to think about taking advantage of that opportunity in college. Good luck with your search!! :)</p>

<p>Big state schools in conservative states would be your best bet.</p>

<p>My small, regional state school was a focal point of the Texas Chicano movement in the 70’s and 80’s. The school news paper tends to be liberal, but its been my experience that most students who feel compelled to express their opinion tend to be moderate to conservative.</p>

<p>My small private LAC was predominantly liberal - however, the Republican club there was MUCH larger than the Democrats club, and thus more active. My religion courses also had a lot of conservative Catholic students in them, and even though the profs were often liberal, they did an excellent job of keeping things respectful and hearing both sides. </p>

<p>If you really want a school that is open to all views, a large public school will be your best bet because you will be exposed to such a diverse population of students. You will easily find like-minded friends, but will also get to hear other opinions from your classmates. Political clubs (and most other clubs) will be larger and more active as well.</p>

<p>Honestly, I go to Brown which is supposed to be ultra-leftist, and I know plenty of conservatives / libertarians. As long as you don’t feel oppressed by the idea of political correctness, I think you’ll be fine pretty much anywhere</p>

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wat</p>

<p>maplesurrup - yea PC is such a great force of evil, why it’s here i’ll put blame on the man</p>

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<p>In general, the college student age demographic tends to be more left leaning (especially on some social issues like gay marriage) than the general population, so it is not a surprise that many college environments tend to be more left leaning (especially on those social issues) than non-college environments.</p>

<p>Just go to a big public school. Even if it leans one way or the other, it won’t matter cuz there are so many other people. </p>

<p>And by the way, libertarian does not equal conservative.</p>