schools like Carleton, but not as selective?

<p>anyone know of any schools that have a vibe or spirit like Carleton, but without the selectivity (29pct)?</p>

<p>what is that spirit?</p>

<p>I have heard such words as a student body that is quirky, creative, nice.</p>

<p>no greek presence.</p>

<p>Operations wise - I have heard that the president tells ghost stories on halloween. there is a outdoor classroom with a giant blackboard. and an 800 acre arboretum. japanese garden and lakes and bridges.</p>

<p>and</p>

<p>accessible and interesting profs with good opportunities for undergrad research.</p>

<p>it has to have snow.</p>

<p>Grinnell seems like an obvious answer.</p>

<p>i'd suggest looking at macalaster, grinnell, earlham, beloit, and kalamazoo. all small liberal arts colleges whose students take pride in their quirkiness -- and (with the exception, perhaps, of grinnell, which has a deceivingly high acceptance rate) considerably less difficult to get into than carleton.</p>

<p>also, look through the carleton message boards. i'm sure you'll find plenty of info there.</p>

<p>ditto on Earlham and Beloit. To read more about these schools, they're both profiled in "Colleges That Change Lives," by Loren Pope.</p>

<p>Other CTCL schools that I think might be Carleton-esque are Clark U and Lawrence U.</p>

<p>On the more arty side, there's also Whitman, Lewis and Clark, and Oberlin.</p>

<p>i agree with grinnell. whitman also, but it has some greek presence. and not much snow.</p>

<p>I'd say Willamette. The Japanese Gardens are what made me think of it.</p>

<p>My son is also looking for a college similar to Carleton that has some merit aid . . . and computer science major.</p>

<p>As I mentioned before, a good number of colleges in "Colleges That Change Lives" are known to be Carletoneque and tend to be generous with merit aid.</p>

<p>Eckerd College (a CTCL school) has a comp sci major, as does Beloit, Earlham, and Sarah Lawrence. SLC is one of the most expensive schools in the nation, but seeing as the campus is 75% female, your son would probably be a hot commodity there. And yes, they do have computer science.</p>

<p>Another more selective school to consider would be Oberlin.</p>

<p>Denison has been generous with merit aid to CA students I know.</p>

<p>In addition to Macalester and Grinnell, I would say that you should take a look at Kenyon. Similar size, in Ohio, great profs... Similar-ish selectivity level as Carleton, though</p>

<p>College of Wooster (in Ohio).</p>

<p>Denison and Wooster, for sure. For undergrad research check this out:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.denison.edu/offices/provost/young_scholar_guidelines.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.denison.edu/offices/provost/young_scholar_guidelines.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(My son did that this summer.)</p>

<p>thanks for the inputs. Great places all. </p>

<p>comments on some:</p>

<p>grinnel - is the 45 pct accept rate really true for a nmbr 10 usnr college? postger at the top suggested it was decpetive. I would agree. wd you all think that an act of 24 and a wt'd 3.7 (w/ great ecs. recs, essay) wd get into grinnell?</p>

<p>for the denison research opportunity pointed to in the link....about how many do they dole out? </p>

<p>Denison - I really like how it is 850 acres ; compares favorably with C's 955. I notice there seems to be a sizable greek presence and I saw in other guides that there was a 'preppie' / emphasis on being well put together look. Not attributes that distinguish carleton.</p>

<p>Percentage of male undergrad students in fraternities:
25%
Percentage of female undergrad students in sororities:
30%</p>

<p>What Denison Students Say About...</p>

<p>Student Body
While "There are not a lot of atypical students on the extreme ends of 'different'" at Denison, students hasten to point out that "Denison does not solely consist of popped collars and Uggs. Those students just like to make themselves known." True, "Most students here are WASPy" and "generally affluent," and there are "a lot of athletes on campus, and fraternities and sororities are pretty big," but most "Kids are hardworking and usually friendly." Also, Denison is not without its "internationals, artsy types, and [even] the socially awkward." There's "even a small counterculture made up of environmentalists and hippies who live at the homestead and hang out at Bandersnatch." These people "are the minority, but there's a niche for them." As one student explains, "It's pretty easy to find a core group of friends."</p>

<p>wooster</p>

<p>there is some greek here and there seems to be a big emphasis on athletics (the picture at P Review showed some kids smeared in blue at a f ball game)</p>

<p>Percentage of male undergrad students in fraternities:
13%
Percentage of female undergrad students in sororities:
17%</p>

<p>i know we are picky. that is why I am asking you all.</p>

<p>joecollegedad</p>

<p>For the class of 2011, Grinnell's acceptance rate was 40.6% with a median ACT score of 31 and SAT 1360. Don't underestimate Grinnell based on their acceptance rate. The academics are first rate and the student body is full of very intelligent men and women If Grinnell wasn't located in rural Iowa, their number of applications would be greater and their acceptance rate would be much lower. Grinnell, Iowa is a place that is not for everybody, notwithstanding the academics, professors, facilities and opportunities. It's truly a top notch education.</p>

<p>joecollegedad: I believe I got a letter from the president of Denison where he mentioned that there were 150 kids on campus this summer for Young Scholars. I'll look around and see if I can find that. I'm fairly senile. ;)</p>

<p>As far as Greek goes, well, it's a mixed bag. In an attempt to eliminate the frats/sororities Denison got rid of the frat/sorority houses on campus years ago, and since ALL kids have to live on campus for all 4 years, that put an end to the residential Greek thing. The bad part of that though, is that the Greeks do still exist (sort of) but now they are in the dorms with everyone else - which might be annoying in that they seem to function more as cliques than anything else. However, it would be easy enough to avoid if a kid was willing to live in the dorms that have less of a partying reputation (i.e. substance free, quiet, honors, etc.).</p>

<p>I would describe the student body at Denison as mixed, but it does feel (and look) mid-western. So, yes, you get white kids, but perhaps a bit friendlier and more down to earth than some of the east coast city areas. I don't know, you'd have to assess that for yourself I guess.</p>

<p>joecollegedad -
Wooster is part of a consortium that allows employees' children to enroll at member colleges as the tuition benefit. Wooster tends to be preferred by prof's children - it is solid academically and not obnoxiously preppy. </p>

<p>Wooster is also the home to the Ohio Light Opera company - my son attended a G&S perfomance and and enjoyed it greatly.</p>

<p>I know a couple of kids that attend and really haven't heard any gripes.</p>

<p>ohio_mom, I like the opera thing. Is that a student run company (students doing the voice and the music ) or a town company? Any opportinities for students?</p>

<p>You might want to investigate Skidmore and Hampshire.</p>

<p>Check out Hendrix. Might be up your alley.</p>

<p>Bennington:
No Greeks
Creative, quirky, nice kids
600 acres
Definitely snow!
very accessible and interesting profs</p>