The two schools that my daughter is the most excited about, Brown and Williams, are both reaches.
Can you guys recommend some schools with similar vibes that she may be overlooking? She has some targets and safeties lined up, but thought I’d check here with the experts to make sure she isn’t overlooking one or more that might be a good fit and are not “reaches for everyone”.
In what respects do you find Brown and Williams very similar (other than admission selectivity and prestige)?
One is a LAC, the other is a research university.
One is in a small town, the other is in a city.
Since they seem rather different to me, it’s hard to recommend schools similar to both.
If you’re looking for other colleges in New England that are a bit less selective, have a look at Bates, Colby, Connecticut College, Holy Cross, or Trinity College.
I agree that they are rather different. I would start by reading about both and determining if you have a preference.
If it is Williams I would look into Dartmouth, Middlebury, Colgate, Colby, Bowdoin, Washington & Lee, Union and Lafayette in no particular order.
For Brown I would say Wesleyan, Vassar, Haverford, Oberlin, Bard, Bates, Hampshire, Reed, Swarthmore, Tufts and maybe Hamilton (which sits in a hard to describe middle ground between Williams and Brown so if you end up loving both it might make for an interesting alternative…).
@tk21769 She liked the vibe at both schools and the students that she met/came across (based on visits). I think she liked that the fact that people were serious about academics but also somewhat chill (her word)/down-to-earth/friendly. Also, I don’t think she is interested in a fraternity/sorority scene.
Bates and Holy Cross are both on her list as well. Colby is visiting her school, and I think she signed up to attend their presentation. Will have her check out the other two that you mentioned. Thanks!
@notigering Thank you!
She has Vassar, Hamilton, and Haverford on her list. Not sure if she knows about Wesleyan. I’ll mention it to her, as well as the others you suggested.
We’re not going to have time to visit all these, so she is going to have to rely on some You Tube virtual tours. 
Other schools to look at could be Dickinson, Gettysburgh, Whitman, Mount Holyoke and the University of Rochester.
@AlwaysLearn Talking about Brown and Wesleyan reminded me of “The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College” by Jacques Steinbeck (NY Times educational reporter) where both schools are featured. It’s a great book IMO.
“chill/down-to-earth/friendly”? Do these traits pop into anyone’s mind when they think of elite colleges in the Northeast? You might want to look a little harder at options in the South & Midwest.
Since Brown and Williams both appear among Kenyon’s overlap schools, the other colleges on Kenyon’s site, including Kenyon itself, would seem to represent excellent potential destinations: https://www.kenyon.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-statistics/. Wesleyan, Vassar and Hamilton are a few of the schools listed. Among schools not included, Connecticut College might be one to consider.
Fraternity-free colleges with a chill, down-to-earth, and friendly vibe:
Vassar
Bates
Skidmore
Clark
And many others
Having attended Williams and spent a lot of time at and around Brown, I can say these traits pop into my mind when I think of those two schools. The feeling is subjective, of course, and relative: Not as “chill” as, say, Chico State, but in their “tier” they’re both way over on the gentle end of the cutthroat spectrum.
Marv, even if you are right (which you might be, if you compare them only to other Northeast elites), the chillness/friendiness/down-to-earthiness of Brown & Williams are not at issue here. OP is asking which OTHER schools are chill/friendly/down-to-earth.
Have you looked at University of Rochester?
@moooop - you’re right, and seen that way, it’s more clear that your initial response was a derail.
OP: How about Vassar, Occidental, Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound, Kenyon, and Middlebury?
If lack of “cutthroat” is a criterion, how about schools with fewer pre-meds? (Of course, it helps if the student is not pre-med, and not in a major that pre-meds commonly choose.)
I’ve also heard from a lot of students that Rice is a friendly, cooperative-vibe kinda school.
Look into the Claremont Colleges in California, very down to earth but great academics. Pitzer might be a good fit and Sripps could be a good target school.
I’d second Rice and Rochester. Both seem to offer the combination of serious academics and chill/down-to-earth/friendly student culture. That holds true at Rochester, even for those in pre-med majors, from what I’ve observed.
Rice does indeed combine academic seriousness with a friendly, down-to-earth student body–a combination facilitated by the residential college system (and lack of a Greek scene).
The son of a friend of mine recently graduated from Brown with a degree in physics and philosophy. His final college decision came down to a choice between Rice and Brown; he found that these two schools had a similar vibe, one which he found very appealing.
Besides its being a rural LAC rather than an urban university, Williams strikes me as being considerably more sporty and more preppy than either Rice or Brown.
I don’t know why Williams is still described as “preppy”— a reputation from an earlier age, perhaps? Does that mean social type, clothing, or actual background? I would say none applies, as follows:
I. Social Type:
Now that my son is there and we visit it, both my husband and I commented to one another that the main social vibe on campus is much more nerdy than preppy! A bunch of very friendly nerds. Of course, all types exist there, but the nerd is most represented.
II. Clothing:
My husband also noted the clothing most people wear - very casual. T-shirts and sweat shirts with shorts or jeans, and lots of clothing with “Williams” on it— was the predominant look during all our visits so far.
III. Attendance at a prep school:
In terms of actual backgrounds, there are some kids who attended top boarding schools, but others hail from rural or inner city low income areas, and everything in between. The best part is that friendships cross these groups, thanks to the freshman “entry” (dorm) system that brings together 40 kids who are a microcosm of the college as a whole in terms of diverse backgrounds. As a parent, I am very happy with the diversity, which is adding an additional kind of education to the college experience!