<p>I've wanted to go to Oberlin since sophomore year, but I still want to research other colleges in case this doesn't work out. I want to go somewhere:</p>
<p>-in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio or Michigan
-LAC
-good English department
-kind of hippie-ish</p>
<p>I've looked at Kenyon, but it's just so darn expensive! Help me out? I'm especially interested in Illinois and Michigan schools.</p>
<p>Kenyon's still worth applying to, if you like it. Your FA package might make it more affordable than other colleges. (I've had friends for whom going to an Ivy was cheaper than going to a state school).</p>
<p>Other schools that have come up in the context of hippie Midwestern LAC's include Grinnell (in Iowa), and Kalamazoo College (Michigan), which I don't know much about, other than it sends a lot of student on to Fulbrights/Peace Corps. Also outside of your area is Carleton and Macalester, which are probably worth a visit, even though they are in Minnesota.</p>
<p>I would second Grinnell. Also Earlham is worth a look even though it's in Indiana and therefore outside your preferred area.</p>
<p>Beloit, which is ten miles into Wisconsin just north of Illinois has exactly the kind of ambience I think you are looking for and a very well regarded English program. It has a beautiful campus, too. Last weekend I ran into my niece and her best friend while taking a walk. My niece just finished her freshman year at Macalester, and her friend did the same at Beloit, and both are very happy with their schools and are multiply pierced, if that helps. Beloit also has a lower tuition than Oberlin or Kenyon and good financial and scholarship aid.</p>
<p>My son is going to Kalamazoo next year and I have visited. Seemed like a very laid back student body.</p>
<p>You definitely should still look into Kenyon. Kenyon gave me a grant of $32000 and I am only paying $8000 a year to attend. Way cheaper than public schools. And oh, Kenyon is definitely committed in granting access to qualified kids regardless of their financial background. </p>
<p><a href="http://campaign.kenyon.edu/x2396.xml%5B/url%5D">http://campaign.kenyon.edu/x2396.xml</a></p>
<p>Kalamazoo would be a good choice in Michigan and about the only LAC in Michigan that would have any real cross-over appeal with Oberlin applicants. In Indiana, Earlham is the obvious school that appeals to the same type of student. In Ohio, you may want to look at Wooster (a school that many on this board hold in high regard) and Hiram (which, for some reason, is basically ignored). In Illinois, a couple of choices come to mind -- though they really aren't that hippie-ish -- Lake Forest and Knox. And, as someone else mentioned, just across the border is Beloit.</p>
<p>Expanding one state west, two choices to look at in Iowa is Grinnell and Cornell College.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>