<p>I’m Roman Catholic and Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, Bard and Hampshire College are all on my list. Did I forgot to mention Ithaca College too? I don’t mind the liberal setting, but I thought slumom’s list is what the OP had in mine. The OP can beg to differ and say not for me. I also think those schools are way to easy for the OP and he/she can get into way better schools. I think Bowdoin was an excellent choice for the OP. The top LAC’s may be for them. Also, the OP never stated he/she was conservative. I do think a smaller LAC will be better for this particular person. :)</p>
<p>I would suggest looking at liberal arts colleges in general, though research into individual schools is obviously required. As it happens, my school, Whitman College seems to meet most of your preferences.</p>
<p>I think you’re describing about half the colleges in the Midwest.</p>
<p>WHITMAN! WHITMAN! WHITMAN! Whitman is the BEST college for you.</p>
<p>from the website: </p>
<p>Whitman is a nationally recognized, highly selective, residential liberal arts college. Since becoming a college in 1882, Whitman has a history of graduating ethical, unpretentious leaders. The tree-lined campus is home to an intellectually dynamic, diverse, active and supportive community. Students find a balance at Whitman between challenging academics and developing meaningful and enduring personal relationships through an involved campus community. Our 91 percent graduation rate is evidence that our students value the Whitman balance.</p>
<p>Having a balanced of reach/match/safety is critical; however, it’s okay to start with a favorite and build up or down from there. I’d take a look at Williams: seems to have everything on your wishlist.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with the Whitman suggestion!</p>
<p>Visit to make sure what you think you want is really what you want</p>
<p>Haverford, Vassar and Swarthmore. Not really isolated but fit otherwise. Colgate?</p>
<p>you are PERFECT for Carleton College.
Please check it out and message me with any questions!</p>
<p>Swarthmore, Haverford, Wesleyan, Vassar, Oberlin, Bowdoin, Claremont McKenna, Pomona</p>
<p>If you’re a woman, Barnard seems like it would be great if you want an urban environment with tons of opportunities.</p>
<p>It’s very small (about 500 per graduating class) but you’ll still have access to a larger university and all of new york cty. Also, there is excellent academic advising (from what I hear) and close relationship with professors. Plus, with access to classes at Columbia political science is great becuase of the amazing and notable professors. Again, it’s a women’s school so this obviously doesn’t apply if you’re male.</p>
<p>P.S. I’m class of 2013 at Barnard.</p>
<p>I agree, Carleton College is a great fit too.</p>
<p>Well it’s not extremely small, and it’s not really known for a philosophical bent, but other than that, Rice seems to fit the bill. We may be known more for architecture/music/bioscience/engineering/baseball, but the humanities department is no slouch.</p>
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<p>Hamilton offers a lot of what you’re looking for. Serious academics in a beautiful insular setting. If you’re attracted to Hamilton, then you might like Middlebury, Bowdoin, Williams, Mt. Holyoke and Kenyon as well.</p>
<p>Colgate is probably a good option.</p>
<p>Occidental, Bowdoin</p>
<p>Some schools not mentioned:
Dartmouth (yes, it’s Ivy, but very like liberal arts)
Swarthmore
Bryn Mawr
The Claremonts (especially Scripps, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona)</p>
<p>I third Claremont mckenna and pomona.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m surprised by how many replies this thread has generated. Thank you all so much!</p>
<p>I’ve already looked at several of the colleges mentioned (Whitman and Swarthmore seem interesting, same goes for Reed, Colgate, and Pomona), and I’ll look through the rest of your suggestions. =)</p>
<p>In addition to the many LACs mentioned (which are all amazing schools by the way), I would definitely look at Rice University in Houston, Texas as well. I will try and elaborate how it meets your criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>extremely small – I wouldn’t not classify it as extremely small, but it is not big either. It is the second smallest of the national research universities, enrolling about 3200 undergraduates. Unlike many other prestigious universities like Duke, Berkeley, Michigan, Stanford, Harvard, etc., Rice focuses on undergraduate education… they do not have a large population of grad students.</p></li>
<li><p>preferably somewhat isolated from the outside world- I visited Rice and will be attending in the fall, and although it is located in a major city, it is a very peaceful/seperated campus. The hedges serve as a “fence” of the university, so it is hard for outsiders to trespass on campus. When I was on campus, I did not feel like I was in the city. One of the admissions reps told me that you can hear animals at a zoo nearby on certain nights; this emphasizes the serenity of the campus.</p></li>
<li><p>highly selective- Rice is very highly selective; this year, they only accepted 22 percent of the applicants. Rice is similar in selectivity as Cornell, Northwestern, WashU, Duke, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, and Vanderbilt.</p></li>
<li><p>plenty of one-on-one interaction with professors- yes, this is what it is known for. According to Rice’s pamphlet, 693 classes offered have a class size of 29 students or less. 240 of the classes have 2-9 students. The median class size is 14, and the student-faculty ratio is 5:1. This all translates into one-on-one interactions with professors. Students also tend to find that the professors are so welcoming that they can have lunch/dinner with them as well.</p></li>
<li><p>extremely accessible and open-minded professors- hopefully some of my explanation above answers this. I haven’t taken any classes at Rice yet, so I cannot answer this with any more depth.</p></li>
<li><p>meaningful discussion in class- Rice students tend to be the “intellectual” types (at the same time, it appears they have the work hard/play hard attitude; they don’t study all the time). They appear to be more interested in acquiring/refining knowledge than on treating their education as pre-professional education. When I stayed overnight at Rice before deciding upon it, I had some interesting intellectual conversations with the fellow prospective students.</p></li>
<li><p>a “philosophical” bent- see explanation above</p></li>
<li><p>doesn’t necessarily have to have a wide selection of majors/courses- Rice does have a wide selection anyway, although not as much as bigger universities</p></li>
<li><p>prepares me for life, not a specific career- yep… that is what Rice appears to be. Rice is not a pre-professional school.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>However, I will warn you that Rice tends to be more of a science and engineering oriented school. However, I heard that programs in languages, humanities, and social sciences are also top-notch. You will get an excellent education here no matter what you study; that is why I picked it.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about Rice, feel free to PM me or post on the Rice University thread.</p>