<p>I'm a junior looking for small(ish) LAC. I'm not into the whole partying-drinking scene, can anyone recommend some schools for me? I have absolutely no idea what I plan to major in, so I am looking for a school with lots of room to explore careers and a strong study abroad program!</p>
<p>Any help is appreciated, thanks :)</p>
<p>Gettysburg. Look into it. About 2000 enrolled, pretty quiet, good study abroad program.</p>
<p>Swarthmore, Goucher, Kalamazoo, maybe some of the Seven Sisters if you’re female. I’m pretty sure Goucher and Kalamazoo have a pretty intensive study abroad focus.</p>
<p>To start, check out the Princeton Review’s “Most Popular Study Abroad Program” list of 20 schools.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how they compile this list (look for a methodology note somewhere); it may be from student surveys that are not always highly reliable. However, most of the schools on it are good LACs that may fit your other criteria. Trinity and Colgate are good but may be more into the frat/drinking/party scene than you like.</p>
<p>With respect to “lots of room to explore careers”: a LAC, by definition, does not have a strong pre-professional orientation. Some are better than others at helping students find internship opportunities. Some of these schools (and many other LACs not on the list) are in relatively isolated rural areas. The ones with better access to urban work opportunities would include Trinity, Goucher, Colorado College, Macalester, Loyola.</p>
<p>Gettysburg has a huge party/drinking scene, not sure if you were just kidding mtreyesx1…</p>
<p>And I would add Beloit and Middlebury</p>
<p>May want to read over students’ reviews at the web site students review.com to see what their experience has been.</p>
<p>Can we have an idea of your stats?</p>
<p>In general, you’ll have less drinking at schools that are more urban and place less emphasis on athletics and Greek life. Women’s colleges are a good place to look if you’re female, and I’d second Kalamazoo, Macalester, and Beloit and add Earlham, Juniata, and Haverford. Depending on your stats.</p>
<p>St. Olaf and Furman both immediately come to mind. I have been to both campuses several times and they have a quiet social life. (generally speaking). St. Olaf is a little bit of a larger LAC with approximately 3000 students. I also think Muhlenberg in PA would fit your profile.</p>
<p>To who ever mentioned Trinity, you have to be kidding me. Half the Trinity student body seems to have a weekly IV injection of booze. For a quieter social life, I’d look at Lawrence and Kalamazoo particularly, and depending on your stats, either to Haverford on the more selective end or Hanover in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>Some good suggestions here. Agreed that Gettysburg and Trinity will not fit the OP’s desired social scene. Middlebury is not known for being “quiet,” but after visiting overnight, I think it’s very possible to find that niche there.</p>
<p>Many excellent suggestions above, but, without stats, or even region of the country, hard to help.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Female, black, public school
GPA: 3.8-3.9 range, no class rank till senior year
Classes: IB history, IB english, IB math, IB chemistry, IB psychology, IB french
Haven’t taken ACT (30-33 range is what I am expecting)
ECs: volunteering, cheer (I don’t really have many ECs because I really only focus on cheer)</p>
<p>I don’t have a preference for location of country, although I do live in the Midwest. I would like something Midwest/Northeast, but it’s not an important factor. I love rural areas, but I wouldn’t mind something in a more suburban area. I don’t like big cities.</p>
<p>I am going to be applying for financial aid, but I don’t think I will be able to demonstrate “need”. I’m looking to apply at some extremely selective schools.</p>
<p>I loved Lehigh-and I thought it would be a great fit, but I’m really wary of the social scene there. I think I might end up going to med school, so I need a school with a pre-med program. I loved Franklin College of Switzerland as well, but they do not offer maths/sciences. I hope that helps!</p>
<p>I strongly suggest Haverford and Swarthmore. Not midwest but it seems to fit other criteria. Also maybe Carleton and Grinnell. But if you really want money, you should apply to some Ivies. the LACs are very generous but the Ivies just have more money.</p>
<p>^If you don’t demonstrate “need” and you absolutely cannot attend at full price, then don’t bother applying to Haverford, Swarthmore, or any Ivies other than HYP (Stanford is also generous with families who otherwise wouldn’t qualify). Most of the very selective schools don’t offer merit aid, but a few do (e.g. Duke, WashU).</p>
<p>Haverford, Yale, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin, Brandeis, Amherst, Vassar, Sara Lawrence, Mt. Holyoke</p>
<p>You would likely get offered a lot of merit aid at Muhlenberg, Franklin & Marshall, Ursinus and Goucher.</p>
<p>Check out Earlham in Richmond, Indiana and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Both are high quality privates at a low price (for private colleges). Neither are party schools. They offer good liberal arts educations. They have need-based and some merit aid. My husband, who is African American from Chicago, went to Calvin, and had an excellent education there.</p>
<p>You can be premed at virtually any college. You don’t need to be a pre med major or even major in biology or chemistry. You just need to take the courses required for med school and do well on your MCATs. For instance, I know a doctor who was a philosophy major, and I know another who majored in French.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions, I’m perusing through them right now!</p>
<p>I know that you don’t need a premed degree, but I would like to take classes in maths/sciences and some LACs I have looked at do not offer much support in those areas.</p>
<p>I’ll recommend Centre where you’ll probably get some merit aid based on test score, and based on your location is a decent fit in that regard (Danville, Kentucky). The social scene isn’t quite as rowdy as other southern LACs.</p>
<p>^^ Most LACs I’ve looked at have decent bio/chem curriculums, actually. Franklin College is a rare anomaly in not offering math/science at all.</p>
<p>Juniata has high acceptance rate to med schools from what I have read. Same with Ursinus.</p>