I strongly second the Reed suggestion- it attracts many highly intelligent students who also apply to U of Chicago type schools- It has the core LA curriculum, and it also requires students to write a thesis paper- much like the U of Texas Honors program.
http://www.reed.edu/about_reed/
This report shows where Reed graduates stands in relation to graduates from the most rigorous U’s and colleges in acceptance to PhD/ Doctoral programs:
Undergraduate Origins of Doctoral Degrees http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html
Reed ranks 4th behind only CalTech, Harvey Mudd and Swarthmore .
Very impressive for a not so well know LAC.