<p>I'm a junior at a public high school in the midwest. I haven't taken the ACT or SAT yet. I have mostly A's and a couple B's. My GPA is around 3.9 unweighted. I'm gifted, white, liberal, and straight. I'm sort of nerdy but I'd like to steer clear of a homogeneous student body. I'm looking for a relatively small school (preferably under 7,000). I'd like for my school to be somewhat prestigious but still laid-back and enjoyable. I love learning, reading, and listening to music. So far every school I'm interested in seems to have an overwhelming student stereotype. I'm far from generic and am not looking for a "white bread" environment. I truly appreciate diversity. I've spent a lot of time researching schools online and would like to narrow down to my top ten or so to visit. If you know of any schools that seem to fit my list please let me know. These are the schools I have noticed so far: Lawrence University, Knox College, Lewis and Clark, University of Puget Sound, Reed, Macalester, Carleton, Skidmore. Comments and recommendations are more than welcome. Thanks!</p>
<p>Oberlin sounds like it would be a good fit…minus the whole being straight thing ;)</p>
<p>I’ve read that it can be unbearably liberal at times. Have you heard anything about that?</p>
<p>Oberlin does have a reputation for being extremely liberal - though I’ve heard that the intensity of it is dwindling as the years progress. This could be wrong, I don’t go to Oberlin. That is just what I have heard.</p>
<p>“Lawrence University, Knox College, Lewis and Clark, University of Puget Sound, Reed, Macalester, Carleton, Skidmore.”</p>
<p>These are all very fine schools, but you’d hardly call any of them known for their diversity of race, socio-economic class, or political leanings. You’d probably do better to explore the larger end of the 1,000-7,000 student spectrum (though, for more diversity, you might look at a place like Occidental.)</p>
<p>Interesting. I’ll definitely look into it. Thank you!</p>
<p>What about a place like Emory, which has fewer than 7,000 undergrads, and a very highly diverse student body in all three categories?</p>
<p>Emory wasn’t even on my radar, but it sounds like a really great school. I’ll check it out. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>I would suggest looking into Rice. It has a very diverse student body that is not pretentious, very integrated, with a mix of liberals and conservatives. There is no Greek system at Rice. Instead, there are residential colleges, which provides a welcoming, inclusive environment. In fact, it was just named #1 for Quality of Life by Princeton Review.</p>
<p>Also, I’m looking for schools that are intellectual but not pretentious. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Thanks! You read my mind. I really love Rice but I’m not sure if I am qualified for such a school. I plan on applying and I have visited with my older sister.</p>
<p>What about Wesleyan or Haverford?</p>
<p>bookworm – Rice’s admission is a holistic process. Showing interest, writing great essays, having interesting and unusual ECs, being from an under-represented state, etc. can outweigh less than stellar grades/scores.</p>
<p>I see that some of the schools that you listed are in the Pacific Northwest, so you might consider looking into Whitman. It’s small (~1,500 students) and is generally known for its intellectual, relaxed environment. While it is somewhat lacking in ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, I can attest to the fact there is a wide variety of interests among the student body and the atmosphere is generally welcoming, which I feel goes for most of the top LACs.</p>
<p>Other schools to consider could be the Claremont Colleges (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer) and perhaps some bigger private universities, as another poster suggested, such as George Washington University in DC.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m excited to look into all of the schools!</p>
<p>blackeyedsusan - what do you mean by a holistic process? i mean, don’t all schools admit by a holistic process?
haha sorry, it caught my attention because many other ppl who post on this site seem to place an emphasis on the things you said could be outweighed.</p>
<p>U Chicago, U Rochester, Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>oh_my – some schools use a holistic approach more than others. Rice is known to be one that is open to the uniqueness of each student, and when a student can add a new dimension to the school it will put more emphasis on those characteristics than on the more typical ones of GPA/scores. In contrast, some other schools might use the ECs, essays to choose between two equally qualified candidates.</p>
<p>"i mean, don’t all schools admit by a holistic process?</p>
<p>They all claim to (except a small number of state schools). The statistical evidence is that most don’t.</p>
<p>Clark University in Massachusetts, Fordham (might have more than 7000 undergrads total, but not on the main campus).</p>