<p>Are there any other universities (not LAC) similar to Brown/Wesleyan in curriculum and general atmosphere/campus life?</p>
<p>URochester has an open curriculum too (ish), but maybe not the same in terms of campus life.</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz has always struck me as laid back/quirky/intellectual (just from graduates I know)</p>
<p>Oberlin is quite quirky. Look at Hampshire as well.</p>
<p>Vassar, Grinnell...</p>
<p>Amherst & Hamilton are also open curriculum.</p>
<p>Williams distribution requirements are a joke, for example: Art, music, drama, or language. Haha. Just two of those -- no language requirement. Another example: math OR science. Practically an open curriculum. Not seen as quirky but no frats.</p>
<p>I strongly second Vassar and suggest Yale for different reasons.</p>
<p>Columbia/Barnard has very liberal atmospheres but Core requirements at Columbia and distribution requirements at Barnard are both really extensive.</p>
<p>Although the suggestions so far have been very good, most been LACs. There’s a reason for this: there are a lot more LACs that seem like Brown/Wes than there are unis (at least IMO). In fact, as someone whose first and second choices were Wes and Brown, I found no other unis I liked nearly as much, while there were a number of LACs I also loved. So, in some ways the answer to you question might be “no, there are not any unis that are really similar to Brown/Wes in both curriculum and atmosphere, not in the way that schools like Vassar and Oberlin are similar to Brown/Wes.” </p>
<p>However, on my list of “schools you might like if you like Wes” (which can be found here: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/407021-if-you-like-wes-you-might-also-want-consider.html)%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/407021-if-you-like-wes-you-might-also-want-consider.html)</a>, I did list some unis, and since you specifically asked about them, here are my thoughts about how some of those unis are like Wes and/or Brown in some ways:</p>
<p>Brandeis: Another small, liberal uni with an undergrad focus. Not quite as hippy/alternative, though. </p>
<p>Dartmouth: The other Ivy with a big undergrad focus. Known for being “preppier” than Brown or Wes, but I know people who say it’s pretty liberal and chill there. Different curriculum, though.</p>
<p>NYU Gallatin: Create your own major! Very open curriculum. The people I know there are all intellectual and quirky. Very different type of location, though. </p>
<p>Rice: Uni with undergrad focus, very intellectual. </p>
<p>Tufts: I know a lot of people who liked both Brown and Tufts. Engaged students at a uni with an undergrad focus. </p>
<p>UCBerkley: Known for being a liberal and intellectual for a state school. HUGE though, so will have a different overall feel.</p>
<p>UChicago: Similar quirky intellectual vibe. Very different academic structure, though (intense core). Same for Columbia.</p>
<p>University of Vermont: From what a friend there tells me, this place has a kind of laid back, hippish vibe. It’s much bigger though, so there will be tons more verity and a different overall feel. </p>
<p>Yale: From a random sampling of Wes students (ie. all the ones I’ve happened to talk to about this), Yale is the second most liked Ivy after Brown and Wes. I’m not entirely sure why, but there must be a reason. It comes of as more intellectual and artsy than Harvard or Princeton, I think, though I have no idea if that perception is actually justified. </p>
<p>As I said, none of these unis are as close to Brown/Wes overall as I think many LACs are, but if you are interested in bigger schools, these might be places to start looking.</p>
<p>I agree that UC Santa Cruz and URochester might be worth looking into too.</p>
<p>Tufts, Oberlin</p>
<p>Not too make too fine a point of semantics, isn't Wesleyan really more of an LAC than a university, even though it is technically called a university? Also, doesn't Wesleyan have distribution requirements?</p>
<p>I'm not knocking Wesleyan which is in fact one of my all time favorites; I'm just trying to understand why someone would love Wesleyan but not LACs in general.</p>
<p>momrath: Wes is an LAC more than a uni, it's true. It's possible, though, that the op likes Wes's general atmosphere but would perfer a uni. Or perhaps they like the presence of the few grad programs that Wes does have (which do make a bit of a difference, esp. in the sciences). Or perhaps they are willing to make an exception for Wes, which is larger than most LACs (though, OP, if that's the case, I think Oberlin is about the same size). </p>
<p>Or perhaps they already know about all of the wonderful LACs like Brown/Wes, and are just wondering about unis :D</p>
<p>OTOH, OP, if you weren't aware, do be sure to note that Wes feel much more like an LAC than a uni.</p>
<p>Thanks Weskid, And does Wesleyan have distribution requirements? </p>
<p>Another question, not related to the OP but for my own information does Wesleyan have a language proficiency requirement?</p>
<p>momrath: Wes has distribution "suggestions." Not required to graduate, though they are required to be eligible for honors. They are pretty easy, though, just three classes each in three catagories: arts/humanities, social sciences, science/math (and for each broad catagory you need to take classes in at least two different departments). And no launguge proficiency requirement (which I happen to love ;) )</p>