Seconding Clark In Massachusetts. Super strong in psychology, urban, right vibe. Check out program where you can get a free master’s degree. Wheaton is conservative and does not seem to fit.
Are you sure you have the right Wheaton? You might be thinking Illinois. The Mass school is near Providence, Boston, and Worcester (30-50 mins to all 3) and according to Niche it’s ranked #172 out of 1700 for liberal student body.
You are correct about Wheaton in Illinois which is Christian and hugely conservative.
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Wesleyan (Connecticut)
No merit, but ticks other boxes
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I first thought of University of Puget Sound and Macalester and saw they were both already on your list. Maybe Seattle Pacific?
Seattle University, DePaul. Lewis & Clark is suburban vs urban and nothing within walking distance. UPS isn’t what I would call urban either. DePaul had more true diversity than most, if not all the schools we toured. Macalester is a lovely school.
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Apologies, I thought you meant Wheaton in MA. I’d say that Wheaton is not conservative and music is a pretty important there. I believe their last President was a cellist.
Lots to love about Bard but the peaceful, bucolic setting is anything but urban or suburban. Annandale-on-Hudson only has the students as its population, since the post office serves the campus but the hamlet of Red Hook has a whopping 6200 residents.
Look at Skidmore. Saratoga Springs is a small city with a very vibrant downtown. As mentioned previously, Clark would be a great option. Union College is a bit heavy into Greek life but it isn’t the driving force of the campus, based on our experience but others tend to disagree. Franklin & Marshall might be worth a look, too. It was in D20’s top 3.
Look at the website Colleges that Change Lives (Clark is on there- great school, as are St. Olaf, Puget Sound and Wooster.) Colleges That Change Lives – Changing Lives. One Student At A Time. (ctcl.org)
For some reason University of Vermont popped into my head.
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Aside from “no South”, I immediately thought of Loyola New Orleans as a very close match as well. New Orleans isn’t really the “South” as most people conceive of it though…it’s an open, accepting, artistic, liberal oasis in the region.
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Bates. It’s in a small city in the metro area of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. There ar plenty of restaurants and shopping, as well as parks, bowling and a roller rink. The ice cream store near campus gives away tubs of ice cream when students go home for the summer. There’s even a dive bar that upperclassmen frequent. Lewiston is 40 minutes from the excellent city of Portland and the airport, which has excellent connections. No Greek Life, no rah rah culture, though plenty of school pride and yes, there are athletes. My D is a 2020 grad and had zero interest in sports. She loved her time there.
Bates offers a minor in education, but there are a number of students who are able to create that major or easily combine it with other majors. The college works very closely with the local schools and students are easily able to spend significant time in classrooms, especially at the middle school, which is next to campus. Educational studies | Education | Bates College
I seem to recall my daughter telling me of a student who essentially spent a semester in a Lewiston school, but you could ask the college what options they offer for more classroom experience.
Psychology is excellent at Bates. Not much more to say about that. There are a number of musical offerings. I was always super impressed with the quality of musicians at the school. Politics, yes. Lots of ways to get involved. Fantastic study abroad offerings and a high percentage of students participate.
The foreign languages offered at Bates are taught to the highest standard. My D started a difficult language as a sophomore and became so proficient in it that she won an award.
It’s a really great school and we felt it was money well spent.
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F&M and Bates are need based aid only, no merit, so probably won’t check the financial box for this family. Skidmore gives some competitive merit aid, including for musicians, but is probably not large enough (as best I recall, it was around $10k, though I could be wrong) to get this into this family’s comfort zone. Lawrence University in Appleton, WI is great jazz, and open to non-Conservatory students studying music and performing with ensembles, plus gives 1/2 tuition merit and is in a smaller city, so could check those boxes, though not sure if it offers an elementary ed program.
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Seconding Lawrence University. They have an elementary education teacher certification program as well as the excellent music programs as stated above.
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How about Eugene Lang College, which is part of The New School in NYC. It has a great psychology program and also TNS has a school of Jazz where he could take classes. Very urban, no sports at all.
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Yes. Wheaton in Mass. it’s liberal (per niche at least) and 50 minutes lor less from 3 cities. Providence, Worcester, and Boston.
Not Wheaton in Illinois which is a Christian school and very conservative.
Thx
If applying to schools with a BM degree program make sure that a non-BM student and/or non-music major will still have access to teachers and performance opportunities at the level desired. Sometimes the best opportunities go to the BM students, but not always.
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TCNJ is great for education in NJ.
My concern would be that at a true “small LAC,” it will be hard to find critical mass in all of his areas of interest. Puget Sound was one of the first that came to my mind, though.
U of Denver has around 5500 undergrads - not LAC-sized, but not huge. They have a jazz program in the music school - a minor or secondary major in music is available by audition - and a pretty good jazz scene in the city of Denver, which is easily accessible via public transit. They have strength in International Relations and a good variety of foreign languages, supplemented by online/hybrid options with international partner institutions. They have a graduate school of education, with an integrated undergrad/grad program leading to a credential as an option. There’s a major in journalism, as well as a minor. They give merit, and the Pioneer Leadership Program - an honors cohort program - is worth a look.
UOP in CA is also strong in music and education, and gives generous merit, but Stockton, CA may not be the kind of “urban” he has in mind.
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Surprised to see Wheaton suggested to a kid looking for urban. Sure if you have a car you can be in Boston in 45 minutes, but how many kids have cars? I don’t think there’s a train station in Norton.
OP did not say urban. He said urban or suburban, not rural. And Wheaton is actually by far closest to Providence although also less than an hour to Worcester and Boston.
It’s a suggestion just as others have given…so they can look at it.
Other people suggested St Olaf, Wooster, Hobart….also good choices but no criticism from you on geography ?? 
I’m not familiar with those schools and don’t know about those locations so I didn’t comment on them. I only comment on schools that I have some familiarity with.