<p>I'm not even really looking for academic intensity. I just want critical thought to be a value held by most of the students on the campus. Also, cheap tuition is a bonus.</p>
<p>Columbia. A lot of liberal arts colleges. The latter are usually rather expensive, though.</p>
<p>I've heard Reed, St John's and Swarthmore are considered 'highly intellectual' colleges. Reed is definitely known for its academic intensity, too. St John's runs a purely Great Books programme; that might be a plus for you?</p>
<p>In addition to Chicago, would second Columbia as one of the colleges that left me with the impression of being "intellectual", in the sense that most of kids we met there were extremely well read and seemed to enjoy learning for the sake of learning. However, this definition of "intellectual" usually implies significant academic intensity. I don't think you will find the former without the latter, though the reverse is in principle possible.</p>
<p>P.S. "intellectual" without "academic intensity" usually equals "pretentious"</p>
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<p>"intellectual" without "academic intensity" usually equals "pretentious"</p>
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<p>This bears repeating!</p>
<p>I think you are going to get a sizable number of "intellectual" students at any college with a good academic reputation. Not every student at Harvard is an intellectual, but there are a hell of a lot of intellectual students there. Among the brand-name elite colleges, the only ones where I've heard any substantial repeated complaints about the lack of an intellectual environment are Stanford (where some people tend to hide their intellectual interests), Dartmouth, and Penn, although I also know that there are significant intellectual subcultures at all three schools. My daughter decided that Brown was not an intellectual environment, but you sure wouldn't be able to tell that from the kids I've seen go there.</p>
<p>That said, the other LACs often linked with Swarthmore and Reed as having an especially intellectual environment and culture are Pomona (and its sibling-school Harvey Mudd, if you swing the tech way) and Wellesley (if you swing the no-Y-chromosomes way). I think Haverford would probably qualify, too, and Wesleyan. Among my kids' friends, several who cared about this chose Vassar.</p>
<p>One of the most intellectual kids I know is a freshman at Toronto. That's a huge university, and it has plenty of non-intellectuals, but intellectual atmosphere mattered to her, and she did her homework, and that's what she chose, and she's pretty happy there. It used to be significantly cheaper than many American universities when the Canadian dollar was worth US$.80. At US$1.05, it's not such a bargain.</p>
<p>If you want cheap, though, you are probably going to have to look for honors colleges or similar programs at public universities in your state.</p>
<p>JHS,</p>
<p>Good reply, especially the honors college suggestion. And the ones that may appeal most are those honors colleges with a residential component.</p>
<p>I'll add Carleton.</p>
<p>I agree 100% re Carleton. I knew I was forgetting something in the midwest.</p>
<p>Although this is not its reputation, all the kids S knows at Williams are intellectuals. I'm sure the same is true for Amherst.</p>
<p>The women at Barnard are artsy and intellectual.</p>
<p>The same is true of students at Bard.</p>
<p>As JHS said, most academically intense schools have intellectual student bodies. LAC's don't have vocational majors so their slant is automatically a bit more intellectual (this is true of LAC-like colleges at unis like Columbia and Chicago.)</p>
<p>Although this is not its reputation, all the kids S knows at Williams are intellectuals. I'm sure the same is true for Amherst.</p>
<p>The women at Barnard are artsy and intellectual.</p>
<p>The same is true of students at Bard.</p>
<p>As JHS said, most academically intense schools have intellectual student bodies. LAC's don't have vocational majors so their slant is automatically a bit more intellectual (this is true of LAC-like colleges at unis like Columbia and Chicago.)</p>
<p>hgfhskdfkdfb</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful replies! Some colleges are out because they require Standardized tests I haven't taken (I figured 35 ACT 2230 SAT would be enough <em>brag brag</em>--haven't taken any subject tests), and it's a little late to catch up. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't procrastinated so much. I've only applied to UChicago and UW Madison so far. I'm familiar enough with Madison to know that its definitely got an intellectual niche and I'd be happy going there, but my ideal school's intellectual niche is campus wide.</p>
<p>Sorry for the somewhat unrelated scores mention, but I like to show off >_></p>
<p>I'll third Carleton. But not only for its similar intellectual and deeply academic vibe but also for the zany fun that permeates the campus ("brainy AND zany" to quote another poster).</p>
<p>Carleton does not require SAT II tests.</p>
<p>How about Vassar?</p>
<p>you can find that out on the website. carleton recommends but does not require sat subject tests.</p>
<p>I was wondering how intellectual Vassar is, not if it required SAT II's. I am more than capable of looking at a website, thanks.</p>
<p>okay then.</p>
<p>One of my friends is at Vassar and is not what I think of as a "Vassar type." He enjoys the school, and is quite smart, but not particularly intellectual in that for him, there's a distinct line between work and play, and he'd rather play than work. That's not to typify all Vassar students, but he's the one I know best.</p>
<p>The other Vassarians I know strike me as smart, interesting people, the kind of people who like to go into bookstores and chat over coffee. My impression is that their devotion to school isn't necessarily as strong as a Chicagoan's is, and my guess is that the intellectual vibes are more arts centered and more laid-back than Chicago's.</p>
<p>These impressions could be very off-target. As much as I like to help, I also know how problematic making blanket statements about a school can be. So in short, yes, I think Vassar could be a great place for a self-described intellectual, but I think it's a different kind of intellectual from a Chicago intellectual. Not that one is better than the other, but that the student feels and vibes are different.</p>