<p>I think that even places like Swarthmore have mostly people who are very affluent. You’ll probably get way less economic diversity at private schools. You might want to visit Macalester. One of my friends was initially planning on attending Macalester but after she visited, she was disgusted and picked Tufts instead.</p>
<p>Macalester seems like a great fit. Williams would be good, but a reach. Bowdoin maybe. Some bigger schools that are strong on both poli sci and econ: HYPS, Chicago, Columbia, MIT (surprise!), Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota.</p>
<p>You impression of CMC is pretty far off. It is a powerhouse in the Social Sciences and is one the best LACs not only on the West Coast, but in the whole nation. Combining their expertise in the Social Sciences with the resources of the other Claremont colleges, your opportunities there are almost endless.</p>
<p>As far as Berkeley, it can be VERY cutthroat. It is a public institution but the students that attend are extremely smart, motivated, and ambitious which can lead to some of them sabotaging and undermining their classmates work.</p>
<p>I would advise you to look at Marlboro, Hampshire, Reed, Hendrix, Clark University, and the other colleges in the book Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope.</p>
<p>Reed meets your requirements except that it’s not laid-back; students are routinely stressed by the workload.</p>
<p>Many publications claim Reed has the hardest course load in the entire country, Ivies included.</p>
<p>Reed looks very interesting, especially their unofficial motto! Macalester also seems very good. This list gets longer and longer…</p>
<p>Are there any matches or safeties that you guys could suggest?</p>
<p>Without your (future) test scores, chancing is not so meaningful.</p>
<p>Georgetown might not be out-and-out liberal, but it certainly isn’t conservative, either. The college democrats group has a strong presence on campus, but I’d say the overall atmosphere is fairly moderate.</p>
<p>I didn’t want you to be scared away from Gtown thinking it was too conservative – it may not be as liberal as other top schools, but I’d say it still leans a bit to the left, politically.</p>
<p>Bowdoin or Holy Cross(near Boston).</p>
<p>Bump, any others?</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a safety school, you might want to try the University of Washington. I wouldn’t worry about it so much yet, because (1) we don’t know and you don’t know your future stats, and (2) your college preferences will probably change sometime in the next few years. Anyway, here is a collection of the recommendations:</p>
<p>Georgetow, Tufts, Claremont McKenna, American University, Syracuse, UChicago, Wellesley, Macalester, Haverford, Pomona, Swarthmore, Williams, Carleton, Kenyon, U of Washington, Reed, Bowdoin, Colleges That Change Lives colleges. </p>
<p>That’s a LOT.</p>
<p>Also just a note Wellesley doesn’t apply to me, I’m a guy.</p>
<p>also consider schools that have strong alumni connections in DC (schools in and close to DC), UVA and W&M fit this bill in my opinion, and have solid programs in your interests</p>
<p>and keep in mind that IR is really: history + econ + gov + languages</p>