I’m a senior and am very interested in going to a small liberal arts college with good music and environmental programs. I am having trouble deciding where I want to go. Even though I am committed to going to a small liberal arts college, all the ones I have visited so far have seemed to be filled with upperclass kids who are a little less down-to-earth. I want to have a good education but I also want to feel like I am apart of the community and enjoy being on campus. Any advice?
What are your stats in terms of grades/gpa, test scores, ECs?
Have you look at St. Olaf? Great music reputation and down to earth students.
Liberal arts colleges are typically private. Private schools are typically expensive. Wealthy people are typically better able to afford expensive things. So you should not be surprised to find that most LACs enroll a lot of upperclass kids.
Some liberal arts colleges are public, with relatively low in-state tuition. It ls likely that public LACs, in general, have more socioeconomic diversity than private LACs. Here’s a list: http://coplac.org/members/
However, there are also downsides to public LACs:
- Your choices may be limited. Chances are that your state has no more than one public LAC. Many states have none.
- You could always apply to public LACs in other states, but then you would likely be subject to high out-of-state tuition rates. The cost to attend an out-of-state public LAC could be comparable to the cost of a private LAC.
- The most selective and prestigious LACs are private, not public. According to the USNWR National Liberal Arts College rankings, the highest-ranked public LACs are St Mary's College of Maryland (#96) and New College of Florida (#101).
I have a 4.3 GPA and 1300 SAT. I have orchestra, volunteering, a job and internship, etc.
What state are you in? SUNY Geneseo has a good reputation; it’s the public liberal arts school of the SUNY system. We’ve looked at about 30 LACs in the northeast. Most are how you describe them for the reasons Corbett listed.
Look at some LACs in PA. Juniata, Allegheny, Susquehanna, Messiah, and try to visit.
They will probably all give some merit, and need based aid if you qualify income wise.
Run the net price calculator and see if the costs are affordable for your family.
I have heard that Beloit, Earlham, Knox and College of Wooster are pretty down-to-earth, but of course you will alwyas find kids with money at private schools. In my experience there are unpretentious kids with money and pretentious kids without money. It just depends on how they grew up
Research the LAC’s that meet 100% of demonstrated need as they are not full of upper class students - plenty of upper class students are down to earth, but that’s a separate discussion…
You sound to me as if you would like the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Yes, very down to earth students and outstanding music program. You are correct - private liberal arts colleges will have a lot of students from higher income families who have often gone to private or boarding schools.
St Olaf’s and Lawrence are LACs known for their outstanding music programs and good merit aid if that matters to you.
Are you interested in women’s colleges? They tend to be very diverse.
Yes I am! I have been seriously considering Scripps and Smith. I also have been looking into Lawrence
I am not sure if diverse translates into “down to earth” but if you think it does -here is a list of the most diverse LA schools
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/campus-ethnic-diversity
I wanted to add that my tone might not come across in the above post -I am not trying to sound snarky.
@veruca, not familiar with USNWR’s list, but diverse should correlate to “down to our collective Earth”.
University of Vermont is very diverse and a great public school, although a tad expensive. St. Lawrence in NY is good too.
“Even though I am committed to going to a small liberal arts college, all the ones I have visited so far have seemed to be filled with upperclass kids who are a little less down-to-earth.”
This sentence sounded a lot like one of the issues which my daughter just dealt with (she was looking at LACs in New England and small universities in Canada).
Do you have a geographic preference or restrictions?
I generally am looking in the West because it’s closer to where I live but I really am not oppose to going somewhere on the east coast if the school is right for me. Has your daughter made her decision yet?
I second Lawrence as potentially a good fit. Music is very much central to the campus culture; academics are strong too; and the student body is friendly and down-to-earth. I encourage you to visit if you can, and see if you feel at home with the vibe.
You might also think about U of Rochester - it’s a University, but it’s small enough to have many of the positive attributes of a LAC, and the music opportunities are excellent (lessons through Eastman and etc). I think it has the down-to-earth quality you’re looking for. Bard could have potential as well (another LAC with a music conservatory) but I don’t know if it would make the “down to earth” cut or not. Ithaca College could be a good safety, as could Chapman.
My D is having a good experience at Scripps, and finding challenge musically with the chamber choir, but I don’t know as much about the instrumental music side of the music department. Maybe listen to the orchestra recordings and see what you think: http://www.jointmusicprogram.org/orchestra/recent-recordings
Whitman is another top-notch but down-to-earth LAC. I’ve never looked into their music department, but just based on the website it sounds reasonably promising, and they’re definitely strong on the Environmental side. (There’s even a degree in “Environmental Humanities,” as well as Environmental Studies and several programs blending Environmental Studies with social sciences.)
These economic profiles can be a helpful tool for comparing demographics: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/lawrence-university-of-wisconsin (You can search for any college from there.)
Good luck!
I agree Whitman has a lot of you are looking for (student body and envronmental program) though I’m not personally familiar with their music department. Their theater department is top notch! But that doesn’t really help you 
The main thing with Whitman is that you would have to be comfortable being a bit regionally isolated. My daughtter likes it a lot, it’s high on her list.
Also for west coast consider Puget Sound- great music department and student body definitely down to earth. Great vibe. They have an Environemntal Policy and Decision Making (interdisciplinary) major.