rorschachman

Wow! Thanks so much for all the fantastic information and opinions - I really don't know how I'd manage without you. I was glad to see that my post sparked some discussion as to what makes a college a "liberal arts college".

I understand that I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too (with regard to size of college), but I guess I'm just greedy. ;-)

On a related note, I know that I'm asking a lot to get generous financial aid at any of these great colleges. If it makes any difference, the "full-need" side of things is more important to me than the "needs blind" aspect - I'm probably about average (wealth wise), and am willing to pay a significant proportion of the fees.

teenageclichee is spot on in that my OP wasn't very clear - what matters to me is a sense of vibrancy, not size in itself (though I think that to a degree the two come together).

I'd already been looking at Rice, Tufts and the Claremont Colleges, which makes me confident that the rest of your suggestions will be good too. I looked at Washington&Lee, too, and I'm afraid it sounds a little sporty and "southern" for me. I realise that may seem narrow minded, but I want to spend the next four years in somewhere that I'd feel more culturally comfortable. WRT. the Claremont Colleges: at Amherst I felt that the college got rather "overwhelmed" by UMass Amherst, so I have a little reluctance. I'm not explaining that very well - it's more of a qualitative thing, I guess.

One slight concern I have with some of these colleges is the prominent role religion plays in many of them. I have absolutely no objection to any religion, but I am very much an atheist and a "social liberal", and so I would feel a little uncomfortable in a religious environment. That said, I understand that none of these is exactly BYU.

Wake Forest seens to be cropping up a lot, and it looks really interesting. William & Mary, Wesleyan, Vassar and Brandeis also sound great. I'll do some more research on them, and on the others you've suggested.

collegehelp - thanks for the list - that'll be really useful for reference (as an international student I have little idea where colleges fit into the spectra of academics and size).

Thanks again for all your help, and sorry if any of my post seems bigoted - I just want to be frank with you all.

Cheers,
Jo.