Verbal

As I continue my college search, I have settled upon Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as my primary objective for admissions. However, while not a defeatist, I am a realist and I understand that with a 2010 SAT and 3.8 weighted GPA, my chances at Brown are not best. As such, I am looking for more match/safety schools besides the UCs and CSUs which I will inevitably apply to. And in this search I am looking for institutions which have similar qualities to those which I admire in Brown. These attributes include:

*It's reputation as having a liberal leaning ideology. I'm a pretty hardcore atheist liberal, and the Brown culture appeals to me.
*The curriculum is exactly what I want. The ability to choose all of your own classes, to not deal with general education requirements, and the ability to take anything pass/fail is massively appealing to me.
*It's location in New England. Living in California, I would really like to get away for four years and have decided that everything on the east coast north of Virginia is desirable.
*It's location in a decently sized metropolitan area. Having lived in San Diego my entire life, I am not sure if I could deal with suburban or rural living.
*It's student population of ~6,000. I think around 5,000 is the most desirable of sizes in a college. Liberal arts schools have a lot of appeal to me, but having gone to a small high school I am not sure I could deal with only 1,000 students for another four years.
*The financial aid is Ivy League-aid. I've never really fallen for the whole allure of the Ivy League, but the fact of the matter is that with my family coming from the sub-$45,000 bracket, I do need the financial aid which such institutions are able to offer.
*The prestige is a little nice as well, but something I am not particularly worried about.
*Also probably worth noting is I am undecided as to my undergraduate major but that History is probably most likely. Eventually I would like to study law, particularly environmental law.

As you can see, I am more or less in love with Brown. However, as I said, I realize the need to consider more realistic options. Any schools which fit all, or even just several, of these wants would be massively helpful.

I also hope this is in the correct forum. I have lurked for awhile, but if there is a forum for which it is better suited, please let me know.

EliCash91

Here's the Princeton Review's list of left-leaning schools, granted a lot of them are probably smaller than you wanted

http://princetonreview.com/college/r...D=5&topicID=40

poi

Verbal, some others to possibly look at are Skidmore, Ct. College, Goucher, Bard, Vassar and Union. Good luck!

pretzelbreaker

Sarah Lawrence and Bennington are both left-leaning, open-curriculum schools. SLC doesn't consider SAT scores and Bennington is SAT-optional.

Determind15

We're in the same situation.

OneMom

Many people see Wesleyan as being similar to Brown. However, Wes is also highly competitive. Brandeis may be a good match. Eugene Lang College in New School University may be a match. Also look at NYU/Gallatin. I am not mentioning LACs because other people already listed a number of them.

lmpw

Amherst has an open curriculum but it hardly a safety and smaller than you're looking for. But, it's a part of a consortium that makes attending other institutions an option and the combined student bodies vastly larger.

jazzymom

You should read up on University of Rochester, which eliminated entry-level general education requirements and also offers a free fifth year of study to explore one's interests. Haven't been there, so I don't know how to describe Rochester as a city.

WashU in St. Louis, about 7,000 undergrad, will give you a lot of the atmosphere and somewhat urban feeling you would get at Brown, with very low key first-year requirements and emphasis on interdisciplinary programs and double majoring. I don't think it has the pass-fail policy, though. It would also be a reach, but perhaps less so, since you're more interested in majoring in history or environmental studies than in the sciences (ie premed).

Closer to home, but less selective, you could look into the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at University of Redlands. Johnson students can create their own majors and they write contracts for their courses and receive narrative evaluations of their work rather than letter grades. The Johnson students also live together as part of a residential community. Though it's smaller and not the location you want.

Verbal

I would just like to thank everyone who posted. I was aware of several of those listed and was already thinking about applying to Vassar, Sarah Lawrence and Eugene Lang. Having now researched them, I am also intrigued by Brandeis and Goucher. At any rate, thanks again to all of you.

applejack

Just a suggestion - one of the prime opportunities of college is to be exposed to a variety of worldviews. If you simply take your liberal perspective and immerse yourself in an environment that never challenges it (and, typically, reinforces it without hesitation), I think you're doing a great deal of disservice to why you're getting an education.

There's a reason educated people typically are not swayed by the Limbaughs or the Moores of the world.

A.S.A.P.

You might look into Tufts.

Native NJ

Yes...look into Vassar with its open curriculum and 100% scholarship if the total family income is under $60k. Post your questions on the Colleges/Vassar forum and you will get a response from a current student whose screen name is "LittleAtheist". That should certainly appeal to you!

Sheed30

Pomona from what i hear....

gellino

Wesleyan, Vassar, Skidmore were the first three schools I thought of when I saw this. Oberlin, Bates, Bard, Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence may fit as well.

LeBronJamesBBall

I could be wrong, but isn't Dartmouth pretty similar to Brown, bc it is undergrad focused, and it is an ivy?