<p>I think if you look at the schools I suggested, I don't think that you would compromise academic quality. 2 of the smartest I know went to Houghton (1 person is now a librarian with the Library of Congress and the other person has worked in the field of Eastern European economic development and has lived in Russia for the last 10 years). My wife went to business school for her MBA at the University of Michigan with a Taylor graduate who happened to be one of the brighter students in the program. While admittedly anecdotal in nature, all three of these individuals speak quite highly of the undergraduate education they received.</p>
<p>While I do not personally know as much about the other schools I suggested, the admission standards are at least as high as those at Houghton and Taylor. While the average SAT score may be slightly lower at these schools than at Wheaton (e.g., 1323 @ Wheaton; 1268 @ Grove Cities), all of the school I have listed have excellent reputations and I feel that the quality your education would not be compromised if one happened to be a better fit for you than Wheaton. Wheaton may be the right school for you and you can certainly receive a fine education there. </p>
<p>I urge you not to fall into the trap that many students fall into in thinking that if the average SAT is 50 or 100 points higher at one institution, then that school is automatically better and that the education you will receive at that institution will be superior. It may be better; but then again, it may not. Some students would get a better education at Mississippi State than they would Williams simply because Mississippi State "fit" that student better than Williams did -- even if that student was accepted at Williams. While largely unquantifiable, I believe that for most schools, "fit" is more important than the average SAT score of the entering class (though the average SAT score of your fellow classmates is certainly a component of "fit"). I realize that this view is somewhat of an anathema to many on this board. </p>
<p>Frankly, there are probably other people on this board who know more about religious liberal arts colleges than I do. You may want to start a new thread to address the specific question concerning those options. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>