I just want to point out (which shouldn’t be necessary) that none of these are tenants of conservatism.
Just as hating certain religions isn’t a tenant of progressivism.
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If this is the profile which I read as a traditional New England conservative (including the quietly devout) my answer would be “all of them”. More students are economically conservative that one might think.
If the definition is devoutly religious and socially conservative, offended by and intolerant of LGBTQ expression the answer is “none of them”.
All of these schools are loaded with the former; kids who really don’t have issues with how people love or express themselves. They just don’t care and go happily on with their lives including engagement in spiritual organizations without worry or concern. It’s like NARPs and Athletes, they coexist without issue and are more likely to be critical at ones “being offended” because those issues are personal choices which you shouldn’t feel the need/right to decide for others.
Most of the college age kids that I see and work with today don’t find issue in many of the things that their parents do which is another thing to keep in mind.
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A reminder that this post is NOT in the political forum and all comments need to stay on topic.
And per forum rules, discussing moderation is not permitted.
Thank you all for your understanding!
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More “free speech” and being comfortable on campus as a conservative are not the same thing. In some areas, especially speech against Israel (even its very existence) and supporters of Israel of whatever background or religion, students and many faculty and administrators trot out their support for free speech. But say something like “there are just two genders” or “culture and behaviors, not racism or history, account for most of the difference in wealth among races,” and see how much claiming free speech rights on these campuses will get ya.
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So this is an argument that you hear a lot on CC, but I’m not really sure it’s true. In theory it may be ok for a student to say that they’re a fiscal conservative but to actually discuss cutting programs, lowering taxes, advocating against ideas like free healthcare, climate policy,or even free preschool? I’m not sure many conservative students would feel comfortable with that sort of discussion at say…Amherst. Maybe I’m wrong?
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I think the concern is about how someone expressing such views would be treated at a place like Amherst, i.e. how tolerant/welcoming (or not) the majority liberal student body and faculty would be of them.
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Yes, that’s my point. I don’t really buy the “some conservatives are ok” argument that we often hear on CC. I don’t think that’s the actual reality.
OP, back to your question, it would be interesting for your son to seek out political groups on campus and ask them. There should be college republicans at Yale? Send them an Instagram message and see what they say.
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I would think that would depend on what you mean by “feel comfortable”. Depending on what sort of policy position you articulated, a lot of people might disagree. But I am not sure it would really go beyond that.
I do think some fiscally conservative kids would not feel great if, say, they were the only person in a seminar articulating those views. And I do not mean to be dismissive of such feelings if they are a concern. But most college classes really are not going to touch on that sort of thing anyway. Like the merits of the estate tax is unlikely to come up in your Physics class.
Similarly, particularly near elections, some people may want to informally discuss all sorts policies and political issues, but you can just politely excuse yourself from such conversations. And I think one of the sort of unheralded truths about these colleges is that a lot of people just are not into that stuff anyway. So if you just want to talk about sports or movies or whatever instead with your fellow students, because you don’t like discussing politics or policy with them, plenty will be happy to do that.
Of course some people are going to seek out opportunities to discuss such things, in classes, possibly certain student organizations, informally and so on. See that Yale article. And if that is you, great, although again be prepared for a lot of people to disagree with you.
But if you just have fiscally conservative views but do not enjoy discussing them with your fellow students in particular? I think in most cases it will end up being something you really do not have to deal with much.
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I mostly agree with you. I think though that college students miss out by not hearing and debating different viewpoints. I think self-censorship is a bummer but I understand why students may want to avoid the discussion all together.
The OP asked which school would be the most welcoming to a conservative student. If you’re self-censoring, are you welcome?
Let’s address to OP’s questions and not stray into questions they haven’t asked, including whether they should self-censor.
Further OT posts are subject to removal without comment.
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My S24 is not conservative but came from a Jesuit high school that promoted open-minded and civil debate around difficult social issues. He wanted a similar intellectual environment in college. As a political centrist, he crafted his college list with two key requirements in mind. He wanted a school that valued freedom of expression and a school that welcomed students from all around the globe. He liked state schools like UMich because they are mandated to admit students from both rural and urban parts of the state and they attract coastal students along with many international students. He also pointed out that the state schools are covered by the first amendment as state actors and have to carefully balance many different types of speech. As for the private schools, he figured that if a private school had a large presence of international students who come from many different cultures and governments, it would force American students who tend to skew liberal to contend with the full political spectrum represented by the international students. Ultimately, S24 chose UChicago.
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My rough, back-of-the-envelope, estimate of the people around the globe, aged between 18-24 who believe in Western-style capitalism, would be a pretty slim minority. Am I wrong?
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That’s precisely what he meant. S24 has many friends from around the world. He met them through various cultural exchanges-some from authoritarian countries, others from teetering democracies. He enjoys the fact that they don’t have the same views or experiences with respect to how governments function. His major is in international relations.
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Probably not, but probably because many do not have much of an opinion at all on economic issues.
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My Auburn son was not conservative, neither were many of his friends and roommates - Auburn is waaaaay more inclusive than is lead to believe. BTW, they all get along and respect others views, that’s one of the reasons they seem happy. It’s not a you vs. them campus.
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2c from a current college student:
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Most Gen Z kids (95+%), in 2024, actively avoid talking about politics in daily conversations. My dad went to college in the 80s where current affairs and politics were like a daily conversational topic. It isn’t like that in 2024. It’s about tailgates, football, classes, clubs, recruiting, interviews, concerts, hanging out, grabbing dinner, extracurricular events and programs etc.
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You will only touch upon politics if you are a political science major (where you are literally studying it). If you are studying business, music, biology, engineering etc. there are guidelines in place where it is frowned upon for both faculty and students to discuss certain sensitive topics (politics, religion, sex etc.) or show bias/leanings.
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The only time you may come into something semi-political is when students clubs have a ‘Vice President of DEI’ position, or when the DEI office has a booth during orientation and gives out pamphlets promoting their work. If such things really go so strongly against your beliefs (in that, even ignoring it is a challenge); consider schools like UT-Austin or Rice
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I agree 100 percent. I think you are misconstruing my comments about Auburn. Nowhere did I categorize it as “conservative”, although I feel pretty confident saying there are significantly more students who identify as conservative at Auburn than there are at say Yale or Brown. My oldest graduated from Auburn engineering a couple of years ago and leans decidedly liberal as do most of his friends. (and most college students in general.)
I was merely noting that there is perhaps a connection between Auburn’s high ratings for free speech and student happiness. My point was that the OP is interested in elite schools in the Northeast and I doubt Auburn is a school that would be of interest for them. I sent a high stats Jewish kid there, and I can tell you my Ivy League educated family members up north thought I had lost my mind. 
Call me crazy, but I don’t see how a discussion of Auburn in any way answers the OPs question about the experience of conservative students on elite campuses in the Northeast.
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In addition to schools, one should consider how open to conservative viewpoints the faculties and students of specific departments are. In the STEM majors, you would feel fairly welcome not only because they trend at least centrist (outside of Liberty, BYU and Hinsdale, are any schools conservative?), but because those majors have not been taken over by social activists like many social science and humanities programs have. Avoid sociology and anthropology, and don’t go anywhere near the “studies” (Latino, Women’s, AA, LGTBQ, Gender, etc.) departments at any US university.
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Back to Yale. One of its academic programs for first years is Directed Studies. Welcome | Directed Studies (yale.edu)
It is an intense year long study of Western foundational works in history, philosophy and literature. If you are interested in spending 3 courses/semester to get a classic liberal arts experience, there is little better. It is “conservative” in the sense that it conserves the best that has been thought and written. The students who sign up for this are real gems and so are the professors
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