Fair enough. I have a thing for the Gothic, Georgian, and/or Colonial look of the small northeastern schools. (though, tbh, I’m a bit out of my depth in trying to even nominally describe the designs – I am no architectural historian or designer! hehe)
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I think we should, for sake of OP, not focus on rural or small town / city schools.
If you do not want rural then I would remove Kenyon, but only you can decide this. Based on what I think you are saying, it seems you are leaning toward Brandeis and possibly UVM.
Bates is an excellent school and you will be challenged, but you should want an LAC.
Repeating- you should really try and visit the schools that you have not already visited.
As far as biology/genetics….you should be prepared to develop relationships with your profs. This means sitting front and center and attending office hours even if you don’t need to. This also means asking about research positions and responding to emails. It means getting involved…this is important not just socially…but also if you apply to grad schools.
These are all good choices, but you need to be happy and find the school that works for you.
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Bates is EASILY a peer of Brandeis and I would argue stronger in Bio than the public U’s. It has an excellent bio program and a great reputation. The professors are great and it is very rigorous. The location is fantastic. It is close to an airport, has easy access to amazing outdoor activities, and the campus is gorgeous. It is very collaborative and friendly.
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With respect to your interest in drama, Kenyon stands out in this group.
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UC-Santa Barbara is the standout in this area both for majors & non-majors:
But I do agree that Kenyon is strong in this area for an LAC, but cannot compete with a National University such a as UCSB which offers BA, BFA, MFA, & a doctor of philosophy degree in theater & dance.
UCSB is going to feel very different from the other three. We’re in CA and a lot of local students attend UCSB. Great school, but definitely a huge party scene – some people love it, some hate it. Some find it hard to attend and transfer out - too much beach, too much lying out in the sun. If you can, visit and decide what type of school you want to attend – UCSB is a dream school for many, but others might find it distracting with all the parties. I think Kenyon, Bates, Brandeis will have a more academic feel and different traditions. Best of luck with your decision!
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There’s an aspect of ambience to this. At UCSB, 1 out of every 199 students declares drama as a first major. This suggests that UCSB’s overall atmosphere may not be particularly influenced by performing arts. In contrast, Kenyon’s atmosphere is broadly influenced by students interested in performing arts — notably drama and dance — and visual art.
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I’ve been a guest artist at UCSB as a professional actor working with their theatre students on a production. This was a few years ago (2021), but it’s still recent enough that I’ll mention it: I found that the vast majority of the students in my cast except one (just one single student!) were theatre majors, and most of them were on the BFA Acting track (Acting at UCSB is a secondary admission program in the sophomore year; prospective students do their first year in the BA theatre program). OP, I think you would likely struggle to find opportunities to perform within the UCSB theatre department due to priority in casting going to their Acting students. I know there are student-run theatre organizations; it would be up to you whether that’s sufficient.
You also mention wanting to sing - I don’t know if you mean musical theatre, but UCSB doesn’t really have a musical theatre culture. They don’t produce musicals as part of their theatre season, and it’s my understanding that the student-run musical theatre organization is quite new and hasn’t progressed past producing cabarets yet.
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What did you decide?
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