So during my search for schools I’ve come to really love UChicago. The intense, learning for the sake of learning nature appeals to me; I love LAC’s and UChicago has some of this feel but with an amazing research university to back it up. It is not as intensely liberal (even hostile) as schools like Swarthmore that are similar, and not as STEM focused (though I love chemistry) as schools like Caltech. UChicago combines what I love from many other schools into a great package that would be perfect except for one big problem. The location. Running is a huge part of my life and I am planning on getting into trail/mountain running and ultra marathons during college; I can’t exactly do that in Chicago.
Are there other schools that have many of these same characteristics and are in locations like Pomona, Colby, or Williams? (are these schools options?) Thanks in advance
You can do cross-country running at UChicago. Not only is there a Division III running team, but you can run in one of the two huge parks that border the campus to the east or west, or if you are really looking for long distances, you can run up the 18 mile long lakeside trail from 71st Street south all the way north to Evanston and back. 36 miles is a pretty good workout.
If running and mountains are that important then take a look at Colorado College. The Manitou incline is a 2000 foot climb in less than 1 mile, followed by a 3.1 mile run down the Bahr trail back to the base at 6500 ft MSL. Here are there admit stats:
Early Decision (1 and 2) 31.4 percent; Early Action 17.4 percent; Regular Action 6.2 percent.
I agree with PurpleTitan but if you want a strong core, great students and access to rigorous math, I think then I would say Columbia.
If you want access to excellent liberal arts, great science and rigorous mathematics, you can find that, and your peeps, at the College of Arts and Science of all eight Ivies. They can make any subject as rigorous as you can handle. If your classes are too easy, go see your faculty advisor and they will work with you to raise the difficulty appropriately without killing you. lol
OP – have you looked at Amherst and Williams? Many people consider them among the top undergraduate institutions in the country. Both are elite, selective schools that attract top students of an intellectual bend, interested in learning-for-learning’s sake. Both are near wonderful woodsy areas filled with running trails.
For overall rigor:
Reed
Swat
Columbia
Cornell
Caltech
MIT
Mudd
Carleton
…and intellectualism:
Reed, Swat, Carleton, Columbia
(with their heavy Engineering and CS participation, MIT/Caltech/Cornell/Mudd are a little bit too pre-professional to be at quite the overall level of intellectualism as the others… but that is not to say that there isn’t some intellectualism on those campuses too. I imagine there’s quite a bit of philosophy in theoretical and astrophysics, for instance… and Cornell and MIT aren’t exactly weak in the Humanities and social sciences…
Thanks all, current list is UChicago, Pomona, Williams, Colby, Carleton, Davidson, Kenyon, Wooster, plus two in state safeties. Do these schools look like they match?
@CU123 Colorado is a dream location but I don’t know how much the school would match
@prezbucky I love Swat though the hostile vibe I get from it (yes, mostly from posters on here) isn’t good. Other than that it seems like a great school. Reed is the same kind of idea though they seem more open minded. My parents are quite conservative as well though I am middle ground.
Kenyon’s trail along the Kokosing could be excellent for you, particularly when combined with the rises around the campus itself. Similarly, you might like Hamilton’s 1350 acre Adirondack area campus for trail running, along with the challenge of College Hill. Vassar, though not as woodsy as these schools, might offer an academic/intellectual mix that could be appealing (though their students might seem overly liberal to you).
@ArdaMelamar I think it might be more helpful to you if you provided everyone with a little more information.
What do you think about a core curriculum? UChicago has a core. Amherst has an open curriculum.
On another thread, you posted that you are looking to major in chemistry. Is that still the case? UChicago has an excellent chem department and lots of research opportunities. I believe Carleton has a very good chem program, and many undergrads continue on to earn PhDs. I've heard that Williams and Pomona are not bad either. Not sure about the others.
What do you think about the role of greek organizations on social life? UChicago is ~20%. Davidson is about 60% greek/eating club. Some of the colleges on your list have no greek life.
Do you want to run in the winter? You may not want to go running outside in Chicago, Minnesota or Maine in February, but SoCal or NC may not be so bad.
What about double majoring? It's relatively common at UChicago, but very difficult and even discouraged at Carleton.
What about quarter vs. semester systems? UChicago uses quarters. I think all the schools on your list use semesters. Quarter systems allow you to take more classes and potentially go on more study abroads, but the classes are faster paced and can be more intense.
What about urban vs. rural? UChicago is obviously urban. Claremont (Pomona) is pretty much a suburb of LA. Davidson and Carleton are within 1 hour of Charlotte and Minneapolis, respectively. Colby is three hours from Boston.
Just a few thoughts I had in looking at your list.
One indicator that a school encourages a love of learning for its own sake (and is not in thrall to the aggressive leftism that regards abstract negation of the given as a virtue in and of itself) is the presence of some sort of Humanities Core / Western Civ / Great Books option.
U Chicago and Columbia are distinguished by mandatory cores, and Yale and Princeton offer similar programs as electives.
Davidson has long offered a strong Humanities core, and the school also boasts a running-friendly rural location in a region where year-round outdoor training is not a problem. You should definitely include Davidson on your list.
@PurpleTitan I’m okay with my safeties mostly but that is one of my problems. I live in Kentucky so one is UK and the other is Centre. I’ll look into Florida in a bit.
@CU123 Colorado is intriguing and I’ll look into it more, how is their Chemistry program?
@Shrmpngrtz I like the core mostly in that it gives common topics to discuss with fellow class mates and that sort of thing. I am not interested in Greek associations myself, I prefer a small group of friends. I am not interested in parties at all either. I think I would enjoy quarter systems better, or even block like Colorado, but it isn’t a major selling point. I would definitely prefer rural though Colby is probably about as far from a larger city as I’d like. Yes, I want to major in Chemistry, possible minor in English but probably not a double major as that would be quite difficult. I’d like to get a PHD and teach chemistry eventually.
Honestly, I haven’t really looked into Ivys very much or any other research universities at all, UChicago being the exception. I would much prefer a small school I think for my undergrad. Though Dartmouth is small it really doesn’t appeal to me.