<p>There are 271 colleges in the “Baccaureate A&S” Carnegie classification. Many of them would fit at least some of your criteria. Virtually all of them have small classes. Many have little or no Greek life and little emphasis on sports. If you want these features plus extra-challenging academics, an intense intellectual atmosphere, and liberal politics, have a look at Reed. A less selective, perhaps less intense school with a liberal vibe is Earlham. Both of these are CTCL schools. A non-CTCL school that might match your interests is Macalester College. </p>
<p>An interesting, less selective, non-CTCL LAC is Eugene Lang, located in NYC (Greenwich Village). A Wikipedia article on ELC cites some of its previous Princeton Review distinctions:</p>
<p>“Dodgeball Targets” (#1)
“Great College Towns” (#1)
“Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular Or Nonexistent” (#1)
“Class Discussions Encouraged” (#1)
“Long Lines and Red Tape” (#1)
“Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton Politics” (#2)
“Least Religious Students” (#2)
“Nobody Plays Intramural Sports” (#2)
“Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians” (#3)</p>
<p>I can attest (from family experience) to the seeming contradiction of its being simultaneously small yet also prone to “long lines and red tape”. </p>
<p>I’ve never seen a list of schools with thesis or other research project requirements. Maybe someone here can produce that. Reed used to require a senior thesis (don’t know if it still does) and comprehensive oral exams that could include subject matter from any courses taken up to that point. Swarthmore College has an honors program that includes a PhD-like oral defense of a senior paper and examination by outside (non-Swarthmore) scholars. </p>
<p>A very nice public LAC is St. Mary’s College of Maryland. An OOS student is probably unlikely to get much if any merit aid. However, even the OOS full-sticker cost (~$40K) may be lower than your net cost after typical merit aid from many private LACs.</p>
<p>Centre College is a private CTCL school with a relatively low sticker price and fairly generous merit aid.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago appears to be the research university with the smallest percentage of large classes (>= 50 students). It offers many small, discussion-based classes. Greek life is very understated. Sororities were banned for decades. So, too, was football (but it was restored in the late '60s to the fanfare of a kazoo marching band.) The student body could be said to enjoy philosophical discussion (almost to a fault). The school’s Quantrell award for excellence in undergraduate teaching has gone to some very distinguished faculty, such as Nobel laureate James Cronin and author Norman Maclean ([Llewellyn</a> John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching | The University of Chicago](<a href=“Page Not Found | University of Chicago”>Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching | University of Chicago)). It is one of relatively few highly selective private schools to offer merit aid (although the competition for it must be intense.)</p>