<p>Hi people, just really looking for your help because I live in the UK and am unsure about mentalities/reputations of mentalities at all of the above colleges except reed. that one i know about. </p>
<p>Im into biology and psychology and have had a European education all my life (therefore wishing to stay away from places with too much YAY AMERICA. you may notice that I am a “british chick”. i.e. for some reason my US mother never wanted to live in US again, and has brought me up as british/European). Looking for a more European mentality, hoping to encounter people interested in their personal education (both life and school) and the world, rather than necessarily the latest … i dont know. something about people who aren’t caught up in themselves and their country. thats what im looking for.</p>
<p>Hope that made ANY sense and that there is something there for people to reply to. VERY unsure about the decision to make.</p>
<p>Reputation and mentality are two different things, but I think Macalester and Haverford are the most conservative (read “go USA!”) from the list. Reed and Wesleyan are probably the least. I’d also rank Reed and Wesleyan the best academically and Macalester at the bottom.</p>
<p>Honestly, though, most American college students are caught up in themselves…</p>
<p>So are most college aged kids in general. It’s not unique to america.</p>
<p>britchik, if you’re worried about how you’ll fit in at an american college, then why did you apply to them in the first place? Why not stay in Great Britain?</p>
<p>You won’t have any problem at any good american college. I don’t know what you mean by “YAY AMERICA,” but you certainly won’t be excluded or made an outcast.</p>
<p>based on a purely unscientific poll of how many Wesleyan women seem to smoke in public, I’d say, Wes has a slightly more European/People Dressed In Black feel to it, or at least a portion of it does.</p>
<p>also, I think you’ll get less of the “Why don’t you go back to Europe if you think it’s So Great?” reaction there.</p>
<p>Most certainly. It goes with the age first and “occupation” second. </p>
<p>Not sure there is a correlation between smoking, dressing in black and having a European feel, but I’ll run with it. Reed is certainly the most non-conformist, though Wesleyan gives it a run for the money.</p>
<p>In general (big generalization), schools with prominent athletic departments may have a more rah-rah attitude, which may translate into a rah-rahness for politics as well. That would mean Bates. It’s DIII (meaning small school) sports, but still has a bit of a jockish bent. Macalester is in the biggest city of your group, but I still think it has a midwestern conservative bent. </p>
<p>
I wouldn’t recommend Brigham Young or Oral Roberts…</p>
<p>Those are all really excellent schools. You would get a very good education in biology/psychology at any one of them. I would choose based on location and student culture. Bates is in Maine (right? I think?) and Macalester is in Minnesota, so they will be a bit colder in terms of weather, if you care about that at all. Do you want to be in a city, suburb, or small town? You have all three options there. And none of those schools will have a “conservative” feel at all. Reed is probably the most liberal, followed by Wesleyan. Haverford has some athletes although it’s pretty intellectual too. I don’t know anything about Bates so I can’t help you there, but I have visited Wesleyan, Macalester and Haverford so PM me if you want to know any more about those three.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is probably the most liberal and avant-garde of the schools you’ve mentioned. Haverford, founded on Quaker principles, is quite tolerant as well, although the students seem more grounded than Wesleyan’s. I don’t know much about Reed and Macalester, but I’ve always gotten the feeling that Bates is pretty conservative for a liberal arts school.</p>
<p>Most of the small liberal arts schools will be more politically liberal and idealistic than the general American population. The rah-rah aspect you mention is found mostly at the larger state schools and the high-stakes sports universities.</p>
<p>“Looking for a more European mentality, hoping to encounter people interested in their personal education (both life and school) and the world, rather than necessarily the latest …”</p>
<p>Macalester is by far the most ‘internationalized’ of these schools, most non-U.S. students, greatest commitment to study abroad and incorporating international perspectives into the curriculum and onto the campus. It is also the most urban (though the area around the campus has a happening, small town though cosmopolitan feel that none of the others can touch - Reed is nominally in Portland, but it is really upscale suburban, and there is little “there, there.” All of these are liberal places. Reed and Macalester will have the largest percentage of students receiving need-based aid (which means that, among very rich student bodies at each, students there will be the poorest.)</p>
<p>thanks so much to all the people who have replied. I’ve been leaning towards Reed and Wesleyan, and that seems to be the general consensus. Thanks!</p>
<p>And for those of you who have implied that i should just stay in europe if i more of that type of environment i have a couple of things to say:
most of you are from european “stock” so im just looking for the people who’ve kept up the exploration, new ideas etc theme (unification, not isolation) - what i meant by “yay america” was the “rahrahrah” (or however you spell it) that someone mentionned. i cant be around people who are all “yay england” either so don’t think im anti american or something. im not, because my mum and her family are american (and im really not anti my mum :D). maybe my screen name should be “(ameri)britchik”? </p>
<p>anyway, thankyou to all the constructive people for your help, really appreciated. </p>
<p>Reed has a beautiful campus and the weather in Portland (a great little city, BTW) is very much the same as in GB – pretty rainy during the winter. </p>
<p>I don’t know if you could find a school much more liberal than Reed.</p>
<p>The professors and the students are brilliant.</p>
<p>I went to reed today for a mathfest… it was suppose to be a little lecture about experimental probability or something. The campus tour was pretty nice, with a little stream thing that you can go for a nature walk, but I had no idea what the professor was saying. I don’t think anybody did. It’s weird that the professor was using a chalkboard, while most of the school had whiteboards… I heard it was because he liked chalk, lol. I think Reed is a great school… really quiet though.</p>