Wesleyan has a great music scene on campus, lots of student bands and performances, which drive a lot of the social life. And I second all the votes above for Lafayette and Dickinson. Oh, and I’d also add Carleton too.
On some of the schools named above, and given your parameters, I would not look at American (feels like a commuter school, or at least did to us). Brandeis is very tired feeling, and little school spirit. We found Bucknell to have too strong a Greek presence for my daughter’s tastes. Colgate has a pretty strong Greek presence, but didn’t feel as jocky/lax bro about it as some other schools. Lehigh is very science/engineering oriented – they say they’ve expanded beyond engineering into humanities, but when we visited that did not seem to be the case at all.
I don’t want to be that annoying parent, but Denison may be worth further consideration – the greek life houses are all former greek life buildings, as greek life is nonresidential. All the former greek life buildings are now either regular dorms or administrative offices. With an organic farm housing option, a strong bluegrass program, a diverse student body, and a culture of “civil discourse,” it is not the Denison of 30 or even 20 years ago.
Interesting; that’s good to know. In my opinion they should remove the Greek letters from those buildings in the middle of campus, because it gives the impression that Greek houses are dominant on campus! It was a big turn off for me, since I don’t like pressure to join Greek life (if kids choose Greek life that’s fine, but I think they should feel it’s optional with no pressure).
Although, like @Midwestmomofboys, I don’t want to be that annoying parent, I thought I should chime in, as your son sounds quite a bit like mine and mine is a very happy first-year at Denison. My understanding is that the fraternities are still permitted to hold meetings (not parties) in their former residential houses, which probably explains why the letters are still there, but those buildings otherwise serve as dorms or offices and Greek life participants are mixed in with everyone else in the dorms. My son has no interest in pledging, although he has friends who are in fraternities. It doesn’t seem to be a big deal. I wasn’t sure from your post whether your son plays sports or watches, but for an athletic kid, Denison is paradise - a very high percentage of students play varsity and club sports, and the facilities and support are first-rate. Several of the varsity teams are highly-ranked in D3. His academic experience in his first semester was also terrific, with small classes and professors who were very engaging and encouraged him to jump in and take some intellectual risks. In the past, it has sometimes taken him a while to feel comfortable in a new environment, but at Denison he was at home from day 1. One of my son’s close friends is a first-year at Dickinson, and he is also very happy with his school.
Music made me think Bard. It might be too countercultural. My son thought it was too small, but you can visit it on the same day you visit Vassar, if you are doing visits. I don’t think American is a commuter school. It was a safety for my younger kid who ended up at Tufts. He really liked it. (Actually he liked it a bit better than Georgetown which he also applied to. He didn’t get in to Georgetown, so did not have to make that choice.) He did not like Brandeis at all, but I did.
There are scads of decent LACs all over the midwest. He likes music? Try Luther in Iowa. He’s not so super excited about music, and would like to live where he can catch Amtrak to Chicago? Try Knox in Illinois. Throw a dart at the map, and check out what is not horribly far from where it landed.
Yes, my daughter sounds like the OP’s child and Susquehanna has been a wonderful fit for her. She graduates in May! She receives a small annual stipend as a music scholarship for non-music majors. She gets free jazz piano lessons and plays in the school’s jazz band. She has had a couple of wonderful mentors and will be presenting an art history paper at a conference in Maryland in March. It’s a gorgeous campus and the school is constantly improving its facilities.
We found out about it from college consultant we hired for our oldest child. The man liked SU so much that he sent his own son there. He rightly said that it’s a hidden gem.
She receives a small annual stipend as a music scholarship for non-music majors. She gets free jazz piano lessons and plays in the school’s jazz band. She has had a couple of wonderful mentors and will be presenting an art history paper at a conference in Maryland in March. It’s a gorgeous campus and the school is constantly improving its facilities.