<p>I’m a junior looking at colleges and the biggest thing I’m concerned about is finding a college without a massive athletics department. I’m hoping to go to college either in Minnesota, Chicago, Colorado, Washington DC or somewhere on the west coast. After doing some research I found an article on ESPN.com about “The worst sports college in America,” Eugene Lang liberal arts college in New York. The college environment sounded perfect, but I’m really not interested in going to college anywhere on the east coast besides DC. Could someone point me in the direction of some colleges that put little to no emphasis on competitive athletics? It’s proven difficult to narrow it down with a google search.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that schools with D3 athletics have a lesser athletic feel to the campus. They don’t offer athletic scholarships, so the focus is more on academics (where it should be IMO). There are a lot of schools like this in Minnesota, like St. Scholastica to name one. There are probably at least a few in every state you listed. State schools probably will probably have more of a focus on athletics than you want, but look into each school separately and visit. </p>
<p>For the most part, small colleges and/or liberal arts colleges will have a lesser sports presence on campus.</p>
<p>Maybe look at Reed? It’s in Portland, and athletics are less than huge there.</p>
<p>NYU praises itself on anti-athleticism. IIRC, a professor wrote an article about it. I remember from my reading on here that Columbia places no emphasis on sports. UChicago probably won’t love athleticism. </p>
<p>If I may ask, why the sports hate? I was in your position last year, but I grew to at least tolerate college basketball, tennis, and golf. Being overtly anti-athleticism isn’t praised in the professional world, except in some sects of academia.</p>
<p><a href=“http://colleges.niche.com/rankings/athletics/?page=43&”>http://colleges.niche.com/rankings/athletics/?page=43&</a></p>
<p>Many liberal arts colleges aren’t “in your face” in terms of sports. Neither of my kids is much for attending sporting events. I think the only time D1 ever went to an event was at parents weekend (her school did have a football team, and she would go with her friends and their parents). D2 loathes sports, and as far as I know feels no pressure to attend any sporting events at her school. </p>
<p>If you give your stats, proposed major, and financial situation, you can probably get some specific suggestions for schools where sports are not at the forefront of campus life. I think it probably shouldn’t be your top criteria, but I think there are a lot of schools where mostly it is just the athletes themselves who really are involved with minimal interest by the rest of the student body.</p>
<p>Another pitch for “Colleges That Change Lives” here; none of them place much emphasis on sports. If you are looking for larger schools, consider some of the UCs other than Berkeley, UCLA, and Davis. UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego do not play D-1 in most sports (UCSD competes in D-1 for a few water sports). The Claremont Colleges compete in sports, but not as a fundamental part of campus life. Occidental is also a small college, where team sports aren’t taken too seriously. There is a longtime football rivalry between Pomona and Occidental, but it’s hardly Florida vs. Florida State. University of Chicago is legendarily unathletic, if you are academically qualified: its lack of sports and Greek Life have earned it the nickname of “The Place Where Fun Comes To Die.” </p>
<p>You could consider my alma mater, Emory…sports are more of a participatory thing (lots of intramural teams. Intermural sports performances are excellent, but not well attended so have like no effect on social/academic life) like at Chicago, and we’re more about academics and multiculturalism(which often reinforce). At many D-3 schools, “student-athlete” literally means just that with many athletes doing varsity sports doing extremely well academically. This is an example of the nature of many D-3 schools and their athletes: <a href=“Tennis player Zahra Dawson invited to White House”>http://news.emory.edu/stories/2012/06/athletics_dawson_visits_white_house/campus.html</a>
@intparent I think the OP just probably recognizes that at some schools, whether they be state schools or places like USC, Vanderbilt, Duke, maybe ND where sure it’s athlete centered, but the sports scene has a huge influence on the social scene (especially when combined or supplemented with a large Greeklife Scene). </p>
<p>Yes, @bernie, of course. But we are all just shooting in the dark here at what schools might actually work for the OP is he/she doesn’t provide details on what other qualities are necessary in a school. If this student doesn’t have stats for U of Chicago, what is the point of suggesting it? If they can’t afford high tuition and aren’t eligible for need based aid, what is the point of suggesting a school like Reed? </p>
<p>Just curious why the hate on athletics?</p>
<p>Bard has sports but no one really does them.</p>
<p>I agree: we need stats to make reasonable recommendations. In the absence of stats, I’d suggest Carleton and the U of C in the region you prefer.</p>
<p>Look at the elite LACs in the midwest, too. Grinnell, Oberlin, Macalester, Carleton, Kenyon (think this one might be a BIT sporty), and Kalamazoo. </p>
<p>Stats? Cost Constraints?</p>
<p>Possibilities in Minnesota, Chicago, Colorado, Washington DC, and the West Coast:
Carleton, Macalester
University of Chicago (<a href=“At the University of Chicago, Football and Higher Education Mix - The New York Times”>At the University of Chicago, Football and Higher Education Mix - The New York Times)
Colorado College (has a strong D1 hockey team)
American University, George Washington U
Evergreen State, Lewis & Clark, Reed ,Whitman, Willamette
the Claremont colleges (Pomona etc.), Occidental</p>
<p>These schools cover a wide range of selectivity (from ~13% admitted to UChicago to nearly open admissions at Evergreen State). Most are liberal arts colleges (exceptions: UChicago, AU, GW). </p>
<p>If cost is an issue at all, be sure to run the online Net Price Calculators for any that interest you.</p>
<p>OP, it would help if you define what you mean by a sports culture. Here are two extremes.</p>
<p>UFlorida has national level teams in virtually every sport in which it competes and on days with home football games school spirit and the game will be all over campus. Big sports school right? However, Florida actually has relatively few varsity sports and it is a very big school so the odds you have a varsity athlete on your dorm hall or in your class are pretty low. (UF has 18 varsity sports)</p>
<p>Lots of folks in this thread are recommending LACs. LACs typically have among the most varsity teams (often 30+ teams) which means 1/4 to 1/3 of the students are often varsity athletes … the sports culture is often very low key but a huge percentage of folks are involved in it. The athletic experience is totally different than at a LAC from UF but athletics definitely plan a big role on campus.</p>
<p>What about athletics are you trying to avoid?</p>
<p>I went to a Big East school in the 80’s that was a football/basketball/lax powerhouse…and I can’t recall one instance of sports being shoved anywhere. Even schools with large athletics profiles usually have lots of other things to do. Make friends with kids who enjoy doing the things you like to do and problem solved. </p>