<p>My daughter is a junior (SAT currently 620m/680 CR retaking in May) and GPA around 3.5, looking at smaller colleges (under 3000).
She loves community engagement of all types from helping overseas to local work with the homeless. She is very creative and wants a strong arts program but not necessarily majoring in this. Also math/economics/philosophy interests.
Wants a diverse student body and strong study abroad programs.
She is a procrastinator so needs a certain amount of structure!
We currently have recommendations for Bard, Lafayette, Kenyon, Oberlin and Dickinson.
Any other thoughts?</p>
<p>My S is like your daughter…so, the list was Davidson, Goucher (a smallish one on colleges that change your life but we liked the vibe) and be study abroad program, Guilford, another CTCLives one…Haverford maybe? Quaker schools, Earlham, Haverford, Guilford have a very “human” feel. My S is at Kenyon and LOVES it there…Last, a big up and comer is UNC-Asheville. You have to see it to get it, the town is unbelievable, and it is really getting buzz in our state…was my sons second choice…it looks much better than it reads…</p>
<p>hendrix and muhlenberg
muhlenberg and hendrix</p>
<p>and perhaps eckerd college</p>
<p>What about some of the Jesuit or Marianist Universities?</p>
<p>Definitely look into Lawrence University. Their art department seems pretty good (sorry for the vague evaluation). Two awesome artists are also professors there who are in charge of much of the department (especially photography). Check out their page: [Bio</a> | J. Shimon & J. Lindemann](<a href=“http://www.shimonlindemann.com/info/]Bio”>http://www.shimonlindemann.com/info/) .
Lawrence is also one of two colleges in Wisconsin to be honored by the Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll every year (seven consecutive years now).
Generally known for its individualized learning (many independent and one on one classes), has a conservatory like Bard and Oberlin, and is a CTCL. </p>
<p>Reed’s structure is similar to Bard’s, and your daughter might also like Grinnell or Vassar (although these schools are a bit more selective).</p>
<p>Other LACs that might be good to research: Whitman, Lewis and Clark, Willamette, Puget Sound, Macalaster, Cornell College (block plan), and Kalamazoo.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas.
Are any of these particularly strong for interdisciplinary courses, experiential learning, group projects etc?</p>
<p>Hendrix has an entire program devoted to experiential learning. It’s called Odyssey and allows students to take on special projects or internships in the arts, leadership, global studies, service, and research–or they can make up their own. The program funds a lot of interesting interdisciplinary work whether during the school year or over breaks. The website below has profiles of different students’ projects, including one about a student interested in bioethics who was able to intern with a bioethicist at Oxford, won a Goldwater scholarship, and is now at Johns Hopkins for a MD/PhD program: [Hendrix</a> College | A Personal Odyssey](<a href=“http://www.hendrix.edu/discoverhendrix/odyssey/]Hendrix”>http://www.hendrix.edu/discoverhendrix/odyssey/) </p>
<p>This program was a very compelling factor for my own creative procrastinator. 
But there are other LACs that would likely offer some of what you are looking for as well. Do you have geographic considerations?</p>
<p>My daughter sounds similar to yours. One of the schools high on her list is Kalamazoo. Take a look. Their program (the K program) emphasizes study abroad, the arts, and social justice. I just thought it was a school with a funny name but the more I found out about it the more interesting it became.</p>
<p>^Kalamazoo is an awesome school–several students from my kids’ high school have gone there and loved it.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone - this is a really helpful starting point</p>
<p>When we toured Colorado College, the speaker said that their block plan would beat the procrastination out of kids… 
The block plan also sounds good for people with serious interests other than their major, because they wouldn’t feel guilty about spending time on the “fun” classes at the expense of the “major” classes. Another school with the block plan is Cornell College.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about the block plan. What type of student thrives - or doesn’t thrive on this? She has no particular major in mind so I don’t think she would miss not doing a particular subject for a few weeks. She would need an ongoing creative outlet but presumably there are extra arts offerings all year?</p>
<p>I know that Colorado College has some low-credit ongoing stuff, but I don’t know what it is, maybe foreign language refreshers/art/sport? You could look around for quarter-credit classes.</p>