<p>I don’t consider Duke or Cornell to be laid back at all. Students at both tend to be quite ambitious, type-A sort of kids, and they take a lot of pride in how hard they work, etc.</p>
<p>I think Brandeis fits your criteria pretty well, and isn’t as reachy as Brown.</p>
<p>The Lehigh/Lafayette/Bucknell group might also be what you’re looking for, depending on how you feel about prominent Greek systems.</p>