So far, I have: Swarthmore, UChicago, Barnard, Brown, Columbia, Bard, and Vassar, and Scripps. I should also I add that I would like to focus on politics (leaning towards international affairs, which is why I’m also applying to Claremont McKenna) but also study either Lit or Philosophy. Bonus if the school promotes intellectual freedom similar to UChicago Thanks!
You would like at least several of Kenyon’s overlap schools (see The Company We Keep), or Kenyon itself:
You are apparently considering small universities as well as LACs. In that case, consider Tufts. Home of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, one of the world’s top grad schools in international affairs. Strong undergrad program as well. I think Tufts and Harvard undergraduates can petition to take classes at Fletcher.
Wesleyan
Agree with Kenyon, definitely also Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
Always impressed that Kenyon’s alumni include writers/poets Laura Hillenbrand, Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns), Robert Lowell, E.L. Doctorow, Peter Taylor, and William H. Gass and actors/actresses Paul Newman and Allison Janney. Not bad for a small LAC.
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) is a Wesleyan alum.
Holy Cross and William and Mary are terrific for international affairs. Same with Dickinson. They do have various requirements.
Good luck!
U Richmond. Great school in a cool city. Lots of culture 15 minutes from campus. Incredibly nice people. S was admitted but attends elsewhere for a different vibe (more big time sports).
If you want the more intellectual vibe, I would swap in Pomona and swap out Claremont McKenna. In the five Claremont colleges, Pomona is the most “pure” and “intellectual” like Swarthmore and UChicago. Claremont McKenna has a more practical vibe.
Oberlin, Grinnell, Haverford. Agree that Pomona > CMC for intellectual vibe.
Definitely Wesleyan. Bard.
OP, other than major as you don’t live inside your major for 4 years, but rather you live inside a campus and a community - do you want a big, medium or small school, an urban, suburban or rural school, a school that has a defined campus or one that is spread amongst other city buildings, a school that has small classes or larger lectures?
I would defintely add Grinnell. It is an unusually intellectual little school. We were turned off by Swarthmore on our visit because all the conversations amongst students that we overheard were about how stressed they were because they had a deadline or a final coming up. Not once did we here anyone talk about what they were learning. At Grinnell, the students seemed much more happier and we heard several conversations in which students were chatting enthusiastically about new things they were learning. They were discussing content over testing, and they were obviously delighted with what they were learning. That sealed the deal for my kid.
Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, Wesleyan, Oberlin, Kenyon, and yes Vassar is a good choice. I’d apply to Pomona and cross register with CMC for international affairs. Pomona will have a more intellectual vibe, less pre-professional. Agree with the Tufts reco for reasons above. Break a leg!
Bowdoin, Hamilton and Middlebury also have excellent Poli Sci/IR programs - it really comes down to fit.
No need to cross register at CMC for international affairs- Pomona has a very strong international relations program and a strong track record of producing diplomats.
Floraha–Bryn Mawr is arty (theater, dance), but the studio arts dept is at Haverford, it’s co-campus. BMC and Mt. Holyoke are intellectual and arty.
@Chembiodad for me those are more preferences than say prerequisites. I would like a college close to or in a fairly large and diverse city. Smaller classes are a plus, as are specialized research opportunities with faculty
I’d add Lawrence University as well. Appleton is about 80,000 with a surrounding metro area of 250, 000. Large arts community in the city itself. Lots of individualized research. Admissions may be easier, but has an intellectual vibe and a nationally renowned conservatory.
I’m curious why you have Scripps on this list. I agree that between CMC and Pomona, Pomona is more focused on learning for learning’s sake and CMC is more pre-professional. But CMC also has strong literature and philosophy departments which the OP is interested in. My Pomona kid has taken a class on Metaphysics and a class on Melville at CMC. And I see a greater commitment to viewpoint diversity at CMC than Pomona. Not sure that’s what OP meant by “intellectual freedom.” CMC and Pomona are both superior to Scripps for what OP describes, in my opinion, just with different campus cultures.
Also I’d add a caveat to the suggestion by @xhaavic about going to Pomona to major in IR but cross-registering at CMC for IR. The system for cross-registering at the 5C’s is easy and seamless but that doesn’t mean that you can assume Pomona will let you substitute off campus classes for the core required classes in your major. You’d have to check with the Pomona IR department about substituting CMC classes for the core required Pomona classes. For example, I know that the Pomona Econ department will not let you substitute CMC classes for the 6 core classes in the Pomona Econ sequence. And as @nostalgicwisdom says, the Pomona IR department is excellent. Scripps does permit off campus majors so I believe the OP could attend Scripps and major in IR at CMC or Pomona.
OP, I would add Tufts; while a university, its smallish, has an LAC vibe, and is 15 minutes from both Cambridge (Harvard, MIT) and Boston.
Here’s a list of liberal arts colleges that are in or near cities - it may be helpful;
East Coast
Barnard College, New York City
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, near Philadelphia
Swarthmore College
Haverford College, near Philadelphia
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, near New York City
Swarthmore College, Smarthmore, PA, near Philadelphia
Trinity College, Hartford, CT
Midwest
Macalester College, St. Paul
South
University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
West
Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Reed College, Portland, OR
Claremont McKenna College
If “intellectual vibe” means “smartest”, here’s the 50 “smartest” colleges as ranked by Business Insider, including both universities and LAC’s http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10
Thank you for all the info I really appreciate it!