<p>Interesting questions that are difficult to answer, but good to ask before choosing a school. You are correct, that numbers alone often do not give an accurate picture of how easy it is to meet and socialize with others from a different ethnic or socioeconomic background. Even on a campus where ethnic groups seem to segregate themselves, it is still possible or even likely that there are many individuals with a diverse set of friends.</p>
<p>Once you have narrowed down your list, and as you visit schools, you might want to take a look at different EC’s that interest you. If everyone in the clubs that interest you is from your same background, I would guess that it is less likely that you will meet or befriend other types of students.</p>
<p>What I have found interesting is that many students I knew from our high school, which has a fair amount of diversity, admit to having a far less diverse set of friends in college than they had in high school, even if going by numbers alone, the school has a high level of diversity.</p>
<p>Is this something others have observed? Do you think the size of a school has anything to do with this? That is - do LAC’s typically have less diversity, but also less self-segregation of groups?</p>
<p>Beyond that, some schools do seem to have a reputation for having more diverse groups of friends than others. (Rice comes to mind, but I am sure that there are others.)</p>