One of D22s main criteria was “nice people”. She ended up at Saint Louis University and found exactly the “nice people” she was hoping for. We are from PNW too.
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I second the suggestion of Kenyon, though I’m biased because my daughter attends. I also recommend looking at the Women’s colleges: We found the women at Bryn Mawr and Smith College to be lovely and supportive of each other. A dark horse school that also has rolling admission so you can apply now and have an answer before Halloween: Hollins University in Virginia. Beautiful campus, awesome president, and warm and welcoming faculty and student body. It was a super safety for my kid that surprisingly made it pretty close to the end decision.
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Third-ing Kenyon. It’s kind of isolated, so its possible the kids were able to recognize a visitor, but many students went out of their way to stop and chat with my kid during our visit to Kenyon. Several of them independently mentioned that all the parties are open to everyone, no matter who is hosting them. They also raved about how approachable all the professors are, and it’s common to be invited to the professors’ homes for meals/visits. And the campus was just beautiful. All students live on campus for all 4 years so it really ends up being a community.
I’d also add Macalester if you’re willing to go a little further west. Everyone we met there was also super friendly, and the faculty were very easy to talk to.
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The college my kid is attending is in the ‘nice person school’ category for sure, but it’s in TX.
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A friend’s son was looking for a “nice person school” and wound up loving his time at Hillsdale. It’s not my cup of tea, and it certainly wouldn’t work for S25, but there is something to that Midwestern nice. I’ll also throw in my alma mater of Hope College, since it really was a friend and collaborative school. If East Coast is just preferred but not required, I think Michigan could have some contenders.
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Dropping in an Oberlin recommendation, even though it isn’t on the east coast. C24 has really had a great time getting to know people there.
I would definitely check out their admissions blogs. I know they’re meant to put the school in a positive light, but the vibe that we got from reading those blogs seems very much in line with what C24 has experienced as a student so far. https://www.oberlin.edu/blogs
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Denison absolutely hits that sweet spot of “nice kids” college – it was my kid’s experience as a 4 year athlete, not in greek life who went to his friends’ theater, dance, music performances and they came to his matches. More importantly, it is the ethos of the school as articulated by Pres. Weinberg – he talks often about how Denison has not used the increased number of applications to cherry pick top stats kids but continues to stay focused on admitting “true” Denisonians, whom he describes as the kind of people you are happy to work with, have your kid date, join your place of worship, be active in your schools.
Dickinson also fits that description, we have relatives and good friends’ kids who are recent grads. I don’t have personal knowledge of Lehigh etc. so can’t add anything there.
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My D is a “nice” W&M student and loves the school. She loves it so much that she’s a volunteer campus tour guide, and is sad that she’s already in her senior year.
There is Greek life but for many/most participants, it’s of the low-key variety. (My D is in a sorority but her closest friends are still those she met in her freshman dorm…the sorority is a nice add-on in her life but not the core of her life). She spends more time with a non-Greek honor/service all-gender fraternity. Students come to W&M from all over the country, and many of the Virginia students are from the DC suburbs (and whose families may have originally come from other parts of the country and world). There’s a southern character to the school but still, it’s not what I truly think of as a “Southern” school (I grew up in the Deep South and have lived all over the map). The campus is gorgeous, BTW! My D thought she wanted a LAC (the aforementioned Dickinson and Lafayette were high on her list) but the size of W&M proved to be perfect for her.
ETA: The southern quality has much more of a Tidewater Colonial America” flavor (NOT Gone With the Wind), with Colonial Williamsburg practically an extension of campus. However, the school itself runs progressive, with number of moderate students in the mix. There are many, many history classes examining the role and history of slavery and racism in the US and the world. There is a beautiful new memorial to the formerly enslaved, whose involuntary labors helped create the school, and some buildings named for former members of the Confederacy have been renamed for notable Black alumni. The school has a feeling of being steeped in history in the “ancient” part of campus but there’s an acknowledgement of the complexity of that history. There are many new contemporary buildings (lots of glass walls looking out onto wooded scenery) and new dormitories are being built as I write.
Right now, upperclass students aren’t guaranteed housing all four years as some old dormitories were torn down, but I imagine many/most of the new dorms will be completed by the time next year’s freshmen will need them. Starting junior year my D has been living in a popular high-rise apartment complex on the edge of campus (virtually all residents are students) and, while she has about a mile hike/bike ride to most of her classes on the opposite side of campus it really doesn’t feel as if she is “off” campus…the complex seems like an extension of the school and has given her the option to cook many of her own meals and do laundry right in her own 4-student unit. She does not have a car and has managed it easily as there is a small supermarket and pharmacy practically next door (some of her friends do have cars and she has opportunities to do extra shopping/outings with them).
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“Fourth-ing” Kenyon!
The student panel was impressive but also salt of the earth, and the VP of admissions talked about it being the kind of place where if you trip and fall there will be many, many hands reaching to pull you back up.
My daughter immediately wrote it off because — although she is truly one of the kindest people on the planet — she wants friends who giggle first when you trip and fall! 
She grew up with more of an East Coast mentality of self-deprecation and sarcasm, so the example didn’t resonate with her.
Despite it not being a fit for her, we both found Kenyon to be a special, remarkable place that would be amazing for the right student.
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Not East Coast but I think Rhodes College might be worth looking into. They seemed culturally inclusive, friendly, collaborative. Smart kids but not nearly as intense-feeling, and the Greek scene seemed low-key and accessible. Memphis is an interesting city.
We were looking for similar vibes and on our swing through the Midwest and Pennsylvania, St. Olaf, Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, College of Wooster, Dickinson, and Macalester all checked that “nice” box – although the student cultures at these schools seem pretty variable. I didn’t get the same vibe from Lehigh that you’re looking for, although it’s undeniably a terrific school.
We also loved the vibe at WPI, if your kiddo is into engineering at all. I’d also look into the University of Rochester and Brandeis.
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This site, which provides survey-based information, may offer you further ideas: Friendliest Students | The Princeton Review.
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It may be a little small for you, but Connecticut College. It’s a little thing, but I was impressed at how people were always saying hi to each other.
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Nice person colleges that I am aware of:
Whitman in Walla Walla
Bates
Carleton
Geneseo
Juniata
UVM
Some of the big state u’s: Iowa, Kansas, Auburn
U Rochester
Holy Cross
Clark
JMU
It’s worth noting that the vibe at a very friendly school like Clark is probably very different from the vibe at a very friendly school like Holy Cross, despite both being in the same city.
It’s also worth noting that, very generally, there are a lot of friendly, relaxed people at some less competitive colleges. I remember my daughter being surprised that her super high achieving friend chose JMU over much more competitive schools. She said it just felt very friendly and that was most important to her.
My son chose Binghamton because after doing an overnight, he simply felt he could be friends with the kids there. He loved it.
I agree with most of the others mentioned here, but some do have more emphasis on Greek Life. That isn’t always a bad thing, unless your child really wants to stay away from that.
Lehigh has been working hard to shed its reputation for Greek Life, and the campus is absolutely lovely. I know the sweetest girl who applied to Lehigh ED and is very happy so far.
It’s hard to give a short list for this kind of question because all of us here know kids who have been happy at so many different types of colleges. I think a noncompetitive environment seems important in the context of what you ask, and that is probably applicable to all colleges mentioned here so far.
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Yes, but…
Rochester’s Pre-meds are every bit as competitive as those at schools which generally have a more intense reputation. Etc. So it can be very dependent on a kid’s circle of friends, dorm, major, etc. Any kid can make even the most “chillaxed” college intense if they choose to; most kids can find their “chillaxed” people at even an intense college.
I think Clark and Holy Cross (to pick up on your suggestions) are EXCELLENT friendly, nice, warm places. But there are “gunners” at both schools! No environment, however “nice” is going be 100% devoid of any competition.
So the OP should get a handle on exactly what they are looking for in the environment.
I agree with your suggestion of UVM- I just think it’s a gorgeous environment filled with super nice and engaged students, excellent work/life balance, etc. And I mentioned it recently to a HS senior who was asking for suggestions of a few more schools and he wrinkled his nose and said “That’s where the stoners go”. Now that cannabis seems to be everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE) is there really such a thing as a stoner anymore? I know someone who brings his dad in assisted living gummies every week for god’s sake, and not for a medical condition…
So YMMV!
Is premed on the cards for this student? I missed that.
Yes, what is a stoner these days, haha. The OP’s child might want to avoid some colleges with a big emphasis on partying. A couple of notorious ones come to mind, but there are many lists of top party schools. Not that there aren’t friendly people at those schools, but if the student definitely wants more non-partying options on campus, it might be good to avoid a school such as Syracuse, for example.
I wasn’t implying that the kid was premed. Just saying that if an anthropology major is rooming with a premed, the “vibe” of the university is possibly going to feel different than if that anthro major is rooming with a Classics major.
I totally agree on Rhodes College - many very nice kids. But there are mean kids everywhere. This is even more a problem for Jewish kids cought in pro/against Palestinian fight. There is nothing “nice” from response of some kids. Example of some response- harassing on anonymous sites like Yik Yak. Unfrending good friends because they are on the “wrong” side. Should I continue 
?
Elon is mentioned here. I have a sophomore that has been very, very happy there. Her friend group (made up of both guys and girls) are some of the nicest young adults that I have encountered. They really look out for one another.
I will say though that greek life is pretty big, and there is quite a bit of partying Thurs-Sat. Darties are a big Saturday afternoon pastime. Just something to consider.
This site offers information on the percentage of students who live on campus at various colleges: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-on-campus.
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I also would not trust “nice” evaluation by other people from CC. My very “nice” and social daughter eventually turned down and did not apply to “nice” Oberlin or Denison. She felt that Dickinson and Muhlenberg were not nice enough after she applied and got scholarships there. At the end she totally refused to go to mentioned above Juniata. It turned out that those “nice” kids were not her crowd after she contacted them on Instagram and run their website for several weeks. She came to me and said that she will not survive for 4 years with these kids. So much for “nice” kids.
Your student needs to feel vibe and determine is it nice enough for him or not. It can be done only during visit and after quite a lot of communication with local college students.
In the end DD committed to school with nice kids 14 hours away due to program there, but she had amazing nice kids 1 hour from home.
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