Which LA schools are best for people who don’t care about sports? My D doesn’t play a sport and has maybe been to two school sports events her entire HS career. Which liberal arts schools are the least sports-centered?
To varying degrees, Carleton, Swarthmore, St. John’s, New College of Florida, Bennington, Marlboro, Reed, Eugene Lang (part of the New School).
Bryn Mawr College; Lawrence University in Wisconsin.
I don’t know that this is necessarily something that there is a “best” at. There are probably some schools that are not great for kids who absolutely don’t care about sports - like Williams has a reputation for being a “sporty” school. But most LACs are probably places where a kid who isn’t interested in sports can just not go to sports events and be fine.
If she will consider a women’s college, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley are excellent choices. For coed schools look at Bard and Oberlin.
This (#3) would seem to be true. Even at LACs with a relatively strong sports emphasis, ~60-65% of students do not participate in varsity sports within any given year.
@juillet “best” in this case being “better suited for”. Didn’t mean in terms of a ranking. Some schools (and I’ve heard Williams mentioned before) a student could feel left out socially if not involved in a team sport.
Reed does not even have varsity sports. They have a variety of club sports.
^Sure 
I just think is probably easier to eliminate the relatively small handful of LACs that have sporty reputations than it is to enumerate the large number of schools that are better suited for non-sporty kids, because that’s probably going to be most of them. LACs usually tend to be Division III schools and the students who attend there generally aren’t interested in big college sports.
But, for example, we’ve already named Williams. Another place that wouldn’t be good is Bucknell, which is pretty sporty and competes in Division I. Another pretty sporty LAC to avoid would be Lafayette, who has a pretty storied rivalry with Lehigh. Presbyterian College, a small college in South Carolina, is also a pretty sporty place - 1/3 of the student body competes in sports.
Other LACs/small colleges with D1 sports are Davidson College, Wofford College, Marist College, Wake Forest, College of the Holy Cross, University of Richmond, and Colgate University. However, having D1 sports doesn’t necessarily mean the place is sporty. I do think that URichmond and Davidson do have sportier reputations than most of the other schools here (someone else can chime in to confirm or deny!); I’ve never heard of Holy Cross or Colgate being particularly preoccupied with sports.
As a Williams alumna, I have to disagree with the comments here about Williams. I am one of the world’s least athletic people. In middle school people made fun of me in P.E. Class and I was picked last in any team-picking activities. Needless to say, I did not play a sport at Williams. I also didn’t follow any sports when I went to Williams. I did not attend a single sporting event in 4 years there. I had a wonderful time there and had no problem finding friends who shared my interests. Yes, sports are at Williams for those who enjoy them. But to say that people who don’t like sports won’t be happy there is wrong; my friends and I loved Williams!
Though Williams has an active, outdoorsy culture, it’s unlikely that “a student could feel left out socially if not involved in a team sport.” Many Williams students don’t participate in team sports – and only go to athletic events in support their of their friends. Williams’ deep and wide arts community – theater, music, studio art and museums – is an equally vital part of the campus culture. Non-athletes will not feel marginalized.
Connecticut College is the only NESCAC without a football team
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Along the same lines, Bates is the only NESCAC without varsity hockey.
I played two varsity sports at Williams, but most of my friends weren’t athletes, fwiw.
Vassar football: undefeated since 1861
(…b/c you have to have a team)
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Grinnell isn’t too sporty either.
I would also mention Haverford, which lacks a football team. Maybe basketball and soccer are huge there, but football surely isn’t.
Its Quaker Consortium cousins Swat and Bryn Mawr have already been mentioned.
Hampshire College
Bard. And any of the women’s colleges. But even at D3 schools with high athletic partipation, there’s often little emphasis on spectator sports. It’s often friends watching friends, for support, rather than a focal point of campus activity.
Van Cleve will be missed.
Haverford may lack a football team but they are a varsity cricket powerhouse.