<p>sky7walker,
You’ve got an exciting year ahead of you so enjoy learning about many schools and making the right decision. I am from the midwest so going to school in the west was one of my top priorities and going to a good LAC had to combine with that. I wasn’t the California type and I wanted to be near some mountains. After I discounted Reed, I concentrated my efforts on Whitman in Washington state and Colorado College in Colorado Springs. I spent alot of time at both and realized that Walla Walla, WA. was just too remote (4 hours from Portland and Seattle) but I loved it other than that…check it out. The campus was even nicer than Reed and had a great mix of students, athletes, and all walks of life. In the end, I really loved the idea of the Block Plan at Colorado College. I applied ED I, got in and haven’t looked back. Really check this out. It combines all the liberal aspects of Reed, it’s right near Pikes Peak, you study one class at a time (just finishing my first course today), and has Div I and Div III sports for both men and women. I’ve been here a month and love it! After the three and a half week block class you get a four day break until your next class starts which is awesome. Today I am off for four days hiking and camping near Vail. As much as stress as there is finishing a class in three and a half weeks, the block breaks seem like they will b excellent relief. It’s ranked 26th by USNWR for liberal arts colleges. I know it’s not exactly the coast but check it out…you’ll be amazed! I am!!</p>