Urban LACs with a couple of caveat

[Anonymous]

Trinity in Hartford close to 50-50

[Anonymous]

I think you’re in search of a unicorn with that criteria list!

Technically not a SLAC but what about University of Rochester?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]How about U of Richmond? technically not be a LAC but it kind of seems like one and it’s very close to Richmond.[/quote]

University of Richmond is categorized as a liberal arts school.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-richmond-3744/overall-rankings

[Anonymous]

What you really want is an urban SLAC with a decent gender balance that offers STEM…not sure Trinity or Reed (Portland) or Macalaster are particularly known for it.

[Anonymous]

Your original post said it all. Macalester is the standout for urban LACs. I can attest that Mac kids definitely take advantage of the surrounding cities, both for socializing and internships.

[Anonymous]

Great teaching and community are hallmarks of Richmond. Great add to the list.

As for Macalaster, I would look deeper. I went to NYU with a big lopsided enrollment, and a lot of gay dudes. Awesome friendships. The men I dated were not always students. If you are in a city, there is no need to limit romantic adventures to students.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How about U of Richmond? technically not be a LAC but it kind of seems like one and it’s very close to Richmond.[/quote]

University of Richmond is categorized as a liberal arts school.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-richmond-3744/overall-rankings[/quote]
As is the Naval Academy…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at recent NSF-REU projects. Whatever schools those awardees attend, that is a strong STEM SLAC.

Interesting. How do do find a list of recent projects? I just see general info.

[Anonymous]

We looked for something similar. Here are some options people told us to consider. Keep in mind that different people have different ideas of what "urban" means.
Reed (awesome academics and located in Portland, Oregon)
Lewis & Clark (located in a quiet part of Portland)
Macalester (Twin Cities are great so this may be the best option for some people)
Occidental (it's urban in the LA style so you still need a car to enjoy many urban amenities)
Claremont Colleges (Claremont is a big, somewhat walkable suburb and there's a train to LA)
U Puget Sound (Tacoma is a nice small city and Seattle is less than an hour away)
Lawrence U (We were surprised by this one but Appleton has a lot going on)
Beloit (the city of Beloit is less interesting than Appleton but it's not rural and only an hour from Madison)
Wesleyan (it feels a little bit urban and you can walk to every kind of restaurant, but you have to drive 30-45 minutes to get to music venues, professional theater, etc.)
Bates (Lewiston is urban in some way ways but not that much fun)
Bowdoin (not too far from Portland, Maine)
Maybe Haverford or Swarthmore?

We didn't look in the South so we never saw Rhodes, Milsaps, Oxford/Emory, and so on.)

If you're willing to go to a Catholic college, you can find many more options.

[Anonymous]

Kalamazoo maybe?

[Anonymous]

Lewis & Clark - Portland
Occidental - LA
Lake Forest - Chicago
Macalester - St.P

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked for something similar. Here are some options people told us to consider. Keep in mind that different people have different ideas of what "urban" means.
Reed (awesome academics and located in Portland, Oregon)
Lewis & Clark (located in a quiet part of Portland)
Macalester (Twin Cities are great so this may be the best option for some people)
Occidental (it's urban in the LA style so you still need a car to enjoy many urban amenities)
Claremont Colleges (Claremont is a big, somewhat walkable suburb and there's a train to LA)
U Puget Sound (Tacoma is a nice small city and Seattle is less than an hour away)
Lawrence U (We were surprised by this one but Appleton has a lot going on)
Beloit (the city of Beloit is less interesting than Appleton but it's not rural and only an hour from Madison)
Wesleyan (it feels a little bit urban and you can walk to every kind of restaurant, but you have to drive 30-45 minutes to get to music venues, professional theater, etc.)
Bates (Lewiston is urban in some way ways but not that much fun)
Bowdoin (not too far from Portland, Maine)
Maybe Haverford or Swarthmore?

We didn't look in the South so we never saw Rhodes, Milsaps, Oxford/Emory, and so on.)

If you're willing to go to a Catholic college, you can find many more options.

Solid list. Mac is probably as good as it gets for what OP is looking for. (Mac is a gem!) Maybe also consider Barnard with the understanding that gender balance can be found across the street at Colombia and NYC generally? In reality, I think there is a very limited amount of truly urban LACs. But if OP considers LACs within an hour or so of a city, it would greatly expand the options. The question is whether OP's kid is okay with experiencing the city mostly on weekend excursions versus, for exapmle, going out on a random Tuesday evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked for something similar. Here are some options people told us to consider. Keep in mind that different people have different ideas of what "urban" means.
Reed (awesome academics and located in Portland, Oregon)
Lewis & Clark (located in a quiet part of Portland)
Macalester (Twin Cities are great so this may be the best option for some people)
Occidental (it's urban in the LA style so you still need a car to enjoy many urban amenities)
Claremont Colleges (Claremont is a big, somewhat walkable suburb and there's a train to LA)
U Puget Sound (Tacoma is a nice small city and Seattle is less than an hour away)
Lawrence U (We were surprised by this one but Appleton has a lot going on)
Beloit (the city of Beloit is less interesting than Appleton but it's not rural and only an hour from Madison)
Wesleyan (it feels a little bit urban and you can walk to every kind of restaurant, but you have to drive 30-45 minutes to get to music venues, professional theater, etc.)
Bates (Lewiston is urban in some way ways but not that much fun)
Bowdoin (not too far from Portland, Maine)
Maybe Haverford or Swarthmore?

We didn't look in the South so we never saw Rhodes, Milsaps, Oxford/Emory, and so on.)

If you're willing to go to a Catholic college, you can find many more options.

Thanks, this seems like a great list. Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Claremont Colleges, Puget Sound, Lawrence, and Wesleyan seem like they fit based on what you've described too. I'm not sure she's out there enough for Reed. She's willing to consider Catholic colleges if they're decently socially liberal. So also thanks to the poster who recommended Holy Cross. I guess we just have to see if the gender ratios seem like something that would bother her while visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked for something similar. Here are some options people told us to consider. Keep in mind that different people have different ideas of what "urban" means.
Reed (awesome academics and located in Portland, Oregon)
Lewis & Clark (located in a quiet part of Portland)
Macalester (Twin Cities are great so this may be the best option for some people)
Occidental (it's urban in the LA style so you still need a car to enjoy many urban amenities)
Claremont Colleges (Claremont is a big, somewhat walkable suburb and there's a train to LA)
U Puget Sound (Tacoma is a nice small city and Seattle is less than an hour away)
Lawrence U (We were surprised by this one but Appleton has a lot going on)
Beloit (the city of Beloit is less interesting than Appleton but it's not rural and only an hour from Madison)
Wesleyan (it feels a little bit urban and you can walk to every kind of restaurant, but you have to drive 30-45 minutes to get to music venues, professional theater, etc.)
Bates (Lewiston is urban in some way ways but not that much fun)
Bowdoin (not too far from Portland, Maine)
Maybe Haverford or Swarthmore?

We didn't look in the South so we never saw Rhodes, Milsaps, Oxford/Emory, and so on.)

If you're willing to go to a Catholic college, you can find many more options.

Solid list. Mac is probably as good as it gets for what OP is looking for. (Mac is a gem!) Maybe also consider Barnard with the understanding that gender balance can be found across the street at Colombia and NYC generally? In reality, I think there is a very limited amount of truly urban LACs. But if OP considers LACs within an hour or so of a city, it would greatly expand the options. The question is whether OP's kid is okay with experiencing the city mostly on weekend excursions versus, for exapmle, going out on a random Tuesday evening.

She actually visited Barnard and really liked it! That's kind of what she's looking for, but preferably co-ed and somewhere where she doesn't have to take science classes with Columbia students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you’re in search of a unicorn with that criteria list!

Technically not a SLAC but what about University of Rochester?

If you look at Rochester, also consider case western, Carnegie Mellon and John’s Hopkins