ISO Ivied Walls and Ivory Towers

April 1, 2014 4:54 AM

The plan was Oxford or Cambridge, but the ol' family finances not being what they once were, I'll be studying the classics somewhere in the US, preferably in New England. So what's the best small, private college for a would-be classics major? Parents would be happy if it's somewhat exclusive; as for me, I'm the type of guy who's just mostly looking for a memorable experience (carpe diem, and all that rot), but, yeah, I guess it wouldn't kill me to make the right kind of friends. Suggestions?
posted by Bunnny Co. to Education around (6 answers total)

Wherever you wind up, one tip about college life: don't get too wrapped up in your friends from just one class. The odd field trip is fine, but if it gets to the point where you're going away with them every weekend, you might want to loosen ties a bit.

Also, you mention New England, but I'd steer away from anywhere that gets too much snow in the winter. You don't want to get up to your neck in it and hidden away from the outside world for months at a time!
posted by daisyk at 4:02 AM on April 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

You might look into Hampden College, which is in Vermont. It's very similar to Bennington. But watch the party scene - it can get downright bacchanalian.
posted by sockermom at 4:42 AM on April 1, 2014 [9 favorites]

Maybe Miskatonic University, over in Arkham?
posted by Mchelly at 7:01 AM on April 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Good call, Mchelly. Nobody brings the ancients back to life like Miskatonic U. I heard they have an Antarctic Expedition that really puts one's place on Earth into sharp relief.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:35 AM on April 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I really think you should consider St. John's College. I think it has a lot of what you're looking for. I would recommend the Annapolis campus, though. It's very urban and I think you would be safer there than in Santa Fe, where there are a lot of ravines where a person could just disappear.

And I second the recommendations above to make sure that you diversify your friends. Hanging out with the same people all the time can end badly.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:49 PM on April 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Whatever you do, if you have to stay there over winter break, do not take an unheated room in an old hippie's place.
posted by SisterHavana at 8:49 PM on April 1, 2014 [2 favorites]