Most Liberal Colleges 2012: The Newsweek/College Prowler List

For most of these campuses, it's easy to tell where the political ideology rests. And in Beyonce's words (though politics wasn't the conversation, exactly), it's "to the left, to the left."

Here are the 2012 rankings for the most liberal colleges in America as determined by Newsweek and College Prowler. Newsweek said it partnered with College Prowler to have students rank their schools by how liberal they felt the philosophy on campus was.

Click through to see the top 15 most liberal schools in the country. Any surprises?

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• 15. Wesleyan University

  Middletown, Connecticut Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wesolin.jpg" target="_hplink">Ychennay </a>

• 14. Hendrix College

  Conway, Arkansas

• 13. SUNY Purchase College

  Purchase, New York

• 12. Marlboro College

  Brattleboro, Vermont

• 11. Mills College

  Oakland, California

• 10. Swarthmore College

  Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

• 9. Bard College

  Annandale-On-Hudson, New York Photo Credit:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bard_College_-_IMG_8004.JPG" target="_hplink"> Daderot</a>

• 8. Grinnell College

  Grinnell, Iowa Photo Credit:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grinnell_002.JPG" target="_hplink"> Aureliusxv</a>

• 7. Vassar College

  Poughkeepsie, New York Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thompson_Library_(Vassar_College).jpg" target="_hplink">Noteremote </a>

• 6. Smith College

  Northampton, Massachusetts

• 5. Macalester College

  Saint Paul, Minnesota Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Main-Macalester.jpg" target="_hplink">Evenjk</a>

• 4. Hampshire College

  Amherst, Massachusetts Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hampshire_College_Dakin_Dorm.jpg" target="_hplink">Wondermut2k6 </a>

• 3. Oberlin College

  Oberlin, Ohio Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oberlin_music2.jpg" target="_hplink">Aude</a>

• 2. Sarah Lawrence College

  Bronxville, New York Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Westlands.JPG" target="_hplink">SaidieLou</a>

• 1. Warren Wilson College

  Swannanoa, North Carolina Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Farm_copy.jpg" target="_hplink">Fatride</a>

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Comments

[DJPotterWriter]

01:50 AM on 08/19/2012

I'm not sure what the point of the list is. Why would you want to be surrounded by people who agree with you? I enjoy debate. Besides, liberalism and conservatism are very arbitrary. Unlike communism, libertarianism and anarchism, for example, they lack principles.

[Tunghoy]

11:39 PM on 08/18/2012

What's great about Marlboro College is that it has a building named for former Governor Howard Dean.

SUNY Purchase is on a very nice campus and has a big performing arts school. I took some continuing ed classes there and enjoyed seeing a lot of women students in their dance leotards.

[Juror Number 8]

01:14 PM on 08/16/2012

One other thing: Warren Wilson is an extremely rural work college. If it were on the "most conservative colleges" list a few months back, just like the obviously-identical College of the Ozarks, HuffPost comments would bash it as "Hicksville," "Cowtown," and "Podunk U" to absolutely no end. Here, they praise it as "beautiful," "inventive," and "inspiring." Hmmm...

[Juror Number 8]

02:30 AM on 08/16/2012

And to think readers weren't impressed by the "most conservative" colleges, even though last year Forbes had Hillsdale clocked in at #60 in the nation, #7 in the Midwest, and #1 in the state of Michigan (defeating even UMich). Given their similar origins, it is best thought of as Oberlin's conservative counterpart. And I even knew a girl who left Hillsdale to attend Hendrix (family issues), speak of the devil.
Anyway, interesting list. Perhaps some people were expecting the Ivies, but I guess the situation in this country is not that grim after all.

[flossophy]

11:56 PM on 08/15/2012

They probably can't do a top ten most conservative colleges... because I don't think there are more than ten. 

It's interesting that the vast majority of colleges in this country are Liberal... and we're in decline. 

Someone's got some spIainin' to do.

[Helene Hoffman]

11:17 AM on 11/09/2012

Yeah - and its you! First of all, there are no simple solutions to complex problems. If we are 'in decline' there are a myriad of reasons for it, not just 'one'. And, if you think there is a direct connection between liberal colleges and our 'decline' - then cite some good sources connecting the two. Otherwise, there is NO proof for such a connection.

[openroad]

10:52 PM on 12/03/2012

Not all of academia is liberal, especially. The economics departments at most colleges and universities, on the undergraduate and especially the graduate school levels, are pretty conservative. And if you've seen the award-winning documentary on the recent financial crisis,"Inside Job," you'd understand just how conservative the movers and shakers of the profession -- those in the most prestigious graduate departments and whose advice is regularly sought and highly paid for -- are, in service to powerful financial interests around the world. Or maybe they are not true believers of their own conservative, free-market rhetoric and are merely sycophants.

[thepoet6741]

08:10 AM on 08/15/2012

translation=Top 15 schools to attend if you don't want to get a job.

[Sue She]

12:37 AM on 08/15/2012

I'm sorry, did you say most expensive schools?

[BigWillyG]

12:17 AM on 08/15/2012

Isn't Vasser women only?

[jayroe]

05:22 PM on 08/15/2012

Not since 1969. So a few years of men...

[philoec]

12:14 PM on 08/14/2012

LIBERAL=WICKED???
AMERICA IS UNDER THE REIGN OF TERROR
SHE NEVER COULD HAVE A WICKED-FALSE PROPHET
IN HER HISTORY, AS TODAY!!!

[PirateJohn]

09:36 PM on 08/14/2012

You doin' okay?

[charmage]

10:14 PM on 08/14/2012

You must have accounts in the Cayman Islands.

[Mouse718]

09:06 AM on 08/14/2012

My issue with these schools isn't liberal versus conservative but rather that small liberal arts schools such as these (and many others not on the list) usually do not even offer employable majors. Swarthmore actually has an engineering program, but that's unusual for one of these schools. Generally they don't offer programs like nursing, engineering, accounting, finance, or business administration. And these schools are super expensive.

[Susanmg]

09:14 AM on 08/14/2012

They are preparing students gor grad schools. My daughter went to a fine liberal arts school in MI (thankfully on schoalrship) and got a degree in English and voice. The classes were set up so she could not take education classes as they conflicted with her voice major classes. She was not accepted to grad school in voice. So she spent a year substitute teaching, got married, spent another year looking for a job, then went to law school (also on scholarship, as her GPA and test scores were excellent.) She is now a working attorney, and her udergrad education helped her get into law school, but it was not what we envisioned when she was 18. So yes, these schools prepare the kids well, but not for immediate employment.

[Mouse718]

09:24 AM on 08/14/2012

Good for her that she found employment as an attorney, that is a tough, over-saturated market these days.

I also got a degree in English, I didn't want to go to grad school because I didn't want tons of debt and didn't have family to pay for the tuition. I ended up working low skilled, low paid clerical jobs. The school and the degree prepared me for nothing. I eventually saved up enough to go to nursing school through my local community college. I had a far better experience there - socially, academically, and professionally. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[giving]

07:42 AM on 08/14/2012

strange article on 'most liberal' colleges,
Ivy League? where's UCLA, USC Etc.
where they integrate int the minority communities
to intern and dialogue and hire?
does Vasser go to the hood,
liberals are defined by action not
greek letters.

[PirateJohn]

09:38 PM on 08/14/2012

UCLA, maybe, but I went to USC and wouldn't put it anywhere near the top of the most liberal schools. Even among UC's, UCLA pales in comparison to UC Santa Cruz or UC Davis.

[Quis Custodiet]

05:03 AM on 08/15/2012

USC has useful majors - ergo it is not a "liberal" school. I think that is self evident.

[Quis Custodiet]

05:03 AM on 08/15/2012

When they say "most liberal" they mean "squelching any voice but liberal"
Try to even hint at a conservative stance on a n y issue at any one of these schools and prepare to be called a fascist.

[ptrgamb]

06:56 AM on 08/14/2012

Vassar and Smith are more liberal than Bard? I don't think so.

[Apm193]

11:14 PM on 08/13/2012

Is Warren Wilson College just a farm with a single building?

[Oahu dutchess]

12:29 PM on 08/15/2012

no it has several buildings, but they are scattered and some are hidden. This college is deep in the Smoky Mnts. just outside of Asheville, so it just looks that way.

[Marian g]

11:00 PM on 08/13/2012

I'm surprised that NYU did not make it on the list.

[Mouse718]

09:07 AM on 08/14/2012

NYU has a big business school, medical school, and nursing school. They aren't just liberal and performing arts. My guess is that the first three schools mentioned don't have a political bias in any direction, thus dropping this school's rank on the list of "most liberal"

[Sue She]

12:38 AM on 08/15/2012

or Reed in Portland?

[akass2]

09:14 PM on 08/13/2012

#13 baby! SUNY Poorchoice