College is all about meeting people, broadening your mind, finding yourself, traveling to exotic locales--and oh, yeah, nailing a 4.0 while you're at it. The Princeton Review's annual survey of college students across the nation found that the following ten schools make no compromise when it comes to delivering the best academic experience to their students.
1. Reed College (Portland, Oregon)
Reed College is the epitome of an American educational paradigm, the small teaching-oriented college where students pursue education for its own sake. "Reed is about serious, no-nonsense academics in an irreverent community of like-minded scholars," explains one Reedie. "People looking to come here should be aware that they will be in for one heck of a ride, and should be prepared to be challenged like they've never been before," warns another student. Fortunately, "Reed professors are here to teach. They are hired for their teaching ability, promoted for their teaching ability, and granted tenure based on their teaching ability."

Students who considered Reed also looked at Bard College, Brown University, Grinnell College, and Stanford University.

2. Marlboro College (Marlboro, Vermont)
Like everything else at Marlboro, academics are centered around the individual student. Because students are given "freedom to design" their "own academic programs," "you can study whatever you want." In other words, students tend to believe that "the possibilities are endless"--and "there's no such thing as sitting in the back and twiddling your thumbs." Of course, the very fact that there's enough schoolwork to "kill an average individual" means that "a true Marlboro student thinks about dropping daily."

Students who considered Marlboro also looked at Bennington College, Davidson College, Harvard College, and Haverford College.

Source: http://www.msn.com/

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