The Hot Schools Of 2004

But it's not all lab life; Grinnell hosts plays, concerts and on-campus movies--all free. And the new dorms are great. It isn't cheap: total tab for 2003-04 will run $31,060. Grinnell is among the fewer than 40 colleges--all of them top schools--that still offer need-blind admissions, and most students receive some form of financial aid. No wonder applications are up 10 percent.

Grinnell students also apply to Macalester and Oberlin.

MOST OLD-SCHOOL

St. John's College, Annapolis, Md.,

and Santa Fe, N.M.

What does Annapolis have in common with Santa Fe? Not much, except for St. John's, which has a campus at each beautiful location. Students choose a primary campus, but about a third of the 900 kids spend at least a year at the other. There are no majors; everyone earns a degree in liberal arts. --Founded in 1696, St. John's has its students read Plato, Aristotle, Homer and other greats; they also take four years of math, three years of science and three years of language. And though students have to request permission to see their grades (most don't, unless they're bound for grad school), they're subjected to an old Oxford tradition called the "Don Rag," in which teachers give students a review at the end of each semester. The school seems to be getting good reviews itself: applications are up 17 percent.