The 25 Most Desirable Small Schools

Founded in 1749 as Augusta Academy, Washington and Lee University has undergone several incarnations over the years: It gained the first half of its current moniker when it received a $20,000 stock endowment from George Washington in 1796 and the second half roughly a century later after General Robert E. Lee's tenure as the university's president.    
 
The private, four-year liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, ranks seventh on Newsweek's list of most desirable rural campuses and 11th among the 25 most desirable small colleges. It is divided into two divisions catering to its roughly 1,800 undergraduates: the College; and the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics.  It also offers a graduate school of law.   
 
The university boasts a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, an average class size of 16 students, and professors who cannot push the work off to teaching assistants, because there are none!  Washington and Lee University also offers active participation in student government, athletics and campus life.