<p>My son visited Bennington and loved it, so that's on the list as his safety. (He's a little concerned about the drug culture and lack of Christian fellowship there, but that isn't enough of a deterrent to make him rule it out.) What other schools are like it (small, artsy, quirky, self-directed)? He's interested in theater, but may also want to study philosophy.</p>
<p>He has one B on his transcript, mostly honors and AP classes. Plays trumpet and trombone; involved in theater; works on tech help desk. No SAT yet, but got a 217 on his PSAT, so will likely be Commended, but not NMF in our state. He has said he'd like to be close to home (New England), but is willing to go far, far away if the college is in a warm place.:)</p>
<p>We are full pay. No sports, hooks or anything, unless you count borderline Asperger's as a hook. ;)</p>
<p>We're thinking maybe Brown or Vassar for his reach school, UCSD for a match, and Bennington and Emerson for his safeties. Any other matches he should look at?</p>
<p>^I second tk’s list and I would target Hampshire (show tons of interest). Add Eckerd and New College Florida if he wants warm weather. Perhaps Hendrix for another warm weather match. Guilford for a warm-weather safety, and Evergreen State College for a self-directed/mild-but-rainy weather safety.</p>
<p>Maybe also read up on Wesleyan, Skidmore, Dickinson, Bard. Bates, Middlebury, Hamilton… Some Midwest LACs such as Oberlin, Kenyon, Mcalester, Carelton might be good but seem to be not geographically desirable to him.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg, perhaps, although I don’t know about quirky. It’s the quirky and Christian fellowship I’m having trouble putting together but that’s my limitation. Muhlenberg has the theater and the fellowship down pat. Pomona certainly fits the quirky bill and it has the Christian component. And Pomona produced Dr. Kildare, for those of you who’ve not seen The Thorn Birds :-bd </p>
<p>If he want arts and a somewhat more independent and/or socially conservative culture (most Northeast LACs lean left; these are more middle road) he might look at Skidmore, Conn College, Hamilton. A little farther afield, Kenyon. Williams is a reach, but they value the music involvement, even for non-majors. Small but good theater and philosophy.</p>
<p>I agree Pomona would be a great warm weather choice, but it’s also highly selective. Maybe look at Pitzer. Also Davidson.</p>
<p>UCSD seems out of place on his list, but maybe there’s a reason it’s included? Some of the others would do as matches.</p>
<p>Here’s an odd choice…Sewanee…on top of a mountain on the Cumberland Plateau…one of the most beautiful liberal arts colleges you will ever see…and with a side seminary program full of smart, witty kids…</p>
<p>^^^that’s worth a good look, OP. I hear a lot of good things about it, including that it’s a bit isolated. But if your S likes a little nature with his spirituality it has that going for it. And it has a strong theatre program and is generally strong in the humanities. One thing to ask the people at an isolated campus including some of those mentioned above is how the theatre majors deal with being so far from major theatre-going opportunities. </p>
<p>I would add Knox College, a lesser known jewel in Illinois. I believe it would have the Christian Fellowship aspect that he is looking for along with all his other preferences.</p>
<p>Thanks, all. He is interested in performance more than tech. (The help desk he’s on assists staff and students with their IT issues.) The reason UCSD is on the list is because a friend of mine has a connection with the theater department and has offered to set him up to talk to someone there. Plus, it’s San Diego. It doesn’t have to stay on the list.</p>
<p>He did look at Williams, but wasn’t sure about it. In any case, that’s a reach for anyone. Oberlin has come up more than once, so we will suggest that he check that out, as well as Bard. </p>
<p>To clarify, he doesn’t mind a left-leaning campus. He’s just looking for one with an active Christian fellowship. They aren’t mutually exclusive, nor is being quirky and Christian. Really, we’re not all cookies cut from the same ecclesiastical dough. </p>
<p>I agree with Brown and Vassar as the reach schools. Theater and music are valued and strong at Vassar. Take a look a Brandeis also. When we visited Brandeis, our tour guide was into theater and I was amazed at the number on productions they did. Also, the students at Brandeis are slightly ‘quirky’ also. We were impressed that on the Brandeis tour, they took us past the three houses of worship and said they are located near each other on campus but set so none ever casts a shadow on the others. </p>
<p>I’d definitely look at Carleton. Highly individualistic and accepting, more than any school I know. Liberal but tempered by Midwestern core values. Religious participation broad based, broadly accepted. </p>
It doesn’t have to stay on the list.</p>