Several colleges are known to be “quirky” such as Reed, Tufts, Carleton, etc. A quick search of the definition of “quirky”:
characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits: eccentric, idiosyncratic, unconventional, unorthodox, unusual, strange, bizarre, peculiar, odd, outlandish, zany.
Would you steer clear of these type of schools if you had a non-quirky student applying to college?
Following! My son is not quirky, but I would like him to apply to Clark for their Psych dept. He’s not a jock homecoming court type either; I guess I would describe him as a social nerd. There are quirky kids at his school, but he isn’t friends with them. So “quirky” concerns me a bit too! We didn’t get to visit unfortunately, but would if a “quirky” school comes into the final contenders once decisions are back.
Well, for starters, while I would provide advice, if asked, I would not be applying to college - my kid is. So I would not try to “steer” one way or the other.
But as a HS student, would I steer clear? No. Not necessarily. Few colleges are 100% anything. If the college attracted me for other reasons, I’d see no reason not to pursue. By analogy, there are colleges are that heavily Greek, yet offers plenty for the student not interested in Greek life to thrive.
Not sure I’d put those three in the same bucket, but if the college offers a lot of what the kid is seeking, then sure, go ahead and apply. Visit/go to accepted students day and let kid decide if its a place that he can call ‘home’ for four years.
Tufts? quirky? In what way?
You know…some kids actually like these colleges you have named…as well as many others viewed as quirky in their own way.
When I think of quirky, I think of Hampshire and Bennington.
I would let your high school student make up their mind…
@thumper1 “Tufts? quirky? In what way?”
College Niche poll: “What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school? Quirky 20% (2nd most answer after passionate”
Any college will be an experience unlike what a high school student has experienced (except possibly if the student has been taking college courses while in high school).
So quirks may not be a problem unless they are both undesirable and intrusive or unavoidable. An example may be a heavy binge drinking party culture with little social life outside of drinking parties, for a student who wants to avoid that. Or if the college is academically quirky in a way that makes it difficult for the student to achieve his/her academic goals.
@skieurope “Well, for starters, while I would provide advice, if asked, I would not be applying to college - my kid is. So I would not try to “steer” one way or the other.”
As parents, we are helping our kids identify best “fit” schools for our kids. I think it’s a legitimate question. For example, D20’s science teacher went to Tufts and D was asking me about the school so I am doing some research.
Yes, I would steer them away. If my kids found those schools on their own and they were interested, I’d have them explore more but my kids were lazy and took my suggestions, so I didn’t lead them toward any schools I found too small, too remote, too quirky. Or schools where I didn’t like their sports teams.
I’ve met a lot of students from those quirky schools and I didn’t mesh with them so I didn’t think my kids would either. There are so many schools in the country, why focus on ones where there likely would not be a fit?
I know two Tufts students, one current and one former. They are the opposite of quirky. They are bland, both of them. even though neither knows each other. Very nice people, kind, thoughtful, generous, conscientious, very smart. One is creative. But both are really bland and not adventurous at all.
Visiting and getting to “know the school” should help in the decision process. The “quirkyness” becomes a big part of the feel / fit piece. S’s final decision was between academic quality equals but very different feels. One was “quirky” or known for quiet, quirky kids (W&M) and the other far more social (Wake Forest). We visited both twice, regular tour info session, etc. and then admitted students day. He was far more excited with the feel (school spirit, students attending football / basketball games) at Wake so chose that and is quite happy. He falls somewhere between the quiet and social but has gotten more social at Wake.
W&M is known for ‘quirky’? An instate-public with nearly 9,000 total students on campus?
Seriously?
@bluebayou “W&M is known for ‘quirky’? An instate-public with nearly 9,000 total students on campus? Seriously?”
I don’t know anything about W&M but according to Niche apparently they call themselves TWAMP, acronym for Typical William and Mary Person. Used to describe the awkward, bookish, WOW-playing nerds that attend the College of William and Mary?
btw - only 6,000 undergrads.
I went to Swarthmore when it was even smaller than it is now (IIRC about 1200 students). Sure lots of quirky kids. I fell into the more “typical” kid. There were more like me than not like me. But a lot of appreciation among everyone for “different strokes.” I think that’s a good thing.
I took my D to visit a quirky LAC and she hated it (which I knew would be the case). That was the end of that.
That W&M TWAMP acronym is pretty consistent with what S saw and why he chose to go elsewhere. He thought everyone was incredibly nice and welcoming, but very “earthy crunchy”. The kids giving tours, the kids on the tours and the students he came across at admitted student day. He would describe it as the Birkenstock crowd vs. the Nike trainer crowd at Wake (social, active).
I would not describe Tufts as quirky as much as a place that doesn’t really have a strong defining culture. They are one of the most competitive schools in the NESCAC, and there are plenty of jocks. There are also plenty of nerds, artsy types, urban sophisticates, etc. The student body is eclectic, but the kids are not uniformly quirky.
There isn’t necessarily a culture to conform to, which can be highly liberating, especially for quirky kids. There also isn’t a really tight and cohesive community like you’d find at a rural LAC, and that can be disappointing to a kid who wants a more rah rah experience. The city tends to siphon energy off the school, particularly for upperclassmen, many of whom live in houses near, but not on, campus.
I have known all kinds of kids who have gone here and they run the gamut from prep school partying athlete to math wizard theater artsy kid to reclusive engineer, and they have all been happy. My guess is that they also all have vastly different takes on the school.
I think you would find the culture to be more consistent across the student body at a place like Reed. If you are not quirky, you will easily find your tribe at Tufts.
I would not hesitate to kick the tires on ANY college if there were things that appealed to my kid, it could be affordable, etc. One person’s quirky is another person’s mainstream. People are often shocked to learn that I went to Brown (i’m not artistic, or boho, or politically active, or crunchy/granola/vegan or any of the other things they think Brown is). Guess what? Brown has lacrosse and football and theater and libraries and computer science kids who are pre-med and rare book libraries and people who major in Dead Languages (like me) and people who majored in Econ and were gunning to work in banking.
What does quirky mean anyway? No question that a college like Marlboro has a different feel than a college like Baruch. But I wouldn’t tell a kid that Baruch is for “mainstream” kids and Marlboro is for quirky kids. There are plenty of kids at Baruch who are interested in the arts and music and social justice and winter sports. They certainly have fewer opportunities to ski than a kid at Marlboro- but since when is skiing a “quirky” activity anyway?
It’s a good idea to visit these schools. My eldest was really excited about Reed until she visited. It’s a great school but a lot about the social culture turned her off. My middle thought seriously of Clark and while he still really liked it after a visit, in the end chose another school for several reasons… one being uncertainty of fit. He wanted a school that he could interact with people that didn’t agree with him. And our kids are super liberal, vegetarian, crunchier sorts… just a lot more conservative in how they express it.
I would urge you to visit Tufts. I was at a wedding not that long ago…a lot of Tufts grads. The pics looked like a GQ photo shoot. Not quirky at all.