<p>*I moved this thread from the college life section</p>
<p>So here's my story: I live in Minnesota and have visited many WI and MN schools and I am not interested in any of them. I have read several college recommendation books, tons of articles, and investigated many websites to no avail. I'm not that well off so it's not like I can visit every college that sparks my interest so all I can really do now is give people my info and ask your opinions...</p>
<p>I am kind of a "different" person and sometimes find it hard to relate to lots of other guys. I am really into indie/alternative music - but not to the pretentious hipster extent. I have kind of a hippie meets indie meets 90's grunge rocker style going on. I know this doesn't seem important but I'd like to be surrounded by other unique folks, as silly at that may sound college is the first time I'll be able to chose what kind of people I'll be surrounded by so I'd like a college with a diverse group of people. (And yes, I know an important part of college is working with people who are different from you so I don't need the reminder:P)</p>
<p>So aside from the stylish non-jockey folks here is some more criteria I have:
-I play soccer so I wouldn't mind an inter-mural or lower division soccer program
-I am open to both a bigger city or college town campus as long as it has lots of life and is a beautiful city or the town is very scenic etc..
-I'd probably prefer a slightly smaller student body like 3000-10,000
-I do really enjoy the reefer and the occasional drink (I liven in Amsterdam for a summer) so I wouldn't mind a fun party/drug scene
-I'd prefer a more liberal campus
-I don't care about location as long as it's not in the bible belt..I know I said I live in MN but I'm open to almost any state
-Techy/Science school is negative..my strengths lie in writing
-Last but not least, the majors I'm interested in (so far) include: Communications and Advertising</p>
<p>More about me:
-I am middle-MIDDLE class, and I am the second child of 3 siblings so reasonable pricing is nice
-My high school gpa will be around 3.5-3.7 when I graduate (unweighted)
-I will have taken 4 AP classes by the time I graduate So far I've taken just ap Euro and received a score of 4 on the ap test
-I took about half of my coursework through an online highschool during junior year and didn't do amazingly..I know some colleges will see this as a negitive
-I am planning on voulenteering during my senior year, I have held down a job for the last year, and I play Jv soccer
-I am a white male</p>
<p>So now that you know a fair bit about me I am asking you to recommend a college you may have researched, visited, or even attended. I'd also really like to hear why you think I might like it or any other awesome info you could give me to aid my search.</p>
<p>*Please refrain from cliche' answers linking me to college finding website etc. I posted here because you people seem intelligent, objective, and knowledgeable!</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read all this and possibly helping me to find the college of my dreams!</p>
<p>Your test scores are massively important here. If they’re really good, look into Reed (very intellectual), Pitzer (very small), Oberlin (might be a bit too mainstream), and Wesleyan. (~700-800 per section) If they’re decent, look into Bard and Lewis and Clark. (~600-700 per section) Those might also serve as good safeties. I don’t know much about universities that serve students with scores much less than that.</p>
<p>^I can’t think of any major universities that fit your vibe, but that is not My Vibe so I didn’t research such schools. Those are all LACs.</p>
<p>I don’t know what your SAT/ACT scores are, but if money were not a factor, I would think that Ithaca College in NY state would be a good choice. I wonder because you are from MN, whether they might offer a better package for you. I would not count on the money working regarding this school, but for communications/advertising this might be a very good choice. You should be used to the winter weather too. Also, their Park School (commuications) seems to have more money to offer for merit aid than some of their other schools.</p>
<p>hampshire
bennington
university of vermont
wesleyan - if you have the sat scores for it
suny purchase - could be a safety?
eugene lang college in nyc
drew university in nj - half hour from nyc
bard
skidmore </p>
<p>did you look at beloit college in wisconsin?</p>
<p>Northwestern University but fairly difficult to get admitted into. I would suggest for you to also look at Syracuse.</p>
<p>Ofcourse I could suggest other schools but due to your preference of student body size I think Northwestern University becomes a even more better fit and Syracuse might be also.</p>
<p>As other posters have said, it’s hard to recommend places without knowing any test scores. To me, it sounds that you would enjoy a liberal arts college most, though. Unless they have a religious affiliation, they tend to be more liberal. They are typically quite small and great for humanities students.</p>
<p>Check out: Kenyon, Whitman, Clark, Connecticut College, Grinnell, Beloit, Carleton, Macalester, Colorado College, Hampshire, Kalamazoo, Knox, and Lake Forest.</p>
<p>Yeah, Hampshire’s good. I know a total stoner there, if that counts for anything.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>True, I was estimating a bit high. 650s are probably totally fine. However, it is an intellectually serious place, as seen by its average SAT score of ~1400/1600 and its cheer “Kant, Locke, [something] Spinoza, come on Reed, hit 'em in the nose-a!” Or something like that. As such, it’s not necessarily either a “party scene” or a laid-back vibe, which I get from OP. Maybe he’s a philosophy/academics geek like that, and I’m just totally getting the wrong impression, though. But do they even offer communications/marketing?</p>
<p>The sense I got from reading your description of yourself was that you’re quirky-- however the phrase that really stood out to me was your categorization that 1. you are not a hipster and 2. you find hipsters pretentious.</p>
<p>This eliminates a VAST VAST number of “non-mainstream” colleges. Notably Hampshire, probably Bard, Vassar, arguably Oberlin, etc etc etc. Plus, you are interested in soccer, so those types of super artsy schools might not suit you as well.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would look into the colleges with a bit of quirk, but still full of all-around humble, non-edgy kids. Schools like Whitman and St. Lawrence might be the best fit. If you’re looking for the intellectual step up from that, Grinnell and Carleton are excellent.</p>
<p>I’m going to second Skidmore, Grinnell, Reed, Whitman, and Wesleyan. I’d add Pitzer. Most of these are under 3000 students, so I hope you’re okay with that.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions guys!
I’ll look into all of the colleges you have suggested.
And sorry I would have posted my act/sat scores but I just recently took the act and haven’t gotten my scores yet and I don’t think I am going to take the SAT.</p>