Then why are you leaning toward applying to Bowdoin ED? Bowdoin’s overall vibe is not granola (not that some students might not have that vibe)
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A cursory Google search for “preppy colleges” does indeed turn up Middlebury. But it also includes six of the eight Ivies, Duke, Stanford, UChicago, and yes, Bowdoin.
How about outdoorsy colleges (the closet you can get to “granola” in a general Google search)? A few of the same schools, including Bowdoin and Middlebury.
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OP, did you look at Vassar? Probably a good one to consider.
Also, a reminder that at most of these schools, you’ll find your granola tribe! Perhaps the way you want to think about it is whether you want that to be the dominant culture or not. For some people, that really matters. For others, not so much.
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That’s a really good point: is a granola-dominant culture strongly preferred, or rather merely that you can find a more granola-ey tribe? If the latter, Bowdoin and Middlebury would check that box.
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you’re right. where can I get detailed information on this kind of stuff?
I don’t think I’m looking at Ivies although they are good schools.
oh wait, I had been completely misinterpreting granola as something more counter-culture – sorry if I confused y’all. Bowdoin just has a really strong English major, so I was considering ED for that, but my next priority is whether the students are “quirky” (which is why I was looking @ Bennington, etc.).
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Vassar seems very much a fit, so I will research further.
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Beyond an in-person visit, do virtual sessions, read Niche .com site, read Fiske guide (hard copy only, available in your library or at online book sellers).
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If quirky is the goal, I agree you should look at Vassar. Also Oberlin.
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You will be able to find many schools with strong English programs, so focusing on a “quirky” student body is probably a better means of focusing in on schools.
Can you clarify what your stance is in terms of how much of the student body you’d like to be quirky?
I would prefer majority, but then again, I don’t want to “choose” what type of people I interact with, so it’s not a defining aspect (I guess nothing is though).
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to clarify, a lot of the “vibe” criteria I’m looking for stem from my experiences in my local school and my high school.
my local school (which I attended until middle school) is tight-knit but there is a prevalent “bro culture” which narrows the overall diversity in the ideas/thoughts proliferated there.
my high school, a magnet school, opened up my eyes to lots of perspectives but not many people are chill or friendly – instead they’re often super competitive.
the reason why I’m looking at LACs right now is because they’re my best shot at achieving the good parts of both environments I’ve been in.
hope this gives good detail.
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If you would like to read brief subjective comments on a few of the schools that have been suggested in your topic, this post may be of interest: Struggling with D21's List. ED & ED2: Amherst, Hamilton, Wellesley, Vassar - #7 by merc81.
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Also look at Haverford and Swarthmore.
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I came here to say look at Swarthmore as well.
As someone with a phd in a field very close to what you’re interested in – and who currently teaches in that field – I think Wesleyan could be the right place for you and worth considering ED’ing to, more so than Bowdoin for ex. Given your stats and profile, etc. I think you’re a lock for Kenyon and Bennington. Everything I know about Pomona suggests it is very difficult to get into.
Good luck.
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You might want to look into Hamilton. It offers a summer program in philosophy, which may reflect the strength of its department overall.
https://www.apaonline.org/page/undergraduateworkshops
Note that these workshops are open to non-Hamilton students as well, so they would be an option for you regardless of where you attend college.
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That’s an interesting program. Hamilton offered these courses this summer:
Language, Games and Logic
The State of Nature
The Value of Beauty
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noted that Wesleyan may be better for what I’m going for. I could compare since I will have visited both by the end of summer.
I also heard that Hamilton’s English program was good from an alum (with lots of successful authors, for example), so it is on my radar (its philosophy dept., as previously commented by AustenNut, has 11 majors). I heard it was very isolated though, but is that a huge thing at Hamilton? if not… I should definitely consider it.
is Swarthmore known for an English program btw?
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