<p>Hi everyone. I am a foreign student planning to apply to a college in the US for next year's fall. I have checked many guidebooks and review sites about the choice of colleges that I should go, but all of them seem to be geared towards the typically extroverted teenagers - those who require (and desire) close intimate contact with faculty members as well as other students.</p>
<p>For instance, many guidebooks (e.g. Colleges that Change Lives and Looking Beyond the Ivy League) suggest that small colleges are better than those "larger than your high school" because you would have more contact with the faculty. You would have more face-to-face help from teachers and easily get to study in groups. Additionally, not feeling lonely in a small institution would ensure that you would more likely not to suffer from attrition in the later years. </p>
<p>However, as a highly introverted individual being in close contact with other people at all times is NOT going to be of any good to me. In fact I find social activities highly draining. I have been to an institution before where I was stuck in a place with lots of nosy, party-all-night, can't-leave-anyone-alone people. I just can't find some privacy when people keep on barging in for more meaningless chit-chat in their free time. In contrast to what the book says, being too involved in the social scene is EXACTLY what drove me to transfer to another college soon later. </p>
<p>I don't find close teacher relationships to be of any use because I study much faster on my own. I don't really care even if I don't get any tutoring because eventually I will be able to figure out everything after thorough research in the library (since they ultimately be regurgitating information from those books anyway) and I do so quicker than anyone else. I appreciate the occasional home visit or invitation to lunch, but at most times I rather keep relationships on a strict need-to-learn basis. Likewise, I prefer just to have a few close friends, and those who do respect my need for long periods of privacy in between social gatherings. </p>
<p>And yes, as I have mentioned earlier. I DESPISE people nosing around in my personal life, good intentions or bad. I rather be diffused in a crowd and be treated like a number than be exposed to the entire campus like a Hollywood celebrity. I can't seem to fathom what enjoyment these extroverted upstarts get from digging out all sorts of sensitive information about people and spreading it to everyone...</p>
<p>What are your feedback on this? I am really opting for large colleges in spite of what the books' suggestions. Are there any qualities of small colleges that are redeeming for highly introverted individuals such as me?</p>
<p>The great thing about college is you can totally alienate people just by telling people the above posted opinions. Regretfully, some people may forget and be friendly towards you. You’ll have to rudely remind them. Best of luck find solitude and privacy in school.</p>
<p>1) find any college
2) get admitted
3) live off campus
4) major in liberal arts (if not a LAC) or kinesiology
3) don’t talk to anybody
4) walk swiftly</p>
<p>If you don’t form any good relationships with your professors, you’ll have no chance getting research opportunities, internships, any special programs, into grad school, or basically anything that requires a recommendation letter.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with wanting privacy (I know I would have appreciated more my first year) but one of the main objective of college, in my mind, is to provide an environment where you can get to know a lot of people, network, and form connections that will likely stay with you for the rest of your life, and help you out tremendously. The saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is definitely true in my experience, and you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t take advantage of this.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, you’re not alone or abnormal. You’re just an INTP/INTJ type (google Myers Briggs Type Indicator, if you’re not familiar with those acronyms.)</p>
<p>I think you would feel right at home at a top public university, majoring in mathematics, physics, or computer science – plenty of independent-minded introverts in those departments and very little pressure to socialize. Of course, once you’ve found others of similar personality, you just might become more talkative and social because conversation would be more meaningful to you. :-)</p>
<p>I’m also pretty introverted, but I also love to hang out.</p>
<p>I think any college you apply to, make sure they have a Quiet Hall. You could live there. No loud noises past 11 and no loud stereos blaring outside.</p>
<p>I think that you are walking among EXTROVERTS on this site. If you weren’t a foreign student, I would think that my child posted this. I would guess that your field of study is a good one for someone who prefers to be alone, and it is good that you know what bugs you and that other people drain your energy (while we extroverts gain energy from others). </p>
<p>When my daughter looked at colleges, which I don’t know whether you will be able to do much, she looked for schools where students did not walk in cheerful little packs. Have you explored St. John’s College? It has campuses in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is based on a Great Books curriculum and you really do not major in anything, but you would certainly acquire a solid foundation. All students study an identical curriculum. It is very small, but it is an interesting place.</p>
<p>With a very large school, you certainly could be lost in the crowd if that is what you are looking for.</p>
<p>St. John’s College requires lots of small group discussion. Mathematics is an important part of the curriculum, but like almost everything else it is taught through the Great Books. So you read Euclid, Newton, Leibnitz, etc., and discuss the concepts in class. St.John’s does have a good track record of preparing students for graduate studies in Mathematics and Statistics (it is #10 per capita in the number of graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in these fields) but it definitely is not for everyone. All students must learn French and Greek, in addition to reading and discussing all those Great Books for 4 years.</p>
<p>Other schools that have a good track record for Ph.D. preparation in Math (a good sign, even if not the OP’s goal) include Harvey Mudd, Reed, Chicago, Pomona, and Rice. All these schools attract serious students and probably many introverts (though Reed has a reputation for heavy drug use, deservedly or not). The University of Chicago traditionally has been full of INTP/ISTJ types. If it has not changed, there is at least one all male dormitory there with single rooms. </p>
<p>These schools are very selective and expensive (but with good financial aid). If selectivity or cost is a problem, I’d look for a northern, urban university without a big fraternity scene that attracts many Asian students and is strong in Math and Science. (I’ve read that northern + urban + Asians correlates to a lower rate of drinking, and presumably to a more serious atmosphere.) Another feature to look for is a substance-free dorm option.</p>
<p>I agree with MD Mom, the OP’s level of self-knowledge is an advantage for him. Many kids on this forum focus too much on where they can get in and not enough on the kind of learning environment that suits their personalities. But once you’ve found that, it is important to recognize your own intellectual limits, to become comfortable learning from the perspectives and knowledge of other people.</p>
<p>If you really are an INTJ (as I am), it isn’t about finding a school that fits you. It’s about finding friends that fit you. Also, go somewhere where you can get a single your freshman year.</p>
<p>ZGhost, I might have something to alleviate your “highly introverted” problem. Please PM me if you would like. I could change your life…for the better of course. Seriously.</p>
<p>an INFJ here and i totally sympathize with the OP. I understand where your coming from. I also could not STAND when my teacher bragged about “small liberal arts schools” being the “ideal” learning place. The thought of going to a school that is smaller than the size of my high school freaked me out. I hated standing out in my high school and being one of the “smart ppl” competing against the few other “smart ppl” in the class. Things get ugly really quickly in small settings as people tend to gossip and/or get annoyed with one another rather quickly. However,making connections is very important so that’s why I looked at mid-sized top private universities like Princeton, Duke, JHU, that also had good financial aid. I really think you would do well in any college whose average class sizes (freshman, sophomore, etc.) are 1200-1400 because this would allow you to “blend” in BUT you can also make the necessary connections.</p>
I could change your life…for the better of course. Seriously.</p>