<p>I would guess that mrsref’s vignette was meant to capture the spirit, not the letter, and should be read as such.</p>
<p>Interesting comments about the respective towns. Might that be more of a factor for a quirky kid? I can see where quirky kids who attending straighter schools might be more likely to want to supplement on-campus activities than their straighter classmates - - but I’m just speculating.</p>
<p>Colleges in general tend to embrace quirks. </p>
<p>I really relate to your daughter. I have an abyss of piercings(I never wear them all at once, though), and am always wearing tie dye. I’m planning on attending either SUNY Albany or SUNY Binghamton next year instead of UVM(quirkiest college possible). One of the reasons is because I won’t get lost in a sea of those trying to “out quirk” the rest. Also, I’ve chosen schools that are large enough that there will certainly be more than preps or sorority girls there. </p>
<p>I guess what I’m getting at is that unless you choose an ultra conservative school, your daughter won’t be looked down upon-quite the contrary. Most college students love characters and are accepting of them.</p>
<p>^^^^ Hmmmm, not sure I aree with that. Many schools that are not ultra-conservative are too conservative for a quirky student to feel comfortable or for there to be a critical mass of like-minded students. The percentage of students in frats/sororities, which you mention above, can be a negative for a quirky student (like yourself), even if the school isn’t otherwise conservative.</p>
<p>funny-Oberlain was my first thought</p>
<p>Hindoo, Earlham and Guilford, both Quaker schools, are already on D’s list and mentioned in the first sentence of my original post. D attended a Quaker school and was taught by Earlham/Guilford alumni, so I had no doubts or concers about each schools quirk-quoitent. </p>
<p>I visited Wooster a couple of years ago w/ D1 (the nerd) on our grand tour. Wooster was, at best, a safety for D1 and I was looking for a different child, so looking thorugh a different prism. I hadn’t really been thinking of Wooster for D2, but since your D is a student there, what’s your take on Wooster and quirky?</p>
<p>JHS and mrsref, thanks. (I think JHS’s odball/hipster captures the flavor of D’s quirkiness - - she’s not an artsy or theater type.) I have heard only good reports about Ursinus, but my sense was, as you posted, that the school was accepting and that a quirky kid could be happy there - - but finding even a small quirky/oddball/hipster community could be a problem. OTOH, I don’t think Ursinus has as much of a prep population, which for D is a good thing. In any event, when D visits, we’ll definitely be looing to see whether there is critical mass or whether other ascpect of campus life (like housing opitons) that might help an odball/hipster create that sense of community in the absence of critical mass.</p>
<p>I saw “Earlham,” but somehow missed Guilford. Anyway, both great schools. … Wooster was a safety for my D1 as well, but one that gave her great merit $$ and, so far, a very challenging, rewarding academic experience. But I wouldn’t call Wooster “quirky.” Overall, the kids there seem more mainstream than edgy. My D2 is at Carleton, which pretty much defines the term “quirky.” 
Oh, and Beloit’s another possibility.</p>
<p>She would be right at home at Clark - not so much at Hobart. However I would not call Worcester a “dying city”. It is the 2nd largest city in Mass and has 10 colleges in the city area. It is also home to the DCU Center which is a stop on many concert tours. Shrewsbury St and the Canal district are thriving and have many great restaurants and nightlife. There are many live theaters including the Hanover Theater which was just beautifully restored and already has a strong following in the city. We live between Boston and Worcester and go to Worcester much more often since it has less traffic, more parking and much more reasonable prices than Boston.</p>
<p>I’d probably say that Queen’s (in Charlotte) is probably not one of the better options. It’s a great school, and I love living in Charlotte. There IS a lot of diversity, and Charlotte is one of the “newer” cities in the Southeast, but that being said, I think the college is not populated with very many “fringe” students…just a thought.</p>
<p>At the risk of showing my Yankee bias - - you say quirky/edgy/fringe, I think northeast and midwest or even CA, but not southern. The only hippie-ish southern colleges I can think of are Hendrix, Guilford and Warren Wilson. (If skateboarding is edgy, Eckerd is not in the same league.)</p>
<p>Is quirky/edgy primarily a northern thing?</p>
<p>Nah, you could be pretty quirky at Berry College, and hella quirky at Sewanee. both southern schools. My children and both their parents are clearly quirky, and we’re all four Southern. The difference, my daughter would tell you, is that quirky in the south is <em>mainstream</em> in parts of California, hence my teasing about “just” having pink hair.</p>
<p>I think that you can find quirky kids in the theatre department at almost any LAC. I was pretty darn mainstream as an undergrad (biology major, college newspaper) but I loved the theatre kids. They were just so interesting!
:)</p>
<p>Quirky/edgy is not a northern thing. For every northern preppy girl, we may have a southern belle but we also have lots of piercings, dyed hair and vegetarians. UNC Asheville is definately arty/quirky (as is most of the town) but like most of the other colleges described, a nerd could fit in nicely, too. (Not much Greek presence.) In South Carolina, College of Charleston might also appeal to a quirky student.</p>
<p>she’ll be fine at clark and muhlenberg</p>
<p>My D loved Clark when we visited, and I think a quirky kid would fit in just fine. D was completely oblivious to Worcester, “dying” city or not. It was all about the campus and the students, and she liked both. And FWIW, we had probably our best college meal at Clark :)</p>
<p>I found only one CC thread w/ Berry in the title. Posters described the school as follows:</p>
<p>"It is the largest college or university campus in the world. Huge endowment, much of which they use to keep list-price low. It is said to have a relatively religious student body. Apparently they produce lots and lots of future teachers. That’s about all I know.</p>
<p>and </p>
<p>“The school is conservative. The campus is gorgeous, and huge. Has complete dairy farm, etc. . . . Rome, GA is about an hour from Atlanta. Not sure if they have regular shuttles or anything . . . . Had the biggest dorm rooms we’ve ever seen.”</p>
<p>Again - - take w/ 2 grains of salt.</p>
<p>nyc: I havent’ visited in years, but when I was younger, Berry was where students of a certain level of strangeness went to school, regionally. They were best known for offering large scholarships to winners of their annual academic bowl competition. The campus is very large, and very rural, and has room for the sort of southern “quirkiness” I am thinking of. Which, based on someone else’s comment, is not what others consider that way. The quirky southerners I know/knew didn’t have pink hair and piercings. I <em>look</em> pretty normaly, until I open my mouth. Quirkiness is not solely about appearance – you can look strange and be very conventional inside. In fact, a lot of kids I know go through a phase of <em>looking</em> quirky, but it’s only skin deep. Oh but that’s beside the point. </p>
<p>Anyway, Berry. </p>
<p>But it occurs to me that there’s a school that’s geographically in the south that would be far quirkier – New College in Florida!</p>
<p>Quirky is certainly more about style than appearance, but the appearance is often a reflection of the different styles. And the dyed-hair, pierced, punkish edgy urban kids are different than the tree-hugging, clothing-optional, vegan, blue-grass fans at WWC. So yes, I understand that quirky exists in the south, but I was thinking more of quirky as it exists on the northeastern/midwestern campuses that other posters have suggested.</p>
<p>As for Berry, no doubt the campus is gorgeous. And, according to that earlier Berry thread, the college still offers generous merit $.</p>
<p>I’ve never seen the word quirk so many times in my life.</p>
<p>What about normal-hair-colored, carnivorous lit geeks? Religion fascinates me (ironically, as I’m staunchly atheist) and I hate science, but I don’t have the willpower to go vegetarian nor the inclination to dress weirdly.</p>
<p>In terms of recs, I second Beloit, Hendrix, and New College.</p>