<p>I've never really considered my D "quirky". As we look at schools though, the ones that appeal are the ones that have "quirky" kids. I guess it's relative. We live in a "quirky" place (Santa Cruz Mountains) so maybe quirky is mainstream for us. I think there is one boy at D's high school who wears AF. And he is definitely quirky.</p>
<p>So I wonder what is meant by "quirky" when talking about student body populations. Unconventional? Hippieish? Having weird interests? Ultraliberal?Unusually creative? Unconcerned with popular culture?</p>
<p>everybody considers me to be quirky. for instance today i'm wearing yellow pants, a bright green and yellow shirt, and bright yellow and green socks. this would definately be considered a quirky outfit around here, haha. i think it looks goo though, so whatever.</p>
<p>Sometimes quirky means eclectic, but in my parts (wasp center USA) quirky means "Oh God that girl/boy is just so embarassingly bizarre" and they say it and **** their heads. And then just stare at the 'weirdo'. So yeah, it depends where you are.</p>
<p>My daughter is looking for a quirky student body. By that, she means: a school where there is a high tolerance for people who follow their own paths in terms of behavior, thought, and, yes, often dress.</p>
<p>This post makes me smile, as my S2 and DH just left for a tours of colleges in the midwest, seeking the quirky, if possible. He was decisive about what he would willingly wear to the interviews, with one exception, wherein I helped him understand that the dingy, holey, formerly fabulous t-shirt he favored might not be the best idea. "Am I not supposed to be myself? Won't a lively conversationalist overcome the appearance?" I got him to do another t-shirt, and even a long-sleeved polo (he refused the short-sleeved one) . . . "I don't want to go to college where they wear uniforms." I think that is exactly right for him, and hope that he will find his true fit where he will really be at home with himself, and others will be at home with him.</p>
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My daughter is looking for a quirky student body. By that, she means: a school where there is a high tolerance for people who follow their own paths in terms of behavior, thought, and, yes, often dress.
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<p>That is exactly what my daughter was looking for during her college search. To a certain extent she found it at Columbia. I get the impression that Swarthmore is another school with that quality.</p>
<p>the dingy, holey, formerly fabulous t-shirt he favored might not be the best idea. "Am I not supposed to be myself? Won't a lively conversationalist overcome the appearance?" I got him to do another t-shirt, and even a long-sleeved polo (he refused the short-sleeved one) . . . "I don't want to go to college where they wear uniforms.">></p>
<p>Momofthree, we REALLY must get your son2 and my daughter together.
:)</p>
<p>Ya know, they might just end up together!! I have my fingers crossed for Earlham, but am afraid that Hurricane Dennis is going to make the visit a very soggy experience. They will see Earlham on Thursday. MAYBE it will be clearer by then. I watch the Weather Channel too much. :)</p>
<p>To me quirky is someone whose appearance, or the way he carries him/herself, suggests geek or oddball, but when you talk to them they are funny, interesting and of course bright. My son's school is filled with quirky types...I think most top schools have a high quirky quotient...i would guess schools like Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Boston College, Colgate, etc aren't particularly quirky.</p>
<p>YoMama - I've been to your area. And yes, mainstream Santa Cruz mountains is pretty much a workable definition of "quirky" to the rest of the universe. Makes Berkeley look like Bob Jones U. ;)</p>
<p>But seriously -I like quirky people. Probably the quirkiest guy I know is a former law school classmate who ran for Congress in Berkeley - as a Republican. So I guess there's all kinds of quirks... He's a Reed graduate, by the way, and I've always thought of Reed as a fertile breeding ground for quirkiness. </p>
<p>Definition of quirky? Unconcerned with conventional norms, but not in an excessive/bizarre/fetishistic/obsessed way. Willing to try on odd ideas, even at the rick of not being "cool". Not just thinking "outside the box" - living there. Yeah. I like "quirky."</p>
<p>It's all relative. Back in the day, among the College Republicans and Jr. John Birchers that infested my college, I was a flaming Hippie - about as quirky as they come and certainly doomed to end up in Hell. Among the true Hippies I was a boring straight shooter to the point of absurdity. All with the same speech, dress, and behavior.</p>
<p>example: a mother with the username : yomama, would probably be defined as quirky. (I love it!) I'm cracking up imagining my mother with that name... I wish!</p>
<p>Quirky is to me a state of mind -- a tendency to think differently, an appreciation of offbeat humor, a prediliction toward the unconventional; listening to your own drumbeat and marching off the marked paths, coloring outside the lines, swimming against the current. Being so uncool that you're cool.</p>
<p>The more liberal schools seem to feel they have cornered the market on quirky, but it seems to me that they're just as prone to groupthink as the more conservative campuses. </p>
<p>I also think it's misleading to define or judge quirky by dress. All dress is a form of uniform, a kind of fashion statement even if the statement is "I'm weird and quirky!" or "I don't care about clothes." </p>
<p>Whether you dress like James Dean, Britney Spears, Laura Bush or Osama Bin Laden your clothes express your self image and can be coded door keys for inclusion in groups of like minded people. Tattoos and piercings don't denote individual thinking any more than A&F and polo shirts necessarily mean that the wearers are sheep. I've worked in the apparel business for 35 years (and counting :)) and have never yet seen real anti-fashion. From torn jeans to to button downs to Islamic head coverings, it's all a statement of identity.</p>
<p>I would have to say that a mainstream kid from Santa Cruz who shared his parent's values/dress/sensibilities, would be considered quirky outside of California!</p>
<p>DD2 is heading to a big state U, and has a quirky personality. She was turned-off by the LAC-type schools we visited as they seemed too much white bread to her...</p>