Help a geeky girl find a college?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So, I'm pretty much a geek. My friends are video game and anime fanatics, and I myself am huge on Asian TV shows. I also self-study Japanese. I'm also not super socially adept, though I can manage. I'd also describe myself as a bit of a hippy type - I like to lay in the grass on a sunny day, and I like to walk around barefoot and spontaneously break into a dance. Diversity is important to me (or at least, empathy and respect for everyone), and I'm the president of my school's Gay-Straight Alliance.</p>

<p>Basically, I like being with "weird" (read: interesting) people like myself, though there are fine lines between my type of people, hipsters, and stuffy, overly-academic types. I'm also looking into small, liberal arts schools, which tend to have gratuitous amounts of rich white kids, one of which I am not (and I go to a preppy private school, and I'm tired of said rich white kids). I don't mind a mix of these types, but I want to go somewhere where I feel like I can belong for once.</p>

<p>These are the schools I'm thinking of:
Earlham College
Lewis & Clark College
Beloit College
Macalester College
Occidental College
Mount Holyoke College
Barnard College
Oberlin College</p>

<p>I haven't decided what I'd like to study, but I'm thinking up a hodgepodge of Creative Writing/English, Sociology, and/or Japanese Studies. My list includes my safeties, my "I think I'll get in here"s, and my reaches. My ideal school is in/near a city (New York or Boston - East Coast preferably, as that's where I'm from, but I'll look at West Coast because I love it and don't know many schools there). That's why I'm a little wary of Beloit, Earlham, and Oberlin. However, if the community is astounding enough yet it's in Podunk, Nowhere, I will take a look for sure.</p>

<p>Please suggest schools for me! Any suggestions or even some info about the schools on my list is more than welcome!</p>

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<p>I would suggest Hampshire </p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>

3

<p>How about Reed College in Portland?.</p>

<p>Or Bard in New York State.</p>

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<p>I would second floridadad’s suggestion of Reed. Based on what you described, I’d say that maybe Vassar or Wesleyan (both in New England, both highly selective) could be a good fit, or Pitzer College on the west coast. Grinnell and Kenyon probably fall under your category of Podunk, Nowhere (xD) but they might be good fits for your personality as well, so you should at least check them out! Good luck with your search.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for the suggestions! I’ve considered Reed and Hampshire already and pretty much ruled them out. And I honestly don’t think I could get into Reed, sigh. Bard seems pretty nice. I have considered Pitzer, so maybe I’ll take a second look - I couldn’t quite figure out if it was “geeky” or not! But the Claremont College thing they have going and also California are very appealing. :slight_smile: Thanks again!</p>

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<p>I think your list is a good one, but I am not sure that Occidental really fits your hoped-for type of student body.</p>

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<p>look in the library, (obviously has knowledge if she can read)
and look to your hearts content and just inro yourself and say something like “thats a wonderful book” or something to get her attention.</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr.</p>

<p>I am an alum you can pm me if you have any questions</p>

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<p>For those interested in the OP’s stats (from another thread):

OP, your interests are very similar to DD2’s (Anime club, climbing trees, walking bare foot). She was self-studying Japanese when we went out to Lewis and Clark for her freshman year. She will be taking spring semester in Japan which will basically complete her Japanese Studies minor. She also applied to Earlham and Oberlin because they fit well.</p>

<p>A more important question is what can your family afford?</p>

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<p>Grinnell is a fit culturally, although a reach for you. Great financial aid, though. Japanese is offered for 2 years of lang and lit but not as a major.</p>

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<p>siliconvalleymom: Yeah, I wasn’t sure about Occidental. I mostly just liked the location, I suppose. But if I did go West Coast, I’d want a school that was perfect. </p>

<p>Snowdog: I have considered Bryn Mawr, and it’s in Pennsylvania, which is my home state. And its proximity to Philly is very appealing. Maybe I’ll take a second look, and I’ll be in touch if I consider it seriously. Thank you. :)</p>

<p>Erin’s Dad: Yes, it sounds like your DD2 and I are very alike! :slight_smile: And I see she made the cross country move. Anyway, thank you for your input. My family is in a bit of a bind financially at the moment (divorce is a messy, messy thing), so I will be searching for considerable help. I would be willing to sacrifice a higher-ranked school if I got in (e.g. Oberlin) for a lesser known school (like Earlham) if they offered me more money. How does your daughter find L&C socially and academically? And, from your perspective, how is it in terms of financial aid?</p>

<p>M’s Mom: Yes, I’ve taken a look at Grinnell. It seems nice, but I’d really like to take Japanese studies pretty seriously, so I don’t think it’s worth the possibility of rejection. Thank you for the suggestion, though. :)</p>

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<p>From your research and initial list you probably already know that Earlham is very strong in Japanese Studies and has a study abroad option, too.</p>

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<p>Kelly, sorry to hear about your family situation. L&C requires the CSS profile for FA, but in your favor, they do not consider NCP info. We did not qualify for FA. From their Common Data Set <a href=“http://www.lclark.edu/live/files/7721-cds-h-2010[/url]”>http://www.lclark.edu/live/files/7721-cds-h-2010&lt;/a&gt; it seems their FA is pretty good but they do not meet need. As far as how D sees the school, she loves it. She has many friends she hangs out with and goes downtown just about every weekend. There are also all kinds of performances/sports events/etc she attends on campus. I am sure you would be challenged academically.</p>

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<p>My D is similar too --a passion for anime and Japanese (3 yrs. now), add in art, piercings, lots of hippie skirts and she’s also barefoot as much as possible. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, so although she’s smart, she doesn’t quite fit in with the more intellectual crowd. It’s been a challenge to find schools that A. have a Japanese program, B. have a slight hippie vibe, and C. aren’t overly intellectual. Bryn Mawr is very intellectual, so just pointing that out in case you are a goof ball as well as geeky, like my D, lol!</p>

<p>I agree, Oxy is not quite as good a fit as the others. Pitzer may fit well and it is worth it to look into Hampshire. You can take Japanese at either U of Mass. or Amherst as a part of the 5 college consortium (Amherst was voted as #1 college town recently). You probably have the same sort of arrangement with Pitzer and the Claremont colleges (if Japanese isn’t offered at Pitzer, have no idea?). Lewis & Clark seems IDEAL, and I would also look at U of Puget Sound. </p>

<p>Warren Wilson offers an Asian studies major and has a very strong creative writing program. It’s one of their few programs where they also offer a masters degree. You can travel abroad, and the nearby city of Asheville is something that definitely adds to the charm of WW. It’s also one of the less expensive privates (31K yr less a 3K work study that everyone is required to participate). </p>

<p>Once you figure out what your family can afford, then start narrowing down the list. Are you able to visit any schools?</p>

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<p>I hope you will keep Oberlin on your list–great creative writing and great Asian studies. They also have a fantasy themed dorm.</p>

<p>[Oberlin</a> College | Resed Housing | Sci-Fi Hall](<a href=“http://new.oberlin.edu/office/housing/housing-options/theme-living/sci-fi-hall.dot]Oberlin”>http://new.oberlin.edu/office/housing/housing-options/theme-living/sci-fi-hall.dot)</p>

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<p>qialah, kudos for finding that dorm…that sounds like an amazing fit for this OP!</p>

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<p>guidedbywire: Yes, I’ve read that Earlham is fantastic for Japanese studies and has well-established study abroad programs in Japan. It’s very appealing. :)</p>

<p>Erin’s Dad: Thanks for your input. :slight_smile: My “situation” just complicates things unessecarily, but I’m sure admissions has plenty of experience dealing with such things. I have to take a closer look into official financial aid forms (I do know the FAFSA isn’t realeased until Jan 1), but I’m sure my parents will want to fill them both out to get whatever we possibly can. L&C does seem pretty fantastic - my biggest obstacle would be getting from PA to there multiple times a year. Still, it seems like an amazing school and Portland, an awesome city. </p>

<p>jkiwmom: Actually, I am pretty much the biggest goofball ever - you’ve pretty much described me exactly, haha. Probably like your D, I would much rather be with people who enjoy learning but don’t take it <em>too</em> seriously (though I don’t want a school where I can just glide through academically, either).</p>

<p>I’m honestly a little intimidated by Hampshire’s evaluation system, though we do actually have similar “teacher comments” at my school (accompanied by a letter grade and an effort rating). I’ve read mixed reviews about the consortium, - ones that say it’s enriching, others that say it’s needlessly difficult - and I feel like I’d like to be able to take Japanese at the college in which I’m enrolled, since I plan on taking quite a few levels. I think they actually offer that through Mount Holyoke, but I can’t be sure. I’m not quite positive how I feel about Hampshire yet, as you can tell, haha.</p>

<p>As for Warren Wilson, I’ve never even heard of it! I haven’t seriously considered anything on the East Coast further south than Philadelphia, haha. I actually find farm work to be fun (though I can’t say I have much experience), so the work study program is very interesting. I might have to take a second look at that.</p>

<p>Given that my parents both work during the week and my college list has been in a constant state of flux, I haven’t been able to visit any schools that I actually like (I did tag along with a friend’s family to John Carroll and Duquesne, both schools very out of my interest range). Those did give me an idea of campuses and what to look for, though. I’m thinking of convincing my dad for a day trip out to Oberlin one of these days, just because it’s only about 2.5 hours away. Maybe I can get him all the way to Earlham. :stuck_out_tongue: My school also hosts admissions officers from many schools, and they come to talk to interested students in a comfortable and convenient setting. I’ve talked to a Barnard rep, and I am signed up to speak with Oberlin, Kalamazoo, Earlham, and Macalester when they visit. These visits are obviously only so helpful, but at least I can ask question and get my name, face, and high school with an admissions officer.</p>

<p>(Wow, huge answer, sorry about that, haha. But thank you for your detailed response.)</p>

<p>qialah: Oh, the theme houses look so fantastic! It’s not even that I would for sure stay in one <em>if</em> I was admitted - it’s appealing enough that there are even established communities there. I do love Oberlin, and I’d be applying ED if A.) I’d visited (which I still might do), and B.) my financial situation was more secure. When I first looked at Oberlin, though, something just clicked, and I’ve been after it ever since, haha. Thank you for those links. :)</p>

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<p>I would add Reed, new College in Fl, & Grinnell. I would agree that Occidental might not be great.</p>

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<p>Reed would be a reach based on stats and requires an absolutely great Why Reed essay.</p>

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<p>I have visited Beloit, and based on your interests, OP, I think you would really like the people on that campus. Don’t know if they offer enough Japanese, though. Beloit has a reputation for providing good merit aid, at least around my kid’s high school.</p>