<p>Hi! I'm a junior embarking on the college search and as of now I find myself caught in a pickle. I enjoy an intellectual environment and quirky stuff. I'd rather write code for computer games and play music than party all night long. The problem is my GPA isn't outstanding. I have about a 3.65 on a 5 scale, and most of the schools that create the environment I'm looking for want better scores than that. I'm hoping my SAT will be around 2000. Any ideas for a lad like me? Thanks in advance guys!</p>
<p>OK nerdy little boy. Liberal arts colleges like Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore fit your criteria for “quirky stuff” while being intellectual. If you want to go to technology route, as indicated by your desire to write code for computer games, MIT is the best option. Drexel, though not great, is also pretty good in that area.</p>
<p>[Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>
<p>Where are you located? East Coast, West Coast? What state and what is your budget?</p>
<p>When you look at a college, see if it has wellness housing available. My S is at Fordham and he had a great experience in the wellness dorm for freshmen. You may want to look at Fordham or other Jesuit schools (there are no frats). </p>
<p>Maybe also look into some tech- oriented schools like RIT, Wooster Polytechnic (I’m not really familiar with these schools but they may be good for you).</p>
<p>I agree with Rain. Take a look at Drexel. They’re easier to get into than MIT and they have a great co-op program.</p>
<p>I should have mentioned — be sure to visit the schools you are considering, look at the current students as well as the programs offered, ask questions and see if you can envision yourself there.</p>
<p>Much will depend on your test scores and how much your parents will pay. It’s not often about where you want to go, it’s often about where you can afford to go.</p>
<p>Talk to your parents about how much they spend on college. And, study for your SAT and ACT. and, keep your grades up.</p>
<p>Check out Beloit - I know someone who sounds just like you who is very happy there.</p>
<p>Most colleges specializing in engineering or computer sciences will have plenty of students who share your interests. Wait until you get your scores before you start narrowing down your list, but you might consider Worcester Polytechnic, RPI, Rochester Institute of Technology, Wentworth, Babson, Pace, or any number of state schools (almost all have tech colleges and majors).</p>
<p>Consider GaTech. My brother got in with score like yours a few years ago, and I got in last year. It seems to be a great place if you are all about the engineering and/or hard sciences.</p>
<p>The problem with many state schools is that you are in a dichotomous situation. The engineers are often nerds like you and me, but the rest of the class is not. They might be smart, but they do not want it to be evident. local to be this seems evident at Va Tech, but also at UIUC, and PSU and others.
It does not matter that much. I am a nerd at UVA(known locally as a party school). I am playing “Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4” (very nerdy PS2 game) with 4 other people. My HS friend is in a dorm-suit with a bunch of people who drink and party late all days; so on weekends he plays SMT:P4 with us from 10:00-3:00 and on weekdays he goes to study groups, or studies at the library. You’ll find a place, even if you are not at the most intellectual school. His situation is pretty extreme; he put a wrong answer on the housing survey (i put “morning person”).</p>