<p>Amherst
Bard
Barnard
Bennington
Brown
Goucher
Hampshire
Kenyon
Marquette (safety/only applying because this is where my boyfriend will attend. Yes, I do realize how silly this sounds and don't know if in the long run I would actually attend. I'm applying just to see how things pan out.)
NYU - Tisch (Dramatic Writing)
Oberlin
Sarah Lawrence
Scripps
Skidmore
Vassar
Wesleyan</p>
<p>Criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li>intellectual student body filled with flaming (and some not-so-flaming) liberal "indieviduals" </li>
<li>located somewhat near a city, if not situated directly in one</li>
<li>STRONG departments in English/Creative Writing</li>
<li>sense of school pride </li>
<li>social scene not drinking-centric/weak Greek life</li>
<li>strong school overall (not necessarily prestigious)</li>
<li>accepting students</li>
<li>environment where a not overtly outgoing student could easily find a niche with like-minded, academically driven peers</li>
<li>students' idea of fun includes staying in to watch movies, going to museums, shows, out to coffee house poetry readings (with the occasional party thrown in)</li>
<li>discussion of philosophy and other academic (read: nerdy) subjects do not equate with social outcast; it is, instead, the norm</li>
</ul>
<p>Visiting this summer, I have not had the chance to really get a feel of fit for each of these schools, which will most likely narrow the list down further. Still, input would be greatly appreciated on any clear outliers. Is my list focused? Does it make any sense whatsoever?</p>
<p>I think that's it...I realize that some of my schools will not fit all of my criteria, but that's most likely due to my extreme picky-ness. </p>
<p>I've looked at UChicago but it seems a bit...intense for me. Same goes for Swarthmore. Where fun goes to die? I still want to have fun, but I guess my idea of what fun IS is somewhat different than others'. Does anyone have any input on this?</p>
<p>I would also add Swarthmore. Okay, now for taking down:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Get the backup schools out of the way first. You should apply to 1-2 backup schools, so make a list of the backup schools, and then compare and contrast the schools until you get 2 schools that you would most want to go to, out of the ones on the list.</p></li>
<li><p>I would research Amherst and Hampshire's social scene more carefully. Hampshire, especially, is in a rural area, so there probably won't be much access to the city. Same with Kenyon and Oberlin. I'd probably take all these schools out, because they're really not close to any big cities.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, "Where fun goes to die" is just a joke. I mean, I think people at UChicago take pride in their school and the fact that they enjoy working their behinds off, which is what I think some people thought you meant when you said that being really 'nerdy' and academic is the norm.</p>
<p>Thanks for that. I guess I'll put UChicago back on the list. And Swarthmore too, I guess. I'm just worried I'm not cut out for that kind of environment. I mean, I love to work. More than "normal" people. But (and this is a big but) if I have doubts, does that mean I'm really not cut out for it? Or could I be selling myself short?</p>
<p>I'm also not too worried about the whole not being near a city thing. I mean, it would be nice, sure, but it's not something I'd die over. I guess I should have made that clearer.</p>
<p>Well, you could just put it on your list for now, and then after you research it, you decide later.</p>
<p>You have a lot of colleges on your list because you haven't been specific enough in what you want in college and because you haven't researched the schools well enough. I mean, you can't possibly really desire ALL of these schools, can you? Again, I would do the comparison exercise I talked about in the last post and then knock out a few backup schools.</p>
<p>The reason I have so many schools on my (very tentative) list is because of the fit factor. I'm lucky enough to have the financial resources to visit the majority of my schools, because, really, there's only so much information you can ascertain from a website aimed at drawing in prospective students. No, I probably haven't researched my schools enough, but that is why I have asked for help in narrowing my list. Your first post was very informative and helpful and that was the kind of response I was looking for. More of those types of replies would be appreciated.</p>
<p>You can take out Amherst and Oberlin. Amherst is rather too conservative for you (unless you enjoy being the vocal and un-appreciated minority), and Oberlin is in the middle of nowhere where you just smoke pot all day and dream about Utopia. </p>
<p>And a piece of honest advice: if you are scared of fratty jocks now, just wait until you are in the real world. You might as well try to get used to it while you can. I made the adjustment long ago and am a much happier person now, as I now longer have issues with most of my peers.</p>
<p>amherst is sort of... way out in the middle of nowhere. great school, have a friend attending who loves it... but it's sort of small and quaint.</p>
<p>you might want to look into wellesley... it's a women's college (yikes! i know right... no boys?!?!?!) ... but it's near boston and it's a great scene. really academic and stimulating... and the campus is gorgeous. =]</p>
<p>Re: Chicago. Chicago is work, but it's not superscary amounts of work (unless you want it to be, in which case you will be warned in advance that you're taking on a particularly difficult course). If you are able to get in, you'll be able to do the work here, and you'll probably be surprised by the amount of typical college "fun" you'll be having too, without a strong Greek or binge drinking presence.</p>
<p>Chicago has an "indievidual" streak, for sure, and there are a lot of people here who look like they would fit equally well at a school like Oberlin or Wesleyan.</p>
<p>But the goal here is to narrow, not to widen the search, so you might as well slice it off.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Oberlin is in the middle of nowhere where you just smoke pot all day and dream about Utopia.<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>I hope sf606 is joking, but in case anybody reading this might be misled: it's a ridiculous, uninformed assertion. Oberlin students are some of the hardest-working kids anywhere, deeply committed to education for its own sake. Oberlin fits every one of the OP's criteria to a T except that it's not located in a city. But then very few LACs are, and it's a lot less isolated than, say, Williams or Kenyon.</p>
<p>I think this list looks really good. If you're looking for schools to cut, Kenyon and Grinnell are REALLY isolated, but it might be worth it to visit at least one to see if that isolation actually bothers you. </p>
<p>I had criteria that was very simiular to yours, and I found Kenyon a little too preppy and isolated for my tastes, though I have quirky friends their who love it, so maybe that was just the people I met? I never visited Amherst because it seemed too preppy as well, but if you're going to be at Hampshire, it seems worth it to drop by Amherst.</p>
<p>If you're sticking with your "close to city" requirement then Bennington should be under the same consideration as Kenyon. Both are about an hour away from a city - Bennington from Albany, Kenyon from Columbus.</p>