<p>My d is an unconventional person, with interests in fantasy, LARPing, computer games, as well as more conventional stuff like theater, music. Some of the schools she's looking at clearly fit her interest profile (Hampshire comes to mind..) but others are more questionable. It's not like she expects everyone to be like her, but she'd like to make sure there is a core of kindred spirits at whatever school she ends up at. (And they don't normally choose her kind of kid to be a tour guide!)</p>
<p>Obviously she's looking at what kind of clubs are on campus, but any suggestions on how else she can figure this out, during campus visits or in other ways?</p>
<p>We found the online campus newspapers to be an interesting starting point for learning about campus cultures. I also like googling the name of a college with “student blog” to see what comes up…she could add one of her special interests.
For her conventional interests, she could reach out to the relevant academic departments and ask about the venues, schedules, classes and student groups.</p>
<p>Go to the college website and look at the events calendar. Some list only official college events, but others include student groups on the calendar. I was looking at the Knox College event calendar yesterday, and saw their LARP meetings listed.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to check, but if you tell us what kind of schools she might want to go to, people might have specific suggestions about schools.</p>
<p>Some schools have fantasy clubs and the like, so check on the student activities section of their web site. I second the suggestion re Knox. DD met a LARPer when we visited. Also, look into Beloit (met a student who said the fantasy club is largest on campus) and I think I read something on the Lewis & Clark web site that made me think that LARPing and the like is part of their culture.</p>
<p>Please report back! DD is at the opposite end from yours, and hence rejected Knox and Beloit because the student vibe didn’t jibe. If I were you or her, I would definitely seek schools that describe the student body as <em>quirky</em> and avoid schools that have a huge Greek presence. Since you mentioned Hampshire, I am assuming she is interested in LACs?</p>
<p>We have checked the list of student activites on the websites of all the schools she’s looking at. All have gaming clubs and the sort–but only some have LARP (LARP is Live Action Role Play while LARPing is the act of doing it–so use either, BobbyCT…) Some of the question is about the overall level of tolerance on the campus. If there are 10 kids in the LARP club but they are ostracized by the rest of the college community, probably not a good fit.</p>
<p>Her college list is actually getting pretty firm because of curriculum–she’s interested in computer game art and design and wants to stay in the northeast, and there are other factors too. The short list now is Drexel, TCNJ, Hampshire, Bard, Clark, Becker, SUNY New Paltz and Art Institute of Boston/Lesley University. </p>
<p>We actually visited TCNJ today–and in preparation for the visit ended up speaking with a student working in one of the offices who was incredibly helpful and said that the campus was very accepting. TCNJ doesn’t exactly have LARP but has a very active Harry Potter club which is pretty close…</p>
<p>Your daughter really should check out Beloit College. With your daughter’s interests, it sounds like as close to a perfect fit as I have come across. In fact, my wife (who did not attend Beloit) and I watched a documentary about LARPing, and I just kept telling her, “I went to college with these people.” (and I was there over 20 years ago – pre-LARP days, but there was an active SCA chapter). </p>
<p>While I haven’t been on campus for about 10 years now, my understanding is that BSFFA (Beloit Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) is still very active. I think they still have their own dedicated housing on campus.</p>
<p>As for her academic interest/proposed major, there is the flexibility to design her own major. That was pretty common in my day and actually encouraged (there was a big push to cross-pollinate the sciences with the humanities and social sciences - e.g. combining art and computer science for computer graphics major).</p>
<p>Beloit sounds wonderful, but we are only looking in the Northeast–precluding looking at some amazing colleges. </p>
<p>D saw Bard and Hampshire this week and loved them both. On the Hampshire tour she asked about the LARP club. The tour guide wasn’t sure and asked if that was the folks with the foam swords–at which point a passing student turned to us and said–“That club looks like so much fun–I’m planning on participating this weekend.” D had the biggest smile on her face!</p>
<p>Both Bard and Hampshire (as well as Clark) would attract some of the same type of students. I am glad to hear that your daughter loved both of them and that she found some real fits.</p>
<p>Looking back at my time at Beloit, I think one of the best things I can say about the place was the lack of any pressure to conform. Football players, D&Der’s, sorority girls, artsy-fartsy types, theatre and physics geeks, Chamberlin geology rats – all kind of found their place. And because of the size of Beloit, you could not simply isolate yourself and only interact with “your kind”. Looking back, this interaction and diversity of interests coupled with the freedom (or as some would put it, a lack of coherency and strucure) really made it a special place and an excellent choice for me. And while I feel confident I would have received an excellent education at Grinnell or Macalester or Kalamazoo, I don’t have any regrets in choosing Beloit.</p>
<p>My fantasy-loving D has found a good group at Smith College, where there is a club called SSFFS–Smith Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. They meet weekly to geek out; she might check out their page, under student life. This week they’re playing Quidditch, but they do all kinds of things; our first family weekend we watched a fantasy costumed live game of chess.</p>