<p>I was alot like your D in high school and absolutely loved college and although I was quiet and introverted when I arrived I really found my niche in college.</p>
<p>add swarthmore to your list</p>
<p>DD2 is geeky quirky. She applied to Carleton, Lewis and Clark and Oberlin. She is loving life at Lewis and Clark and has grown a great deal in college.</p>
<p>Bates in Maine. Strong academics, strong arts, open easy-going students. </p>
<p>Tufts is another option. More of a small uni (5000UG), lots of focus on creating global citizens which is good for cultural anthropology, joint program with SMFA for high level arts. Students are also pretty easy-going and accepting. The benefit of a larger school for a shy kid is that their is less of this feeling that you have to go to the big party on Saturday night because everybody else is going. In a slightly larger campus their are more options - many a little more low-key.</p>
<p>This is a passionate and favorite topic among parents with quirky kids! Many of us have bright, wonderful kids who we know are likely to thrive in college, in the right setting, but who hated HS, were unhappy, didn’t like to play the “game” or didn’t do very well – or some combination.</p>
<p>I think it makes sense to start by exploring some of the suggestions without regard to where your child might be admitted, then narrow the band by nixing the truly out of reach and truly of no interest. Once you have a few that seem like they might be on target, you can use all the web and search tools to find other similar schools as you slice and dice in every way possible! (you will, trust me, you will!)</p>
<p>Here are some of my thoughts, and take them with your usual grain of thought because I know nothing about anthropology programs except to quadruple what folks said about Beloit.
For quirky kids who are very intense about their research, intellectual stimulation and are willing to handle a high workload if it engages them: Reed. Maybe Haverford and Swarthmore, but they are reaches for most. </p>
<p>For quirky kids who want schools well respected Liberal Arts schools, artsy kids, science kids, humanities kids, music kids… all together, reputation for rigorous learning (i’ve visited all these schools, S1 applied to all of them) - Oberlin, Skidmore (some think it is more elite/preppy, some think more artsy, but I think worth considering). Most people would not put Brandeis on this list, but I would… it is more diverse than people think, very intellectually stimulating). Definitely Bard (S2’s HS math/sci teacher went there, he is now doing research at Johns Hopkins).</p>
<p>Schools for Quirky kids who want a school where students do intellectual work because they are passionate about the work, not the competition or to get an impressive resume, and where there is a small community that really respects each individual student, and maybe easier to get scholarship money because not east coast or impossibly competitive to get into: Beloit (as mentioned, and currently S2’s top-ish pick), Knox.</p>
<p>Two more things:</p>
<p>University of Rochester – small size university has much going for it, often considered for quirky kids, some top departments and a very close friend of mine has been the chair of the anthropology department (it rotates, so not sure if he still is), would be glad to you about it through pm.</p>
<p>And also pm me if your quirky kid has any specific issues and I’ll be glad to share other things I’ve learned in two college search processes.</p>
<p>Loving this thread. D & I were chatting this weekend & we decided that knowing the percentage of Dr. Who fans at any given campus would be an excellent statistic for her to have in deciding fit ;)</p>
<p>^I know a group of girls she could hang out with!! :)</p>
<p>RobD - be sure to check out Oberlin for Dr. Who fans!! Lots of Dr. Who love there. [Doctor</a> Who ExCo](<a href=“http://doctorwhoexco.■■■■■■■■■■/post/17501794693/an-unearthly-exco]Doctor”>http://doctorwhoexco.■■■■■■■■■■/post/17501794693/an-unearthly-exco)</p>
<p>Oberlin is DS’s number one choice. He asked for a sonic screwdriver for Christmas.</p>
<p>Other (intellectually) quirky schools he applied to: Haverford, Macalester, Grinnell, Goucher (safety).</p>
<p>OP, to save yourself some time, first ask yourself about finances. If you need financial aid, then your choices are plenty. If you will get no financial aid, yet cannot pay in full, then first find out which schools give merit aid. We had to eliminate a lot of great options, because if that. It would have saved me a lot of time knowing that.</p>
<p>Schools that do not offer merit (or offer very limited) that we would have considered: Skidmore, Sarah Lawrence, Swarthmore, Brandeis, Carleton, Vassar, Wesleyan, Bard and Hampshire.</p>
<p>Also, we probably should have added Kalamazoo, Earlham and Lawrence as safeties. We found it a bit difficult to find safeties for quirky, creative intellectuals. </p>
<p>DS did apply to Wooster; it is a very nurturing place that may be good for your dd. Not sure how quirky or intellectual it is, though.</p>
<p>Lisabees: on paper Oberlin is fluctuating between #1 & #2. We’re visiting next month and I expect she’ll apply. I’m adding some of your suggestions to “my” list of schools that I may end up recommending. </p>
<p>And OMG about that ExCon link. Perfection for my D ;)</p>
<p>RobD - I always knew Oberlin was the best fit, yet never told DS what I thought. We had an AMAZING visit and every single thing he reads about Oberlin, confirms the first choice spot. Oberlin’s local admissions rep emailed last week about DS’s projects. DS is hoping that means he is on the radar. Crossing our fingers…</p>
<p>My friend who is an intended science major, but who also has a love of photography is going to Lafayette next year! </p>
<p>[Lafayette</a> College Lafayette College](<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/]Lafayette”>http://www.lafayette.edu/)</p>
<p>Vassar, Reed, and Haverford come to mind.</p>
<p>Lafayette is a good school, but I’m not sure if it’s what the OP wants. We are about an hour away and did a visit last year. It has a very pre-professional feel. Smart kids who study hard and play hard. I’m not sure how many love learning for learning’s sake. Quite preppy and 35% Greek. The admissions director said during the info session that Greek life dominates the social scene.</p>
<p>^^^Good to know as we’re visiting Lafayette next month too…</p>
<p>[Where</a> Female Anthropology PhDs Received Their Undergraduate Degrees | InsideCollege.com](<a href=“The Best College Rankings and Lists | Inside College | CollegeXpress”>The Best College Rankings and Lists | Inside College | CollegeXpress)</p>
<p>Definitely consider Haverford and its sister school, Bryn Mawr. The two schools are about a mile apart with a free shuttle bus connecting them. and staggered classes so you can pretty seamlessly take classes at both schools. Both have excellent Anthro departments and students at either school can take unlimited classes at the other, resulting in pretty phenomenal academic resources for a small-school setting. The art classes for both schools are at Haverford (BMC students can major in art, they just take it at Haverford). My D1 is at Haverford & loves it–quirky, intellectual, intimate, academically rigorous. Admission is a little easier at Bryn Mawr but it sounds like your D could be competitive at Haverford as well.</p>
<p>College of Wooster, one of the “Colleges that change lives”</p>
<p>My S is at Grinnell, and i recommend it highly and sounds like a fit for your D!</p>
<p>Photography clubs at some of the suggested schools:</p>
<p>[Beloit</a> Photography and New Media](<a href=“http://beloitphoto.■■■■■■■■■■■■■%5DBeloit”>http://beloitphoto.■■■■■■■■■■■■■)</p>
<p>[Haverford</a> College: Photography Club](<a href=“http://www.haverford.edu/organizations/photography]Haverford”>http://www.haverford.edu/organizations/photography)</p>
<p>[Pomona</a> Photography Club - Home](<a href=“http://pomona.collegiatelink.net/organization/pomonaphotoclub]Pomona”>http://pomona.collegiatelink.net/organization/pomonaphotoclub)</p>
<p>[Skidmore</a> Photography Club | Home](<a href=“Student Government Association”>Student Government Association)</p>
<p><a href=“http://sophia.smith.edu/blog/smithipedia/clubs-and-organizations/camera-club/[/url]”>http://sophia.smith.edu/blog/smithipedia/clubs-and-organizations/camera-club/</a></p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Iris, the U of C’s Photography Club](<a href=“http://glasseye.uchicago.edu/]Welcome”>http://glasseye.uchicago.edu/)</p>
<p>Didn’t read past initial post but… Reed and Macalester top the list in my mind. Small but lots of independent thinkers.</p>
<p>However, don’t rule out larger schools where it’s easier to have a broader reach of friends with similar interests, even if they are not all friends with each other. Small schools can sometimes set it up so that whomever you room with freshman year becomes your primary “group” for the next four years.</p>