I am looking for some colleges in the east/northeast (or possibly the midwest) that have quriky/artsy student bodies. Close colleges would be in my home state of Maryland or Pennsylvania. I’m definetly considering UMD and WVU, but I would like to look at more private colleges as well. I don’t want to attend a very preppy school, and if possible, one with less emphasis on greek life. I’m not sure what my major will be at this point, but I’m considering econ, communications, environmental studies, geography or other social studies majors. Since I am undecided, I am not too concerned about what majors the college offers just as long as they have a strong social studies department. Internships and career placement are also a must. I’ve always been an art kid, so art minors or extracurriculars are important to me (fine art, theatre, english, etc). My SAT is 1340 and I have a 4.25 GPA. Merit scholarships are also important to me if possible.
Oberlin is very artsy/quirky. Amherst. SUNY New Paltz.
Good suggestions above. You can also look at Skidmore, and Goucher. Not sure if they will be artsy enough but you may want to check out Muhlenberg and Dickinson as well. As a reach school perhaps Wesleyan.
Juniata might be a good option (I think a likely or maybe safety for you). Agree on Oberlin and Wesleyan. JMU in Virginia is very strong in the performing arts (I don’t know about other arts there). William and Mary (a reach, I think) is very accepting of quirkiness and that’s where the kids from our school with more of a quirky bent have applied for their in-state (rather than UVA). Looks like W&M also has a “creative and performing arts proficiency” i.e. a distribution requirement. Maybe Emerson?
Just remembered Bard
Ha, I just came back to say Bard!
Also look at Clark, Beloit (I think a likely/safety for you, and it has merit aid), Grinnell (more of a reach or a high match, I think; has merit aid), Macalester (has merit aid), Goucher (has merit aid), Earlham (has merit aid), Whitman (has merit aid), Sarah Lawrence (has merit aid though mentions it’s a limited number), Lawrence in WI (has merit aid, has a conservatory), Knox (has merit aid), Ithaca (has merit aid, strong in music). I think these all fit various aspects of quirky, but don’t know if they all have strong fine arts of the type you’re looking for, so that’d be something to look at to narrow the list down.
Vassar and Reed don’t have merit aid, so even though they are artsy/quirky, they are less likely to be affordable.
Keep in mind that you’re more likely to get merit aid at a school where you are in the top 25% of applicants in terms of GPA/SAT.
With your stats and interest, I would look at Beloit. What you you need to get your net price under?
Addendum: Clark also has merit aid. Juniata’s environmental science department looks pretty broad: it includes “programs of emphasis” in environmental science, environmental studies, environmental economics, wildlife conservation, and fisheries and aquatic sciences.
I can only afford a net price of around or under 30k. I’m not going to get much financial aid at all, however, because my EFC is about 46k. Merit aid will be the deciding factor of whether or not I can go to a private school.
You need to work on that SAT score for better merit aid.
Looking for an artsy student body, Earlham College might be a quite good fit - check it out.
Another vote for Bard. Tufts could be a stretch (and not good for merit), but with the Museum school as part of Tufts now, it would be worth checking out. If you mostly want to do art, look at Alfred.
The merit piece is likely to be the biggest challenge.
Skidmore
Some of the colleges mentioned above do offer merit grants, and would be rather likely to admit you, but possibly not with enough merit to hit your price point. You can look up average merit grants in each school’s Common Data Set, section H, or in the Kiplinger’s “best value” rankings.
Check out St. Mary’s College of Maryland (the state’s public honors college). In look and feel, it is not unlike some of the more expensive private LACs mentioned above. New College of Florida seems to be a rather arty OOS public LAC that, in the past at least, has doled out a lot of merit money to OOS students.
Columbia College in Chicago?
Vassar too. Are you retaking the SAT?
Bennington College in Vermont?
University of Vermont
SUNY New Paltz
Lawrence University (in Wisconsin)
Some schools you like, which offer merit aid, have an artsy student body, not a big greek life, and offer a lot of majors (so you can change your mind if you need to, without having to transfer), and fit your test scores are UMass Amherst, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Purchase, Bennington, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Smith (if you’re female), Clark U, The College of the Atlantic, U Vermont.
You’ll need to check each to make sure they offer the majors you’re considering.
I can’t promise that these schools will offer enough in merit to allow you to go there, so it’s also wise to apply to some public unis in your home state, which can act as financial backups should aid at other schools not turn out as you’d hoped.
The OP’s budget is ~$30K. He does not think need-based aid will get him there. In that case, from expensive private schools he may need $40K-$45K in merit grants. But look at the merit grant averages in Kiplinger’s. At places like Earlham or Juniata (schools that offer merit and where he’d have a good shot at admission) the average awards are only ~$20K-$25K.