<p>I'm in love with the quirky intellectualism of UChicago. In the sad event that I don't get in, I hope I will have some attractive alternatives to pick from. Ideas? In particular, how would you rate the intellectual atmosphere of schools such as USC, Cornell, or UPenn?</p>
<p>Reed and Swarthmore might warrant a look. I know I looked at both while applying to Chicago. I can't comment on the others, but quirky intellectualism is one of the last phrases i'd use to describe USC.</p>
<p>Ah. Yes. It's the University for Spoiled Children, after all. </p>
<p>Did you end up applying to either Reed or Swarthmore?</p>
<p>I found CMU's atmosphere to be nerdy enough without being overbearingly nerdy that you might see at some of the slightly higher ranked tech schools. Lots of nerds, but most of them were actually pretty normal people that could hold good conversation. From your list I doubt you're looking for technically oriented schools, though.</p>
<p>Techy is fine. What would you mean by overbearingly nerdy? As in debating whether pi or e is the better number? I kind of like that.</p>
<p>Hey nickel&dime--</p>
<p>After a lot of researching and CC follow-ups, I have a list of my favorite "Chicago"-esque schools. I didn't include the "techy" part of nerddom because I'm a humanities major and Chicago doesn't have the techy nerd, but I do think that you might find tech schools a good place for you. (CMU, Georgia Tech, etc.)</p>
<p>Anyway, a bunch of schools I personally like, in no particular order:</p>
<p>Reed, Carleton, Pomona, Oberlin, Beloit, Grinnell, Earlham, Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr<em>, Smith</em>, Mt. Holyoke<em>, Scripps</em>, Whitman, Knox, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Tufts</p>
<p>I'm not really big fan of East Coast schools nor am I really fan of large schools, so my tastes tend to swing against the "usual suspects."</p>
<p>WPI might have the techy nerdiness you say you kind of like, or so says my WPI friend.</p>
<p>I'd say look at MIT, Caltech, CMU, Reed, Harvey Mudd, WPI, Oberlin.</p>
<p>I have a friend, an MIT alum, who is a grad student/TA of undergrad classes at UPenn. I'm pretty sure, from the stuff he's said about his teaching experiences and the campus in general, that he would not describe the atmosphere as quirky intellectualism.</p>
<p>And, I know this will shock some people, but most MIT students can hold a good conversation.</p>
<p>St Johns (MD or NM)?</p>
<p>Carleton College. Very similar to Chicago, but smaller and in small town location.</p>
<p>What comes to mind, with bias toward LACs: Reed, Swarthmore, Carleton, Bryn Mawr if you're female. St. John's College in MD/NM, which is even more exclusively humanities. This is obviously biased toward the humanities side of Chicago; I have no idea about the techy side.</p>
<p>
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Techy is fine. What would you mean by overbearingly nerdy? As in debating whether pi or e is the better number? I kind of like that.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As in, people that try to define themselves by their "I'm unique because I'm trying to be different than everyone else" although they're actually falling right into a stereotype.</p>
<p>What is quirky intellectualism anyway? Heck, what do you mean by intellectualism?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Reed, Carleton, Pomona, Oberlin, Beloit, Grinnell, Earlham, Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr<em>, Smith</em>, Mt. Holyoke<em>, Scripps</em>, Whitman, Knox, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Tufts
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Great list!</p>
<p>Chicago and Swarthmore should be some of your top choices.
For a hidden gem.. Grinnell</p>
<p>Hindoo--</p>
<p>That's just a list of schools where, as a current Chicago student, I think I'd fit in really well, and considering that the OP referenced Chicago, I would provide that list.</p>
<p>You were wise to do so, unalove. :)</p>
<p>How exactly would you fit in well at Brown from the perspective of a Chicago student? The two schools are polar opposites.</p>
<p>Everyone's different. My daughter also considered both Brown and UC.</p>
<p>I think the consideration of both is due more to the fact that they're both top colleges, rather than similarities between the two.</p>
<p>For me, Chicago and Brown ideally both attract students who are self-motivated. The approach towards that goal is entirely different, and both schools get accused by outsiders of the opposite things: Chicago is supposedly "too hard" and Brown "too easy," but the students who want Chicago don't think "hard" is "hard," and the students who want Brown don't want a school that's "easy."</p>
<p>So while the means might be different, I think the ends are nearly the same. I also think if you gathered Chicagoans and Brunos in a large ballroom and had an independent "expert" try to tell who went to Brown and who to Chicago, they couldn't do that. I think they could with some other schools and Chicago.</p>