<p>I've posted before about my son, who is a rising senior but now he needs to start looking in earnest. He's in a challenging situation: no awards, and I mean NONE, but he has a good SAT score (800 CR and 750 math), and a 4.4 weighted/3.9+ unweighted (1 B in 9th grade) GPA. He plays the trombone (average) and trumpet (beginner), and is involved in theatre (2 lead roles and a variety of other roles). He just auditioned for and got into the school's elite choir. That's it. No sports. Average ECs (band, robotics, youth group) White. Well-off.</p>
<p>After a few years of thinking he wanted to go into CS, and another few years of thinking he wants to major in theatre, he now says he has no clue. He has a job in IT this summer and hates it, and realizes that majoring in theatre/performance isn't a great idea. So we're all thinking a liberal arts school would be a good thing.</p>
<p>His reach is probably going to be Brown, but that's a long shot, even if his essay is legendary, which is unlikely. He's definitely a late bloomer and a very quirky person. After years of having very little social life (mild Asperger's), he suddenly started inviting his geeky gamer friends over for musical jam sessions, and is now trying to organize a few of these at our house over the next few months.</p>
<p>So what are some good match schools for the very bright, non-snowflake, directionless, hard-working kid? (He does have a safety he'd be willing to attend.) New England schools are our preference, but he would be willing to go somewhere with a better climate.</p>
<p>My nephew will be starting at Bard soon - quirky, somewhat Aspy. He intends to major in math with a minor in music (more of a mid-atlantic school). A non-NE school to consider is Lewis and Clark in OR. My D attended.</p>
<p>I know a kid just like that. He goes to Hampshire College and is thriving, both academically and socially. </p>
<p>Yup, I was going to suggest Bard, too. Reed isn’t New England, obviously, but seems like a good fit for a quirky smart kid. Have you considered Vassar? Those are all schools that seem like they have a hefty percentage of quirky, non-sports-oriented, but very smart kids. A little less quirky, but still “quirky-friendly” might be Wesleyan, Brown, and possibly Bowdoin. Quirky, but less high-stats: Bennington, Sarah Lawrence. Hampshire College would be a great safety school and is probably worth a visit.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the suggestions. He did tour Bennington and liked it at first, then started reading about the heavy pot culture. That’s not his thing, but I think he would consider it (Bennington, not the pot) if he knew there were enough smart kids who weren’t into pot there.</p>
<p>I am a Mount Holyoke alumna, so I’m very familiar with Hampshire. That is on my list, so I will try to get him to have a look. I’d also love for him to look at St. Olaf and Bowdoin, but the weather is a bit of a deterrent.</p>
<p>Bard sounds great! That will definitely be on the list. Don’t know much about Lewis and Clark, but will check that out. We have family in CA and WA, so a school in Oregon wouldn’t be too far from people he knows, even though his parents live in MA.</p>
<p>I hope you’ll keep posting on schools you all look into for your son. I am keeping the ones already mentioned in mind for one of my children. </p>
<p>There are a lot of LACs in Pennsylvania, 3 of which were included in Colleges That Change Lives. Dunno if that’s too far of if the climate would be considered beter :)</p>
<p>I think you might be being a bit too pessimistic. 2 lead roles in a theatre production is nothing to sneeze at and elite choir certainly sounds like he has some talent. When you add band, robotics and youth group I think his EC’s are more than fine. I think college ad com’s see right through the long laundry list of EC’s and look for 3 or 4 activities that a student was committed to over the course of high school. When you throw in his strong stats I think he can present a strong app.</p>
<p>But presentation is key - you might want to enlist some assistance in this regard.</p>
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<p>He should realize that CS is different from IT. CS graduates aim for working in designing computers and software, rather than IT jobs that are mainly about managing computers and software and are less technically oriented and more business oriented.</p>
<p>Are there any particular areas of academic interest, or general areas (e.g. visual and performing arts, humanities, social studies, biological science, physical science)? It would be best to choose a school that is strong in all of his possible areas of interest. I.e. specialized schools like WPI, Sarah Lawrence, Babson, etc. would not be a good idea if he is very undecided. Note that many LACs have distinct strengths and weaknesses (faculty rosters, course catalogs, and schedules can give some indication).</p>
<p>I am in Minnesota, and I would NOT consider St Olaf to be “quirky”. Instead, look at Carleton. Your son sounds like an ideal match for Carleton, and I should know as that was where I attended. Your son and mine sound almost identical, and he loved his visit to Carleton.</p>
<p>If you visit Minnie, by all means see both schools, as they are 3 minutes away from each other, and while here you might also want to visit Macalester while you are at it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>What about Oberlin? Not Northeast, but not too far. Good fit for quirky kids. Agree that St. Olaf isn’t quirky, Carleton and Macalester would be better fits. He might get some merit aid at Mac, too.</p>
<p>I agree with HarvestMoon1 – you’re being too harsh on your son. Unless nothing but an Ivy will do, his ECs are perfectly fine, and his SAT and GPA are stellar (I would guess his unweighted GPA is 3.97, because that’s what my daughter’s is and she too had only one B, in 9th grade).</p>
<p>I think he’d be a good fit at a lot of the schools mentioned (though I wouldn’t suggest Minnesota schools if the only reason to look beyond New England is to find better weather!). Have you toured any campuses yet? If not, you should get cracking on that so you can figure out which campuses he likes and doesn’t like.</p>
<p>From PA: Haverford comes to mind, strong in the sciences and math. Ck on their theatre. Muhlenberg is good in science and theatre. So, too, does quirky CMU come to mind, where their strengths in the performing and visual arts is nicely complemented by excellence in engineering, math, and science; many students at CMU major in STEM and minor in the arts, and vice versa.</p>
<p>Grinnell’s weather is sucky, but it has many similarities to Vassar, Reed, Bennington etc. It also has a huge endowment and offers merit aid to high-stat students (a little obsessed with test scores, if you will).</p>
<p>Another vote for Muhlenberg, he sounds like he would thrive there! Best of luck.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all this information! I am making a list for him to consider. Unfortunately, he visited Brown and fell in love with it on Friday–came home all radiant and glowing–but I will try to steer him toward a few less reachy schools. He is not an Ivy or bust type of guy–the fact that Brown is an Ivy was a drawback–he just loved the school. </p>
<p>I had read this thread originally, but missed some of the updates so apologize if I am being repetitive. </p>
<p>If he loved Brown, schools that may feel similar to him include Wesleyan, Vassar, Grinnell as well as Oberlin. If it is the urban vibe he responded to, Macalester could be interesting. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Also, we haven’t visited yet, but I have been hearing lots of good things about Dickinson. We had explored the small, quirky-kid schools with my older one so feel like we have a good handle on those. Now, as we gear up for the younger sib, he is not as quirky but does not want a jock, prep environment (even though he is an athlete). I like what I am hearing about Dickinson’s programs. It seems much more mainstream, less quirky than schools like Oberlin, but is a couple hours from Philly and might be worth a look as a match school. </p>
<p>University of Chicago certainly is in his reach, you may want to consider that.</p>