Quirky and Nerdy LACs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm trying to narrow down and expand my list at the same time (add schools that I hadn't thought about and take out ones that don't fit). I'm especially looking for schools less selective than most on my current list.</p>

<p>Here is what I'm looking for:
-LAC/ maybe small university
-nerdy/geeky/dorky/quirky/outdoorsy student body
-cute town or small city (would consider rural too)
-mostly interested in math, linguistics (but I've never actually taken a linguistics course), and science
-interesting and weird traditions
-pretty campus
-good, vegetarian friendly food</p>

<p>Schools I'm interested in:
Carleton
Macalester
Swarthmore
Bates
Bowdoin
Colby
Smith
Grinnell
Earlham
Guilford
Beloit
Pomona</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>reed is equally selective.
whitman is outdoorsy and awesome from what i hear.
pitzer
etc ...</p>

3

<p>I'd second Reed. Def fits most of your criteria.</p>

4

<p>Don't know about outdoorsy, but Earlham and Beloit are great colleges full of quirky students (not necessarily geeky though.) Both have nice campuses, but are in the middle of nowhere (small, midwestern towns without a lot happening.) If location is less important and quality of education is very important, look into those two schools. Earlham is a quaker school with a very liberal student body. Beloit also has a liberal student body, but perhaps on average is a little less far out politically and socially than Earlham is. You might also want to add Lawrence, which has a more mainstream student body and is in a great location (Appleton, Wisc., a small city with more going for it than Beloit, Wisc or Richmond Ind.).</p>

5

<p>Linguistics is tough to study at a LAC. With the exception of Swarthmore which has 3 permanent professors and access to Penn through the Quaker consortium, and Pomona and Reed which I believe have 2, the others have minimal offerings usually with only visiting professors and other migrant workers of academia. At Smith you can at least take classes at UMASS Amherst which has a highly respected linguistics department.</p>

6

<p>Vassar, Wesleyan, and Oberlin sounds perfect for you, moreso than many on your current list.</p>

7

<p>^^I agree with slipper!</p>

8

<p>i think Vassar is ideal for you, when i visited everything you were looking for in a school Vassar had</p>

9

<p>How about Bard? I know they're trying to expand their math and science departments.</p>

10

<p>Hampshire fits much of your bill, including the tough one, linguistics (some courses through other members of the 5-Colleges).</p>

11

<p>The vibe I got from Mount Holyoke fits a lot of your criteria. :D</p>

12

<p>Pitzer or Harvey Mudd</p>

13

<p>Pomona is probably not as "quirky and nerdy" as most on your list. A nice post (#21) by MerryXmas on another thread <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4240370&highlight=pomona#post4240370%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4240370&highlight=pomona#post4240370&lt;/a> makes an eloquent comparison between Carleton and Pomona. I don't know Carleton very well, but I'd say his comments about Pomona seem pretty accurate, both good and bad.</p>

14

<p>LAC/ maybe small university 450 per class, top 25 ranked LAC</p>

<p>-nerdy/geeky/dorky/quirky/outdoorsy student body- OUTDOORS addicts and "quirky" block system. You take one (1) COURSE AT A TIME for 3-1/2 weeks and then get 4-1/2 days off</p>

<p>-cute town or small city (would consider rural too) Colorado Springs is a nice size </p>

<p>-mostly interested in math, linguistics (but I've never actually taken a linguistics course), and science they have that covered</p>

<p>-interesting and weird traditions the block breaks every 3-1/2 weeks allows for lots of trips and in the summer the college has $$ grants for student designed experiences in and out of the US</p>

<p>-pretty campus Pike's Peak forms the back drop</p>

<p>-good, vegetarian friendly food available</p>

15

<p>I know it's already on your list, but I definitely have to reiterate that Swarthmore has all the criteria you're looking for. I tend to try not to push it, since it is (will be) my school, but in your case, it really seems to fit. I especially feel qualified to mention it because I'm a potential linguistics major, and I know several others in the class of '11. I'm not so much of a science/math person (though ironically, I tend toward the more science-y branches of linguistics, but pretty much entirely theoretical ling, which I suppose plays into the analytical thinking involved in the humanities), but I know that Swat is seen as strong in these, for an LAC. I won't outline all the other criteria, but I do not see any that it <em>doesn't</em> fit.</p>

<p>Of the other schools on your list, based upon your criteria, I most recommend Carleton and Grinnell. I have never visited either, so I can't speak directly on the prettiness or the food, but in terms of quirky/nerdy vibe, they definitely should fit. A friend of mine who is interested in the sciences almost went to Carleton, and spoke highly of their facilities. She also applied to Grinnell, as a slightly safer school (equally as good academically, but less known than some others), but expressed that had she gotten in nowhere else, she would've been happy there.</p>

16

<p>Bates, Swarthmore, Carleton, Reed, UChicago, Rice, Skidmore, Wesleyan, Connecticut College, Vassar.</p>

17

<p>Thank you for all of the suggestions. I'll definitely give them a look. Which ones seem to fit less than the others? I've visited Carleton, Macalester, and Swarthmore and liked them all, and my sister goes to Smith so I've been on the campus a few times and sat in on some classes. Also, of the following schools, could someone give me a general selectivity ranking? I know which schools are at either extreme admissionswise, but I'm less sure of these. Thanks!</p>

<p>Macalester
Bates
Colby
Smith
Grinnell
Reed
Whitman
Bard
Hampshire
Mount Holyoke
Pitzer
Colorado College</p>

18

<p>well im not sure about all the admission selectivity for the other colleges but i know Pitzer College admission rate this year is down to 26% (last year was 37%)</p>

19

<p>Chicago, how do I love thee, let me count the ways:</p>

<p>-LAC/ maybe small university
Chicago is 4400 undegrad, 9000 grad. The grad students don't come out to play that often, so it feels pretty small. More importantly, though, it has an LAC vibe to it, with a focus on individual students, great advising, professor interaction with students, and small dicussions.</p>

<p>-nerdy/geeky/dorky/quirky/outdoorsy student body
yes/yes/yes/yes/not quite as much. We have some frisbee players (like virtually any other school), but Chicago is kind of flat and there's not much activity outdoors here. One of my best friends is a major rock climber, though.</p>

<p>-cute town or small city (would consider rural too)
Chicago is in, of course, a city, but Hyde Park is kind of a town of its own. The campus doesn't feel urban, per se, but it's got all of the perks of being located so near museums and concerts and such.</p>

<p>-mostly interested in math, linguistics (but I've never actually taken a linguistics course), and science
Particularly strong math and linguistics program-- the math major is quite popular here, and if you like math but want more application, you can do econ or physics as well. Linguistics is also a great option, I know a few people who have gotten PhD's in linguistics here and they only have good things to say about the program.</p>

<p>-interesting and weird traditions
Scav Hunt and Kangeiko are for you! Kangeiko is like sleep deprivation summer camp (you wake up at 5:30 am for a week, go to the gym to do yoga and "salute the sun," have a bigwig professor-- a different one each day!-- cheer you on and tell you how great you are for getting up early, then going off to learn Indian dance and fencing. So much fun!)</p>

<p>Also, check out this year's Scav Hunt website-- take a look at the list, it's insane:
<a href="http://scavhunt1.uchicago.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://scavhunt1.uchicago.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>-pretty campus
Neogothic and well-kept. Do a search on flickr.com, "University of Chicago."</p>

<p>-good, vegetarian friendly food
Apparently, one of our dining halls was rated second in the country by WSJ. The food here is solid, not necessarily gourmet-quality, but we're quite sensitive to vegetarian needs. The Burton-Judson dining hall, in particular, has a fantastic salad bar, and there are always veggie/vegan options available (veggie burgers, meatless chili, bean burritos, etc, etc, etc). Most college campuses, I'm sure, are open to vegetarian needs.</p>

20

<p>REED! It's basically the coolest place on earth.</p>