<p>Hi everyone! Daughter is a high-achieving junior. She's a dry-humored intellectual type who doesn't take herself too seriously - she's one to laugh at herself when she knows it's funny, doesn't work herself into a tizzy over a "B", has been known to do stupid stuff on occasion, etc. Relative to her peers at decent public school, I tend to think she veers into slightly eccentric, "quirky" territory. (Isn't quirky everyone's favorite word these days?) Daughter really loves school - definitely a child who gets excited about assignments of the non-busywork variety and stays after to talk to the teacher.</p>
<p>Setting aside location (we don't know what she likes yet!), what schools would suit this sort of kid?</p>
<p>Reed College in Portland is the ultimate for the “Quirky” kid. Nude Slip and Slide anyone? Oops, maybe that’s not what you are looking for? The University of Chicago for the more straitlaced intellectual type.</p>
<p>Truthfully, I think most academically rigorous schools would have a cadre of this type of students and she would be able to find her niche.</p>
<p>Reed College in Oregon is always near the top of the “quirky” list.</p>
<p>My D’s school, Earlham College in Indiana, also fills the bill. She definitely stays busy with non-busywork, and I think your D would like the close working relationship between students and professors. </p>
<p>Yeah, I hadn’t heard about Nude Slip n Slide. I’m old enough to remember streaking on college campuses back in the late 70’s. Reed preserves the tradition, I guess! :p</p>
<p>bergens, not to scare you off. Reed has an excellent academic reputation.</p>
<p>For an intellectual challenge of a different sort, you might look at St. John’s College – campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe; great books curriculum.<br>
[St</a>. John’s College](<a href=“http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/]St”>http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/)</p>
<p>I like the idea of this thread…because colleges do often seem to have a “personality”, and certainly the powers-that-be at some colleges actively cultivate that personality. </p>
<p>So going just on reputation I would say that some of the “quirky” colleges I’ve heard of are: Macalester, Juniata, Hampshire, Emerson, Oberlin, Grinnell, Wesleyan (CT), and even possibly Bowdoin.</p>
<p>New College of Florida is interesting. We visited last year during Spring Break. Different system - no grades. Lots of bare feet! Students are very liberal, if that’s an issue.</p>
<p>Take a good look at the colleges on the <a href=“http://www.CTCL.com%5B/url%5D”>www.CTCL.com</a> site. Many of these seem to be schools that emphasize the personal touch over the hustle ‘n’ bustle of a ‘normal’ college. No one will call you by a number and they focus on growing students’ minds in the way that works for each student. </p>
<p>Also search on this site for the word ‘quirky’, sifting for posts that use the word. Your question has been asked before and there are even school-specific discussions about the relative ‘quirkiness’ of institutions. </p>
<p>We’ve been burned by the ‘quirky’ description. One of my D’s middle school teachers described her as ‘quirky’ in a letter to a boarding school and they rejected her because ‘quirky’ can have some bad connotations in the scholastic world. It can be code for ‘disruptive’, ‘troubled’ or even undiagnosed LD. I would hope that colleges would see things differently.</p>
<p>I second the vote for Beloit College. I think Carleton and Grinnell would also suit your daughter, except for the “doesn’t work herself into a tizzy over a ‘B’” part. I’ve had one child at Carleton, one at Grinnell and one at Beloit, and my Carleton and Grinnell kids found there to be a little too much intensity over grades.</p>
<p>My surprise pick for “quirky”: Stanford. If you aren’t a recruited athlete or a URM (especially hispanic) you cannot be conventional with this school. They seem to respond to shock value and there are many threads here from both successful and unsuccessful candidates indicating as much.</p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think hearsay about ‘quirkiness’ is going to be particularly meaningful to you and your daughter. And I’m someone who actively looked for similar characteristics during my college search. I think you’re much better off visiting schools that are being considered regardless of their ‘quirkiness.’</p>
<p>Example from my own college visits - people have been suggesting both Carleton and Macalester. I visited them both and immediately hated Carleton and loved Mac. Despite their Midwestern unpretentiousness (which is what ‘quirky’ feels like a lot of the time according to CC, I find), they have very different locations, student bodies and focuses.</p>
<p>I would take Kenyon off your “quirky” list. I think it feels much more mainstream than a Grinnell or Oberlin. (A great place … lovely … would have been my S’s ED II choice … but I wouldn’t go there explicitly expecting or seeking quirky.)</p>