"Quirky" colleges?

<p>Evergreen State or Kalamazoo College</p>

<p>Sounds a lot like my younger son. (Smart, but lots of B’s, long hair, played in the orchestra, wide variety of friends - jocks, theater types, musicians, science nerds.) Schools that appealed to him: Tufts, U of Chicago, American, Vassar. (I wouldn’t characterize any of these as terribly quirky and he finds Tufts very undiverse compared to high school.)</p>

<p>He hated Bard because it’s in the middle of the woods and feels that way (esp. in February!) and he was scared of the senior project. I liked it, but I think they may talk a better game than they actually produce. The info session just about did in all the good they had done up till then. (Run by a recent graduate who was most unimpressive.) I definitely think it’s worth a look though - especially if you run to the arty end of things. I didn’t see a single person dressed in black when we were there, and I’m not sure I saw anyone with piercings either. It was much more mainstream looking than I expected. (Vassar produced more of these types.)</p>

<p>Would she consider a women’s college? See if she likes Smith. Not that it focuses on quirky, but you can definitely be yourself there, and there’s such a good mix of personality types she would easily find friends. Hampshire is also known for having an unconventional group.</p>

<p>I agree with Pizzagirl. Kenyon is a wonderful school with lots going for it, but no one in my family found it quirky at all, especially my own very quirky daughter.</p>

<p>My D actually had better luck finding quirky at larger schools. Our problem with smaller schools was that sometimes the predominant environment was something else, altogether, and it seemed hard to find that critical mass of quirkiness if your own type differed too much from the overall atmosphere.</p>

<p>Of course, type of quirkiness varies, too. Your Quirkiness May Vary.</p>

<p>My quirky D loved Wesleyan.</p>

<p>some of the schools suggested are pretty hard to get admitted to! would your d’s grades and standardized test scores make her a viable candidate?</p>

<p>Hampshire College, a lot of quirky going on there (in a good way). But as mathmom said of Bard, Hampshire College “may talk a better game than they actually produce”. YMMV</p>

<p>Everyone’s already given you a lot of great ideas (Mac, Carleton, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Vassar). Here’s some that aren’t as hard to get into (my quirky daughter’s list):
Goucher, Warren Wilson, Guilford, Knox, Earhlam. My sister went to Kenyon, and it has a more intellectual personality. Great school though. If you have a daughter that is able to get in, I really think Vassar or Wesleyan (or Brown!) fit the bill nicely.</p>

<p>Ummm, just for wondering: Might <em>quirky</em> be something different for a kid from San Francisco/Berkeley/New York than for a kid from, let us say, Kansas? [Please, no insult meant to Kansas or Dorothy!] Also, more speculation: Might a school that is LGBTQIQ friendly/accepting also work for a <em>quirky</em> kid, even if that kid’s sexual orientation is not within the spectrum?</p>

<p>All right, who stole the slip 'n slide?</p>

<p>I hear it’s been taken to Reed.</p>

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<p>Round #2,203 of the usual CC tripe that flyover country is just radically different.<br>
I bet if you parachuted into a high school in Overland Park or Leawood, KS, you wouldn’t be able to tell any difference between it and a high school on Long Island, except for the accents.</p>

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<p>What top school <em>isn’t</em> LGBT friendly / accepting? That’s not “quirky” or “liberal,” that’s pretty much the norm (as it should be, of course). Anyway, I don’t think the two are linked. My own alma mater would certainly be welcoming to LGBT students, but it’s not a particularly “quirky” school and tends to attract more mainstream students seeking more of a Joe-College type of experience with strong academics.</p>

<p>I have alerted those who might be concerned about the disappearance of the slip 'n slide.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12252033-post100.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12252033-post100.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Wow, great responses, everyone!</p>

<p>In her case, I think her sense of humor (very tongue in cheek) and more uncommon interests (gaming, campy horror-comedy enthusiast, rock climbing to name a few) are her quirky features. You wouldn’t know she was a bit of a weirdo (said fondly) from looking at her, but once she opens her mouth, it becomes obvious to a person who asks the right questions she has the potential to cross over into super nerd/unconventional territory. But she gets along fine with the more mainstream kids and doesn’t have any problems socially - she’s athletic and artsy, so she has a hand in each pot.</p>

<p>Re: LGBT. I agree with Pizzagirl on that. We’re on the east coast and don’t really associate LGBT exclusively with quirky.</p>

<p>D came home sick today, so we did a quick scan of all suggested schools’ websites. UChicago, Wesleyan, Carleton, Beloit, Vassar, Tufts, Earlham, Bard, Reed all stood out at first glance. She doesn’t think she would like a women’s college, but is willing to visit to know for sure.</p>

<p>Earlier, we actually met with the GC and found out her unweighted GPA is 3.8. We were shocked - expected more along the lines of 3.6. Her SAT score is 2250. Very involved with ECs: GSA VP, Amnesty International president, writer’s club president, writing awards, TA, peer tutor (volunteering and paid).</p>

<p>Lots of research to do. I think I covered everything. Thanks!</p>

<p>She should consider Harvard. Sure, it’s hard to get into, but they do admit kids with those credentials and they have *plenty *of quirky kids.</p>

<p>With those stats, she should consider Brown too then.</p>

<p>Bergens, I was holding off because quirky covers a lot of ground, it was the more complete description of your daughter that grabbed me. My son goes to Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and your daughter sounds like his fraternal twin. Whitman often gets overlooked because it’s in a Pacific Northwest small town, an exceptionally nice small town I might add, but it is a very good school. It has great academics, the students are very involved in their school work, but love to have fun outdoors as well as in nerdy unconventional ways. It has an overall relaxed attitude, great faculty/student relationships and a very friendly student body. It does give merit aid and looks for kids that have taken leadership roles. My son is really enjoying himself and growing by leaps and bounds.</p>

<p>Pitzer in CA, maybe?</p>

<p>I agree that you can be quirky at Harvard and probably at Brown too. My older son is quirky (but 100% in the typical computer guy way) and spent a happy accepted students weekend with their gaming/sci fi club. He said he could be happy there, but in the end Carnegie Mellon’s superior academic offerings (in comp sci) wooed him away. </p>

<p>Whether those stats are good enough is hard to predict, but your GC will probably have a better read on it. In our large public high school you need to be in the top 2-3% of the class to have any chance unless you have a major hook.</p>

<p>Her stats are fine for all the schools we’ve mentioned though. At Tufts and Chicago the ability and desire to deal with their quirky supplemental essays is a big plus.</p>

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<p>Honestly, I find this “tripe” truer than the belief that it’s all just America, and we’re all just the same. I grew up in the square states, which I found very different from New England, where I went to college. I found New England very different from the not-too-deep South, where I went to graduate school. The not-too-deep South, IMO, was similar but not identical to the square states.</p>

<p>In my forties, I found FB, which reminded me how very different my square state of origin is from the blue, East Coast, not-“real America”-by-Sarah-Palin’s-standards state where I live now.</p>

<p>You seem not to agree, Pizzagirl, and that’s OK. But I don’t think it’s nuts to say that San Antonio is very different from San Francisco. I don’t think Barney Frank could be a congressman from Oklahoma, or Rand Paul could be a senator from Maryland. And I think the standard of “quirky” probably is local, and not universal. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.</p>