<p>Not necessarily quirky but decidedly sui generis: Hampshire, Marboro, Shimer, Macaulay Program (CUNY), Berea, Deep Springs, Simon Rock, St. John’s College, New School, Cooper Union, Columbia College (Chicago), Northeastern, Thomas Edison State College, Naropa University, and Columbia University School of General Studies. </p>
<p>I thought of Sarah Lawrence and Ithaca for him. Goucher is a good possibility also. According to their published stats, Bard looks like a match.</p>
<p>thanks for all the great suggestions:
sue - I don’t think vasser is a reach for him, unfortunately I think it’s out of reach
broomfield - unfortunately, kenyon also looks out of reach. too bad, It has a reputation as a writer’s school and he’s a good writer.
new school - He visited and hated it. My older son was with him and loved it. go figure.
erin’s dad - we’d like to rule out west coast schools, just a long way to go for a visit/emergency.
latchever - some schools new to us (shimer, berea, deep springs,simon rock) , we’ll take a look.
consolation - sarah lawrence is about 20 minutes away, we’ll take a look see</p>
<p>Couple of points:
- A number of you have asked what I mean by quirky. Unfortunately, I can’t define it (or I wouldn’t be having such a a hard time finding colleges for him). I can tell you he’s not looking for cigarette smoking, dark hipsters. He’s clean cut, preppy, has a super quick wit, a keen appreciation for the absurd and appreciates different ways of looking at the world. I do think he’d find his milieu at a big school but needs the small, discussion-based classes typically found at smaller schools.</p>
<ul>
<li>As some of you have intuited, he’s not going to be a theater major. I’m sure he’ll continue with improv and would love the opportunity to act in drama/comedy as an EC.</li>
</ul>
<p>he’s off this weekend to visit/attend classes at bates and bennington. Will be interesting to see if he decides not to ED at oberlin after this next round of visits.</p>
<p>Berea is only an option for a low income family. </p>
<p>
Probably should take a look at the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in Athens. Not sure his grades and class standing are good enough, but small classes within a larger school definitely would meet the expectations in the quote above. Admission to HTC typically comes with significant merit aid.
<a href=“http://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/index.cfm”>http://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/index.cfm</a></p>
<p>I think OU counts as a quirky school.
:-? </p>
<p>My son is at Bates and I wouldn’t describe it as a quirky school at all. More that the kids are just down to earth and friendly, imo. Ditto for Kenyon. I also have a niece who is a grad - although her roommate at Kenyon and BFF is daughter of a rock star and is very quirky/artsy, in general not a quirky school. HWS is very preppy. </p>
<p>Deep Springs is probably the most difficult admit in the country. 
</p>
<p>I bet he would love Carleton. Whether he could get in is another matter. That’s why I didn’t mention it earlier. SL may be <em>too</em> quirky for him. Will be interested to hear what he thinks.</p>
<p>@Consolation is spot on. Deep Springs has an enrollment of – get this – 26 students. Yep, about two dozen students. I hear they get about 100 applicants per year. If I was 17 again, I would have to give this a try. From what I hear the students are pretty darn quirky.</p>
<p>Oh!.. and it is a junior college. After two years, students proceed to a four year college or university; often prestigious ones. University of Chicago is supposedly very popular among Deep Springs alumni.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.deepsprings.edu/about”>http://www.deepsprings.edu/about</a> ^:)^ </p>
<p>Has Skidmore been mentioned yet? We did a summer visit to their campus. One of the highlights of the tour was our guide explaining how the students have so many different interests and can take classes that aren’t in their concentration. The kids there had eclectic interests but seemed clean cut and interested in many different areas of study. </p>
<p>OP, I was going to suggest Earlham until you said your S is “preppy.” The meanings of these adjectives is murky at best to me, but as I understand it, preppy is pretty much the opposite of quirky. However, I’d say that your S’s “keen appreciation for the absurd and different ways of looking at the world” would fit right in. It is quite a diverse campus.</p>
<p>Anyway, Earlham has a lot of theater/performing arts stuff going on, including recreational. They just opened a brand new performing arts center, which my D would have loved when she was there!</p>
<p>I have friends whose quirky kids are happy at Bard. Others have suggested Skidmore, Ithaca, and Vassar - all seem good choices. Have you looked at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa? It was one of my D’s top choices although she didn’t end up there. I loved it - and your S’s SAT (CR + M) would put him in the running for merit $$$ scholarships. </p>
<p>@quietdesperation
I would give Lawrence U. consideration. It’s a CTCL school and my daughter would definitely agree that it has a quirky vibe. The kids there are mostly very smart and artsy. Appleton is a great college town for those not into the big party atmosphere. The financial aid is very good.</p>
<p>Dickinson is a great school. In my experience, the students there run on the pre-professional, somewhat more preppy-side. As OP mentions preppy in her descriptor, it may be a fit. The classes are smaller at Dickinson, and there is much emphasis on study abroad. Recently, it was publicized that among liberal arts schools, their grads have some of the highest career placement rates. Can’t vet the source off-hand, but may be a variable to some. I realize that this is all painting with a broad brush, and believe that at many places, you can find your group.</p>
<p>The schools I think of as quirky, I would not simultaneously describe as preppy. This is bogging me down. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sounds just like my nephew. Attended preppy, preppy, prep schools and looks like a jock, but is more of an actor/singer. Creative, plays an unusual instrument, quirky sense of humor. Applied unsuccessfully to Wesleyan, had a hard time deciding between Skidmore, Sarah Lawrence and Oberlin, but ended up at the latter.</p>
<p>LasMa - My sons attended a Quaker secondary school, which always sends a few kids to Earlham. A number of faculty members went there, also, including the very accomplished Stagecraft and Video Production teacher (he worked on a number of very successful Broadway productions before “retiring” to teach). The students who went to Earlham are technically “preppy,” by definition, and very affluent in some cases, but they tend to be very down-to-earth. </p>
<p>So “preppy” means only and literally “went to preparatory school?” No other connotations? </p>
<p>Perhaps the OP would define the word as she means it. </p>
<p>Not necessarily, but when one is surrounded by very preppy kids it takes less to be the quirky one of the crowd.</p>
<p>So is it about style? Or is it also about attitudes and values?</p>
<p>As someone who spent four years at a private, all-girls boarding school, and married a graduate of a formerly all-boys boarding school, I always laugh at how the term “preppy” is tossed around by people who never attended a prep school. It seems to be a marketing phrase for sportswear companies, or a stock description for sit-com characters.If anything typifies the true preppies I know, across the spectrum, it is the casual self-assurance bred of privilege. It’s the kids who don’t obsess over expensive “brands,” because they know they have money and status. Also, boarding school students are often the least flashy and the least conscious of wealth, in many respects, because they don’t know what others’ houses and cars look like immediately. I didn’t realize that some of my schoolmates were heiresses to massive, world-class fortunes until years later. The one with the legendary name, synonymous with wealth (hint-hint) was probably the worst-dressed student I ever knew, and expressed amazement when she heard that some of us had use of our mothers’ charge accounts. I’ve found that public, suburban high schools are probably the most status-conscious environments around, although private day schools are probably as bad. That’s because parents are around to gossip about other parents, and are likely to know what they make and what they spent on their houses. At any rate, the kids who superficially appear “preppy” aren’t necessarily richer. They might, in fact, be the reverse. I think, nevertheless, that college visits are valuable for giving prospective students a “feel” for the communities. It’s worth observing whether the campuses seem socially integrated - not merely in racial or ethnic terms, but if “nerds” seem to associate with “preppies” or “jocks.” Do you see physically attractive students walking with less comely schoolmates? Do you see a lot of casual interaction between male and female students? Do the kids seem to be smiling, and engaged with their environment? Does the tour seem to focus excessively on one aspect (e.g. athletics) of student life at the expense of others? What are opportunities for getting off campus? The high school senior might notice things that parents don’t (and vice versa). Allow the student to make his or her own observations. They might draw meaningful insights from the different music they hear played on different campuses, which a parent will be oblivious to.</p>
<p>^wow. I shall never say “preppy” again. Thanks for the clarification.</p>