small, quirky schools?

<p>If he liked Burlington, check out St Michael’s. Not quite “quirky” but closer to his ideal than UVermont.</p>

<p>Does it strike anyone else as odd the OP is looking for a business program - the most mainstream, straightlaced possible major, combined with a “small, quirky school” That’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one.</p>

<p>Other oddities: 3.2 GPA, 5 APs, but a 2110 SAT, including a M of 670, yet claims weak math/science skills. There are kids who want to major in engineering who don’t have a 670.</p>

<p>This strikes me as a kid who is highly intelligent, yet bored and doesn’t really try at anything he’s not interested in. But a business degree? That won’t light a fire under this kid and I see mediocre performance in his future as he’ll be bored with most of that as well. </p>

<p>What is his passion? What does he really care about? If he could do anything, what would it be? Writing? History? Advertising? Law? If you can get him to open up and tell you what it is he really wants, rather than what he thinks the answers should be, you might get him to someplace great. Otherwise, I see a repeat of HS when something much more exciting is possible.</p>

<p>LAC’s will expose your son to lots of options and possibilities. The education will be well rounded. My son went to Eckerd and majored in International Business. He was a member of SIFE, Students in Free Enterprise, (his team placed at National competition and was given the keys to the City of St. Petersburg for their contribution to small businesses and was recognized by Gov. Crist. He also compteded nationally with the Model UN. Business is the second largest major at Eckerd. The student body is “quirky”. A mix of artsy, marine science, environmental studies, business and Division II athletes. Somehow they all mix together in a close community. </p>

<p>thanks, we’ll take a look at all the schools mentioned in this thread. We had our eye on eckard, good to hear about your son’s experience. </p>

<p>I’ve asked my son repeatedly about his passion and the answer is he has no idea. His interest in business seems superficial, He saw me start a business that did very well so he’s interested. But he admits he has no idea what studying business would be like so we’re setting up some talks with people that studied business. He’s a good writer with a great sense of voice and humor. We’ve repeatedly mentioned writing programs including the one at emerson, he says he doesn’t want to study writing.</p>

<p>As for the gap btw gpa and sat, he suffers from insomnia which results in lack of focus, especially in classes that don’t interest him. He’s a completely different student when he gets sleep. We’ve had him to many doctors, an overnight sleep clinic, etc to no avail. Each year of high school it’s gotten a little better, along with his grades It’s heartbreaking to see your bright kid come down in the morning bleary-eyed and announce he didn’t sleep a minute during the night.</p>

<p>quirky schools have quirky students who are interested in business – often they are very entrepreneurial and creative. I don’t see an interest in business as a contradiction. Many of these “quirky” schools may not have business or pre-professional majors, but you can be that there are programs and students who are learning ways to put good ideas to practical use. My guess is he’s saying “business” because that’s what he knows right now. Personally, I don’t think you or he should worry about a major right now – he sounds like a creative person and would benefit from learning and exploring a variety of ways to approach his life.</p>

<p>Here’s an example from the “quirky” school my son attends:<br>
<a href=“Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Grinnell College”>http://www.grinnell.edu/news/innovation-and-entrepreneurship&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Agree with what others said about business studies will probably not be ample at most small, LAC-type schools. Economics is what you’ll find at those places. Agree with the suggestion of Beloit. If your applicant is female, think about Sweet Briar College in Virgina (I think they have an equestrian major; now that’s quirky). For women there’s also Wesleyan College in Georgia. If you’re searching for extreme quirkiness, head out west to a couple of public colleges about an hour;s drive from Seattle; Evergreen State College and Western Washington University. ESC is the quirkier and stronger of the two. ESC is fondly thought of on the west coast, especially by CALIFORNIANS!</p>

<p>I don’t see Sweet Briar as “quirky” at all… more genteel. My kids were very put off by the pink, perfumed mailers D1 got from them. Wouldn’t have gotten my “quirky” kid withing miles of the place based on the mailings.</p>

<p>LOL</p>

<p>I can also recommend Earlham which does have a decent Business and Non-Profit Management major for a small LAC.</p>

<p>I went there 25 years ago and as others have noted, the business/econ majors were the straightest kids on campus. But the rest- pretty quirky I guess, more crunchy granola peace types actually.</p>

<p>I second Wooster, but anything that’s trumpeted in “Colleges That Change Lives” fits your criteria.</p>

<p>We did the tour of Marlboro College in Vermont. Quirky!! Surroundings, buildings, the way the school is run… everything was very different. We loved it very much. Marlboro was the only school where the current students waved and shouted “come to our school!!” at us in a very friendly manner during the tour. (And we saw a half naked male student in a black cape flew by…)
If your kid doesn’t mind its extremely small size and rigorous writing seminar, this school must be a good fit.
I think they are ranked number one or two in “Students who study the most” in Princeton ranking.</p>

<p>Oh sorry, you already have looked at Marlboro!</p>