If kid isn't quirky will she fit in at a liberal arts college?

[Anonymous]

I went to Williams and am the parent of a recent grad and one current student. First of all, you can be sporty, smart, outgoing and quirky. Quirky just means you have something interesting going on -- like you're a lacrosse player who's also in a ukelele group or a tennis player who writes also writes haikus in French or . . . you get my drift, right? Second, Williams, Bates and Haverford have very different cultures. Yes, there are students who might be happy at any of those schools, but there are also students who would really click at one of them, but not the other two. The point is there's more nuance here than the student counselor seems to appreciate. Third, my kid's counselor at Sidwell perceived him (sporty, smart, outgoing and quirky) as conservative and tried to steer him to fratty schools -- e.g., Duke and Vanderbilt. We ignored this advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, she will be just fine. There are enough jocks and "non-quirky" people at those schools. Agreed that college counselors are useless.

+1

Plenty of kids who enjoy athletics, etc., at those schools.

My impression is that there are a LOT of smart jocks at those schools. Many of them are D3, so that lots of kids walk on to sports teams and can continue to play while pursuing an academically rigorous courseload. The percentage of students who play a sport tends to be higher at D3 schools than at bigger schools or D1/D2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Williams and am the parent of a recent grad and one current student. First of all, you can be sporty, smart, outgoing and quirky. Quirky just means you have something interesting going on -- like you're a lacrosse player who's also in a ukelele group or a tennis player who writes also writes haikus in French or . . . you get my drift, right? Second, Williams, Bates and Haverford have very different cultures. Yes, there are students who might be happy at any of those schools, but there are also students who would really click at one of them, but not the other two. The point is there's more nuance here than the student counselor seems to appreciate. Third, my kid's counselor at Sidwell perceived him (sporty, smart, outgoing and quirky) as conservative and tried to steer him to fratty schools -- e.g., Duke and Vanderbilt. We ignored this advice.

I worried that DD wasn't sporty enough for Williams! And it's not the only sporty SLAC. Fisk Guide says that Amherst is the "original home to the well-rounded, super achieving, gentle-person jock." (DD was waitlisted at both.)

FWIW, she's going to another high-ranked SLAC that embraces the term quirky, and in that case, at least, I agree that it's more about the students being interesting than anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter likes the small liberal arts colleges, mostly because of the smaller size and she wants to study economics. When she told the college counselor of a few (Williams, Bates, Haverford) the counselor said, "Oh no, you won't fit in at any of them". My impression is that liberal art colleges tend to have quirky kids. My DD is outgoing, sporty and smart. Will she be a total outcast? Unfortunately, she hasn't been on any of the campuses yet because of Covid. We will take a look, hopefully in the fall.

I don't know why your college counsellor would say that, but there are plenty of SLACSs where quirky kids thrive. You can even search "quirky" on this board to find a few. Most LACs have a lot of sporty kids. Most LACs have smart kids. Many also have critical mass of quirky kids.

Here are some that come to mind, with a range of sportiness and a range of quirkiness, and also a range of selectivity:

Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Carleton
Vassar
Grinnell
Macalaster
Oberlin
Davidson
Haverford
Bates
Beloit
Kalamazoo
Lawrence
Wooster
Whitman
Puget Sound
Reed (not very sporty if sporty means competing against other colleges)
Millsaps
Elon
Earlham
Amherst
Williams
Pitzer
Pomona
Scripps
Claremont McKenna (famously strong economics department but probably least quirky of the Claremont Colleges)

The list could go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both!! She goes to a DC private but not conservative. She tends to be more conservative then most at her school. I was so mad when the counselor said that to her. Like, let her decide!!! She isn't going to like a big party/Greek life SEC school. I'm thinking the counselor assumes certain things because my DD is AA. Odd....

Report that counselor! This is MORE than a microaggression. It is overtly racist.

What a IDIOT I am. I never even thought that and assumed it was because she is very outgoing and into sports. She made it sound like these schools are full of weird kids who only like to study with no skills. I am not a college grad so I have no clue about liberal arts colleges other than my daughter telling me she likes the size and they are good if you want to study econ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both!! She goes to a DC private but not conservative. She tends to be more conservative then most at her school. I was so mad when the counselor said that to her. Like, let her decide!!! She isn't going to like a big party/Greek life SEC school. I'm thinking the counselor assumes certain things because my DD is AA. Odd....

Report that counselor! This is MORE than a microaggression. It is overtly racist.

What a IDIOT I am. I never even thought that and assumed it was because she is very outgoing and into sports. She made it sound like these schools are full of weird kids who only like to study with no skills. I am not a college grad so I have no clue about liberal arts colleges other than my daughter telling me she likes the size and they are good if you want to study econ.

If your DD is a minority and first gen college applicant she has a very high chance of not only getting into the most selective SLACs but also getting great financial aid. Those schools are trying to shed the exclusive all-white image. She should absolutely apply!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both!! She goes to a DC private but not conservative. She tends to be more conservative then most at her school. I was so mad when the counselor said that to her. Like, let her decide!!! She isn't going to like a big party/Greek life SEC school. I'm thinking the counselor assumes certain things because my DD is AA. Odd....

Report that counselor! This is MORE than a microaggression. It is overtly racist.

What a IDIOT I am. I never even thought that and assumed it was because she is very outgoing and into sports. She made it sound like these schools are full of weird kids who only like to study with no skills. I am not a college grad so I have no clue about liberal arts colleges other than my daughter telling me she likes the size and they are good if you want to study econ.

DP. You’re not an idiot. Good for you for not immediately assuming this was a “racist” comment. Sounds like the counselor just assumed that a sporty, outgoing kid wouldn’t enjoy being surrounded by quirky theater kids. I know mine wouldn’t. If anything, I find it refreshing that the counselor talked to your daughter as an individual, rather than seeing her only as an AA and not being candid because of that.

[Anonymous]

What kind of quirky are you guys talking about here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both!! She goes to a DC private but not conservative. She tends to be more conservative then most at her school. I was so mad when the counselor said that to her. Like, let her decide!!! She isn't going to like a big party/Greek life SEC school. I'm thinking the counselor assumes certain things because my DD is AA. Odd....

Report that counselor! This is MORE than a microaggression. It is overtly racist.

What a IDIOT I am. I never even thought that and assumed it was because she is very outgoing and into sports. She made it sound like these schools are full of weird kids who only like to study with no skills. I am not a college grad so I have no clue about liberal arts colleges other than my daughter telling me she likes the size and they are good if you want to study econ.

DP. You’re not an idiot. Good for you for not immediately assuming this was a “racist” comment. Sounds like the counselor just assumed that a sporty, outgoing kid wouldn’t enjoy being surrounded by quirky theater kids. I know mine wouldn’t. If anything, I find it refreshing that the counselor talked to your daughter as an individual, rather than seeing her only as an AA and not being candid because of that.

The fact is that these schools are pretty white, so the comment could go either way. Whatever the reason for discouraging her, the counselor was dead wrong. This kid will probably fit in well and succeed at an LAC.

[Anonymous]

I am not quirky and went to a SLAC that is known for being quirky. It was fine and there are enough people, even in a small school, that you can find a compatible group. It also helps to stretch your horizons, which isn't a bad thing coming from the DMV bubble.

I would focus much less on quirkiness and much more on the AA student experience.

[Anonymous]

I could easily see your dd liking Williams from your description of her. We know several current students and they are all sporty, well rounded, outgoing and sharp. Don’t know as much about the other colleges.

[Anonymous]

That's a terrible comment from the college counselor. I would seek advice from many other sources -- including here. DCUM can be brutal, but there are often some good ideas.

[Anonymous]

New poster. The counselor is off base. LACs and SLACs can range widely in their "fit" as others have noted. Have your daughter look first and foremost at which ones have the econ programs that most appeal to her (not all econ departments have the same emphases, not all will have the same opportunities to work with professors closely, etc.). Put the academic program first and investigate that in detail! Then she can look at things like athletics and fit. "Quirkiness," to be honest, really doesn't mean much. My own DD goes to a LAC where she has friends who I guess could be called quirky but she also knows very athletic students, STEM students, lots of performing arts students, some (admittedly, a few) quite conservative kids, etc.

I would forget "quirkiness" and focus maybe (after academic programs of course) on whether a relatively conservative kid is going to be comfortable, be open to others unlike her and find them open to her too, and whether there are extracurricular activities she would find truly engaging.

She is absolutely right that LACS/SLACs have smaller classes and that is very, very positive. Our DD has loved that about her LAC--from freshman year she was in 20-person seminars (and smaller) while friends at big state universities were going to 150-person lectures with professors who had no idea who the students were individually. In LACs there also can be more opportunities, much earlier, to work on smaller projects with other students and with professors (and even with alumni--my DD is already getting a lot of contact with alums through projects DD is doing with professors, and those projects that give her good experience dealing with the world outside the college and the profs!).

[Anonymous]

The quirkies need normal friends who can sustain a conversation with eye contact and don't have blue hair. She'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Sure, rule out every single liberal arts school for this reason. SMH.