Hi All - My niece has excellent grades, top test scores but struggles socially. What seems to bring her the most joy is anime drawing and gaming. Her parents/school are asking her for a college list - she is interested in finding a school with a community of like minded anime enthusiasts? Any ideas? She lives in MidWest but seems open to schools further away.
I think her parents should instead focus on a school that will broaden her horizons. It may be that she focuses on anime because of her HS experience. It would not benefit her to miss out on other activities in college because she remains stuck in her HS mode. Living in the Midwest gives her great opportunities at many top tier large flagship U’s- perhaps even instate for her. These large top notch U’s will have large enough student bodies to include those with her anime interests.
Again, I strongly suggest her parents encourage her to look at schools that not only will have like minded students but will also have ways of expanding her horizons. I know of many gifted students who struggle socially because they do not have the peer group they need in HS. Plus their innate personalities do not fit the typical HS student. It could be partially that she is an introvert in an extrovert’s world (years ago a conference I attended as a parent stated 75% of the population is extroverted- a spectrum, btw- while 75% of the highly gifted are introverted). Harder to get social cues when different.
Finding her “tribe” would be easiest at a flagship where many top students end up in honors programs plus a large enough student population for her interests. Think overlapping circles/Venn diagrams. There will be no schools that are a total match but many that include various aspects of who she is. Also, in college it does matter what the majority does, just that you find a few like minded peers.
I know kids like your niece. Art institutes and colleges like Digipen Institute of Technology are places that attract students with similar interests. But what your niece wants to do as far as a major is the most important factor. Liking anime and gaming as hobbies is very different than seeking a career in a related field.
Take a look at Rochester Institute of Technology. I know several kids like her who are thriving there (and getting comfortable stretching a bit.)
Several schools have freshman seminars/living learning communities where the kids are assigned to the same writing class freshman year. I remember that several of these were anime-focused.
Here’s one from Gettysburg - with their program everyone in your living cluster would be taking this same class, so you are guaranteed a roommate and neighbors who also love anime and Japanese culture:
Here’s one from WUSTL
https://ealc.wustl.edu/courses/japanese/wucrsl/L05/119/SP2014
UNC has one too, but you have to look for the word ‘anime’ on this page to find it:
https://fys.unc.edu/courses/fall-2018/
I’d suggest looking at the catalogues of colleges that you’ve selected for other ‘fit’ reasons, and searching on the word ‘anime’. Many colleges now include it in discussions of culture, writing, art, and so forth.
You might also search in the clubs section of college websites. Many, many colleges have an anime club.
I think some of the women’s colleges are more accepting. I agree with the post above about gaming/anime being hobby vs career. My aspie D (younger though in HS) really is into both of those hobbies but it is more of her escape from everything else. Her academic talents are different. I think fit for your niece is probably the first factor to consider. Another option if she is willing to travel is looking in the PNW at schools. Whitman, University of Puget Sound and perhaps U of Washington although its huge. There are companies out here that actively recruit and train people on the spectrum. Particularly Microsoft.
Beloit College. I’m sure the Beloit Science Fiction and Fantasy Association has anime fans in it.
Rowan College in New Jersey hosts an anime convention in January
http://animecons.com/events/info.shtml/9420/KotoriCon_2018
I saw this as the first entry on this list. If you scan the list of conventions, you’ll see that many are sponsored by college anime clubs, I saw Christopher Newport, University of Maryland, and UNC Charlotte before I got bored looking. I suspect any college with a club active enough to put on a convention will have a wide variety of people she can relate to.
Friend’s D is similar and found a dorm at Oberlin that was manga/anime focused. She went there and was quite happy with the friends she made there. I would think that there are lots of campuses that have something similar. What else is she looking for?
RPI has hosted an anime convention for the last thirty years. She’d have to be fairly serious about engineering too, but if she is they are on the forefront of combining engineering and art. https://news.rpi.edu/content/2015/03/13/rensselaer-student-organization-hosts-annual-anime-science-fiction-and-video-game
Anywhere with lots of Asian students will also have anime/manga enthusiasts in addition to what was mentioned above.
DD shares these interests and we found anime clubs at many schools. Some more active than others. I would suggest visiting a variety of campuses and see what feels comfortable. My DD had no clue until visiting. She felt overwhelmed by the large state universities suggested in some of these posts. I Agree with poster about Oberlin. My DD felt very comfortable there and was offered serious merit $ there that your niece might qualify for as well.
I would say to look for colleges that would meet her needs…Major, geographic area, rural/urban, price, size, etc…and then see if they have an anime club. I will bet a bunch of them do.
@dysphorichousewife My son went to Miami University in Ohio. He is a big time anime fan, and also took Japanese as his foreign language requirement. He found his niche with anime and gaming there. I think there is an anime club but I will confirm that with him and let you know. Miami is an excellent school.
Some from the list above in our area:
Bowling Green U, U Akron, Elizabethtown College, East Stroudsburg U.
Any college with nerdy boys – which is to say, any college – is going to have a community of people of all genders who love anime.
The most important thing is to look for a college which is the best fit for her intended major. Anime fandom is wide spread–I doubt she’d have trouble finding like-minded individuals on any campus.
Note that you will find many specific colleges mentioned. Do not pay attention to specific ones at the expense of ignoring hundreds of equally viable choices not mentioned.
See post #16- use this as the guide!