Quirky urban colleges?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello! I'm Kira and I'm a senior at a small Catholic all girls high school in the Bay Area. I'm Hispanic, LGBT, and have OCD and suffered from an eating disorder. I am a first generation college student and speak English and Spanish. </p>

<p>I want to double major in Biology or Philosophy, or, in programs that allow it, to create a concentration type thing in Sustainability, Ecology, Bioethics, something about our roles in the natural world and science. </p>

<p>GPA: 4.13 (upward trend, dip because of eating disorder)
SAT: 2070 (only taken once)
SAT II: History 690, Literature 720
5 on APUSH, 5 on APE Lang</p>

<p>I have very strong English and History course rigor, decent science, not awesome math. I'm looking for a school that questions everything - that dares to define success differently. I'm a reader and a writer, love to read poetry, run, volunteer. </p>

<p>I have lots of service hours working with a preschool in a bad area, trying to teach preschool kids English so they beat the odds in English speaking school systems. I started a club about marine conservation. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper. I am a member of the Hispanic Club and the Diversity Club. I am on the board of a youth led, bay area wide LGBT organization. I am also on Mock Trial and am a singer and link crew leader. </p>

<p>I'm looking for schools in liberal urban big cities - like Chicago, Seattle, Boston, NY, etc. I'm looking for creative and open minded, tolerant, and quirky. But I laos want opportunity and connectedness to the real world. </p>

<p>I fell in love with Brown, but obviously that is a reach for me. Thoughts and suggestions on other schools?</p>

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<p>Did you lose your other thread?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1554234-quirky-unusual-urban-schools-offbeat-student.html?highlight=quirky[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1554234-quirky-unusual-urban-schools-offbeat-student.html?highlight=quirky&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Just wanted some new opinions! :)</p>

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<p>Some suggestions that I think match your criteria, (all very intellectual and quirky)</p>

<ul>
<li>University of Chicago (highly intellectual, big city)</li>
<li>Sarah Lawrence College (located outside of NYC, very progressive)</li>
<li>Grinnell College (not urban at all, but matches all other criteria)</li>
<li>Macalester College </li>
<li>Wesleyan University</li>
<li>Reed College</li>
</ul>

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<p>A little less of a reach than Brown:</p>

<p>Barnard</p>

<p>Not in the city, but within a short train ride of Philadelphia:</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr</p>

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<p>university of Pittsburgh
it is a great school (honors even better) it has a world renown hospital/research center/med school
and is home of
[About</a> Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic](<a href=“http://www.upmc.com/locations/hospitals/western-psychiatric/about/Pages/default.aspx]About”>About UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital)
if you are lucky maybe you could get an internship and work with doctors working on better understandings/treatment of eating disorders, ocd etc…
also Pittsburgh is a great great city</p>

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<p>Eugene Lang would be a solid match.</p>

<p>Consider Hampshire as a safety. Not in a big city, but in a small, liberal one with 5 colleges. And it’s popular with students into community action & sustainability. And you can design that ideal curriculum you want.</p>

<p>If I were picking an ideal Ivy for someone who describes herself as you do, it would be Brown. So well-played there.</p>

<p>If I had a magic wand that would get you accepted anywhere and could pick which school that was, I’d go with Sarah Lawrence. You sound like almost exactly their kind of student, except you may actually be more of an activist than many of the other students. You’d probably end up being the one organizing rallies and community service events, as opposed to joining ones already in progress. But much of the other stuff (poetry, LGBT activism, love of reading, general artsy-fartsy quirkiness) is in their wheelhouse.</p>

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<p>Nothing in Seattle, but UPS in Tacoma could be worth a look.</p>

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<p>Simmons College
Wellesley College
Smith College (not urban, but may be liberal and quirky enough to make up for it for you)
Hampshire College (ditto. at Hampshire, you design your own area of concentration)
Barnard College
Eugene Lang College of the New School (you can concentrate in Environment, Society, and Public Policy)
NYU (especially the Gallatin School, where you can create your own major)
Sarah Lawrence (individualized, focused education)
Marymount Manhattan College (not really known for quirkiness, but it’s a liberal-arts focused institution)
SUNY Purchase (about an hour north of NYC, and a quirky artsy campus with a variety of majors)
University of Richmond (less known for quirkiness)
Washington & Lee University (ditto, and also not urban)
Agnes Scott College
New College of Florida
Reed College
Evergreen State College (WA)
UC-Santa Cruz
Pitzer College
Mills College</p>

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<p>I think you’d find your “tribe” at any women’s college, whether urban or rural. The community at these schools will nurture your “quirks” and empower you well. Just do the best you can on your applications and stop second guessing yourself.</p>

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