<p>Consider Pitzer (one of the Clarement schools) in CA. Different drummer kind of school with access to any kind of academics through the Clarement consortium.</p>
<p>Hampshire was my first thought</p>
<p>Have you checked out the book Colleges that Change Lives?</p>
<p>Find some great schools, lots of good suggestions here, that would love to have her and where she can get easily accepted, maybe get merit money to boot. These should be schools that she also likes. When you get that ground covered. you can cherry pick the big names and put as many of those on the list, being aware that those are lottery tickets even for kids of your caliber. </p>
<p>This way if she gets into a highly selective school, she can then look at in terms of the traits that she like best in the schools she investigated that were easy admits for her. Too many families I’ve known with kids that have high stats, lots of talent, set their caps to the most selective schools, focusing on them, only to be hit hard with the reality that those single digit accept rates apply to kids of that caliber and then they look at the others schools with bitter tastes in their mouths and feel cheated.</p>
<p>Yeah- I have to fourth the Hampshire suggestion . My D has some similarities to the student in the opening post and she got in- and it is tied for first place on her short list.</p>
<p>As suggested by others, I would give Oberlin a hard look.</p>
<p>Grinnell???</p>
<p>My first thought is Cornell.</p>
<p>Vassar, Kenyon, Bard and Reed come to mind.</p>
<p>Whitman. Great outdoor program and very environmentally conscious. The Semester in the West is an unbelievably unique and thought provoking program. Open, active, smart kids, relaxed atmosphere.</p>
<p>Cornell is not remotely an LAC, but it is rural and in a town well populated with those who march to a different drum. It has a fabulous farmer’s market, a 40 mile long lake, and spectacular waterfalls in many local state parks.</p>
<p>If she loves her experience with the organic farm, there really is no better place to study food and agriculture. There are courses in at least 3 of Cornell’s undergraduate schools that focus on food, from anthropology (arts and sciences) to culinary theory and practice(hotel). And the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences probably has 6 or 8 majors focused on various aspects of agriculture/food, plus a business program with some courses focused in that area as well. The faculty is full of eminent food scientists, nutritionists, plant geneticists, etc.</p>
<p>I would not be so quick to dismiss the 3.5 GPA as a GPA is looked at in context and she already has taken 8 AP classes. Her other stats are top notch. Her activities are strong and so is the fact that she holds a job.</p>
<p>While repeating what some others suggested, I’ll also throw in the ring:
Oberlin
Reed
Grinnell
Wesleyan
Kenyon
Vassar
Bard
Sarah Lawrence
Smith
Colorado College
Colby
Bowdoin</p>
<p>She might like U of Chicago, but it is not rural.</p>
<p>Cornell College of Ag and Life Sciences. Back in the last century when I was a grad student there, the organic farming types were mostly in what is now the Horticulture Department [Department</a> of Horticulture](<a href=“SIPS Horticulture Section | CALS”>http://hort.cals.cornell.edu/) Things may have changed, so have her spend some time at the website.</p>
<p>Classmates of mine from those days have landed all over the world in programs with titles like “Sustainable Agriculture”. Your daughter should run some searches using that as the keyword and see what comes up.</p>
<p>I would agree with some other posters that Cornell may be a good choice. Ithaca is great, the campus is beautiful - so worth a look!</p>
<p>My daughter attends here and couldn’t imagine going to any other school. </p>
<p>From a parent’s point of view, Cornell has been wonderful to both my daughter and I. In October of this past year, her stepfather (my husband) passed away suddenly (it was just days before first year parent’s weekend). When I cancelled my first year activities, I told them why, and they sent numerous people to check on my daughter, and also sent me several e mails to see if there was anything they could help with. I will always remember their kindness. </p>
<p>I have nothing but wonderful things to say about their financial aid department as well. </p>
<p>I wish your daughter great success at whatever school she chooses.</p>
<p>Wow! Thank you all so much for the tremendous response. Lots to think about and look into.</p>
<p>Some details I gleaned during the morning rush:
- She adores her teachers this semester and is managing a 4.0. If she maintains it (Unlikely, it appears she’s way more concerned with attempting to polish her French, preparing a project listed below, and blasting through Doctor Who. Sigh.), it will push her into 3.6 territory. How helpful that is, I have no idea.
- She’s considering anthropology, English, and “something environmental” majors and definitely wants to continue to be involved in food/agriculture in some way. Says she wants to take courses concerning botany, sustainability, and food, but unlikely to major in it. Sigh again. Also mentioned how she thinks she would enjoy graduate studies and teaching, but that might be irrelevant.
- She’s actually more flexible on location that I thought. Anywhere in the US, must have green, varying levels of wilderness acceptable. Vibrant music scene is a plus. Outdoor activities realistically available is a plus. Supposedly will work with what she’s given if the glove fits. Will swoon if the architecture is gothic, and I know she’s quite fond of waterfalls.
- She’s meeting with the APES teacher and the principal today during lunch to discuss a “huge” sustainable organic garden in the courtyard. She even had diagrams. I knew nothing of this - that’s slightly worrisome…</p>
<p>As far as fit, D is quirky and doesn’t care if you have a ratty beret/ironic mustache or popped collar as long as she can share a laugh and have an intelligent conversation with you. Her social life will probably be around 15% partying on the weekend - she’ll do it on occasion, but I don’t think she’ll be big on frats and drinking. She wants a friendly, noncompetitive and accepting environment where you can party or be nerdy/quirky or like weird music and find it easy to thrive socially. She has a huge appreciation for eccentricities and has quite a few herself; it would be nice if (most of) the student body did as well.</p>
<p>We live very close to Warren Wilson. Fantastic school, but not far enough away for D. Cornell is interesting - she’s convinced she’s all about LAC intimacy, easy access to profs, etc, but I suppose Cornell could be as small as you want it to be, and she’s certainly one to use office hours.</p>
<p>Essays and recs are going to be the strongest parts of her application. I genuinely think her essays will shine - she’s certainly not going to be shy about using her voice, and she has always been a strong writer. Here’s to hoping “interesting” comes through for her.</p>
<p>We’re going to look into every school suggested. We’ll also get familiar with the CTCL. You’ve all been a huge help!</p>
<p>In some ways your DD resembles my DD1 who was absolutely infatuated with Reed. I think your DD would be a great match there. It’s very “granoly” in Portland OR, has a “mini canyon” that runs through the middle of campus, and has a fantastic outdoor club. The preparation for Grad school is top notch.</p>
<p>When you schedule your college visits, try to look at several very different schools. My last two college kids fell in love with some places right away, and immediately knew some environments were just not for them.</p>
<p>The more I read about your d the more I think she is a “TWAMP” . Don’t worry it is a compliment…in Williamsburg! Stands for “Typical William and Mary Person”. Minus the waterfalls, (but there is a lot of water about an hour away) she would fit right in I think. </p>
<p>A couple of agricultural/food links she might be interested in:</p>
<p>[William</a> & Mary - back-to-the-farm](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2010/back-to-the-farm.php]William”>back-to-the-farm | William & Mary)</p>
<p>[William</a> & Mary - Food Sustainability](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/sites/sustainability/initiatives/food/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/sites/sustainability/initiatives/food/index.php) </p>
<p>If she goes the English route she can look into the joint program that W&M just started with St. Andrews. That would put her in a place with direct contact to a lot of Gothic architecture! Best of luck to you again!</p>
<p>Wesleyan U. and Reed.</p>
<p>Oberlin and Reed. And though it’s not an LAC…Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she might appreciate the Urban Forest Ecosystems Inst. <a href=“http://www.ufei.calpoly.edu/[/url]”>http://www.ufei.calpoly.edu/</a> and enjoy outdoor activities all year long.</p>
<p>Give Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas a look. The name is not as well known as some of the others that have been mentioned but, my daughter, who sounds much like yours, went there and couldn’t have loved it more. It’s definitely worth consideration.</p>