Many of us were in the neurotic parent’s book. Fun times.
I went to UC Santa Cruz way back when they didn’t give grades. The school was about 6000 grads and undergrads. It had a tree-hugging, vegetation, Birkenstock and down jacket in the winter kind of vibe. Very activist. Very artsy. I don’t know if they are still so unique, but the setting is beautiful and the town is still alternative.
“Unfortunately, until I find someone who wants to pay Boo and me to visit and review colleges, I have to work my real job.”
I’m up to 28 visits so far in 2016. Join me on the road!
Is there a point to attending a “hippie” college anymore? Being a hippie/hipster is very in nowaways. Virtually every school will have a hippie subculture…
As has been discussed on other threads, don’t confuse hippie with hipster. Two distinct groups IMO.
This thread brings back great memories of college visits with artsy vegan tree-hugging belly dancer D (who will FINALLY graduate this spring after being in school for mumble-mumble years). Her top two choices were Hampshire and Sarah Lawrence, both of which she got into but we could not afford. We both found Skidmore to be on the preppy side! (I think maybe it was the “horsey” tone of the place). I guess her other most hippy-ish choices were Oberlin and Pitzer, but sadly they rejected her. She was looking specifically for a world dance program (especially Middle Eastern) and has been pretty happy at CU-Boulder (probably the most hippy-ish state flagship) taking West African, Tribal/transnational Fusion, and Hip-hop dance.
My current HS senior D is not such a hippy (going to be an engineer), but she is applying to Smith and University of Vermont (okay, maybe that one is the most hippy-ish flagship).
I look forward to following your future hippy college travels. Good luck to Boo as she thinks over her choices.
Loving this. Many of these schools were on my sons early list though removed either for price reasons or too remote. Can’t wait to see where you visit next.
I don’t think you missed much not visiting Evergreen but that’s a personal in state opinion that has some bias. Heaven knows the HS counsellors love it.
I am loving this thread - very relevant for my Birkenstock wearing, LGBTQ+ aware daughter.
@hyppymom Come join us at the Parents of 2017 threads!
The version for B to A- students is here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19909349
Hi all! @hyppymom here. I’m getting lots of private messages for info about my blog. Can’t post the link here. But if you google the title of this thread, your should be able to locate it and/or my Facebook page without difficulty. The blog’s title is similar, but not identical, to the title of this thread.
Thanks, everyone, for your support and encouragement. Look for the next entry about our trip to Ohio to be posted here later today.
@hyppymom - loved the Generalissimo reference.
The degree to which I was sentient in the 1970s was (depending on the substance) either directly or inversely proportional to whatever I was smoking or ingesting…(btw, if D17 is reading this - JK!!!)
Would employers question the value of a degree from places like these (Hampshire, SLC, Evergreen etc) as they are perceived to be a bit radical, and usually lack rigorous general education curriculums? Some might also question whether students from these schools would fit in well in a corporate, a more traditional, or structured working environment?
Go Not Ready for Prime Time Players!!
@LoveTheBard Hah! Looks like your daughter and Boo have something in common – suffering the indignities of a snarky parent. Then again, my mom was snarky before snarky was a thing and I survived just fine.
@WildestDream A bit radical and lacking in rigorous general education requirements – sounds like my alma mater Brown University! I managed to do just fine in a traditional structured corporate environment. I was a partner at a white shoe law firm for many years. I’ve now left that behind to review Hippie Colleges. (Kidding, I opened my own practice.)
I think anyone who wants to join a structured corporate environment can do it and can succeed – if they want to. It took me 25 years to realize that even though I could succeed in that environment, I didn’t want to. I don’t think that Boo would thrive in that environment. I suspect that many kids who are interested in the hippie schools are the same. I just have to trust that Boo will find her way.
@WildestDream I can only speak to Evergreen but in the greater Seattle area, you are spot on. From an employer standpoint it is not a school that gives one any kind of an edge and can often work against. It also is known locally as a CC feeder and a much older average age student.
I don’t question that it could be a great experience for the right kid. But I question employability, starting salary and internship opportunities early on. Early on, it was on my S’s list and the HS GC’s and teachers love it here, but from a practical long term standpoint I couldn’t get behind it. I have also heard, specific to Hampshire (also on our list early on) that the lack of grades can be problematic when applying to grad school.
Our favorite PNW hippyish school is definitely Western Washington University, followed by University of Puget Sound.
@eandesmom – in defense of Hampshire (which Boo and I did not care for), they allegedly have a great track record of getting grads into doctoral programs.
was just going to mention UC Santa Cruz, @mtrosemom. Go Banana slugs!
Other schools to check out: Colorado College (wouldn’t call it “hippie” but there are definitely hippie types comfortably there) and Quest in BC, Canada.
Pitzer is brutally expensive, but might suit your daughter. It doesn’t have a great Theater program, but she can avail herself of the facilities at Scripps. I also strongly recommend New College of FL (aka “Bikini Bennington”). They are adjacent to Asolo Repertory Theater: one of the best regional theaters around, and home to FSU’s first-rate MFA program. There are lots of internship and independent-study opportunities. Finally, if she wants to combine a hippie vibe with a more cosmopolitan environment, look into Eugene Lang College at The New School in NYC. It’s Bennington or Hampshire dropped onto lower Fifth Avenue.
@woogzmama Back before I started writing, Boo and I visited some of the Claremont consortium schools. She liked Scripps and Pitzer but is resistant to Southern California. So I don’t think that any of them will make the final cut.
@hyppymom - a very close friend of mine has a daughter attending CMU who participated in a summer program there while in high school (I believe it was theater, however, not voice). I also happened to have met an opera-singing student while DS and I were touring Rice who went to CMU in the summer for voice and loved it (that was her first choice for college, don’t know whether she got into the conservatory or not) and happened to have been a good friend of my friend’s daughter while there. Anyway, if you think that connecting with this CMU student (not currently in the conservatory, but still active in theater) would help, PM me and I can try to make that happen. I do know that this student received a grant to make a film over the summer that sounded like it would be right up Boo’s hippy-hearted alley.