To derail this thread a bit, I'd like your recommendations on colleges for my dd. So I have a rising 9th grader (not the computer addict I mentioned in another thread yesterday) who is not a pleaser. She tests well (her 7th grade SAT scores would be the envy of most HS seniors), is likely to get great grades through high school, and may even do something interesting outside of academics in high school (if it doesn't interfere too much with her tumblr habit), but will. not. play. the admissions game. She is a deep thinker about big things, and takes *nothing* for granted. She has a prickly personality and disdains the material interests of her peers. I think "her people" are out there somewhere, and she will shine in college if she can find them, but they are going to be hard to find. She is leaning toward science right now, but her interests are very broad (philosophy, fiction writing, art, ….) Anyone know of any colleges well-suited for deep-thinking porcupines? It seems the Ivies are out of the question...