 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
Kareni
Member
| Joined: | Wed May 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 34 |
| Mana: |  |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 03:22 am |
|
Hello all,
As I posted on the introduction board, I have a daughter who is a junior this year. She is homeschooled and has been throughout her high school years. She would like to attend college and major in Latin.
I am hoping to add to her list a few colleges where she would be considered among the best qualified (and most desirable) candidates.
I asked my daughter to do the exercise that Carolyn posted on her blog that deals with ranking desires for the “ideal” college. Her ideal college would:
* have a Latin (or Classics) major
* have good financial aid
* have many opportunities for fun for all students (i.e., not only for students in frats). [She’s not talking about a party scene per se so much as opportunities such as plays, guest speakers, dances, movies, game evenings, etc.]
* be small or medium sized (1000-5000 students)
* have most students living on campus
* have close student/faculty relationships
* have good study abroad options
* have nice dorms and good food
* have a minimum of required courses for graduation
* have no big bugs!
I would add that she is looking for a place that is somewhat moderate. (She has been to Reed and, while there was much to admire, she believes she would not feel comfortable there because it is too intellectual for her taste. She hopes to go to a college where she is neither the most nor the least intelligent). She dresses somewhat conservatively but is liberal in her views and fairly apolitical. She would not recognize a designer handbag if she tripped over one!
She had occasion to do a summer visit to Bryn Mawr which she liked. She enjoyed the traditions there (the giving of lanterns by the seniors to the freshwomen, the offerings to Athena before exams, the abundance of owls in the stonework). She would not be averse to going to a women’s college if it is part of a consortium as Bryn Mawr is.
She wrote to a number of colleges some time ago, specifically to their Latin/Classics departments. Her list of colleges of interest comes primarily from the responses that those mailings produced. They are, in no particular order:
Hanover
Willamette
Bryn Mawr
Wake Forest
Brown
Grinnell
Connecticut College
University of Dallas
Swarthmore
Knox College
Hollins University
Now for the cold hard numbers: PSAT 211; SAT subject test and AP exam in US History (750 and 4); National Latin Exams (Silver and Gold). She took the SAT earlier this month and scores are due shortly. She’ll be taking two AP exams in May (Latin and Comparative Gov’t & Politics) and two SAT subject tests in June (Math Level 2 and Latin).
Since my daughter has been homeschooled since 7th grade, she does not have a traditional GPA. This year she is taking classes at a homeschooling resource center (which does not give grades) and at the local junior college. In addition to her two AP classes, she has taken two writing classes, two Geology classes, College Algebra and Trigonometry. Second quarter grades have not yet been issued; however, every grade from the first quarter was an A. Next term she will take another Geology class plus a Literature class.
She has volunteered at the public library since 7th grade for 4 hours each month and has recently joined the new teen advisory board. She has no extra curricular activities that take place outside the home. She loves to read, write, and do art. She does have a few awards that validate her activities (county fair ribbons, library story writing prize, a poem in a children’s magazine, etc.)
Thanks so much for wading through all this! She, and I, look forward to your thoughts.
Regards,
KareniLast edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 03:13 pm by
|
jocelynDAD
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 03:41 am |
|
It is very difficult to read your post as the font is small and cursive, 
|
outwest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 540 |
| Mana: |   |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:14 am |
|
It is not cursive on my computer, but it is really, really tiny! I wanted to read it so I made it bigger with a copy/paste job which I will put here for Jocelyn and others:
FROM KARENI:
[size=Hello all,
As I posted on the introduction board, I have a daughter who is a junior this year. She is homeschooled and has been throughout her high school years. She would like to attend college and major in Latin.
I am hoping to add to her list a few colleges where she would be considered among the best qualified (and most desirable) candidates.
I asked my daughter to do the exercise that Carolyn posted on her blog that deals with ranking desires for the “ideal” college. Her ideal college would:
* have a Latin (or Classics) major
* have good financial aid
* have many opportunities for fun for all students (i.e., not only for students in frats). [She’s not talking about a party scene per se so much as opportunities such as plays, guest speakers, dances, movies, game evenings, etc.]
* be small or medium sized (1000-5000 students)
* have most students living on campus
* have close student/faculty relationships
* have good study abroad options
* have nice dorms and good food
* have a minimum of required courses for graduation
* have no big bugs!
I would add that she is looking for a place that is somewhat moderate. (She has been to Reed and, while there was much to admire, she believes she would not feel comfortable there because it is too intellectual for her taste. She hopes to go to a college where she is neither the most nor the least intelligent). She dresses somewhat conservatively but is liberal in her views and fairly apolitical. She would not recognize a designer handbag if she tripped over one!
She had occasion to do a summer visit to Bryn Mawr which she liked. She enjoyed the traditions there (the giving of lanterns by the seniors to the freshwomen, the offerings to Athena before exams, the abundance of owls in the stonework). She would not be averse to going to a women’s college if it is part of a consortium as Bryn Mawr is.
She wrote to a number of colleges some time ago, specifically to their Latin/Classics departments. Her list of colleges of interest comes primarily from the responses that those mailings produced. They are, in no particular order:
Hanover
Willamette
Bryn Mawr
Wake Forest
Brown
Grinnell
Connecticut College
University of Dallas
Swarthmore
Knox College
Hollins University
Now for the cold hard numbers: PSAT 211; SAT subject test and AP exam in US History (750 and 4); National Latin Exams (Silver and Gold). She took the SAT earlier this month and scores are due shortly. She’ll be taking two AP exams in May (Latin and Comparative Gov’t & Politics) and two SAT subject tests in June (Math Level 2 and Latin).
Since my daughter has been homeschooled since 7th grade, she does not have a traditional GPA. This year she is taking classes at a homeschooling resource center (which does not give grades) and at the local junior college. In addition to her two AP classes, she has taken two writing classes, two Geology classes, College Algebra and Trigonometry. Second quarter grades have not yet been issued; however, every grade from the first quarter was an A. Next term she will take another Geology class plus a Literature class.
She has volunteered at the public library since 7th grade for 4 hours each month and has recently joined the new teen advisory board. She has no extra curricular activities that take place outside the home. She loves to read, write, and do art. She does have a few awards that validate her activities (county fair ribbons, library story writing prize, a poem in a children’s magazine, etc.)
Thanks so much for wading through all this! She, and I, look forward to your thoughts.
Regards,
Kareni]
Last edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:15 am by outwest
|
outwest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 540 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:27 am |
|
Look on the college review section of this site and you'll find reviews of most of those schools (click on the word 'topics' and it alphabetizes them). I visited Willamette with my D and although it is a terrific school, it doesn't sound right for her from what you have written. It is quite a pepster crowd, athletic and lots of greek. But that was just our perception, others may feel differently. I don't remember mentioning that specifically in my review, but that is the impression left on me a year after our visit.
I would like to suggest she seriously look at Scripps College at the Claremont Colleges. It is a womens college, but in a 5 college consortium which is TRUELY a 5 college consortium. She would have a much broader range off classes because of it. All the colleges are right next to each other and walking distance (no bus or shuttle necessary). It has the facilities of a mid sized university because of it. It is in a nice suburb 35 minutes from LA. It wouldn't be for someone looking for Urban. They also have great financial aid.
Here is their website:
http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/index.php
Here is their webpage for their classics department (terrific department!):
http://www.scrippscollege.edu/academics/department/classics/index.php
disclaimer: I live in Claremont 
Here is the thread about Willamette that I contributed to. it rains and rains and rains in Salem, Oregon.
http://admissionsadvice.mywowbb.com/forum7/1186.htmlLast edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:38 am by outwest
|
CardinalFang
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 17th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 144 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 05:37 am |
|
I agree with the other posters about the font of the original post; it's teeny on my screen. It's probably safer to stick with the default font, because who knows how other fonts will show up on everyone else's screen.
As to colleges, if by "moderate" she means a school whose students are politically moderate, Brown might not be for her. Though it's not as radical as Reed, it's known as a place full of liberals. On the plus side, though, Brown has an excellent Classics department.
|
CardinalFang
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 17th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 144 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 05:42 am |
|
Oh, and I should add-- Brown is a not a match school for anyone, really. Only students who walk on water would be considered among the best qualified and most desirable of Brown's over 20,000 applicants.
This is not meant to discourage you or your daughter, and I don't mean she's underqualified. It's just that those so-called lottery schools get many more qualified applicants than they can admit.
Last edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 05:47 am by CardinalFang
|
Descartes
Super Moderator
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 03:14 pm |
|
OK, everyone, I increased the font size on Kareni's post.
(Thanks for your help, outwest, but I thought making the top-level post bigger would also make it more inviting.)
|
bumpyroad
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 03:18 pm |
|
Let me put in a good word for Willamette here. I know several kids who've gone there, and the impression I get is that it's an administration that really cares about the students. One has had some serious health issues and they've bent over backward to accomodate him.
Academically it's not like Reed, but it sounds like that may be desirable. The students I've known are reasonably smart but not the real high achievers. I think it's kind of an A-/B+ sort of school. And they do have pretty good financial aid as far as I know.
There's no denying that it rains a lot in Salem, however.
|
mackinaw
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Posts: | 776 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:01 pm |
|
Just to add to a note above about difficulty of admissions, Swarthmore is also a very difficult admit and can't be regarded as a safety or match. While Brown and Swat (both decidedly on the liberal side in terms of prevailing politics of the students) are outstanding, your daughter could not count on being "among the best qualified" if she were admitted. But I don't think that should deter her from considering them if she really likes the programs; she just needs to be realistic about her chances of admission.
I have a niece who graduated form Bryn Mawr a few years ago, with a major in French, and she really liked the school. She then went on to a masters in linguistics, earned in the Netherlands.
I would put in a word here for the University of Chicago, for which the undergraduate student body is about 5,000. They really do care about undergrads, but also since it has a large graduate school as well you get some instructors who are the very best scholars in their fields. I note your daughter's concern with not having too many required courses. Well the "core" is one of Chicago's strengths, and I think its structure provides a wonderful base for any and all majors and career; it has also been lightened up a bit in recent years. My son graduated from Chicago (major in economics); spent his junior year abroad. Chicago is easier to gain admission to than Brown and Swarthmore. It draws an "intellectually" oriented student body, but also a fair share of "career" oriented students aiming at law, business, and medicine/biotech.
Last edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:19 pm by mackinaw
|
CardinalFang
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 17th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 144 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:05 pm |
|
| Chicago is a fantastic school, but I wonder if it would be the right place for someone who found Reed too intellectual. From what I understand, on an intellectual scale from 1-10, Chicago gets an 11.
|
mackinaw
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Posts: | 776 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:12 pm |
|
I was just amending my post above as you wrote your note.
I attended Reed, my son attended Chicago. They are both "intellectual" schools, perhaps indicated as much as anything by the relatively large percentage of undergrads who go on to earn PhD's (Reed, Swarthmore, Caltech, MIT, Chicago, and Harvey Mudd are all near the top in this regard--and other high performers on this indicator include Grinnell, Carleton, Bryn Mawr, Pomona, and Oberlin, though of course this varies by major). But Chicago has a larger contingent of more pre-professionally oriented students than Reed.
So much of any given student's experience depends on them -- on the choices that they make. I know my son never got caught up in "intellectualism" as a personal style, and made a point of getting well off campus and out of Hyde Park at least once a week. As he told us, "I'm going to school in Chicago, not at Chicago."
Last edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:29 pm by mackinaw
|
CardinalFang
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 17th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 144 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 04:24 pm |
|
It sounds like she could be happy at a women's college. Has she thought of Wellesley? It offers a major in Latin. She'd be able to cross-register at several schools including Brandeis and MIT. There are Wellesley College traditions like Flower Sunday and Stepsinging. And the campus is stunningly beautiful.
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3191 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20th, 2008 05:26 pm |
|
Here are my thoughts and suggestions.
First, it's difficult for any of us to assess whether your daughter will be "among the best qualified" at any school because we don't have grades for her, or even a clear picture of her academic preparation. Her test scores give us some indication, but for the purposes of giving you some suggestions, I'm going to ignore the "best qualified" question and focus on the question of colleges and universities for Latin/Classics.
So, here's the thing: if she really wants to focus just on Latin, and not classics, she may have to include some larger universities in her search. Why? Because the classics departments at most (but not all) liberal arts colleges will not have the depth in Latin that she probably will want. For instance, Beloit has a pretty good classics department, but the focus is on classics and archeology, not Latin. Sure, they have classes in Latin and Ancient Greek, but someone coming in with a pretty sound base of Latin will quickly wear out their upper level courses in both.
With that said, here are the schools I'd suggest for someone interested specifically in Latin, not just "classics." I've narrowed my suggestions down to schools that come close to fitting her size criteria, and that also are places where someone who isn't into Greek life could be happy. As you'll see, I didn't look at your daughter's list before coming up with my suggestions -- she and I are on the same wavelength for a few schools. 
Anyhow, here goes:
Fordham - excellent classics department with a deep program in Latin.
Oberlin - good classics department, enough depth in the Latin program for most.
Grinnell - smaller program, but good overall. Focus is on classics, not Latin
Carleton - strong classics department, fairly deep Latin offerings. Carleton has similarities with Reed but I think one could make a case that the students at Carleton are a lot more easy-going -- smart, but also down to earth.
St. Olaf - Carleton's cross-town cousin. Lutheran affiliated. Dry campus, and they take it pretty seriously. A surprisingly good classics and Latin department, with wonderful study abroad opportunities.
Rice University - small (about 3,000 undergrads), very strong classics and Latin offerings, they are eager to recruit more students interested in humanities
Barnard College - Leftcoast whose daughter attends Barnard can chime in on the social side, but Barnard has a very nice classics program, with opportunities to cross-enroll at Columbia's excellent program, which gives you the small school plus large u offerings.
The Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University - this is really a hidden gem. It is a school within a larger university. Students in the Honors Tutorial College focus on their majors, and study is based on the tutorial approach used by Oxford in England. Classics is one of the majors in the program. Ohio U is larger, but the Honors Tutorial College gives students a more intimate experience.
Yale - really should be on her list from how you describe her, excellent classics program
Holy Cross - good solid classics department with strong Latin component
Case Western Reserve - has a good classics department with strong Latin offerings (students can take classes at John Carroll U for even more depth), offers teacher licensure in Latin if that is your daughter's goal
Tufts - good department, I think it would fit your daughter's personality as you've described her
Johns Hopkins - everyone thinks of Johns Hopkins as "pre med" but they actually have some great humanities programs, including classics and Latin
University of Mary Washington (VA) - nice classics department, appears to have some depth in Latin
Smith College - very good classics program, outstanding opportunities for research, excellent grad school placement, very different from Wellesley
St. Johns College (Maryland and New Mexico) - no Latin major. In fact, no majors at all. Students all study the "great books" with a focus on ancient texts and Latin is part of the curriculum for all students. If she didn't like Reed, she may not like St. Johns, but really should be looked at by anyone interested in classics
University of Dallas - Catholic school, more religious than Fordham, but very strong classics and Latin programs. All students spend a semester in Rome
Whitman College - very nice school, students more down to earth and mainstream than Reed, but also very smart. Nice classics department, they are good with independent study. A little on the jocky side for my Reed-bound son, but definitely worth a look.
Kalamazoo College - has a decent sized classics department for a small LAC, opportunities for study abroad.
Others worth a look: Georgetown, Bryn Mawr, Bowdoin, Brown, Amherst, Middlebury
Last edited on Thu Mar 20th, 2008 05:27 pm by CarolynLawrence
|
Kareni
Member
| Joined: | Wed May 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 34 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 04:13 am |
|
Hello and thank you for all the thoughtful responses!
My apologies for the font issues; I was doing a cut and paste and something went wrong. (My first post in the introduction forum was also a cut and paste; that one was green!) Thanks outwest and Descartes for making the post more readable.
I fear I may have misled you by including my daughter's list of colleges of interest. These were colleges whose Classics Departments had responded to her initial inquiries with friendly, informative, or engaging replies (i.e., Grinnell sent her a publication which included an article about pretend battleplay {boffing if I recall the term correctly} -- net result was interest in their Classics program!). I am well aware that, as CardinalFang put it, "Only students who walk on water would be considered among the best qualified and most desirable of Brown's over 20,000 applicants." My daughter most assuredly does not walk on water!
I found the differing views of Willamette from outwest and bumpyroad intriguing. I suspect that the breadth of viewpoints here is one of the strengths of this board.
Bumpyroad's statements "The students I've known [at Willamette] are reasonably smart but not the real high achievers. I think it's kind of an A-/B+ sort of school." resonated with me. Perhaps what I'm looking for are the A-/B+ schools with good programs in the Classics!
Scripps sounds like a great place with its consortium of other Claremont Colleges; I think I've read here previously though that it is becoming much more selective, so I'm thinking it might be a reach for my daughter.
Mackinaw, thanks for your input. Yes, I think that Swarthmore and Brown would be very difficult for her to gain admission to. The University of Chicago sounds like a great place, but I think it would be too intellectual for her taste. It was good to hear of your niece's positive experience at Bryn Mawr. I suspect that my daughter would enjoy learning more about Linguistics too.
CardinalFang, the Wellesley traditions sound like just the things that would appeal to my daughter. I'm thinking though that Wellesley might also prove to be too much of a reach for her as regards admissions.
Carolyn, thank you for your very comprehensive list of schools and the added information about their Latin departments. I'm impressed! It's fortunate that Spring Break just started here as my daughter is going to be busy sending off letters asking for College catalogs and information about Latin departments!
My daughter's SAT scores from the early March test date were posted online. She received CR 700; Math 680; Writing 800.
I would welcome further suggestions ... particularly of more A-/B+ schools!
Regards,
Kareni
|
outwest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 540 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 05:42 am |
|
Those are great SAT scores! I don't think that the schools mentioned would be reaches, but she should apply widely. She would fit right in at Scripps with her scores.
I didn't mean to make Willamette sound bad! It just didn't fit my D and she knew it within a half an hour. The students at Willamette seemed really happy. You can't go much by what others say about a school, though. One thing I have learned is that no school is perfect and a person must visit for themselves to get a feeling for the place. Take two kids with similar interests and take them to the same school. As likely as not, one will think they have reached nirvana and the other one will loathe it.
Last edited on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 05:53 am by outwest
|
Kareni
Member
| Joined: | Wed May 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 34 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Mar 25th, 2008 10:44 pm |
|
Outwest,
Thanks for your thoughts. No, you didn't make Willamette sound bad at all. In fact, I appreciated hearing how you and your daughter felt about the school. I'm well aware that one school may seem perfect to one student while feel anything but to another.
I'll add Scripps to the list of schools to be researched. Thanks for the suggestion.
Regards,
Kareni
|
Kareni
Member
| Joined: | Wed May 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 34 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Mar 25th, 2008 10:47 pm |
|
In addition to my daughter's SAT scores which I mentioned a little earlier: CR 700; Math 680; Writing 800; she also received her second quarter grades for her junior college classes -- Composition A, Trigonometry A, and Geology A.
Regards,
Kareni
|
Current time is 06:38 am | |
|
|
|
|
