Trying to decide between some colleges. Uncertain of jobs prospects and my future.
Accepted to Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Vassar. Accepted to Mount Holyoke and Kenyon with merit scholarships. Waitlisted at Wesleyan and Williams.
I come from an affluent family who have told me not to worry about finances when it comes to my education.
Currently I am leaning towards Bryn Mawr. They have a combined A.B/M.A. program in which I can get my Masters alongside by Bachelors, proximity to Pennsylvania’s museums, a museum studies minor, ability to take courses at Haverford, Swarthmore and UPenn through the Quaker Consortium. I’m particularly excited about the ancient language opportunities at UPenn (ancient Hittite and Akkadian).
I still feel anxious. Most people have not even heard of Bryn Mawr, and I don’t know if I should choose a higher ranked LAC like Wellesley or Vassar given the disadvantages that come with LACs to begin with. I also haven’t written my LOCI to Williams because I want it to be perfect, even though I know there is already an infinitesimal chance they take me off the waitlist.
Please give me some advice!! Especially if anyone has any experience with Art History… though I know that’s unlikely.
My experience with art history is just that I am very, very bad at it. oh well…
however…
I think that people who need to know (such as anyone who would hire an art history major) do know about Bryn Mawr. It is generally true in a wide range of fields that the people who hire candidates in that field know where the strong universities and colleges are for that specific major, even if a random person on the street does not know.
Have you visited? Have you looked at the course catalogues and mapped out the differences in terms of what you could/needed to take at your various options?
There are professional opportunities for Art History majors that are not purely curatorial… museum education, archival preservation, client relations at an insurance company that works with collectors and galleries, marketing at an auction house, forensic accounting/art theft restoration. The FBI hires Art Historians! They are still trying to identify missing works of art from WWII and restore objects which were stolen from Jewish families as they fled Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. They trace criminal activity which uses artworks to launder money. I know a guy who led a forensic accounting practice at one of the Big 4 who spent years identifying and authenticating the collection of an autocrat (also a violent criminal) so the victims of his crimes could get restitution. He worked with a variety of experts- some art historians, some experts in foreign languages, area studies, accounting and psychology.
I would do a deep dive into actual life at these different campuses and figure out what your preferences are. I would not get hung up on a Master’s degree right now- because you likely don’t know enough to know what your focus needs to be for a Master’s based on the interests you have. Museum studies is great- but there are a lot of other disciplines that could launch you into a career. Art History and anything digital is powerful-- think about how sophisticated databases and AI have changed the way the art world transmits images, makes collections accessible, allows law enforcement to track transactions in real time, etc.
I have visited all of the schools I mentioned except for Mount Holyoke.
It’s funny that you mentioned Nazi art repatriation–that is actually something I am very much interested in! I have done work online at the National Archives transcribing/looking at Nazi art looting records, and I am very interested in the Entartete Kunst and the degenerate art campaign in Nazi Germany.
I have considered art law/going to law school after my undergraduate studies to pursue this.
The thing about art history is that there are many different specializations and I’m not too sure which one I want to pursue. Curation/gallery work, museums, art law, academia, art selling, art conservation, etc, etc.
I have not actually studied the course catalogues of my colleges too intensely–that is a good idea, thank you. I want to organize my course curriculum into a more traditional/classical liberal arts experience–I EA’d to UChicago (who then deferred and rejected me…) because I loved their core curriculum and Great Books programs.
You can create your own “Chicago like” experience at all of these colleges; you just need to figure out if the “spikiness” of each department at the individual schools matches up with your interests. You can get to law school from any of them. You can get started on a curatorial/academic track from any of them. But if a college has tremendous strengths in Impressionism-Contemporary, and your interests are in Pre-Columbian or East Asian-- that’s a good thing to learn from the course catalogue. You will likely be able to find a faculty member who can help you dig into your own area of interest (Art historians tend to be fantastic generalists in addition to their own scholarship) but that’s not the same as having 5 or 6 incredible classes in your exact interest area and you won’t have time for all of them!
I think you really can’t lose with this list.
Which of these got you the most excited? Not just the Art History faculty- but campus, social opportunities, etc?
I don’t think the where matters - and I think - at least in my circles, even though it’s ranked lower, more know of BM than Wellesley. But it’s irrelevant.
Who has the curriculum and resources that matter to you? If you stay in the museum game, you already know you’re not headed into an area of affluence.
None of these schools will disadvantage you.
And all will teach you to think and write (hopefully).
I’m a Haverford alum who minored in art history at Bryn Mawr. It was a fantastic department, and the availability of graduate-level classes for undergrads (with permission) was an unexpected bonus. Since you’ve expressed an interest in ancient languages, you’re probably aware that Bryn Mawr has a world-renowned department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. The intro classes are also aligned with the Art History and Museum Studies programs. Taking classes at Swarthmore, and particularly Penn, is possible, but does require more planning as they are farther away than Haverford.
All that being said, I agree with the previous posters who asked where you felt most comfortable. You are going to get an excellent education at all of these schools and a degree from any will stand you in good stead if you pursue an art-related career. Vassar has an outstanding museum on campus; Kenyon has a lovely gallery and good visual arts facilities; Wellesley has proximity to Boston and overall excellence, etc.
FWIW, if Haverford felt like the best fit, you could still major in Art History at Bryn Mawr as long as you fulfill Haverford’s general graduation requirements. It is not uncommon for students on one campus to major at the other.
I’d pick Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Vassar, or Wellesley, for general strength in the fields that interest you and proximity to excellent museums. I’d pick Bryn Mawr for all the reasons listed above but if one of these felt “right” there’s no reason not to choose that college, all are terrific choices. You really can’t go wrong.
As a sidenote, the exhibit in Paris right now is fantastic.
Two details that struck me about the period both for being too believable and impossible to invent or they’d seem fake: the artist who in the early 1930s was considered an example of Nordic genius and then in the late 1930s was arbitrarily switched to “degenerate”; the artist who lost his job and commissions because he was married to a Jewish woman so he threw her under the bus, divorced her, and got his job back while she was sent to a concentration camp.
And you’ll probably like this film, which tells a true story: could a factory worker really own an Egon Schiele painting next to his dartboard?
I think you misunderstand me. It’s not that I perceive Vassar, specifically, to be particularly disadvantaged in any meaningful or institutionally unique way. Rather, what I was trying (perhaps clumsily) to articulate was a broader uncertainty regarding whether it might be wiser to opt for a more widely recognized liberal arts college ( ex. Vassar or Wellesley) as opposed to one that occupies a somewhat more obscure position in the public-academic consciousness (ex. Bryn Mawr) My concern was less with intra-LAC comparisons and more with the macro-level limitations that tend to afflict LACs writ large: comparatively limited institutional resources, reduced funding pipelines, and so on, which would be slightly mitigated by attending more well known, well endowed LAC.
Does Williams offer programs of interest? The proximity to the PA museums and the college consortium seems like a very strong pull (and I am saying this as a Vassar grad). Williams is quite rural. The town is darling and there are some local arts, but not to the degree that it sounds like you desire. I may be wrong, but I don’t see a reason to select Williams over the wonderful choices you now have. FWIW, Vassar also offers to spend a year at one of the other schools on the 12 college exchange, but it doesn’t look like the participating schools are a strong pull for you.
I think all of the poster’s choices are wonderful, but I am under the impression that Williams’s Art History program is considered one of the best in the country and it is close to the Clark museum, the Williams college museums, and Mass MoCa. So I would definitely put in a LOCI as well as depositing at whichever of the other colleges feels like a best fit for vibe, location, and campus life. I don’t think you can go wrong.
Yes, the Clark Museum is nice. But the area is very remote and not much else to visit. It’s a good program, but there are other strong programs like Vasssar’s art history program, which is also renowned. Students take the train down to New York City to go to the multiple museums available there.
It’s interesting - I looked at various “rankings” and of course they say different things because they use different criteria- but it was mostly large schools. Mt. Holyoke popped amongst the LACs on your list. One showed Williams at #52 in the major.
I’m not saying to follow those.
I think you follow your heart.
The point being- these are all fantastic - and yet they don’t make a rank - and that’s why worrying about, is Williams best or Bryn Mawr best…I mean, they’re different environments, etc - and I think that’s why you go with your gut, and not - will one help me above another, etc.
One truly doesn’t know where they’ll end up in life anyway.
Williams, as an example, doesn’t show an Art History major in their career outcome report - simply art which is obviously different - but those kids, while some end up in Visual arts, most are in legal or finance, etc. So going to one doesn’t necessarily position you to where you initially think you want to be.
But all can - if that’s the path you pursue for post graduation.
So whether it’s Wellesley or Haverford - matters little.
What I read was
Currently I am leaning towards Bryn Mawr. They have a combined A.B/M.A. program in which I can get my Masters alongside by Bachelors, proximity to Pennsylvania’s museums, a museum studies minor, ability to take courses at Haverford, Swarthmore and UPenn through the Quaker Consortium. I’m particularly excited about the ancient language opportunities at UPenn (ancient Hittite and Akkadian).
That tells me to run with BM and don’t look back!!!
OP - Trust your gut. Bryn Mawr’s brand name predates the USNews era as one of the handful of instantly recognizable women’s colleges in the U.S. The fact that it also has a course of study that matches your interests is icing on the cake.
Yes, put in a LOCI to Williams. Don’t overthink it. Keep it short and to the point. Mention you will commit immediately if accepted. If you get off the wait-list great, but if you don’t that’s fine too. The “Williams Mafia” is still a thing, but there are other ways to tap into that network that don’t involve being an undergrad at Williams.
Bryn Mawr has a great program. I have a curator friend who majored in Art History there (was a Haverford student actually, but as you know the major is located at Bryn Mawr) who had a terrific experience. I think Bryn Mawr offering a masters is nice because it speaks to the depth/strength of the program, but otherwise I don’t think it’s important because you may wish to get your masters at a different school in the end (perhaps a masters at Williams, perhaps law school instead? etc)
Best wishes, and congrats on having outstanding choices!
Haverford and Bryn Mawr are closely intertwined, but I suspect that spending time on both campuses would give you a gut feeling as to which school feels like a more comfortable home base.
I graduated 30+ years ago, so I’m hesitant to share the differences that I perceived as a student aside from the obvious, e.g., single-sex vs. co-ed; majestic Gothic architecture vs. “cozy” eclectic buildings; unique traditions like Lantern Night and Step Sing vs. Quaker-influenced traditions like Plenary, operating by consensus, and starting events with a moment of silence. From everything I hear, one constant is that Bryn Mawr’s food is still superior to Haverford’s, and you’ll find lots of Fords at BMC for Sunday brunch, LOL.
