Thank you!
I was looking at Amherst career outcomes for - whatâs there is European Studies. They donât have enough data to provide info. Thatâs for âall yearsâ so goes back a bit.
That got me thinking - in such a small major, they may not offer a full palate of classes or offer them frequently enough. The catalog may have them but they donât get scheduled .
You might check the ED schools before applying to ensure theyâll even offer the curriculum or specific classes she wants.
Even at the wealthiest and most prestigious, for low demand majors, that can be an issue.
It may be fine but given no career data and I checked all years, it makes you wonder.
Itâs worth investigating before binding yourself anyway. So you arenât disappointed when you get there.
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At any small college, there will be classes that rotate infrequently, but for a major like European Studies, I suspect a lot of the courses for the major are housed in other departments: history, literature, philosophy, religion, or what have you. Such is often the case with interdisciplinary majors, so even if the major is small, there are probably a lot of choices in courses across several departments.
As to the career outcomes, I really doubt it would be very different than the outcomes in any of the affiliated departments. Even better with a language as a second major.
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I was just noting they had none but yes I agree with the interdisciplinary aspect. My daughter had a similar major but with Asian studies.
Amherst does show career outcomes for Asian studies so there is potentially more heft.
This student is interested in Italian studies specifically so itâs a bit narrower.
Itâs really just a note to ensure the curriculum will work before binding themselves.
If your daughter may want to expand her list, this site, which offers suggestions for schools strong in foreign languages generally, may offer her further ideas for colleges to explore:
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Thank you!
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She should apply to an ED1 school that is her top choice in her list.
She will be able to study abroad, and be prepared to do so, at any of these colleges.
What does she hope to do in the future if she gets a degree in European studies.
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So there are different camps of thought about ED. I personally am largely skeptical about trying to game ED such that you donât use it for your favorite college, but instead some other college where you think it might give you more of a âboostâ. In part I am skeptical about the whole concept of an ED boost, which I think only happens in a narrow range of circumstances. But I also think it doesnât make sense to bind yourself to attend a college that isnât your favorite among the ones to which you are applying.
The alternative in my view is just to have a really good list overall. Which your daughter is doing. So I would just encourage that, and then encourage her to make ED decisions based on her actual preferences, not some sort of strategy.
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She would like to teach at the college level.
This will require likely a PhD, so plan for the long term regarding college costs.
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If she wants to pursue a Ph.D. and teach at the college level, encourage her to explore a lot of alternative career outcomes. Ph.D.s take more time than money (because prospective students should seek out schools that will offer financial support in the form of fellowships and assistantships, and because tuition goes way down once a student is writing the dissertation) â but the time involved is no joke. The years spent pursuing a Ph.D. amounts to time when youâre not earning a salary or building seniority in a career, only to face a job market is terrible and getting worse, especially in the humanities. Teaching at any level seems like the most obvious career outcome with a degree in the humanities, but I encourage her to use her time in college to get creative in thinking about alternative pathways that might make use of the skills and knowledge sheâll pick up in her major. The good news is that there are a lot of options! But it would be worth it to look for a school that offers a lot of support in finding internships, applied learning opportunities, and so on. Finally, if she does decide to pursue a Ph.D. in something adjacent to European studies (sheâll probably have to pick a specific discipline for grad school), sheâll need multiple languages. She wonât need to have proficiency in all of them before applying, but the more she can get ahead, the better. So a major in Italian is a great start, but I would recommend at least a few classes (no need to major or minor) in at least one other. (I needed two languages for my American history Ph.D. program, so I was scrambling to fit in courses during the application process.)
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Iâm looking at the top feeder colleges for PhD on college transitions - knowing your distance concerns.
In the top 50 per capita are #16 Williams - not on your list and I understand why (rural). #39 MIT - not on your list - too STEM-Y Iâm sure. #40 Wheaton - but thereâs one in Illinois too - so I donât know if itâs the Mass one I recommended or Illinois one. They can tell you. #45 Holy Cross. #50 Amherst.
It doesnât mean much - just another list - and one can get to where they want from anywhere but itâs interesting.
On a pure volume basis for foreign language PhD feeders, BU is #20, MIT 37, and UMASS #43.
Have you looked at URI (strong in language). According to the school, it has the most Italian majors in the country - that might mean (you can check) strong breadth in the course schedule.
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Why not take flier on Brown and/or Yale? Both offer degrees in Italian studies. I canât imagine that there is the kind of demand for those majors as there is for departments for which those universities are more famous. Her interests just might make her application stand out. Obviously acceptance to these schools is highly unlikely, but you never know. So, why not? As a bonus, both of these cities have strong Italian neighborhoods with great Italian restaurants - as does Middletown where Wesleyan is located.
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She loves Brown! But her SAT scores are very low. very low for Brown (and any of the schools mentioned above) ⊠not even close to CDS range. Sheâs re-taking in august. Like I said, need a miracle. Brown is a great fit, just risky and feels impossible. Thank you for your feedback!
Brown is probably Wesleyanâs biggest overlap school.
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While I do think Brown is a high reach, if you have time, you can throw in an RD app.
If you have time being the big thing - because you want to ensure you get into schools that youâd be happy at - and thatâs those further down the list than Amherst and Wesleyan.
Even a Trinity, etc. will be tough because its need aware although the percentage of kids getting aid there has gone up.
But if you have time and the student isnât burned out - and isnât impacted by a rejection (knowing you can only go to one school anyway), if itâs a dream school, then why not?
Best of luck.
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I donât know what your daughterâs SAT scores are, but I do know that she is a straight A student and that she aspires to be a college professor. The Ivies love these kinds of kids. Again, my reasoning is that her interest is in Italian Studies and that the competition is likely to be quite limited in this field. Brown & Yale donât admit by major, but they do read the essays and they have to pay some attention to the fact that they need students who will keep their various departments in business.
To deal with the test requirement, she can get coaching and do practice tests. She can try out the ACT and see if she does better on that. Are you aware that Yale has a âtest flexibleâ policy which provides alternatives to the SAT and ACT?
Iâm not trying to fool you into thinking that she has much of a chance at either of these schools. I have personal experience with this. One GD with straight Aâs and 35 on the ACT was admitted to Harvard but turned down by Yale. Another with straight Aâs and a perfect 36 on the ACT was admitted to Rice but turned down by Brown. Both schools are virtually impossible for admission as they reject 95+% of their applicants. The only way to gain admission other than to have a hook is by having some way to stand out from the pack. I think that your daughterâs interests just might do that for her. She certainly wonât get in if she doesnât apply. They both have the program that she wants and the intellectual environment which would suit her, so why not? She might get lucky.
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Thank you! Iâll look into âtest flexibleâ.
A little update: AP scores. AP Psych 3, LANG 4, EURO 4. We are moving forward with Amherst for ED. Thank you for your feedback!
Does she have an ED2 identified? Of course, no one needs to ED so she doesnât require one.
Obviously, donât report the scores to Amherst. They will potentially distract from her overall strength.
Best of luck.
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