My primary goal is being able to get into a good graduate school; if UGA Honors works out, they have a program where I could graduate after 5 years with a Master’s. But I would like to ask of any other options; I’m going to apply to several more schools, to see where I am accepted and what I get (if any) in scholarships.
I’ve only taken two AP courses; my school offers three junior year, but math isn’t my strong suit, so I decided to wait to take statistics until senior year. I aced the courses I was in (APUSH and APENG) and am taking four senior year.
I have an UW GPA of 4.0 and a W GPA of ~4.4
ACT of 33; super scored 34 (retake: 35R,35E,28M,35S); originally 31 (35R,34E,29M,24S)
May retake it one more time; that math going down frustrates me, and could be a problem. Thoughts?
As for my prospects, which other schools would be smart to apply to? Any that are somewhat moderate politically? Thank you, to the reader and responded, for the time spent; my thoughts and prayers are with those who are on this same journey to the best school, as I am.
At the risk of stomping on your dreams, I really don’t recommend getting a PhD in the humanities unless you can’t see yourself doing anything else. Universities are increasingly shifting toward a heavy use of non-tenured lecturers and adjuncts rather than tenure-track positions; the workload is high and the pay low – and that’s if you’re lucky enough to land an academic job at all, which most aren’t. Read these:
That said, you have a pretty good list. UGA has a solid classics department, and it has some good offerings in Indo-European linguistics too. UNC Chapel Hill has a top 10 classics department and is another great choice.
I’m surprised that Vandy and Emory made your list but not Duke, which has a much stronger classics department than either. Vandy and Emory are both good options, though, and Emory’s Carlos Museum has a very nice collection of ancient art.
Take a look at Rhodes, which has a pretty good classics program and a gorgeous campus. Wake Forest is worth a look too and offers some other ancient languages through its religion program (e.g. Akkadian and biblical Hebrew).
Haverford (with its association with Bryn Mawr) is the best option among liberal arts colleges, but I don’t know if you’re willing to look outside the South.
Thank you very much; I had read the first article I few months back, but had not seen the second one. I understand the problem; however, I have always loved to teach. There are a few other careers I have considered, and will continue considering until the time comes to decide on a graduate school path. Law school, seminary, and grad school in the humanities are the paths I’ve considered most, along with jobs in those respective areas; given the less selective nature of seminary, and the wide range of easily available information on law schools (I know quite a few attorneys very well), the only one remaining was grad school. I had heard very little on the subject; my assumption, which may need to be corrected, is that an institution with the best training for the other two options would also look best for grad school.
As for the list, Duke and Wake have been appealing, but I haven’t been considering them as much, for personal reasons.
All your advice though seems very well reasoned, and will be taken into consideration.
Have you taken your finances into account? Some private schools can be expensive if you don’t qualify for lots of aid, and for your path you probably want to set aside some money for grad school.
That’s been a primary factor in both UNC and UGA; UNC because it is in state, and UGA because I am originally from Athens. I may stay a during a summer to qualify for in-state tuition if I decide to go there.
Note that UNC–CH appears to have reported only three graduates in classics (as “first majors”) in a recent year. (Duke registered only one.) These figures obviously fall below those you will find at some liberal arts colleges (e.g., Haverford, at five):
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An excellent point. Since relatively few people major in the humanities, English aside, universities with strong classics departments (which includes some less selective universities like U Cincinnati) offer the best of both worlds – famous faculty, a wide® variety of courses, unique resources, and interesting research while simultaneously offering the small classes of a liberal arts college.
One has to be careful when comparing numbers of Classics majors, however. Some schools, especially ones with smaller/weaker departments, offer only a general Classics major, whereas others offer several different majors (Greek, Latin, Classical Archaeology, Classical Civilization, etc.). It’s best to consult each college’s statistics on its OIR website, especially since the number of majors in a small department can vary wildly from one year to the next.
Writingpumpkin brought up a good point as well. PhD programs in Classics are fully funded (tuition/fees, health insurance, living stipend), but law and div school are often expensive. Run the EFC calculator for each college.
Carolina is a great option, but look for some other safeties that offer merit scholarships. U Alabama is one possibility. FSU has a very strong classics program and may offer merit aid too.
Since you’re in-state for UNC Chapel Hill, take a look at UNC Asheville. UNC Greensboro has surprisingly good offerings in classics and archaeology as well. I have a couple of friends who teach at the latter, and their graduates have gotten into great PhD programs like NYU ISAW.
If you can afford it, are set on Classics, and can get the grades (5s in your APs), would you consider overseas? Math weaknesses won’t affect your admission there, and there are some very strong Classics programs which would set you up for a PhD.
Previous post mentioned Haverford as associated with Bryn Mawr. If you are a woman, you can apply straight to Bryn Mawr and have a slightly higher chance of admission.
Your residency will depend on where your parents reside.
Think about Oxford, if you’re really dedicated to the field and already have a pretty good knowledge of Latin + History.
I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but if you want to teach you are MUCH more likely to be able to land a well paying job teaching in HS than one n college, for the reasons @warblersrule gave above. And you should forget getting an MBA- which is very expensive, and focus on getting a PhD- which costs you nothing- if teaching truly is your goal.
College professors HAVE to have PhD’s. But the reality is the chances of getting a tenure track job at any college in the Humanities are less than your chances of getting in Stanford- there are simply way to many Humanities PhD’s chasing too few tenure track openings.
The student interest in classics is dwindling. It means fewer openings for teachers of any sort, including adjuncts. (There are a few related fields in history whch have this same issue.)
You haven’t started college, but seem set on the career. A little too early. See how it goes in college, see what feedback you get from classics and related profs.
My D wanted to study what her father taught and it freaked him out. (His PhD included a history field and classics.) He knew the difficulties. In one case, a job opening where he taught brought more than 400 resumes.
So just proceed with an awareness you may end up finding other avenues. I do not discourage you from studying what you want. D1 was classics and now has a great job in a business setting. Zero regrets.