College list for linguistically inclined US/Canadian citizen

College Search & Lists
1

Hi,

I started the college search early with D18, as we are in a somewhat unique situation. Here’s the skinny. We are full-pay, but D has Canadian citizenship, in addition to US citizenship. She has never lived in Canada, but she’s a mature, well-traveled, adventurous girl, so she’s excited about the possibility of going to school there. H and I love the idea of spending ~5K/year tuition on a world-class education in Canada, but we think it’s prudent to identify other options closer to home, JUST IN CASE. The tricky part is finding a comparable value here in the States. Words of wisdom on specific schools or our situation in general are much appreciated!

Home state:
Oklahoma

Current HS:
High-performing diverse public magnet school

D’s Stats:
4.0 UW GPA
All honors/APs. Completed APUSH (4), currently taking 5 APs and managing it like a pro.
ACT: 34C, 36E, 31M, 34R, 35S. Waiting on essay score.
SAT: taking in Oct.
SAT Subject test: 750, US History. Will take more in May.
Also taking PSAT in Oct. She may have a shot at NMSF.

ECs:
Swim club ~8 years.
HS Varsity swim team.
Paying job as kids’ swim coach since age 14.
Multiple leadership and mentorship positions in swim and at school (tutoring, big sib program, school ambassador, etc).

Interests/Major:
D loves studying languages. She’s approaching fluency in German, and dabbles in many other languages. She is applying for the 2017 NSLI-Y Russian summer program.

D plans to major in Linguistics, minor (or double major) in one of her languages. She will apply to Faculty of Arts at the Canadian schools.

College criteria:
Linguistics major.
Diversity, including diversity of language.
A shot at big merit scholarships.
She thinks she does not want to swim competitively in college, so that is not a factor.

Here’s our work-in-progress list:

Safeties
ASU Barrett. Visited and loved it.
University of Oklahoma. State flagship.

Low Matches:
University of British Columbia
University of Toronto
McGill
These are her top three. She has visited each of them and LOVES them. Second visits are planned.

Reaches, as big merit is needed:
Tulane. Second visit scheduled in October.

USC. D has done summer swim camps here. Likes the campus.
Rochester. Visited, likes the students and curriculum.

High reaches:
WashU
Rice

Considered but crossed off the list:
Pitt. Visited and didn’t like it.
Duke and Vandy. Too preppy/fratty.
Earlham and Bryn Mawr. I think LACs are too small and touchy-feely for her. She wants to be able to control her level of independence.

So, are we on a good track here? What are we missing? Thank you for any advice or encouragement you can offer! This whole “sending your snowflake off to college” thing is scary. :frowning:

I do have a more specific question, while I have your attention. It seems clear that students at Canadian schools are required to invest more in their major, while American students receive a broader-based education. If my D decides she wants to continue on with an advanced degree in Linguistics, which undergraduate education style will better prepare her for graduate school?

2

With her stats McGill is essentially a safety as admissions is not holistic. Also as a Canadian citizen who has never lived in Canada she would qualify for the in province tuition rate. At McGill there are a variety of routes to a degree in each major:
http://www.mcgill.ca/linguistics/undergraduate/major
An “honours” option requires more courses in that field than a “major”. Also an honours degree is not like the honors colleges that exist at many American school.

3

Some American universities have “honors in the major” which usually involves a senior thesis. This sounds similar.

4

CC member @dfbdfb is a linguist located in Alaska. He might have some useful suggestions.

5

U Maryland, Ohio State, Indiana U, U Delaware have full ride awards.

You would have to look at each undergrad program to assess its merits regarding grad school preparation. USA vs Canada is too simplistic.

6

@Dunboyne But paying C$4000/year at McGill versus paying US$20,000 to US$50,000/year at a US school cannot be ignored. This family is full pay.

7

^^^ I agree but it doesn’t hurt to apply to a handful of full ride possibilities with solid linguistics programs.

8

@Dunboyne thank you for reminding me about OSU. I’ve looked at it a few times but keep putting it aside.

@TomSrOfBoston yes, McGill is a very appealing option for D. If she can land one of their leadership scholarships, that could be the tipping point. She knows that the less we spend on her undergraduate education, the more money we have available to fund graduate school. That opens doors to places like Stanford, MIT, and options overseas should she wish to pursue that route.

Having said that, Toronto has the edge at the moment. She REALLY likes the residential college system and we have family nearby. It feels a little less risky. We are revisiting both McGill and Toronto in March, so she can see them side-by-side.

It’s going to be very difficult for her to make a decision, I think. She wants to experience them all. If she is selected for the NSLI-Y summer in Russia (or Latvia, Estonia, Moldova), it will be interesting to see if her perspective changes.

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We have a similar situation - daughters also have Canadian citizenship. McGill/UBC/UofT on D1’s list. The lure of McGill is hard to beat culturally and maybe the most name recognition back in the US. With that said, your D will have merit options which are competitive especially if NMF. Also with a 34 ACT she could be finished with testing (other than PSAT, and confirming SAT). Good luck.

10

OP here with an update. D spent a full day at Tulane today–second visit–and it’s a no go. It makes total sense on paper, but she just doesn’t click with the students. She needs nerdy, focused, and mature. She wants some private school options. Rochester is her favorite so far. We will visit WashU and Rice, although we know merit is very unlikely. She might like Case Western but they don’t do linguistics. Emory is a possibility. Any other privates we should consider?

11

McGill may be attractive if she learns French and wants to practice it in a predominantly French-speaking area.

12

Post #9 OP said: She needs nerdy, focused, and mature. She wants some private school options.

I would say try Vanderbilt and Tulane as they are private schools, very generous schools in terms of school money/funds. However, OP said this about Vandy: Duke and Vandy. Too preppy/fratty. Regarding Tulane: “It makes total sense on paper, but she just doesn’t click with the students”.

I just want to say about Vandy: It is not Preppy school at all as follows:

Contrary to popular belief aka political correctness, Vanderbilt is not Exclusively for rich people school. I for one am the example of poor people from OKLAHOMA with a kid graduated from Vanderbilt in Engineering and immediately has been hired after graduation and been working in Aerospace Company in Cali (with high paying job, above average). Anyhow, who wants to dress shabby, scruffy and stinky in college? also who wants to dress up with jewelry, riding BMW, Lexus, Baby Benz, Lambo to school?. Have you checked and looked at the parking lots in Vanderbilt? do you see all brand name cars? if not then Vandy is not for rich kids. Also, If I were a rich parent, I certainly would pay my son’s school by my own money. However, Vandy has given lots of money for any students coming from all walks of life. Kindly, compare Vandy to other schools in term of giving school funds to kids. Well, Vandy is not school for rich kids.

Lastly, the question is do you want to go to college to get college degree and have better pay for entry level job or do you want to go to college to show-boat your jewelry, expensive car, etc? or perhaps you want to go to college with shabby, scruffy and stinky clothing to look cool?.

My son has dual degrees at Tulane (Physics) and Vandy (Mechanical Engineering) and thank God there are schools with generous money to be given to kids of poor people like me.

This is just my two cents aint worth nothing and I am truly sorry that I don’t discuss about linguistic major at all since I don’t know anything about it.

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What does this have to do with the OP’s question???

14

You said: What does this have to do with the OP’s question???

My answer: OP said: Duke and Vandy. Too preppy/fratty.
So, the kid does not want to apply to Vandy because it is preppy? that is such a loss because Vandy besides a good school also will give generous money.

Anyhow: the question regarding Vandy a preppy school has been discussed in Vandy Forum. You can find and read it.

15

@Tulanefan101 There’s no sense in discussing Vandy here, as they don’t offer linguistics. And my D thinks Tulane is a great school, it’s just not the right fit for her.

@ucbalumnus My D loves McGill. We are making a second trip to McGill and U Toronto in March to see them side by side. The final decision may very well come down to those two, but D isn’t ready to box herself in without exhausting the possibilities.

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ShrimpBurrito: Oh I did not know that Vandy does not offer linguistics. I made my comments just based on your reason of Vandy is too preppy. Sorry my bad.

Well what about OU? or University of Tulsa, OSU (what about them ORANGE), etc?..well, then again I don’t know if they have elite Linguistic majors.

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@Tulanefan101 She wants a change of scenery. :slight_smile:
OU does offer linguistics, though, so it’s on her list as a safety.

18

UToronto and UBC are in mainly English-speaking areas without as much French speaking, but there are significant immigrant communities in those areas who speak other languages, if those languages are of interest for her to practice.

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OU? it is nice and very cool school…and whatever school she will end up with, she will do good. Be blessed.

20

@ucbalumnus You are so right, especially about Toronto. It seems you could stand on any street corner and hear 3-4 languages simultaneously. D LOVES that.

She has only taken one year of French formally, as it’s been tough to work into her school schedule. She’s taking AP German now, so next year she’s planning on French 2 and Russian 3 or 4 (if she’s selected for NSLI-Y this summer), plus maybe Spanish 2, if possible. Regardless, if she ends up at McGill, she’d likely minor in French.