College selection for smart but laid-back boy [Turkish, Arabic, economics, data analysis, math teaching]

College Search & Lists
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Thank you, I am looking for college selections for my rising junior boy.

Current School: He attends a very rigorous, very small all-boys Catholic school. The top 1/3 of students will go onto fairly competitive schools such as the UCs, Chicago, and Carnegie Mellon. I believe he will be in the top 1/3. This is a very non-sports school. Standardized test scores for him will be 1450+ on the SAT as far as I can tell. He’ll take math through BC Calculus and AP stats.

He will take 4 years of Arabic, as well as Turkish for a year or two through an outside program. He also studies Latin but is not enthusiastic. He plays tennis both on the team and at some outside programs but will be more of a recreational player at best.

EC: This has not been so great so far. He spent this last summer on physical fitness and tennis. His school is finally opening up from Covid so he’ll be tutoring other kids, volunteering as a museum teacher and guide, and being a big brother. He’s done some programming classes on his own through first-year Python but doesn’t seem to be his thing. He seems to genuinely enjoy helping and teaching others. I am hoping Junior Year is a little more active than the last two years, but Covid’s kept our area pretty shut down.

College Major and Goals: He’s pretty interested in economics, data analysis, and math teaching. He’ll take BC Calc and AP Stats. Computer programming is not much of an option here. With a strong language background, I would prefer a school that offers Arabic and Turkish. I think he would do well in a Ph.D. program but I am not sure if that’s his goal.

Personality: He’s very friendly, calm, and gets along with people. This kid doesn’t rock the boat. He is also pretty resistant to change. This is not a kid who would easily transfer schools or deal well with housing chaos. He loves watching sports of all kinds. He reads a great deal and has enjoyed intellectual topics.

College environment: He’s looking for something suburban and not rural. He also would like to stay away from a hot, humid climate like DC, New Orleans, or Houston if at all possible. Big sports culture would be great, as well as offering Arabic and hopefully Turkish. He’d like to play tennis recreationally. He’ll have a strong math background so can manage a more STEM-oriented culture, but not a very competitive environment.

Any suggestions on schools? I was thinking Notre Dame or Georgetown. Duke or Northwestern would be great but a big reach I believe. These are all tough schools to get into. It’s hard to find Turkish offered outside of the Ivies and really big state schools. Thank you for any suggestions!

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Does Middlebury offer Turkish? Do you have cost restraints? Geographic preferences?

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Georgetown fits everything but the weather. But it is obviously very hard to get into…

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Merit may be possible at Syracuse and U. Pittsbugh

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Also check Boston College?

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And Boston University

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Cost constraints and state of residency?

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Hello! To answer some questions—

Geography no real constraints. He likes cold climates but would gain outdoor tennis at warmer locations. He really dislikes hot, humid climates.

Middlebury doesn’t offer Turkish.

Finances no constraints.

We are in Virginia so have a very good alternative in UVA but would probably need to apply ED there to get in. Even in-state it’s tough going.

I think we would get merit at UPitt. Some of the state schools seem to have over enrolled this fall and it’s very chaotic. Kids taking exams on the floor, no housing, etc.

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I believe Wisconsin and Indiana U both offer Turkish (Indiana maybe a smaller community that preferred but has the sports scene and so many less commonly taught languages.)

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UCB and UCLA have Turkish, but are hard to get into and expensive out of state.

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It’s hard to apply to the UC schools when I have UVA. Otherwise it’s be a great choice. I’ll look at the other suggestions above.

Thanks for helping me find other Turkish programs. I hadn’t realized how few college programs offered this language.

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Interesting list from source in Turkey.
https://turkish-studies.com/University/Turkish_Studies_USA.html

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Rutgers seems to offer both Turkish and Arabic. Suburban setting. Big-time sports (though not necessarily a top team). Pretty easy train or bus into NYC and Philly.

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I’ll add it to the list! Thanks.

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With respect to languages in general, this site may offer you further ideas:

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Cornell, while definitely a difficult admit, has a large variety of language programs and seems to have both Turkish and Arabic. It offers a vast array of other fields of study as well. As far as setting, I would call it a college town in a small city (in a beautiful part of NY). They are definitely mad about hockey and the Carrier Dome is close if your son wants to zip up for a football or basketball game.

Or he could just cut out the middle man and go to Syracuse, which also offers both languages. I am not that familiar with the campus there so I cannot speak to setting but they do love their sports!

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Your son can apply for the Critical Language Scholarship as a college sophomore, junior or senior. It is very prestigious. No prior language experience is required. He will learn Turkish in an intensive summer program. It will connect him with interesting job opportunities once he has completed the program. Turkish - Critical Language Scholarship Program
My daughter was awarded one of these scholarships in a different language. The key to success is genuine interest and a legitimate reason for wanting to study the language. Good professor recs will be important.

I think a requirement to have Turkish taught on campus will limit his choices. He also needs more match and safety schools. Some good suggestions have been made.

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UIUC offers both Turkish and Arabic. Not exactly suburban but it’s a town.

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Consider the possibility of a semester (maybe spring of junior year?) abroad, either in Turkey or in an Arabic speaking country with a dialect fairly close to modern standard Arabic, or even senior year. It will make him look VERY interesting to admissions committees, plus the sooner the better, in terms of the brain’s ability to learn language.

Look into Critical Language, STARTALK, Middlebury, Melikian at ASU, Indiana U for summer language programs for next summer.

Consider U Michigan Ann Arbor for college. Michigan usually has a great Arabic department (has a large Arab immigrant population), offers Turkish, and of course meets his econ/math needs. But again, it’s hard to consider U Mich when you have UVa (which does have Arabic, but only a little Turkish, if at all).

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I’m a bit confused here. People seem to be going all in on the Arabic and Turkish but it seems he’s interested in studying other things. You say that you would prefer a school that offers these languages. Does he? Are these languages a passion of his, or is he just studying them because you have signed him up. When he gets to choose his own courses, will he even sign up for language classes?

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