Colleges with good Freshman Philosophy courses

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hello there! I am taking my SATs and ACTs this December. But firstly, however, I am taking them at 15 years old. Secondly, I am an International student (Of Chinese Ethnicity) and I would like to be part of a diverse, fundamental college with relatively affordable tuition fees. However, I am still unsure if I need to stay on Campus, albeit I’d rather not. I am 100% certain that I would like to take a Philosophy course.</p>

<p>I was considering NYU, Columbia, Yale, etc (Roughly situated around NY), but then I decided to look up for California instead (UC Berkeley). I have taken note that NY and (So)Cal is rather costly compared to other states. Please do give me an achievable goal (I’m aiming for the stars-- 34-- but I’d rather have a pleasant “back-up college plan” if my current plan does backfire.) Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Bump, sorry.</p>

3

<p>All those schools should have great philosophy courses. Rutgers in New Jersey would likely be a good backup as well.</p>

4

<p>check back in a couple of years with grades and test scores…</p>

5

<p>@ beyphy: Thank you, I searched it up. It seems great, so thanks for the recommendation. It does seem like a good back-up as of PhilosophicalGourmet.</p>

<p>@ bluebayou: Not to sound rude, but the fact that I am writing this post now, is because I’ve already decided to pursue what I want. I cannot stress how inappropriate and unneeded your comment is because it has no relevance to the topic.</p>

6

<p>the fact that you want to study philosophy is good, because you will then learn some logic (and learn about relevance). And just because you “want” to study at Yale just puts you in line with thousands of other teenagers. (What should be relevant to YOU is the US college that you have a shot of getting into. Not only admissions, but do you need financial aid?)</p>

<p>Without grades and test scores, you are wasting your time to consider the likes of Yale and NYU and Cal. (btw: have you not seen the Stanford philosophy sites???)</p>

<p>but to help your teenage dream, check out Brian Leiter’s blog on philosophy for excellent grad programs on PL. Yes they are grad programs, but that means top professors in the field.</p>

<p>I also like the Catholic colleges, such as Georgetown, Notre Dame and Boston College, particularly the Jesuit schools. But all require HIGH test scores and GPA, neither of which do you have.</p>

<p>[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2011 : Welcome](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com%5DThe”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com)</p>

7

<p>Our school does not use the system of GPA, and neither does any school in my country. You need to read my original post better, as I mentioned that I would be taking SATs and ACTs this December and I would like an “achievable goal”. I know I am not the only sole teenager who wants to be part of Yale, but do not undermine someone before he/she receives his/her results. I am not wasting my time, instead you are wasting yours, by adding your additional commentary that is clearly not even wanted.</p>

<p>However, thank you for your recommendations of colleges at the end.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>And this is where your foolishness (or arrogance?) is blocking your critical thinking. (Don’t feel bad, since most teenagers don’t possess many critical thinking skills anyway.) </p>

<p>No school is “achievable” without test scores. None. If you score a 500 on CR, for example, you have zero chance at Yale or NYU or Cal, so why even consider them. (Cal will cost nearly $60k per year, btw.)</p>

<p>If you want “achievable” recommendations from anonymous posters that have relevance, we need more info about you. And the two starting pieces is GPA+test scores. If your school does not grade at all – uses only recommendations, for example, —then we need background info on how well you have done. (‘Teacher writes that I’m the top writer in this class…’)</p>

<p>International apps are compared against each other. There are hundreds/thousands(?) of high scoring international students who apply to US colleges. Those folks are your competition for the few admit slots.</p>

<p>Best wishes to you.</p>

9

<p>What grade (year) are you in?
Are you a freshman or sophomore who is trying to establish a broad college list?
Or are you a junior trying to figure out where to apply next year?
In the US, a 15 year old is just starting high school.</p>

<p>To recommend colleges, we need to know where you stand compared to others. Are you attending a bilingual school and if so are you preparing the IB or A Levels? Are you in a Chinese school? Did you take selective exams in 6th or 7th grade, or in 9th grade? </p>

<p>Most international students target the schools they have heard of - Yale, Harvard, etc. Very few think of “fit”, which is a crucial concept but one that is very difficult to translate.</p>

<p>In addition, test scores are only one small piece of your application. As long as you reach 2100+/32+, they stop to matter. The selection is then made on the strength of your curriculum (and if your school does not assign grades, your SAT 2 scores), your results compared to other applicants from the same country, and, most of all, your essay and whether you’ve won a national or international award in something.</p>

<p>in addition, will you need financial aid? How much can your family contribute? Because that’s often the #1 decision factor outside of the 6 that are need-blind/100% need for internationals. Essentially, the more money you need, the more brilliant you need to be.</p>

<p>Once we have an idea of what is within range for you, we’ll suggest reaches, matches, and relatives safeties.</p>

10

<p>This link on the parents’ forum may be useful:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1579212-suggestions-phil-dept-important.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1579212-suggestions-phil-dept-important.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Thank you all! I am in Grade 9 (Grade 10s are taking IGCSE, I have next year to do SATs and ACTs too.) We do not go by (what it seems to me) American standard High School format. We go by a term called “Secondary School”, which generally starts at 13 years old until 16 years old. My school is a bilingual one. I have just transferred from my previous school at the start of 2013 (I had to take selective exams).</p>

<p>I do rather decently in school; being one of the top scorers for History and Chinese, but faring not as well in Math and Sciences. I still have a year to improve my grades and the most important, I believe, is my IGCSE (which wraps up my entire 4-years education!). My recent teachers-to-student report was commending-- saying that I have been improving both academic and non-academic wise, and that I have potential to be successful. </p>

<p>One of my main concerns is my amount of absence. I have missed quite a lot of school (which partially explains some of my unmarked tasks, results, etc) due to being consistently physically sick and recovering from mental disorders. Still, by the end of the year, I have caught up with the pace of other students and I have developed a much deeper understanding towards my current school subjects. My improvement can be seen from my Mid-year grades and End-of-Year grades (fives and sixes out of 7 points, and achieving an A for overall attitude through coursework and such.) </p>

<p>I have achieved a few medals and trophies, but none recently. I had competed in various ice skating competitions around 2008-2010 and won Golds, Silvers, etc, won a few school talents competitions, had a small book published and so on. This year, I have participated in debate club and community service projects roughly once per two weeks. I was chosen by the Principal to be part of the Leadership Training Camp, but I rejected the offer (along with other selected participants) as I had to focus solely on school work for the time being. I have also been chosen to be part of a school play production, but I am unsure if I would like to join as I have to commit about 2-3 hours for two days per week, until next June.</p>

<p>I suppose I would need some financial aid. My current school fees yearly are around $25,000USD so I think they would be the minimum amount they will be able to contribute. They are still saving up for my future college attendance. Needless to say, it is better to have prevention so I might actually request for financial aid if my family requires it. </p>

<p>Thank you for the links!</p>

12

<p>Extra: I prefer a school without a really strong religious spirit. I don’t want too much of a tense environment, but I do not want a complete party-like environment either (sororities, frats, alcohol). I’d like a college that will be a safe area for a teenage girl (with common sense, that is!), has good and reliable public transport, and is pretty near another city (like New York or San Francisco, but the cost of living is massive if I do not want to stay in campus). I will be working part-time, if I do manage to find a job. I want the school to be situated in somewhere suburban or urban.</p>

13

<p>yes your application will depend on your IGCSE’s. Getting 5’s and 6’s with a few 7’s will be very good for you, with no 1-3’s.
At residential colleges you’re required to live on campus and housing is guaranteed. At large universities there’s less of a community spirit and students may not be guaranteed housing.
Places with fewer parties or less of a Greek Life would include the women’s colleges, or colleges such as Hendrix that pride themselves on not having fraternities/sororities, and you should avoid schools like DePauw or Washington&Lee where social life heavily depends on Greek life (and drinking).</p>

14

<p>Thank you so much. If you do not mind, do you have any recommendations for non-residential colleges that are good at Philosophy? I am afraid that my certification after I finish my course would be useless. I am highly considering Rutgers now, though.</p>

15

<p>When I think “students interested in philosophy”, I think UChicago, Reed, Swarthmore. I definitely don’t think “Rutgers”! Rutgers is where I’d go for graduate school, hence, not for undergraduate.*
Not that Rutgers is a bad university for undergrads, just not what I would imagine a 15 year old would think of when thinking of his/her ideal college for philosophy. </p>

<p>Residential colleges offer housing and a philosophy student would probably want to live in Honors Housing, so that s/he could talk with classmates about assignements and readings. Research shows that living off campus means students who are less involved, less likely to participate in activities and take on leadership roles, and who enjoy themselves more. There’s also a correlation with grades and graduating on time. It makes sense, because when your study group is at 11pm in Dorm A, and you live 15mn away, you’re not going to want to get there :). It’s a more isolating experience. </p>

<p>What do you mean by " I am afraid that my certification after I finish my course would be useless"?</p>

<ul>
<li>Not sure if you know, but in the US, it’s often considered bad form to go to grad school where you attended as an undergrad, as if you couldn’t get in anywhere else (with the exception of places like Harvard, etc. where staying on is equally well-regarded.)</li>
</ul>

16

<p>My family has always given me the impression that if I were to come back to my current country after my overseas study, I would be looked down upon and would not be hired if I did not get a Harvard, Yale, Oxford degree etc. </p>

<p>I understand what you mean by residential colleges now, and I think it seems quite nice although I’d like to go to a college which offers me a choice (as a first-year student) to live off or on campus. </p>

<p>I have checked UChicago’s website, along with the two other schools. Campus-wise, I am much fonder of UChicago’s. It seems very lively, upbeat and more “modern” than the other two schools. The ACT and SATs for these three schools are moderately high; 30+ for ACT. Do you know a few other schools that have an ambience like UChicago, but with lesser scores? I’d love to have those as a back-up plan. </p>

<p>Thank you for offering your advice and help! I really appreciate it. (I have sent you a friend request. :))</p>

17

<p>Bumping again.</p>

18

<p>Consider some of our small women’s colleges, especially Barnard and Bryn Mawr but also Smith and Mt. Holyoke. These colleges are less selective than the Ivies, Chicago, or Stanford. However, they offer very good need-based aid, small classes, and professors dedicated to undergraduate teaching. When the Ivies were all-male schools (before the 1970s), these were their “sister schools” ([Seven</a> Sisters (colleges)](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(colleges)]Seven”>Seven Sisters (colleges) - Wikipedia)). Barnard is in New York City and is part of Columbia University (your diploma would have “Columbia” on it). Bryn Mawr is in the outskirts of Philadelphia and is part of a consortium with Haverford, Swarthmore, and UPenn (allowing you to take classes at those schools). Smith and Mt. Holyoke are in the same not-so-urban area of western Massachusetts, but also belong to a multi-college consortium. Wellesley (Hillary Clinton’s alma mater) is another “Seven Sister” college, but is more selective than these four. </p>

<p>All these colleges should have good-to-excellent philosophy classes that you can take in your first or second year.</p>

19

<p>Thank you for your help! I am sorry that I did not mention that the school(s) consist(s) of both genders. But nevertheless, thank you so so much for providing me somewhere to start from, at least! (One of the extremely helpful posters stopped replying to this thread.)</p>

20

<p>Barnard College is for women only, but there are plenty of men around. It’s part of Columbia University. It’s in New York City.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that many state universities (including Berkeley) do not grant need-based aid to international students. NYU is notorious for poor financial aid (to everyone, not just internationals). Here is a list of schools with relatively good need-based aid to internationals:</p>

<p>[Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware) - Desperate Guide: Undergraduate College Financial Aid, Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware)</p>

<p>Many of these are small liberal arts colleges. The exceptions (Brown, Stanford, UPenn) are extremely selective. Reed College (Portland Oregon) has a strong philosophy department and might be a good choice if you want an urban/suburban school on the West coast.</p>