Looking for guidance

Parents Forum
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<p>I hope it’s okay to post in this forum - I’m looking for some adult advice. </p>

<p>I was just about the poster child for ‘bright but unmotivated’ in high school - (I had a teacher tell me I was the smartest student who had ever failed his class) - I took mostly honors classes, with a few APs, but I only did well in things I was interested in. My grades improved from a dismal freshman year to about a B average junior/senior year, but my gpa probably wasn’t much above a 3.0. A large part of the problem was that my family wouldn’t even discuss the idea of me going to college, so I never thought I had a future.</p>

<p>After high school I lived at home and worked two jobs (pointless minimum wage-things) for a year, then moved to another state and worked for another year. I’d realized by the time I left home that I very much wanted to be going to school, so in the fall I moved in with my grandmother and started going to a state college. I had a 3.95 average last semester. However, this isn’t a school I feel like I can stay at - I’m the only one who talks in any of my classes, to the point where I’ve stopped raising my hand because it makes me stand out so much. Everyone parties from wendsday until friday and then goes home for the weekend, and I don’t feel connected to anything here.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the people I’ve tried to talk to about transfering seem to think my only options are UCONN, or possibly UMASS or URI. I hate the thought of going someplace with 40k students - just visiting the campus made me miserable - and I can’t really believe it would be better then it is here. </p>

<p>To make things harder, my interests - classical languages and archaeology - aren’t exactly offered at every school. (They aren’t where I am now, which is part of why I feel like I’m wasting time.) I need to go somewhere where I can at least take greek and latin. There are plenty of schools that have everything I’m looking for - community feeling, strong academics, strong classics program, archaeology classes - but it seems like my high school grades put them so far out of reach. (Wellesley, Barnard, Wesleyan, and Brown, which is a bit big but makes up for it with the offered languages.)</p>

<p>I guess what I’m wondering is if there’s a place in between? The teachers I’ve talked to tell me that I would get used to a big U-whatever, but I think that if I dislike the atmosphere, and so many of the students, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it.</p>

<p>Wow, this got really long, sorry.</p>

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<p>and you looked at UChicago or UTAustin??? Both of those schools offer what you are seeking.</p>

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<p>I would love UChicago, but it seems as selective as the others I mentioned. (I think UTAustin is too big for me.)</p>

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<p>Did you look at the common data for UChicago??? I think you might be surprised.</p>

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<p>hedgejess–it sounds like you need to do what freshman applicants are doing, apply to a range of schools, and go to the one highest on your list that accepts you. You have a pretty compelling case since your current school doesn’t even offer what you want to study. You may have a shot at some of the selective schools since your college GPA is so high, so go for it–just be sure to apply to at least a couple of schools that are not so selective as well. Also, if you do end up at a large uni, chances are the classics dept will be fairly small, so you should be able to have that “community feeling” with such an interest, even at a larger school.</p>

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<p>What year are you? I wouldn’t recommend taking Greek and Latin at the same time…and you will have a lot to catch up on in a Classical Studies Dept. How much standing do you have?</p>

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<p>An example of a less selective school that offers a classics major–Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. There must be others.</p>

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<p>Both were expressed interests.</p>

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<p>Have you done a college search for classics, archaeology, and size range?</p>

<p>Catholic colleges come to mind. Many of them would at least offer Greek and Latin.</p>

<p>There was a thread recently about Catholic colleges in the northeast:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=120617[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=120617&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Smith takes in quite a few junior transfers, and makes a point of taking folks who blossomed after their high school careers; they even have scholarships set aside for community college transfers, and 10% of the student body is made up of older students (ages 24-65). Good classical studies as well, especially in arts and antiquities.</p>

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<p>Yes, I would suggest going to petersons.com or another college search site and putting in your criteria.</p>

<p>I can’t tell if you are male or female – if the latter, Bryn Mawr is a possibility. They have both classics and a major in classical and near eastern archaeology. If male, you could try Haverford or Swarthmore, but major in what Bryn Mawr has.</p>

<p>Best though is to do a search and then check the web sites of places you find. When my daughter and I were doing searches for archaeology, we found that a number of schools listed didn’t have the type of archaeology she wanted or only had a couple courses. Best way is to look at the course offerings and any special programs mentioned for the department (usually it is under anthropology).</p>

<p>The easiest schools to get into we found were U Missouri (probably much too big for you, but it sufficed as a safety for dd – realize that your class size for a less popular major may be small even at a big college), UNC - Greensboro, and Appalachian. </p>

<p>My daughter decided upon Brown because her interest is Egyptology. There is a major there for old world archaeology (i.e., classical), too, and some general archaeology courses in the anth department. </p>

<p>Before you transfer someplace just for archaeology, you might want to consider attending a field school this summer. A lot of applications are due by the beginning of March but some have rolling admissions. I’ve heard of people who are all excited about archaeology until they actually experience it first hand! If you go to the Archaeological Institute of America’s web site, you will find a data base of programs.</p>

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<p>On the size issue, one thing I would point out is that larger schools often have older students. Since you worked for a couple of years first, this may appeal. Also, there tends to be groups within groups that make the size feel smaller, particularly for upper level classes. I majored in Middle Eastern Studies at UT Austin. Classes in my major often had 10 to 15 students in them. The other kids in this major saw each other in class after class, so we might as well have been in a small school. In sum, you might find a large campus to be fine once you settled in.</p>

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<p>Thanks, everyone.</p>

<p>I hadn’t been considering Catholic schools, but I’ll look into those, and try the peterson’s.</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr is lovely, but when I contacted their admissions department they were so discouraging about financial aid for transfers that I didn’t look at them again. (For the most part I’m planning to apply first, then worry about cost when I find out what it will be.)</p>

<p>I tried to do a field school last summer, but it didn’t work out - there’s a local one I’m hoping I can do this year. But I’ve talked to enough archaeologists that I think I know what I’m in for. I suppose everyone thinks that, though. :)</p>

<p>hazmat - I’d be transfering as a sophmore, and I took latin in high school. I know it’s a lot to make up, though, which is why I feel like I’m wasting time where I am now.</p>

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<p>Have you considered Simmons College? You may also want to revisit Wellesley and talk with someone over at Admissions. I think schools will weigh your college grades more heavily than your HS ones since those demonstrate how well you fare in a college setting. Alot of kids are late bloomers, and they’re looking for potential.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Holy Cross is very strong in the Classics/Latin area. Also HC IS SAT optional.</p>

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<p>I was scared off Holy Cross by the princeton review site - it said “Religion is big, sports are bigger, and drinking is the biggest.” and the students were all consevertive, white, and preppy. But looking at the website, it seems like a nice place. I’ll give them another try.</p>

<p>I don’t think Simmons has a classics program. Otherwise it would be great, I’ve been on their campus and love it.</p>

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<p>Definately take a closer look at Holy Cross. That’s where I’ll be going next year. Jesuit schools are very different from other Catholic schools. Also, Boston University has an excellent program. They even have special housing specifically for Classics students. </p>

<p>Don’t worry about taking Greek and Latin at the same time. hazmat has no idea what he’s talking about. You’ll be fine espcially if you enjoy the subjects.</p>

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<p>I agree with mpkinney06 about Latin and Greek at the same time, you can do it.</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>You can do Latin and Greek at the same time. I homeschooled my daughter and we did.</p>

<p>I don’t think it wise to START two different languages at the same time, however. It would be different if you happened to have a flair for languages or a background in one of them. My daughter just finished a semester where she took Reading German (no German background, the course for those who need to read scholarly articles) and beginning Egyptian hieroglyphs. The only way this worked was the fact that she had already studied the latter at home and the two languages are so very different. Even so, it was very time-consuming doing two sets of flash cards, etc.</p>

<p>Of course, with enough motivation, you can study anything. You don’t mention if you have previously taken any foreign languages. This could make a difference in how easy it would be for you.</p>

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<p>“For the most part I’m planning to apply first, then worry about cost when I find out what it will be.)”</p>

<p>This is not a good idea. Some colleges do not give financial aid to transfers. If money is a consideration, you should not waste your time applying to places that are clearly out of reach. Take the time to investigate the financial aid before bothering to apply.</p>

<p>Also find out if you can get into the honors college of any public universities. That may be a way to get an affordable, and small college atmosphere while also pursuing the major and classes that interest you.</p>