Match my linguistics & biology loving senior seeking great merit! [PA resident, 3.85 GPA, 1470 SAT, <$50k (prefer <$30k), no need-based FA]

Chance Me / Match Me
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My senior is deeply passionate about linguistics and has taught himself everything he can on the topic. He is fascinated by language evolution and the intersections of language and culture, and he also loves biology and the environment. He’s an active kid who spends a lot of time in the woods, loves travel, and is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French. He’s(for now) interested in careers in language preservation & environmental sustainability. He’d love courses in indigenous studies as well.

Seeking to add to our list of schools where he can find other passionate, curious, quirky kids. He wants excellent access to nature but has also been drawn to larger schools close to towns. He’s pretty adaptable. He definitely needs access to a linguistics major. Seeking options where he will be a candidate for strong merit awards.

Demographics

  • US domestic
  • Location: Northwestern Pennsylvania
  • High achieving public high school

Budget
We are hoping to stay in the $30k/year range, but we can swing up to $50k. Will not qualify for need-based aid.

Intended Major(s)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.85
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.56
  • Class Rank: high school does not rank. He is on track for summa cum laude recognition.
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1470

List your HS coursework: All honors and AP coursework. 5 AP classes, earned 4 5s and 1 4 on the AP exams.

Colleges currently on our list: include Penn State, Ohio University, and a host of others that he hasn’t really settled on. He’s enchanted by Swarthmore but I’m concerned about feasibility and cost.

Would love to stay within 4-5 hours of Northwestern PA but will go farther for the right school.

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U Mass Amherst is one of the top linguistics programs in the country. See if the financials will work….

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So one thing I’d say is - merit isn’t everything. Some schools with merit cost more than full price schools - so you really need a budget, which you have.

So that I can work with.

So UMASS, I don’t think, can get you to $30K but certainly $50K.

If he likes large schools, these will be your choices - and you can find nature anywhere - but it depends what kind of nature.

At Alabama, he will be $28K off - so low $20s for tuition, room and board. That’s because his GPA is over a 3.5 and 1420. It’s why kids from the Northeast, Midwest, and West are flocking there.

Ole Miss should hit $30K. Mississippi State will. Others that should hit $30K are WVU (scratch that, they are cutting programs), and U Kansas. U New Mexico will also hit. FSU would hit with an out of state waiver. Salisbury will hit too. I note the WVU note because a few things:

  1. Some schools are cutting linguistics programs
  2. All linguistics aren’t equal. I’ll let @dfbdfb comment more- but I notice, as I look at the schools I suggest, the departments linguistics are in is all over the map (Salisbury is in English) - and what they cover seems to be too.

So what about PA schools - maybe a bit over $30K but - Penn State and Pitt for sure. Temple offers a certificate.

There’s other schools that cost less than $30K full price (back to my note on cost, not merit matters) - Central Michigan ($28K full price) shows Linguistics in Anthropology. Southern Illiniois, I believe, beats $30K full price - no in state tuition. And SUNY New Paltz and Oswego show they have programs - they might be $30K.

Going up to $50K - you have more options. Arizona, UF, UGA, Purdue, Miami Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mizzou and more. Mary Washington in VA is another. Many of these will be far less than $50K but maybe not $30K.

What about LACs? Some have minors that will likely split the budgets - Furman, Allegheny, Earlham. Most don’t have majors.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

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Thank you! I LOVE LACs and advocate for them intensely for undergrad. But it’s only the tippy top LACs, as far as I can tell, that have true linguisitcs programs. And with the intensity of his passion for the field, I’ve been thinking that he needs the opportunity to work and learn with people in the field before he gets to grad school.

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But at LACs he can do a bio major and linguistics minor but again, linguistics at school A seem different than B. Hopefully @dfbdfb will chime in as he’s a prof.

You love LACs but does your senior ? :slight_smile:

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Great question! I’m not sure we’ve visited enough places for him to know. Right now he’s very open to possibilities, which is great! But also means we’re struggling to narrow in on a list. Very grateful for this forum.

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UMN. Large land grant school in a great city with easy access to great outdoor activities and connections to indigenous cultures through the American Indian Studies program and you can even take Dakota or Ojibwe to fill a second language requirement.

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That you have a budget will help filter/eliminate. Don’t hit the #, don’t get consideration. It’s that simple.

Yes, he has to figure out - does the geography matter or sports or weather or greek life, etc. - but in the end, budget drives a decision.

And if your budget is $30K, then stick to that - or don’t go far above.

But it does seem linguistics seems different everywhere - but you also have great in-state schools) - and maybe that’s the place. No matter the school - make sure you study the curriculums, etc.

When I say - Alabama for you is $22K - just know - you wouldn’t be alone. 739 PA kids are there…in addition to 1500 from Illiniois, 1100 from CA, 2K from NY/NJ/CT, 574 from your close neighbor - Ohio. Money talks - and they buy in high stat kids..so don’t think, oh heck no - because tons are going because college is expensive.

As for LACs and I’d say in between $30-50K, Lawrence in Appleton WI has a major, Truman State is a well thought of public LAC, are the only two I can find - Truman will beat $30K, maybe handily. But I’m guessing doesn’t see many from your neck of the woods.

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Two different possibilities with linguistics and biology and likely opportunities to explore both. I’m not well versed in linguistics so no idea if these will hit the mark.

Miami-Ohio. Well liked here on CC and I know several very happy alumna. Price may/may not hit preferred budget but they publish merit ranges per gpa/test score so you can get an idea. Perhaps worth a look as campus is very attractive and could help narrow in on size preference.

Lawrence University could hit close or below $35-40k with merit. They allow scholarship stacking which can be a significant benefit to families. Lots of support for students to pursue individual interests and an annual undergrad symposium for humanities and social science students, including linguistics. Campus is downtown in a small city but along a river with nearby trails and Lawrence also owns property in Door County where students can get away for a weekend.

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Giving @dfbdfb another page, as he is definitely our resident expert in linguistics. The schools I’m listing below have (I believe) pretty robust linguistics programs.

Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads; sticker price would be less than $50k, and they are trying to attract more out-of-state students, so some merit aid might be forthcoming.

Indiana U.: About 37k undergrads. Sticker price of about $56k, but I suspect that your son would receive some merit aid here. Historically, very strong in foreign languages. The state and some of the higher ups in admin have been making some changes in direction, so it’s something to investigate, but it’s still a school worth checking out.

Ohio State: About 48k undergrads with a sticker price of about $55k, and could see some merit aid here, too.

Rutgers (NJ): About 37k undergrads with a sticker price of about $54k.

Stony Brook (NY): About 18k undergrads with a sticker price of about $51k. Used to have a reputation as more of a commuter school, but that may be changing.

U. at Buffalo (NY): About 20k undergrads with a sticker price of $49k.

U. of Pittsburgh (PA ): Surprised this one’s not on your list already. Sticker price for PA residents is about $36k.

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Maybe take a look at Simon Fraser university in Vancouver. They have a department of Indiginous studies and a major and minor in linguistics. And with the current exchange rate cost of attendance is around $40k USD.

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If your kid is interested in language preservation and revitalization, the places in the US I’d immediately point to are, in no particular order:

  • University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • University of Arizona
  • University of New Mexico
  • University of Washington
  • University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of Oregon

(I know that I’m definitely missing a couple important ones here, but in my defense I’m jetlagged and this is off the top of my head.)

All of these have somewhat different focuses, and some of them are way expensive for an OOS student (though some—UAF, UNM—are remarkably affordable OOS) but they all have faculty that work in that area. If your kid really wants to work in it he’d need to stay for a master’s, fair warning, but so it goes.

Also, as someone else mentioned, you should look at Canada, particularly:

  • University of Victoria
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of Alberta

Also, pretty much any Australian university with a full linguistics program will have the ability to get into language preservation.

And there’s the Max Planck Institute Leipzig (Germany), Leiden University (the Netherlands), and the Colegio de México (Mexico), but those are really graduate-level-only options—but still, possibly worth keeping in mind.

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Thanks for your expertise!!

Just adding on - in addition to UNM and Fairbanks (this might be the first ever mention of UAF on the CC),

U Hawaii would come under $47K for tuition, room and board (obviously lots of other expenses and off campus housing might be a mint - it looks like $2K merit.

U Arizona is currently $60,400 - again, just tuition/fees, room and board - and current merit - well, their website has become very difficult but if I recollect, for a core GPA of 3.8 or higher is $20K - so that would bring a shade over $40K. Until they just jacked up tuition and reduced merit, it was probably the most “out of state” desired of the schools here.

UNM - with a scholarship and that will surely happen - is showing about $24K for tuition, room and board.

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Thanks for your constant willingness to share your expertise, even when jet-lagged!

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Thank you! I really appreciate this list. He’s been pushing for Hawaii too, but I’ve been fussing about practicality and suggesting he think about it for grad school.

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This information is SO helpful. Thank you!

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I notice that a lot of schools mentioned on this thread belong to National Student Exchange. NSE is a consortium of ~200 schools mainly in the US but a few in Canada too. It allows students to do up to a year of exchange at any other member school paying no more in tuition than what they are paying at their home institution (and sometimes less.)

Here are some of the participating schools mentioned in this thread:

U of Alaska Fairbanks, U of Alberta, U of Hawaii, UMass Amherst, UMN Twin Cities, U New Mexico, Stony Brook.

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Other interesting schools that belong to NSE and offer linguistics include:

St. Olaf. Great LAC a shuttle ride away from MSP airport (airport hub, so many direct flights.) Outstanding biology, tons of nature opportunities. Happy, happy school with nice students, beautiful campus and rigorous academics. Good merit. Can cross register at Carleton which expands linguistics class options.

UMN-Duluth. Almost certainly would come in under $30K. I knew a student who did a self-designed major studying the Voyageur/Indian beaver fur trade. He became fluent in French, and conversant in Ojibwe, and spent a bunch of his time canoeing in the Boundary Waters.

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