Suggestions for a stuck junior?

College Search & Lists
1

Hi! I am a junior looking to figure exactly where I want to apply next year. I want to be a Classics or Linguistics major, so strength in languages and humanities in general is important. I do not want a preppy school or one with a large Greek scene. I have not liked any LACs I have visited (quite a few) and think a midsized university (somewhere in the realm of 5,000-15,000 undergrads) would be best. I’m also looking for an alternative/intellectual vibe, or at least a place where I could find my sort of people, even if they aren’t the majority. Location is not important. I want to work in museums as a career, so high quality museum(s) with student access/involvement is a must.

Here are my stats currently: (any tips for improvement are also welcome)

Objective:
SAT: 2370 (800 CR, 780 M, 790 W)
SAT II: 760 World History, 780 Literature, will take Italian and Latin this June
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85 (all As and A-s with one B in honors chemistry sophomore year)
Note: I’m currently taking 3 languages at school: AP Latin, honors ancient Greek 2, and honors Italian 3
AP: US History 5, US Gov and Pol 5, AP Comp Gov 5 (all self-studied)
Major Awards: 3 perfect scores on NLE, perfect scores on National Vocabulary Exam, Ancient Roman Culture Exam, National Etymology Exam, and National Mythology Exam

Subjective: (years predicted for senior year as well)
Extracurriculars: Latin Club (president, 9-12), Varsity Field Hockey (9-12), Model UN (Head Delegate, 9-12), Gay-Straight Alliance (president, 9-12), National History Bowl and Bee (qualified for national finals in 9 and 10), Forensics Club (9-12), Tutor at local middle school (9-12), run an online punk rock/feminist blog with over 5,000 followers (8-12), collect vinyl records
Job/Work Experience: Curatorial intern at major national art museum this summer, work a few hours a week at local record store (9-11)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer tour guide at local museum (big time commitment, one of the highlights of my app, 9-12), volunteer at special events at other local art museum (9-10)
Summer Activities: Intensive language classes in ancient Greek and Italian at well-respected college while still volunteering at museum

Other
Financial aid is not an issue
Intended Major: Classics/Linguistics
Located in New England
School Type: Very academic small private w/ great placement at “first tier” colleges
I’m a white male.

Here are the colleges I am currently considering:

UPenn- love the access to their amazing museums and love Philly too, but I’m unsure of its “work hard, play hard” rep
Brown- In general, it’s exactly what I theoretically want, but I’m concerned it wouldn’t broaden my horizons enough, and it may be a bit small
Cornell- really liked the campus feel, did not like location at all
Harvard
Yale
Johns Hopkins- possibly too science-y for me as a big humanities guy
UChicago- like the vibe, but the core is a minus for me
Georgetown
UCBerkeley- great language programs, but too big?
UWashington- I LOVE Seattle
UWisconsin

In general, as a queer feminist punk rock-loving sort of guy, I need to feel safe on campus. I’m hoping the mix of my backround and my interests in Classics and museums will come together well for my applications. Any suggestions for other colleges to explore or ways to improve my app? I’m not entirely sure how to proceed from here, as I especially need more matches and safeties.

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

Would you consider hopping the Canadian border? McGill in Montreal is a little larger at around 20,000 undergraduates, but matches well with the rest of your preferences. Admissions is purely stats-based, making it a low match (safety?) for you.

3

“Location is not important. I want to work in museums as a career, so high quality museum(s) with student access/involvement is a must.”

LOL. You don’t get out much to the rest of the country do you? They don’t have high quality museums in most places-not even most cities. So, yes location is important.

4

Give UChicago a little more thought. The Core can play nicely with a prospective Classics/Linguistics major. If you want more flexibility, Brown would be great.

If you want an option that is a little less selective, and you like NYC, then you might like NYU.
Michigan would be another possibility.

5

@lostaccount I meant at least one museum on campus in which students can work/volunteer. Heck, even extremely rural small LACs like Bowdoin and Amherst meet that criterium. No need for any snarkiness!

@tk21769 I had thought about NYU, but I’m not a big fan of NYC in general. I’ll give it another look over though, as well as UMich!

6

Maybe George Washington U has some connection with the Smithsonian?

7

Well, when I read your description, I thought Carleton all the way. They don’t have a museum on campus, but are a short drive to multiple museums in the Twin Cities. Your “vibe” would fit in there beautifully, and of course you would fit in academically (any where you choose to go!). Zero greeks, and not a popped collar is sight.

Reed, in the Pacific NW, would also fit your profile. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to their Classics program or access to curator type experience.

8

I was thinking Yale while reading about your interests before seeing what schools interest you. Williams is either number 1 or 2 LAC consistently and it fits much of what you are looking for. U Chicago also seems like a fit. U Wisconsin Madison, I don’t think so. It is a good school for bio med majors but kind of a party school and u can’t imagine the classics are in favor. Reed fits as well Portland and Seattle are similar

9

I assume you’ve seen this?

http://www.phds.org/rankings/classics

It’s a misconception that JHU Homewood campus is too science heavy. Very good in the humanities and social sciences as well. It has been a long time since I studied there - at the time it was slightly on the preppy side - don’t know avant garde the student culture is today. Although back in the day, there was some fairly radical intellectual work going on among the faculty - Hayden White, Gayatri Spivak, and the like.

UC-Berkeley is more compact than you’d think.

Sounds like you’re more interested in an urban environment, but maybe Cornell might be worth a look if you haven’t already done so?

10

Someone identifying as a “queer feminist punk-rock loving sort of guy” would fit in very well at Brown, imo. I don’t think it’s too small – quite the opposite, actually, though that’s definitely a personal thing. Your concern about broadening your horizons may be legitimate, but again, it depends on you. You need to take charge of seeking classes in new areas yourself; you don’t have distribution requirements to help out. Some may find this more conducive to horizon-broadening; others may think it makes it more difficult.

I will say that I think your areas of interest would be well-served at Brown. There’s the Haffenreffer Museum, the Annmary Brown Memorial, the John Carter Brown Library, all the rare books and museum objects you can access via the Hay… Brown is a reach for everyone, but I would consider it.

11

I was going to say Oberlin but then saw your comment about nixing the LAC’s. Too bad. Oberlin has an art museum and students camp out to check out the art work for their dorm. It’s also close to Cleveland which has a great cultural scene- The Cleveland Museum of Art is free for everyone and the University Circle area is both cultural and funky. CaseWestern University is right there too and their students take art classes at the museum.

I know you said no prep/frat scene but Tulane in NOLA is another possibility. Their admissions website currently has an intro piece to the school’s LBGTQ culture and organizationss at the school. The admissions head is a gay young man who graduated from there. Univ of Loyola New Orleans is right next door and as a Jesuit school is very progressive. Our S felt very comfortable there and received an incredible merit scholarship- very art/music oriented kids there. NOLA is like no other city in the US. The art scene there is incredible. Something to go to every day.

Don’t scratch off UChicago yet. It’s a school in a big city with an intimate feel. Chicago is incredible with the arts too. And the kids there are awesome according to my D who did an overnight and had so much fun with them- bright, funny, and unpretentious.

My S is at Carnegie Mellon at the College of Fine Arts and loves Pittsburgh. The environment is very LBGTQ friendly. But I don’t know about the strength of the classics there or really at any of the above.

All of the schools are in the Midwest, Mid Atlantic or south and give you I think a much better chance of acceptance than the Northeast schools on your list. Plus you would learn so much about another part of the country.

12

Sorry, not trying to be snarky OP but “criterium” is a bike race.

13

And here I thought, yay, finally someone who is aware that “criteria” is actually a plural form, of course someone who wants to major in linguistics and classics - and all the OP gets for it is snark.

From wiktionary:
criterium ‎(plural criteriums)

(cycling) A mass-start road-cycle race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 1 km to 2 km (1/2 mile to just over 1 mile).
Alternative form of criterion
1867 George H. Lewes, A Biographical History of Philosophy 1.181:
There is no criterium of truth.

14

I didn’t know guys could play varsity field hockey. Anyway, I think you’ll get in to most of your top schools, but if you want a match or safety then maybe Univ of Rochester and Univ of Pittsburgh. With your stats I would consider Columbia. It’s in the city, but has it’s own campus unlike NYU. Can’t beat NYC for access to top museums

15

@citymama9 We do actually have a boys field hockey team!! It’s a bit strange and a lot more casual than all the other varsity teams, but it’s really fun, and we have a European men’s coach.

16

^Well I learn something new about vocabulary every day. Thanks!

17

I’m going to suggest looking at either Oxford or Cambridge. They seem to fulfill literally every one of your requirements.