Applying to schools w/o my intended major / Cutting down

<p>I am very interested in Linguistics and intend on majoring in it in college. Right now I have a list of 13 colleges that I would like to apply to, but I really want to cut it back. 3 of the colleges I would like to apply to (Middlebury, Bowdoin, Hamilton), however, do not offer it as a major. These schools allow, as far as I know, for a student designed major, but I am not sure if it would be as comprehensive as an established Linguistics major at another college. Given that Middlebury offers it as a minor, I think it would be easier to create a major out of it if I were to be admitted and attend. But I am very drawn to Hamilton and Bowdoin. I consider Hamilton to be more of a high match (as in bordering reach) for me, and I love how their campus looks as well as the open curriculum. I have always loved Bowdoin and it would be awesome to go to New England for college. The food, dorms, people, and academics all look amazing. Despite these pros, the lack of a major is a huge con. As stated above, I am weary as to if a student designed linguistics major would be as good as an already established linguistics major at another school. *There are a couple of other schools on my list that do not offer it, but they offer a Cognitive Science major, which I would choose if I went to those places.</p>

<p>I would really like to cut down and potentially only apply to 10 schools. I would like to ED to Rice, but I obviously do not have a guaranteed in, so I have to consider other options. I was wondering if i could get some input on the colleges i would like to apply to and hopefully narrow down my search through this. Right now my list is:
Rice / Emory / Middlebury / Bowdoin / Hamilton / UCSD / UCLA / Cal / Pitzer / Pomona / Vassar / Tufts / USC /
(My safety would be community college, if you would call that a safety. The closest thing I would consider a safety on this list is Pitzer (I would call it a low (as in bordering safety) match). The reason I am hesitant to call it a safety is because of its extremely low acceptance rate)
I, unfortunately, am not able to visit any schools outside of California from now until application dates, so it is very hard to narrow down my search without asking here.</p>

<p>I would like to be in an intellectually stimulating environment with peers that are looking for a similar experience. I would prefer a small to mid-sized school. This eliminates Cal, UCLA, and USC (in terms of size, not intellectualism), but Cal and UCLA are schools that I would consider despite size. USC, not so much, but I am hesitant to cross it off my list because I feel that I have a decent shot at getting in (parent is an alum and i work with a professor there (if that helps at all)). So while it is definitely not a safety, I feel that it is also a match. I am trying to maximize on matches because I do not want to apply only to reaches. I consider my matches to be Pitzer (low), UCSD (match), USC (higher), and Hamilton (high)</p>

<p>Any help?</p>

<p>According to [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) , the following state schools in California have a linguistics major:</p>

<p>Anthropology B.A. Specialization Anthropological Linguistics (CSUS)
Cognitive Science B.S. (CSUFRES)
English (Linguistics Track) B.A. (CSUSB)
English B.A. (CSUCI, CSUS)
English B.A. with Language & Linguistics Option (CSUDH)
French and Linguistics B.A. (UCLA)
International Studies - Linguistics B.A. (UCSD)
Linguistics - Chinese Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - English Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - French Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - German Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - Japanese Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - Language Studies, Specialization in Individual Languages B.A. (UCSD)
Linguistics - Language, Culture and Society B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - Slavic Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - Spanish Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Linguistics - Specialization in Cognition and Language B.A. (UCSD)
Linguistics - Specialization in Language and Society B.A. (UCSD)
Linguistics A.B. (UCD)
Linguistics and Anthropology B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Asian Languages and Cultures B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Computer Science B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and English B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and French B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Italian B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Philosophy B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Psychology B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Scandinavian Languages B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics and Spanish B.A. (UCLA)
Linguistics B.A. (CSUFULL, CSULB, CSUN, SDSU, SJSU, UCB, UCI, UCLA, UCR, UCSB, UCSC, UCSD)
Linguistics B.A. (Applied Concentration) (UCSC)
Linguistics B.A. (Computational Concentration) (UCSC)
Linguistics B.A. (Psycholinguistics Concentration) (UCSC)
Linguistics B.A. (Theoretical Concentration) (UCSC)
Linguistics B.A. with Computational Linguistics Option (CSUFRES)
Linguistics B.A. with General Linguistics Option (CSUFRES)
Linguistics B.A. with Interdisciplinary Language Studies Option (CSUFRES)
Linguistics B.A. with Teaching English as a Second Language Option (CSUFRES)
Spanish and Linguistics B.A. (UCLA)</p>

<p>What you may want to do is:</p>

<p>a. Check to see if any of those which you can assuredly get in and afford can be a safety that you like.</p>

<p>b. Check the course listings for the linguistics majors to see if those schools without specific linguistic majors have similar courses in other departments from which you can build your own linguistics major.</p>

<p>All the UCs use the same app, all you have to do is pay the $60 per school and check off their names (UCSD, Cal, UCLA). So, that would only be 10 apps.</p>

<p>What type of career are you seeking as a linguistics major: another words…what would be your emphasis in linguistics…cognitive, structural etc…In my opinion, you should go to a school that offers it as a major with statistics for where the grads work upon completion.</p>

<p>as of know I would really like to become a professor and do cognitive/linguistics research, but that is not set-in-stone.</p>

<p>bump (10ch)</p>