Arabic Studies?

Parents Forum
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<p>Middle son, 19, graduated from high school in 2013. He went through a Christian training program and spent almost two months in Jordan. He would like to do more volunteer work over there, but people have told him that he needs a college degree (ha, he will listen to others but not his parents!). He would like to study Arabic. This is a bright kid who did poorly on the SAT and graduated HS with a B average. How can I find some possible colleges for him? He mentioned Dartmouth and UT-Austin, and I did an excellent job of biting my tongue! I need to throw out some ideas that are in the realm of possibility. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Here is a summer program:</p>

<p><a href=“http://aptlii.global.wisc.edu/”>http://aptlii.global.wisc.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Perhaps U of Arizona?? They have a Department of Middle Eastern and North African Studies. </p>

<p><a href=“Arabic | School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies”>http://menas.arizona.edu/arabic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think, too, that there are students from the Mid East drawn to their Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, so that may be a plus. I’m a graduate and this is what I remember, but I could be off.</p>

<p>It’s got a 77% admit rate, with an SAT middle 50 percentile of 483-600.</p>

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<p>When you say he did poorly - what was his ACT or SAT score?</p>

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<p>@Madison85, I will have to look it up. I really didn’t think he would consider college, so I guess I dumped the number out of my memory!</p>

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<p>OK, his SAT scores were 650 (reading), 580 (math), and 530 (writing). He took the exam two more times and did worse with the exception of a 600 in math one time.</p>

<p>That stretch of time was when he struggled the most with bipolar disorder. He didn’t care about school, tests, or just about anything else. He is in a much better place now. With his doctor’s permission, he has even been off all meds for over a year! </p>

<p>Does it ever make sense for a student to retake the SAT at his “advanced” age?</p>

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<p>Is he looking to major in Arabic or just become fluent while getting a college degree? If so, a lot of schools will offer a minor in Arabic. I’d look for schools that have at least two years of Arabic language and that would allow him the opportunity to study abroad in the Middle East. Any Jesuit school that belongs to the study abroad consortium will have the opportunity to study in Lebanon. </p>

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<p>The 1230 CR + M is similar to ACT score of 27; that’s a decent score.</p>

<p>I believe that UW-Milwaukee has a Middle Eastern and North African Studies major and offers 6 semesters of Arabic language. UW-Madison is harder to get into than UW-Milwaukee but will likely have even more offerings in the area of interest.</p>

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<p>Definitely a decent score. What are the other factors in choosing a college for him? Like distance from home and price? Do you prefer a smaller school? I imagine the other factors are pretty important in his case. Any interests besides Arabic to be aware of? Is he going to want more study/volunteering abroad opportunities?</p>

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<p>Ohio State has been bulking up their language/culture programs and seem to be pretty deep in Arabic. <a href=“Home | Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures”>Home | Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures; His math is a little low compared to the CDS but that shouldn’t be fatal for a language program.</p>

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<p>Bit far from Texas, but MSU has an Arabic Flagship program. I don’t know much about it but I have several friends who majored in Arabic or Arabic studies (can’t remember) and most studied abroad for at least a semester- many for over a year. </p>

<p><a href=“http://arabicflagship.msu.edu/”>http://arabicflagship.msu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@romanigypsyeyes, we live in Maine now. I think he would do fine a good distance from home, since he spent time in Wisconsin, Florida, and Jordan this past year. </p>

<p>I appreciate the thoughts and questions. Later today, I will show him this thread and get more specifics from him. As usual, the CC community is a wealth of information!</p>

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<p>S2 said the best Arabic student while he was in Jordan he knew was from U of Mississippi. He was one of my son’s fellow students in Irbid (which was an immersion program). He was probably helped by getting a summer Critical Language Scholarship the previous summer. (Those scholarships by the way are awarded by state, so being from Maine or Mississippi makes them easier to snag than being from NY.)</p>

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<p>The University of Oklahoma has strong offerings in both Arabic and Middle Eastern affairs. It would be an admissions safety for him. Of course you’d have to be comfortable with your son becoming a MaineSooner. </p>

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<p>American U is test optional. I think his scores above would also fall in the avg range for them. They have many Interdisciplinary Study programs that can combine, They have Arab World Studies and amazing study abroad.</p>

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<p>Here’s a crazy thought…Tel Aviv University (International). </p>

<p><a href=“http://international.tau.ac.il/ba_liberal_arts/?id=term-intro”>http://international.tau.ac.il/ba_liberal_arts/?id=term-intro&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s a fairly well respected, 3 year (117 credit) program, and it keeps him in the area. Cost is reasonable (Annual tuition $11,000 per year) and instruction is in English. </p>

<p>However, you have to take into account studying in Israel. That wouldn’t likely cause any issues with traveling to Jordan, but it can cause problems in other Middle Eastern countries. Then again, they way things have been over there (Egypt, Syria, Iraq, etc.), I would worry about anyone doing volunteer work in those countries :(</p>

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