<p>Rotarymom-I forgot to mention that we visited one of the schools on your S's list with my D-Lynchburg-she wound up applying and was accepted. They also gave her a scholarship (merit-based) based on her SAT scores. The campus is beautiful and the people we dealt with were great. I know of kids there who really like it-I was not sure that they had East Asian studies, but I know they have communications. I believe they are in the process if building a brand new business and communications facility which would be done by the time your S got there.</p>
<p>RotaryMom.....glad to hear that Wheaton (Mass.) was mentionned....I'm an alum...take a look at it. It's a wonderful school....I was an "average" student from an excellent prep school. Wheaton took a chance on me (came off the waiting list) and I became a very good student at Wheaton because of the terrific professors (who weren't busy publishing and handing me off to TA's.) and excellent course selection....The students there are well rounded...that's what Wheaton looks for....its also very well located between Boston, Providence and many, many colleges in the New England area........can't say enough good things about Wheaton...good luck in your son's search!</p>
<p>You are correct about George Mason; it is largely a commuter school. If he is looking in Virginia, James Madison is largely a residential university and the qualifications for admission are somewhat similar (though I think that JMU might have slightly higher admissions criteria than GMU).</p>
<p>I hate to keep throwing you suggestions if you don't need or want them, but Marietta College in southern Ohio might be a match for your son. I think that someone else mentioned Hiram in Ohio as well.</p>
<p>I don't know if your son would be interested, but I am personally fascinated with Warren Wilson College near Asheville, NC. Warren Wilson is a college that focuses on work, service and (of course) liberal arts education. It is known to be a very "crunchy" school, but I believe less so than Antioch College. I like the idea of combining work and study in a systematic way. If I were personally applying to colleges again, I would apply to Warren Wilson.</p>
<p>Icemaker, I appreciate each and every suggestion. His search in VA started with JMU, but he thought it was entirely out of his reach with his stats and being from PA. Will send him the links of Warren Wilson and Marietta College. I know he emailed Hiram with some questions over the weekend, but has not heard back yet. He liked the way their classes ran.</p>
<p>Let me tell you, this searching for colleges across the Pacific is not easy!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>I don't envy you Rotarymom. It's hard enough when your kid is sitting right in the same room with you. But your son sounds like he has a lot going for him that will give him a good shot in the process. Let's keep talking and comparing notes as all of this is useful information!</p>
<p>Bxian, a belated thanks for the review of Ursinus. I'll pass them along to my daughter.</p>
<p>Has your son thought about staying in Japan and attending one of the international schools - Sophia, for example? It's not your typical American college experience, but certainly he'll learn Japanese faster there than here in the USA.
Sounds like he definitely wants a small LAC? I'm a big fan...but also, I have to say that most LACs don't offer much depth in their Asian studies programs and often there's more emphasis on China/Chinese studies than Japan/Japanese studies. Earlham and a few other schools would be exceptions to the rule. Sounds like this is a serious interest - so wherever he goes, make sure there are four years of language study taught by native speakers. If he really, really wants Asian studies, I'd suggest he look at a large University. Because it's such a specialty, the classes are generally small - and everyone knows everyone who is taking Asian studies. It's a much different experience than going into a big University and majoring in biology, for example, where there are tons of kids and the intro classes are huge. My experience isn't recent - that's for sure - but I studied Japanese at both an excellent small University as an undergrad - and the University of Michigan (where I went for grad school in another field). I was so jealous. At Michigan - there are more classes to choose from, guest lectures, conversation partner programs, a film series, and a wide range of faculty from various disciplines who have expertise in Japan. I didn't have any of these resources at my small university. Indiana also has a deep program in East Asian studies - and is not nearly as hard to get into as Michigan. It's just a thought...normally I'm a big advocate of LACs, but for Japanese studies - your son might be better off at a larger university.</p>
<p>He actually has figured out a way to do his graduate work in Tokyo. Typical of my kid, he has step 2 figured before step 1.</p>
<p>He would actually like to have Japanese, but would like to learn another language as well, figuring he will be fluent in conversation by the time he leaves Japan in June/July. He has been in Japan 2 months now and has little trouble with the language at school (his major problem is which formality level?)A second Asian Language would make him more marketable in the work force is his thought. He wants to do a semester (at least) abroad again. </p>
<p>While he had looked at some larger Universities, he just isn't that type of kid. I can see him taking a few courses to supplement, but not living there. He is much more the smaller LAC type personality.</p>
<p>Icemaker-I looked at the Warren Wilson website, I want to go there! There are some really funny statements and stories.</p>
<p>Dke-Glad to see your Wheaton post-it was very timely, as I just made an appointment (yesterday) to tour their campus with S in early November. Can you tell me about term abroad and internship opportunities and campus life? Is Norton more of a rural, small town or suburban setting? A cousin of ours was offered a scholarship from Wheaton a couple of years ago-he did not end up going there but spoke very highly of the contacts he had with the school-they seemed to have a very personalized admission process.</p>
<p>Bxian.....to answer your questions.....remember I graduated awhile back but am still in touch with the President and am involved in reunions, fundraising, etc...so ...Wheaton has very strong Junior Year abroad programs..I think Wheaton's still a member of the 12 College Exchange Program with Amherst, Dartmouth, Williams, etc...also a junior year opportunity....The internship program was just starting when I was there...I did one at Mobil and one at Citigroup and they definitely helped me to get my first job at Chase Bank in NYC......I'm sure the program's much broader now...they also have a mentor program which I hear is quite good....Norton is 40 mins from Boston and 20 minutes from Providence...it was considered to be more of a rural town back then but the Boston suburbs have moved out so now its considered a commuting town...In that it was all women when I was there we spent alot of time "road tripping" to visit friends at neighboring colleges.....They probably still offer transportation into Boston ...as far as current campus life you'll have to ask that when you get there...there's no Greek life, that I know......Good luck with your son's college search! DKE</p>