So I’ve researched many colleges that are really good in foreign language, like UCLA, UC Berkeley, Middlebury, UW Madison, etc. Can you tell me, in your opinions, some really good colleges for these majors?
Preferrably:
Smaller school (but I really don’t want to limit myself, if you know bigger schools, please share!)
On the east coast
Not extremely hard to get into, admit 30-40% of students or more
Has a good rep.
Strong 4 year graduation rate
For foreign languages, does any other college come remotely close to BYU?
What is your financial situation? Are there specific languages you are interested in?
To find smaller schools with student profiles similar to those at the large schools of which you are already familiar, an analysis such as this can prove useful: “The 610 Smartest Colleges,” Business Insider (e.g., UCLA is similar to Kenyon, UW-M is similar to Denison and Gettysburg, etc.). Then look for the availability of a linguistics major/minor and other factors of importance to you.
@GMTplus7 you have a typo in your post. You typed, “BYU” when you meant to type, “Middlebury.”
These undergraduate-focused schools are listed by CollegeXpress as being fine schools for the study of history:
Williams
Amherst
Swarthmore
Vassar
Hamilton
Washington & Lee
Wellesley
Colgate
Middlebury
Smith
Bates
Mount Holyoke
Davidson
Union
Connecticut College
URichmond
Bryn Mawr
Lafayette
Dickinson
Gettysburg
Muhlenberg
Allegheny
Goucher
Drew
Hampden-Sydney
If you cross-reference these colleges with respect to your interest in linguistics and languages and your desired selectivity level (and your gender status), you could find at least several schools that would be particularly appropriate for you.
Small East Coast colleges with approximately 30-40% admission rates, and 4y graduation rates above 75%, include:
Wellesley (women only)
Bucknell
URichmond
Trinity (Hartford)
Holy Cross
Skidmore
F&M
Connecticut College
Union
Bard
Bryn Mawr (women only)
I don’t know that any of these are especially noted for foreign language instruction,
but check that out if they have any appeal for other reasons. Examine their online course catalogs and faculty bios.
Check their Common Data Set files, section J, for the percentage of students majoring in foreign languages.
Big research universities (especially the top-ranked ones like Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA) will tend to have many more foreign language offerings than small LACs. If you’re interested in more commonly taught languages (like French, German, Russian, Spanish) then a LAC might be a very good choice. A few LACs also seem to have strengths in other languages (e.g. Chinese/Japanese at Oberlin). Middlebury is the LAC most known for foreign languages, but it’s also more selective.
Middlebury is the reference, but Kenyon, Tufts, and Macalester are both good, too.
Bryn Mawr is noted for Foreign Language instruction.
Add Dickinson, which is a favorite “match” for students who apply to Middlebury as a reasonable reach.
Japanese at Earlham and Oberlin.
Gettysburg and Muhlenberg both do a fine job in both majors. Best of luck to you!
Elizabethtown in central PA. Earlham in Indiana.