<p>I would like to major in International Political Economy and Chinese (minor German or Russian), and I need a school that could give me a full ride.</p>
<p>In looking at other schools that say they offer these languages as majors, I have discovered that they are often limited in number of classes, and no one yet has answered me regarding the average proficiency levels of graduates.</p>
<p>What do you know about average proficiency levels and merit aid awards at the following schools: Tufts, MD@College Park, TX@Austin, Florida, Michigan State, Richmond, Mississippi, GW, Georgia Tech, Ohio, Chicago, Washington St. Louis, Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Georgetown?</p>
<p>If there is a school that is not on this list, and will give a National Merit Finalist with a 34 on the ACT/ 2200 on the SAT, multiple mission trips along with service, performing arts, and athletic extracurriculars a full ride, feel free to tell me, especially if you know that the number of classes offered/average proficiency levels of graduates are as good or better than the other schools.</p>
<p>Information on proficiency levels at different schools is not easy to obtain. Your real proficiency is going to come from spending at least a year studying in China. So, look into a schools study abroad options, costs, etc. For Chinese, another consideration is how well someone acquires the tones when speaking. I know of one prospective student who visited an LAC and was able to sit in on an oral language drill session. She had studied some Chinese in high school and she came away very impressed with the amount of material the students had learned by that early point in the semester and by their proficiency in the tones. So, if you are able to visit the schools that interest you, arrange to observe a class and ask your questions of the instructor afterward. Whether or not the instructor is accommodating might also help you decide if you wish to be a student there. Other things to consider include whether there are language dorms, language tables, language exchange sessions with native speakers, etc. </p>
<p>If proficiency is one of your primary concerns, I recommend that you seriously consider schools that offer a Chinese Flagship program. [The</a> Language Flagship - Chinese](<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese]The”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese)
One of the very best of these is at Ohio State, which also is the designated National Resource Center for East Asian Languages. [The</a> Ohio State University Chinese Flagship Program](<a href=“http://chineseflagship.osu.edu/]The”>http://chineseflagship.osu.edu/) Other schools that offer a Chinese Flagship program include Arizona State University; Brigham Young University; Indiana University; and, the University of Mississippi.</p>
<p>Though the schools on your list might offer Chinese languages courses, several of them arent particularly known for East Asian Studies. Of the schools on your list, I would focus on Chicago, Washington St. Louis, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Georgetown, and, Mississippi. While Mississippi is a relatively new program and it isnt on the same level as the other schools, it does offer a Chinese Flagship program. I would also consider schools that have a federally-funded National Resource Center for East Asian Studies. These include the following:
Brigham Young University: East Asia Consortium
Columbia University: East Asian National Resource Center
Cornell University: East Asia Program
Duke University: Asian/Pacific Studies Institute
Georgetown University: Georgetown East Asia Center
Harvard University: Harvard University Asia Center
Indiana University-Bloomington: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
Michigan State University: Asian Studies Center
Ohio State University: East Asian Studies Center
Stanford University: Stanford East Asia Center
University of California-Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies
University of California-Los Angeles: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Hawaii at Manoa: East Asian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
University of Kansas: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: East Asia National Resource Center
University of Oregon: Oregon East Asia Center
University of Pennsylvania: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Southern California: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Utah: East Asia Consortium
University of Virginia: Virginia East Asia Center
University of Washington: East Asia Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Center for East Asian Studies
Yale University: Council on East Asian Studies</p>
<p>Cornell’s FALCON program in Chinese is highly regarded. Cornell gives only need-based aid, wjhich may or may not be what you are looking for. In general, if you require a “full ride” merit scholarship you will need to be considerably superior to the school’s regular applicants, which will probably rule out the most selective schools on your list, e.g., Johns Hopkins, Duke, or Georgetown.</p>
<p>I am a high school junior from a rural public school in Mississippi and my parents won’t take out loans, so Ole Miss is probably where I’ll go, but I have a 33 on the ACT from this December and a 2060/1410 on the SAT from last December (Math is my weakness; I’ve got a 35 on all parts but math). For MS, my 211 PSAT will most likely get me a National Merit Finalist spot, and I’ve participated in mission trips to Honduras, MS Governor’s School, Lott Leadership Institute (at Ole Miss), Star Talk (a Chinese intensive at Ole Miss), and I’ve talked to my counselor about Girls’ State, so I’ll probably do that. I’m filling out the forms for TASP, but I have no illusions that I’ll get in. With a 4.0 unweighted gpa, I will most likely be valedictorian; I’m taking the highest level of courses my school offers, and I will have had two years of Spanish and two years of German by the time I graduate. Along with cheerleading and officer positions in several school clubs, including National Honor Society and Student Council, I also volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a local Women’s Shelter, Meals on Wheels (with my church youth group) and our homeless kitchen. I also dance and cheer for my dance studio for nearly fifteen years, sing in the area youth chorus and perform at our community theater. I do plan on trying for a year in Germany with CBYX as well before I start college. What I do and have achieved is fantastic for my area, but again, I have no illusions that it sets me apart nationally enough to get a full ride at a school like Georgetown, especially as teenagers in more populated areas have more resources and opportunities. </p>
<p>I’m really interested in neuropsychology (I am fascinated by the physical evidence available with fMRI), international studies, public policy and politics, economics, cultural and linguistic anthropology, and languages. I’d like to be a humanitarian for an NGO or the UN working with children’s rights and women’s rights, but I also like the idea of being a neuropsychologist. I want to improve people’s lives. </p>
<p>I would love Georgetown and Princeton, but sometimes I feel that I am financially limited to Ole Miss; yet I want more, and I want to know that wherever I go, I will be prepared to step up to a higher tiered graduate school. </p>
<p>So of these schools, and given that I will probably take the ACT and SAT again, which schools should I most definitely apply to?</p>
<p>KALee, your latest post adds a good deal more information to your original post and also indicates your interests in other areas of study. I suggest that you re-post this as a new thread, rather than under your original thread (possibly under “college search & selection”), as you’ll probably get more responses.</p>