Which schools would you suggest for majoring in French and a possible minor in economics or business, if student has solid GPA/SAT? What extracurriculars are recommended? He is a sophomore and head of school’s French club.
These colleges would be exceptional for his interests, as would some others, including some less selective ones, from the linked analysis:
Middlebury
Williams
Claremont McKenna
Hamilton
Wesleyan
Colgate
Thanks for the link. He isn’t against LAC’s but prefers bigger universities, not huge but not LAC size.
This analysis includes schools across all size ranges (data not normalized for department size):
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html
Many of these colleges will have excellent French offerings.
Perhaps one in a place where there are more out-of-class opportunities to practice use of French, like in Quebec or parts of Louisiana?
What EC’s do you recommend to align a candidate with top economics programs?
High school extracurriculars should be what he enjoys and does well in.
Will s/he be already proficient in French? If so McGill University n Montréal.
Look at schools with a good foreign study program. Nothing helps mastering a language like immersing yourself in it.
@ucbalumnus I agree but if he knows what are the recommended EC’s for his intended major, he can pick and experience one. Of course, he’ll drop it if it’s not engaging and interesting.
For business, a paid job.
Seriously…recommended EC’s?
He should do ECs that are of interest to HIM.
I know 4 French majors who have gone on to very successful careers.
1 French and German major. Started at Middlebury, transferred to Wisconsin, studied abroad for a year in Germany but went to France a lot. First job was as a receptionist at a French owned business, moved up to be a secretary, became a landman, moved on to law school. Speaking French got her a start.
2 French major. U Wyoming. Never traveled to France, never used the language, just liked it.
3 Started at Bowdoin, transferred to Wesleyan (with a few semesters at a SUNY). Also started as a receptionist answering phones in French. Continued to work at law firms but no longer uses French.
4 Started at U of Chicago. Hated it (and I don't know if French was her major there). Attended Metro State part time for years. Started at a French owned telecommunications company using French. Got a job at a US telecommunication company, worked her way to the top.
So my opinion? Doesn’t matter. They all speak French. Only one studied abroad, and not in France.
It may matter what it is you want to do with French. Do you see it as a step toward a career or are you like #2 above and just like it?
McGill is the best of those recommended so far. If you are going to learn French as a major, learn it where they actually speak it. Unless, of course, you can afford to go to school in France. (not just a semester abroad, actually go there for your degree)
If you just want to be a HS French teacher, it really matters less about where you go; but I would definitely plan to spend some time immersed in a French speaking culture.
French what? Linguistics? Literature? History? Philosophy?
French majors are usually very literature-centric. There may be strong pressure to study in France for at least a semester. So if your doesn’t want to spend 4 years in college/France reading French literature, critical theory and philosophy – all very much part of the intellectual culture in France reflected in the major – he may want to major in something else, and simply take French language/history classes for “fun.”
I fully concur with #10. ANY paid job. Even if he doesn’t need the money. He gets to interact with adults/peers/customers. He gets to see what motivates his peers who are also earning low wages. He gets to see why/how his management/corporation does what it does.
As a former French major who ended up in an internet-related career that didn’t exist when I went to college 25+ years ago, I have a few comments. First, I wouldn’t worry about EC’s, though I agree that a job would be a great choice.
I agree with katliamom that French is usually a literature-centric major, at least at the upper levels, so if that doesn’t appeal to your son, French may not be the right choice whether or not he decides to study abroad. If your son later takes AP Lit and hates it, that would be a red flag. Study abroad is usually expected for majors, and I highly recommend it. I think only one French major at my school did not do the year abroad and he had a double major that would have made it difficult. IMHO a full year is important for language mastery.
Look at the officially sanctioned study abroad options in France and other French speaking countries for the schools you are considering. Spend some time in the Study Abroad forum at CC if you have not already. The school I attended had two programs at the time, one more traditional and one that had a business focus that resulted in a business minor. The latter type might be very appealing to your son, but was less common at the time. If you know you are likely to be studying abroad I strongly recommend digging into that information before you apply and calling study abroad offices if you have questions, because “fit” for year abroad may be important, too, and staying with your own school’s officially sanctioned year abroad programs makes credits, logistics, financial aid, etc. much, much simpler. Look at the cities where the programs are located, the course of study, whether or not some or all the coursework and living environment would be with French university students or just with other Americans. Mine had a mix, and my friendships with French students were all made in the classes that were not just for Americans or in the dorms. At the time there were many study abroad programs (not the ones at my school) that were not considered very rigorous - one in Aix-en-Provence was known colloquially as “Aix-en-Vacances.” If your son plans to double major make sure that a year away from campus would be manageable, and whether or not the program has classes that would satisfy the home university’s gen ed requirements. Keeping academic advisors aware of the intention to study abroad is very important to be sure all graduation requirements are met.
One of my best friends from my year abroad program worked for a while and later ended up getting an MBA or some sort of international business degree at McGill, another did a similar masters degree at a French university then worked in Paris for a number of years before settling in London. Another got her teaching certificate after a few years in the work world and is teaching French. As is typical of liberal arts majors, the careers and grad programs my year abroad group went into were all over the map, but I think we can all say that the experience studying abroad helped us in our future careers. The personal growth, the cultural awareness and empathy and flexibility you develop, the perspective on your own culture – all are valuable no matter what your career goals may be.
FYI I entered college as an undecided major and if you had told me in HS that I was going to spend a year abroad I would have been shocked (I was very shy and risk-averse in HS). I didn’t even take French senior year of HS because the teacher was terrible. Young people change a LOT in college and interests evolve and can be influenced by one or more great professors, as it was in my case. Your son is a sophomore so he may change his mind a few times even before applying to colleges, and that’s ok.
Thanks @classicalsaxmom Thank you all for informative and helpful replies. This question was for my nephew but as my son is also interested in study abroad and double major, some of it applies to him as well.
This source offers a brief description of some top study abroad programs:
http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/best-study-abroad-programs/
Because language immersion programs are the key to proficiency, I would focus on schools that make that easy. Many schools have their own programs (i.e., Tufts in Tailloires). If the foreign service is of possible interest, you may want to look at schools that offer study abroad in Africa – a different French language experience.
At this point, though, with a sophomore with this interest, I would think that just exploring this interest, whether through travel, camp, service, film, etc. would suffice.