Best top colleges for History and English

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm currently a freshman student at a top university but am unhappy there and want to transfer out. I will only say that its strengths and reputation lies in the sciences and engineering and that I've found that my love and passions lie in the humanities - specifically, History and English.</p>

<p>So far, I have Yale on my list, but I need some more attainable universities in terms of transfer acceptance rates. What are the best top colleges for a student who wants to study History and English? I am also just in general open to humanities as well. </p>

<p>I had made a big mistake of thinking I could just be a pre-med and "study my way" through science and math, typically my weaknesses; I now heavily regret it and want to transfer out as soon as possible. I want to study the things I love and what I'm passionate about - for those of you who are undecided majors or high school students, I cannot emphasize this enough. Please study what you love, or else you'll really be unhappy and feel burned out sooner or later. Or at least, that was my unfortunate experience.</p>

<p>Out of the top 20 schools in the nation (and keep in mind they must accept transfers, so obviously not Harvard or Princeton), which schools are the best to study the humanities?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Have you given Johns Hopkins some consideration? JHU has top 10 English and top 10 History programs according to US News as well as the best undergraduate Creative Writing/Writing Seminars program in America. </p>

<p>Hopkins is also a good place for premeds as well because the academic health care center which includes the medical school and the Johns Hopkins hospital is world renown… so plenty of research opportunities for students considering premed.</p>

3

<p>jeffersonian> What area of history are you interested in studying? Some departments are stronger in certain areas.</p>

4

<p>Cal, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, JHU, Michigan and UVa are all very strong in the Humanities.</p>

5

<p>Good point by Calbear. The OP must decide what world region or culture interests him/her the most because different colleges have different strenghts. Columbia, for example, has long been strong European history, as well as in American urban history and in modern American history and politics. And the East Asia House was a fixture on campus for decades.</p>

6

<p>Based on your screen name, I’d say UVa.</p>

7

<p>Does it have to be a University? How about an LAC? do you care about where it is located?</p>

8

<p>I’m having extreme difficulty thinking of a top school other than MIT or Caltech that isn’t at least decent in history and English (and even they’re not terrible). It’s like asking which top schools have good libraries.</p>

<p>merepoule is on the right track. Are you only transferring for academics? If not, what don’t you like in your school and/or are you looking for? Do you care about size, setting, or cost?</p>

9

<p>Brown, Columbia, John Hopkins. Have you also considered smaller LACs? Middlebury, Williams, etc. Good Luck! :)</p>

10

<p>When it comes to most fields of History, major departments are strong across the board. According to the USNWR:</p>

<p>AFRICAN HISTORY:

  1. Northwestern University
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. University of California-Los Angeles
  4. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  5. Yale University
  6. Johns Hopkins University
  7. Stanford University
  8. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
  9. Emory University
  10. Indiana University-Bloomington</p>

<p>AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY:

  1. Yale University
  2. Columbia University
  3. University of Califrnia-Berkeley
  4. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
  5. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  6. Duke University
  7. Harvard University
  8. New York University
  9. Princeton University
  10. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</p>

<p>ASIAN HISTORY:

  1. University of California-Berkeley
  2. Harvard University
  3. Yale University
  4. University of California-Los Angeles
  5. Columbia University
  6. University of Chicago
  7. Princeton University
  8. Stanford University
  9. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  10. University of California-San Diego</p>

<p>CULTURAL HISTORY:

  1. University of California-Berkeley
  2. Yale University
  3. University of Chicago
  4. Princeton University
  5. University of Michigan-Ann arbor
  6. New York University
  7. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
  8. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  9. Harvard University
  10. University of California-Los Angeles</p>

<p>EUROPEAN HISTORY:

  1. Princeton University
  2. Yale University
  3. University of California-Berkeley
  4. University of Chicago
  5. Harvard University
  6. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  7. Columbia University
  8. Stanford University
  9. University of California-Los Angeles
  10. Johns Hopkins University
  11. University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>

<p>HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY:

  1. Harvard University
  2. University of California-Berkeley
  3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  4. University of California-Los Angeles
  5. Yale University
  6. Northwestern University
  7. Princeton University
  8. University of Chicago
  9. Columbia University
  10. New York University</p>

<p>LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY:

  1. University of Texas-Austin
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. Yale University
  4. University of California-Berkeley
  5. University of California-Los Angeles
  6. University of Chicago
  7. University of California-San Diego
  8. Harvard University
  9. Duke University
  10. Indiana University-Bloomington</p>

<p>MODERN US HISTORY:

  1. Yale University
  2. Columbia University
  3. University of California-Berkeley
  4. Harvard University
  5. Princeton University
  6. Stanford University
  7. University of Pennsylvania
  8. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  9. University of Chicago
  10. University of Nort Carolina-Chapel Hill</p>

<p>US COLONIAL HISTORY:

  1. Harvard University
  2. Yale University
  3. University of Pennsylvania
  4. College of William and Mary
  5. Johns Hopkins University
  6. Princeton University
  7. University of Virginia
  8. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  9. Univesity of California-Berkeley
  10. Cornell University
  11. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill</p>

<p>WOMEN’S HISTORY:

  1. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  2. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
  3. Yale University
  4. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  5. University of California-Los Angeles
  6. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  7. University of Pennsylvania
  8. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
  9. Columbia University
  10. University of California-Berkeley</p>

<p>As you can see, some History departments, such as Cal, Columbia, Harvard, JHU, Michigan, Princeton and Yale are strong across the board.</p>

11

<p>

Many of the LACs, including some of the seemingly less selective ones, can be extremely difficult to transfer into. A quick glimpse at the Common Data Sets (section D) shows that often under a dozen students are admitted. This shouldn’t deter the OP, but I wouldn’t say they’re necessarily “more attainable,” which is what (s)he is looking for.</p>

<p>

I wouldn’t say Jeffersonian “must” do anything of the sort. The OP has only been in college for one semester and apparently spent that studying science/math. “Open to humanities as well” signifies a lack of specified interest in a subfield, which is perfectly reasonable. One really doesn’t get to specialize too much at the undergraduate level anyway, since most good history majors have a rigid set of distribution requirements, both chronological and geographical.</p>

12

<p>IBclass06> I agree up to a point. As a freshman Jeffersonian doesn’t absolutely need to select an area of study. But when declaring the major he/she will need to choose one. Knowing a department’s strengths is somewhat important (more so if he/she is considering graduate work in the field). I chose to come to Cal because of the Center for British Studies and the strong faculty background in British History. I think that the level of specialization depends on the program.</p>

13

<p>William & Mary is an obvious choice, esp for a Jeffersonian</p>