Chance and match me please! Bowdoin/Wesleyan/Kenyon/Pomona for literature major? [3.95, 1590]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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To help brainstorm a list of schools that might interest you, I looked for schools that offered both a major in philosophy and Japanese (language and literature or studies), as those would be the most limiting majors you’re interested in. I’ve listed the number of students who receive a Bachelor’s degree in those fields in the most recent year of IPEDS data, per College Navigator. They also generally all had good numbers of English/creative writing majors, and more than a few also had good numbers in film studies or similar. (I personally find that look at the breakdown of majors gives a good sense of the academic interests of a student body.)

I developed most of this list before seeing your comments about Japanese and philosophy. I will say that foreign language majors are generally not about learning the language, but the literature, culture, films, etc, in the original language. So although you have native proficiency in Japanese, the advanced courses should be appropriate for your level (at least, the advanced foreign languages I took that used western characters were that way). So though you may not have an interest in majoring in Japanese, if you’d like the option to take advanced classes in Japanese apart from a year abroad, I still think these numbers are relevant.

As an FYI, here is what some of the schools on your current list look like:

The schools below are categorized by my very fallible guesses as to what your chances at these schools might be. I’m not entirely sure if the vibe of each one would match what you’re looking for, but I will let others speak to that. I will just have to put a plug in for St. Olaf, as if I had known about it when I was applying to high schools, it would have definitely been a strong contender for me. Also, midwestern schools tend to be more financially generous with merit aid than their brethren on the coasts, as there is simply less demand amongst students wanting to go to the midwest. It has absolutely no reflection on their academic quality, but saving money is always a nice side benefit.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

Likely (60-79+%)

  • St. Olaf (MN): About 3k undergrads and there have been many reports on CC of visitors who loved how collegial and intellectually curious the student body is here. 6 Japanese majors (and a focus on foreign languages generally), 12 philosophy majors, and its College Navigator page. It has cross-registration with neighboring Carleton, 1 mile away.

  • Whitman (WA): About 1600 undergrads, 0 Japanese majors (though a foreign language focus generally), 12 philosophy majors, and its College Navigator page

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Macalester (MN): About 2200 undergrads, 4 Japanese majors (with a focus on foreign languages generally), 10 philosophy majors, and its College Navigator page

Lower Probability (20-39%)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Hamilton (NY): About 2100 undergrads, 0 Japanese majors, 11 philosophy majors. A very open curriculum, which might appeal to you. Its College Navigator page.

  • Middlebury (VT): About 2900 undergrads, 4 Japanese majors (with a focus on foreign languages generally), 5 philosophy majors, and its College Navigator page

  • Swarthmore (PA ): About 1700 undergrads, 1 Japanese major, 10 philosophy majors

  • Williams (MA): About 2200 undergrads, 2 Japanese majors, 6 philosophy majors, and its College Navigator page

Edited to add Bates

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