Sooo…my S has 7 schools on his short list–all private LACs out of state. In fact, none of these schools are even in the south (we are in Texas). I keep thinking he should have a state school on his list as a safety, but NONE offer a major in Japanese or East Asian Studies. A search on Princeton Review resulted in two colleges with East Asian major options in Texas: Austin College & Trinity. We’ve ruled out Austin due to its limited offerings in music. Ideally my S really wants to get out of the God & Guns culture of the south, so considering a school with a religious message directly in its name is concerning. Having said that, the one person I know who went there (a woman) married another woman after she graduated and seemed to have a lot of quirky, liberal friends. The reviews on studentsreview are not great, but I’m worried about my son’s chances at the schools on his list since 1 is a reach and the others are CTCL schools, which certainly enjoy a high degree of publicity and may be harder to get in to because of that? My son’s stats are good but not outstanding. His (new) SAT score is 1240 (with 680 on verbal)–so he’s weak in math. He homeschools while dual enrolled at the local community college where he currently has a 4.0 and will begin honors classes there this fall. Anyway–mostly seeking feedback on the culture at Trinity, and whether or not it truly offers an alternative environment to other Texas schools.
Ok, well looking at their website, it appears that what I saw on PR was a bit misleading. Unless the Japanese offerings are buried somewhere within International Relations, it looks like there is no major called East Asian Studies–but that you can major in Chinese, which is not S’s main interest. Thus, I wish I could delete my post but that does not appear to be possible. How frustrating. Well perhaps this will live here for people who are seriously considering Trinity, but have reservations for some of the same reasons.
I know nothing about Trinity, but I have spent over a yr researching universities’ foreign language and global/international studies/Econ programs.
A few thoughts–
Does he have a strong Japanese background already?
Does he have a minor or double major in mind?
Have you investigated the study abroad options?
My dd wants to continue her progress in French and Russian. She is currently beyond UG graduation objectives in French and as a 12th grader, she is ready for 300 (or higher?? Not positive) level Russian classes. Finding Russian programs that we can afford has left her with a very small pool of schools. She has been in contact with numerous depts and at least 2 schools with only minors in Russian will meet her level better than some with it as a major.
The study abroad opportunities also widely vary. There are some schools with Russian as a major that don’t have any semester or yr long abroad programs. Students have to make sure credits will transfer back. Some schools have excellent study abroad programs with all of those details already worked out.
Most foreign language majors need to plan at least 1-2 semesters abroad. He might find that minoring in Japanese with a yr abroad in Japan and majoring in something else will actually be a better fit than limiting himself to only looking at schools with Japanese majors.
For my dd, the key has been to find depts willing to work with her if she does not fit their regular student profile. Some depts’ responses are fabulous. Others make me cringe. Better to know now before she applies!
Trinity U offers Chinese, Chinese Studies, International Business and International Studies for full majors. It has a host of minors.
It is not a “religious” school, and is not formerly affiliated with any church. Like most colleges in the US, more liberal than the overall population.
If your S remains interested, recommend a visit. Terrific campus, great facilities, and they are generous with merit and financial aid since they have a huge endowment for their size.
Good luck!