USC (California one, not South Carolina)
Oberlin has excellent Asian Studies particularly Chinese Studies and great abroad opportunities through Oberlin Shansi. http://www.shansi.org
My daughter will be an East Asian Studies major. Sheās not asian but has studied Japanese for 5 years now. The PNW schools (Lewis & Clark, Willamette & UW-Seattle) offer great East Asian programs. Willamette actually has a direct exchange program with Tokyo University & has Language-specific dorm options. Lewis & Clark/UW also offer a nice Middle Eastern program (Arabic). Also, University of San Francisco has a nice program. University of Wisconsin-Madison has a great East Asian program & even specific studies in Manga! My daughterās school rank was high, involved in Asian clubs/programs but SAT was above average but not high enough (90th percentile.) She has been accepted to Willamette, L&C, Univ.of SF & Wisco. Rejected from UW-Seattle (which was a shocker for us as that was her preferred school - but weāre OOS.) Weāre waiting on a few more. Look for schools with strong Asian Studies MAJORS. Youāll be surprised at how many only offer MINORS in Asian languages.
thank you for replying! can you compare my stats to your daughter if i post it on here? iāve also been looking at Lewis and Clark and so far it has been one of my top schools!
I donāt quite understand how all the āstatsā work. My daughter is in the top of her class & her GPA is above 4.0 (but I donāt know if itās weighted or unweighted.) Sheās in marching band & the VP of the Japanese Club & a couple of Asian Groups at school. All I know about her SAT is that she scored at the 90th percentile (Iāve got several kids all about the same age - so I really havenāt hovered over any of them.) I know she was above the target range for UW-Seattle - but was rejected (her guidance counselor told her to consider it a safety!!). She was really upset about that!! Apparently, UW-Seattle takes 85% in-state applicants & it didnāt help that 5 kids from her school applied there (only 1 of them made it.)
For my daughter, it may come down to a choice between L&C & Wisco. UW-Madison has a fantastic Asian studies program. Notably, sheās taken both Honors Japanese & Honors Spanish for 4 years. She gave up her āfreeā time that they give seniors to continue 2 languages & her AP courses. Willamette & L&C provided the MOST financial aid (really fantastic.) Wisco was Ok but nothing like the other 2 schools. I loved L&C campus. Willamette wasnāt as fancy but adequate & right across the street from the State house so thereās opportunity for political internships there. Willamette had a really nice indoor swimming pool & gym too.
There are all kinds of different opinions about these schools online. Your best bet is to visit, ask questions & decide for yourself - especially if you have a specific major in mind. We made appointments ahead of school visits to talk to people in the Asian Studies programs. You want to check out the study-abroad programs that the school offers. Some schools are very generic. But schools with a strong Asian Studies program will have better opportunities. Good luck!!
I hope this will help. My son is a rising senior who was applying for East Asian Studies with a particular interest in Japan. The various schools do have differences if you want to focus on Japan or Korea. Almost all have Chinese. For him, he wanted a close knit environment with access to professors and be in the north east. He ultimately chose Yale where he got in early. But he was also interested in Wesleyan, hamilton, Bates, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Amherst, Williams, Oberlin, University of Puget Sound, Pomona, Bowdoin, Brown and Colby. Other great options are Columbia, Princeton, Hopkins, Penn, Harvard. Georgetown is a great option but didnāt have much Japan focused classes. Good luck.