<p>
I should add this to my list of misconceptions. People don’t get in by slacking off, and they don’t stay in by slacking off. You’ll find people in the library Sunday through Thursday afternoon, and though they take Thursday through Saturday nights off, they’re back in the library early on Sunday. The main library is open 24 hours a day for a reason, and people take advantage of that.</p>
<p>If it helps, most graduates I know did amazingly well after graduation. Among my fellow classics majors, there’s someone at Brown for a PhD, someone headed to Harvard for a PhD after a stint at Oxford as a Beinecke scholar, someone at Stanford Law, someone at Yale Law, etc. </p>
<p>The mix of academics and fun is a reason many people choose Duke. The academics are very good, people pretty much get to where they want to go after graduation, and they have fun while getting there. </p>
<p>
I would also consider Williams and Amherst, which have the most generous financial aid for international students of any LACs. Possibly Swarthmore as well. Amherst might be of particular interest to you, as it’s in a consortium with U Mass, which is exceptionally strong in linguistics (i.e. stronger than any others on this thread) and is pretty good in psychology as well. If Ithaca seems remote to you, though, then neither Williams nor Amherst may be ideal.</p>