Help finding safety schools

<p>I have found some highly selective schools that I really like, such as Swarthmore and Stanford, but I'm having a harder time finding safety schools that meet my criteria. The problem is that I'd prefer to not go to a huge college, but I want to major in linguistics, and I have found that most liberal arts schools do not offer linguistics majors. So far my potential safety schools are Macalester and U of Hawaii. Can anyone help me come up with some more decent, not huge (around or less than 15,000 students) schools with acceptance rates of at least 40%? I like pretty much all regions of the US, so that's not an issue (but my favorite is the west). Also, I'd prefer colleges without huge Greek scenes (preferably less than 30% of the population). thanks so much!</p>

<p>suggest you also post this on the parents forum, where lots of knowledgeable college admissions veterans hang out.</p>

<p>It’s not a safety school but The College Of William & Mary has a linguistics major so definitely look there</p>

<p>I’m very set on small LACs and have linguistics as a secondary academic criteria. None of these are safeties, but look at Amherst, Grinnell, and Carleton. Mac is a bit too holistic and <50% acceptance rate to be a safety. Among small universities, consider Rochester, Rice, Brandeis.</p>

<p>Just saw the <15k criteria, which opens up a few more options. I’m sure you know that Penn has a fantastic ling program. I can’t think of any true safeties, though. Closest of the above list would be Mac, Rochester, and Bryn Mawr (didn’t mention earlier because I see from your history that it’s already on your radar). Look at the other Seven Sisters, if you haven’t already; although I can tell you right now that Vassar offers very little ling and no major or minor in it.</p>

<p>Second the suggestion to repost in Parents Forum, with a more descriptive subject line.</p>

<p>What do you mean by holistic? Yeah, i guess you’re right that mac is still pretty selective, but my college counselor i shouldn’t have a problem getting in. i’m definitely considering rice, but rice is pretty selective too, no? Rochester and Brandeis look promising :)</p>

<p>Amherst and Grinnell don’t have linguistics programs, do they? I’ve looked at pretty much all of the well-known LACs and found only a few that have linguistics majors :(</p>

<p>thanks for all the help!</p>

<p>If you’re a California resident, check out UC Santa Cruz. They have one of the top rated linguistic departments in the country, and it meets most of your other requirements.</p>

<p>Amherst has no official linguistics major, but it’s in a consortium with UMass-Amherst, which is renowned (at least at the grad level) for linguistics–you could conceivably design your own major if you’re willing to commute. Given the selectivity though, your reaches are probably better spent on other schools.</p>

<p>Grinnell has a linguistics “concentration” consisting of at least 8 courses, which in my mind is closer to a major than a minor.</p>

<p>Second UCSC if you are lucky enough to live in CA–its residential colleges have been cited as the most LAC-like of the UCs.</p>

<p>Ohh, I forgot that Amherst was part of that consortium…that’s great! I love Amherst for having an open curriculum, but was bummed that I couldn’t apply because of their lack of a linguistics program. But, yeah, it’s definitely not a safety school, haha. But I’m glad I can check it out now. How far of a commute would it be to U Mass? In the same vein, I can now consider Hampshire, Smith, and Mount Holyoke, as well.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I don’t live in California. Is it true that the UCs are really selective for out-of-staters? I live in Missouri…have any of you heard of Truman State University?</p>

<p>Truman State University is a really underrated but excellent school in Missouri. I might argue that it is a better place to go in Missouri than the University of Missouri!</p>

<p>Yup, I’ve heard the same thing. It actually looks like the perfect safety school for me- only 5,000 undergrads, guaranteed admission, strong academics, and the drive is only a few hours from home. Plus, you can’t beat that in-state tuition :)</p>

<p>yeah and since you’re guaranteed admission, you’ll probably end up with a very nice scholarship too!</p>

<p>:) and Missouri gives a scholarship of $2,000 per year called bright flight to students that get at least a 31 on the ACT and stay in Missouri for college. and there is a bill that is proposing to raise it to $4,000. not bad! But I have a question - does the college you attend affect graduate admissions? i.e., are you more likely to be accepted to a good grad school if you went to a highly selective undergrad school, like Stanford?</p>

<p>no you aren’t, if you do good at any college, you will be able to go to grad school, however some do say that it’s a bit easier if you go to a school like Stanford but it shouldn’t matter if you give your best effort at any school!</p>

<p>The question of undergrad school in grad admissions is a debate for the ages. Google CC’s archive for more opinions/information.</p>

<p>I, also, have heard good things about Truman State.</p>

<p>Hm…well if the quality if the undergrad school is a factor in grad admissions, I would say that that is pretty unfair. Plenty of brilliant, hardworking people go to state universities because of the affordability, proximity to home, and various other reasons.</p>

<p>^ It is indeed unfair–but from the school’s POV, one is more likely to find brilliant, hardworking people at the “elite” school than at the plebian state flagship. Some may also consider an elite education to be stronger than that of a state university with lower standards. I don’t necessarily agree, but there it is.</p>