Helping my Daughter to Target the right Schools and be Happy

College Search & Selection
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<p>I am helping my wonderful daughter determine what colleges she should visit and apply to and would welcome anyone's advice and perspective. She is currently a public high school junior, and has expressed these interests:</p>

<p>-- Wants to study foreign language (French/Spanish, perhaps Italian) She has taken French and Spanish in high school and has done extremely well in both. (voted outstanding French student in her class the last two years running…we are very proud.)
-- She also has interest in music and would look to take some courses, perhaps a minor. She takes lessons in guitar, violin and piano. She is not necessarily looking for competitive performance, more a love of music and opportuniteis to continue lessons and playing; to take some theory course and electives, and maybe perform in a non-conpetitive way.
-- Based on the language and music type interest, we envision her in a liberal arts type school.
-- She is a straight A student; still awaiting PSAT results.
-- And based on our visits thus far, she wants a CITY setting, not rural. She has interest in city culture, and is probably more inclined towards a more diverse cross-section of students.
-- Study abroad opportunities are a must.</p>

<p>We reside in Massachusetts, and thus far have visited Boston University (she liked the city setting and wide array of course offerings); We also visited Boston College (So tough to get into), Providence College, Stonehill, University of Rhode Island, and Assumption in Worcester, MA. </p>

<p>My questions are --
1. Any thoughts on the Boston University offerings in her area of interest?
2. She has visited New York city a few times and loved it, and therefore she wants to visit colleges in New York city. Any thoughts on NYU? Wagner(Staten Island)?, Columbia? Fordham? Any others we may be overlooking?
3. Any other recomendations for schools in city settings, such as Boston, NY, D.C. ? Is Georgetown a good one? Fairfield?
4. For Canada, McGill University or Univ of Quebec?
5. If she agrees we may visit Western Mass. - UMASS Amherst? Amherst College?
6 If she were to consider going to college all four years in Europe, any suggestions? "La Sorbonne" was mentioned to me.
7. I am also trying to discern what careers that the study of foreign langauage could lead her to. So far, I am aware of the following: International Business and Business Relations(I understand the linguistics needs are more towards Asian languages); Medicine(researchers; technicians); IT - Engineers (including the study of internationalization; Law(Spanish); Publishing(Spanish and French); Public Relatons(Spanish); Interpreters; Tech Writers/Editors; Import/Export; Sales and Marketing; Teaching.
Thanks very much.</p>

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<p>Take a look at Macalester College. Urban, in a great city, strong on languages and international relations.</p>

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<p>Macalester seems to have the features you mentioned. Liberal Arts college in St paul MN strong in languages and study abroad.</p>

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<p>Take a look at University of Rochester. While a university, it is small (4500 undergrads) and feels more like a LAC in its undergraduate teaching focus. In addition to its affiliation with the Eastman School of Music, the University has its own music department, which is pretty non-competitive. The University has an orchestra and many ensembles as student activities (for non-Eastman) students. Non-Eastman students can take private lessons with Eastman graduate students free of charge.</p>

<p>UR is also very strong in Romance and other languagues, and has a great study abroad program - students can even study abroad for an entire year.</p>

<p>It's also pretty good with merit aid.</p>

5

<p>Oliver, take a look at American University (located in an upscale neighborhood of Washington DC with easy access to the city), Goucher (Baltimore) and although not in the city, Dickinson in Pa is a good choice. Dickinson is supposed to be big in the study abroad area. Another school that also may be of interest is Muhlenberg (Allentown Pa). The only comment I can really make is about Fordham in general. I can honestly say that I have never heard anything bad about this school at all. Its a popular choice where we are and everyone that I have come in contact with raves about it. Hope this helped. Best of luck to your daughter.</p>

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<p>Fordham? Did someone say Fordham? LOL. </p>

<p>I have a daughter at Fordham. She is an all state musician who didnt want to major in music. She wanted to play in an Orchestra for FUN...not stress and competition. She excels in languages. She wants to be a lawyer and maybe work in the State Department or similar work.</p>

<p>Fordham was the PERFECT fit. She didnt apply to Georgetown....lots of reasons, but it wasnt scores that kept her away. Didnt apply to BC because it was just too far from home and too cold. Fordham was an Epiphany. We visited in April for the accepted students orientation before we had to make a final decision in May. We were sold on the visit! ANd we are not sorry we did. She is thriving socially and academically. Its very rigorous, but not overwhelming. Fordham kids are very tight. They stick together like glue. The foreign language department and history department at Fordham are AWESOME! Amazing profs...with Ivy League Pedigree. Its just a super school and there are many choices for dorms as well....just a great place to be.</p>

<p>To be fair you should also consider Villanova in Philadelphia and Loyola Md. in Baltimore. </p>

<p>But Fordham is where my heart is. I cant recommend the school any higher.</p>

<p>Does that help?</p>

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<p>If you want to come south...Furman is the place for you from what you describe. A very highly regarded music department that does NOT require you to be a music major to play in their orchestra. Its a rigorous school and HARD to get into because its so small. But its a very very good school on a beautiful campus with its own golf course.</p>

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<p>Oliver, I'd like to suggest that you approach your daughter's search from the fit/personality aspect.</p>

<p>Basically, ALL academically rigorous colleges offer language study. Some specialize in this area (Middlebury and Dickinson come to mind). Some have a wider range of choices in the more obscure languages. But, tor someone who wants to continue to hone her skills in commonly taught languages such as French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, just about any college would fill the bill.</p>

<p>Same goes for study abroad. ALL colleges send students overseas. Some have their own programs which also welcome students from other colleges. Some make it easier to gain credit. But you can tie into a good to great study abroad program at any college. Usually the college offers a list of accredited programs, typically hundreds of programs in dozens of countries.</p>

<p>So, the real question here is what type of college would fit your daughter's personality and what are reach/match/safety options within that general "type"?</p>

<p>There are plenty of urban based schools that would suit your daughter's needs. I think Macalester is an excellent suggestion and would add Barnard in New York, Beloit in Chicago.</p>

<p>If you do get her to the Amherst area be sure to take a look at Smith. And if she bends a bit on the no-rural rule, then see Williams as well -- excellent academics and one of the best music/arts programs among LACs.</p>

<p>Language proficiency is a stepping stone to more careers than I could begin to innumerate. Quite often language is pursued in tandem with another area of interest, economics, biology, art history or in your daughter's case music. At this point I wouldn't worry about where she will end up career wise, but I would concentrate on guiding her to find a college where she would feel the most comfortable academically and socially. The career path will take a lot of twists and turns but kids do eventually find their way.</p>

<p>I for example, studied art history and lo and behold 35 years later I run an international business in Southeast Asia! I've never regretted the time spent studying art history though and use the perception and communication skills every day. </p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how she does.</p>

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<p>She sounds like the women my D knows at Barnard. Language dept's are good. Music opportunities abound/lessons at Manhattan School of Music or Juilliard both possible. So many concerts. Many native Spanish speakers in area.</p>

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<p>Good observations, Momrath, but Beloit is not in Chicago and it is most definitely not urban.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Beloit is not in Chicago and it is most definitely not urban.

[/quote]

My apologies. I must be thinking of another school. Where is Beloit, actually?</p>

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<p>^Beloit is located in Beloit, Wisconsin--from what I can recall when D1 was looking into it a couple of years ago, it's in kind of a suburban rural location...?</p>

<p>To the OP: Has she looked into Goucher? It's an LAC, located right outside of Baltimore, with a strong international focus and I believe that they feature both of the languages that your daughter is interested in studying. Also, they're very generous with merit aid. If your D is really set on an urban environment, a few other schools that come to mind are American University and George Washington University in Washington, DC, or University of Pittsburgh. (Admittedly, none of these last three are LAC's and AU is in more of a suburban/urban setting, but AU is a relatively small school, also with strong International Relations and Foreign Language programs.)</p>

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<p>Beloit is located in a small town in southern Wisconsin near the Ill border. It is very liberal--perhaps that is why it is often mistakenly called a suburban or urban campus</p>

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<p>Catfishin - That is certainly a strong endorsement of Fordham. Glad to hear your daughter is so happy there. I will have my duaghter check things out. </p>

<p>Is the Bronx location ok for you or your daughter? Any safety concerns at all? Thanks.</p>

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<p>I recommend Oberlin College and Lawrence University, both excellent LACs with adjoining music conservatories. Oberlin is in a small Ohio town about an hour southwest of Cleveland. Lawrence is in mid-sized Appleton, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee and southwest of Green Bay.</p>

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<p>while I agree with almost all of momrath's points, I would differ about being able to do study above from any school. Sure, its technically possible anywhere. But a school that routinely sends a significant number of kids abroad has the skids greased in many ways -- there are experienced people nearby (both staff and fellow students) to answer the innumberable questions that arise, they have the courses figured out so that you stay on track to graduate in 4 years with virtually any major, you don't have to run around trying to get approval for the courses you want to take abroad so you get credit for them, they have the housing (dorm, etc) arrangements for when you're gone and come back, etc.</p>

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<p>^^That's true, but so many schools these days encourage these programs that I don't think study abroad needs to be a big factor in the decision making. Schools with trimesters, and with other considerations here, UChicago comes to mind, make it easier go go abroad and still meet all departmental requirements.</p>

<p>If urban stops being an issue, Bates has a 4-4-1 calendar and the May term is often devoted to study abroad.</p>

<p>OP: My D has been thrilled with Barnard and its Morningside Heights neighborhood. Safety issues not a consideration. Always people out and about and milling around.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I would differ about being able to do study above from any school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Two separate issues, I think. One is that it's not necessary to study abroad at a program sponsored by your own college. Most programs accept kids from other schools. There are exceptions, like Smith's I believe, that fill up fast with their own students. And there are also school specific programs like Williams at Oxford. But at most colleges you'll have a choice of hundreds of programs that are accepted by your school.</p>

<p>Second, I've heard that some schools do make it more difficult to get away, not "officially" but by default by their course requirements, credit systems and financial aid rules. </p>

<p>I think rather than trying to identify the schools that encourage study abroad (because there are so many of them) it would be interesting to identify some of those schools that should be avoided.</p>

<p>Thanks for the Beloit information. I'm a Michigander and should know better.</p>

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<p>Locally you've overlooked Wheaton (half way between Boston & Providence). EVERYONE who goes there loves the school. Have her ask students how they like the schools she visits...</p>

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<p>Oh, she has been very encouraged to go abroad, even though she is an American Studies major. LOL. She is going to study in London; four American Studies courses. The little mole will find out what the Brits really think of us.</p>