I am a rising senior from the Northeast with an interest to pursue studies in philosophy, English, and Latin in college. For a good while, I have been pretty set on College of the Holy Cross for a variety of reasons. 1) Superb humanities programs 2) good social life 3) the campus is beautiful and 4) it is three hours from my home-state, New Jersey. However, having attended a summer humanities program through the University of Dallas, I am beginning to have second thoughts about my college search. Though I am not interested in the University of Dallas, I have made strong friendships and met people who think differently than I do. I understand that wherever I go I will encounter people who are different from me, but in my experience, most people in the Northeast are pretty similar in the sense that the Northeast is considered to be by many the rudest place in America. Of course, you can go all over the place just in New Jersey and find people with radically different beliefs–I know that–but something that I have not experienced. I mentioned that I wanted to look at Holy Cross, but I failed to mention what other schools I’m interested in. So far, I plan on applying to Saint Anselm College and Saint Michael’s College (I have family who went to both schools), Notre Dame, Princeton, Boston College, and Holy Cross. I am a high-achieving student, but selectivity is not my concern. Thank you for your time, reader.
Characteristics you have attributed to the Northeast may pertain as much to the characteristics of large urban areas in general. Even in the Northeast, areas offset by over about three hours from major cities will often exibit a different set of demographic and social attributes when compared to areas within the urban corridor aligned with cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Among other factors, you may want to consider aspects related to distance from large cities in your college search.
Holy Cross is a great choice for you. Its humanities program is as strong as anywhere. I think you would find a diversity of viewpoints there, and an engaged and challenging intellectual environment. Worcester is very rapidly becoming a terrific place to live.
Also, check out the Wake the Vote program at Wake Forest. It really encourages people to engage with others who have different points of view, which is crucial to the future of our republic.
Since you want to see and meet people outside your area, you might want to look in to the study abroad programs offered by different colleges. It sounds like you might enjoy living and studying overseas for a semester.
Listen to yourself - you have all the answers you need. I read your words as if I was watching a flower blossom through time-lapse photography. You are coming of age, learning about yourself, growing and determining what you want in life. Keep going! Good for you! This is what college and your late teens/twenties are all about! Enjoy!
So far all the colleges on your list (except for Princeton) are religiously affiliated. That’s probably going to be the biggest obstacle to your meeting a diverse group of people in college. Sectarian colleges tend to be more homogenous. If Holy Cross appeals to you, take a look at the NESCAC schools and colleges like Colgate, Bucknell, Dickinson, and Lafayette. They’re similar in size and feel but not affiliated with any religious body and more likely to draw a wider variety of students. If you’re willing to look in the Midwest, try Kenyon, Denison, and College of Wooster in Ohio, Northwestern in Illinois (similar to Notre Dame and BC in size and rah rah feel)…there are a lot of schools that can offer you a similar environment with greater diversity.
You may want to include Middlebury and Georgetown for reaches, perhaps UScranton and St John’s (MN) for safeties.
You would probably be interested in St Olaf - not Catholic, but lots of Catholics attend; *Minnesota nice" and smart, laid back students; I’ve been told students the classics department win competitions and that’s where the author of the main Greek text used to teach/teaches, with a serious, comprehensive classics program; its religion department is excellent with a consistent record of students admitted to Ivy league divinity schools and philosophy programs; its Sustained Dialogue and Great Conversation programs should appeal to you, as well as the Institute for Freedom and Community. It’s an academic match for someone aiming for Notre Dame and you’d get a boost for geographical diversity, but make sure to fill out the Request info form and express interest.
If you are really interested in stretching your boundaries, look into Thomas Aquinas College in CA.
For a Southern school option, I’ve heard that Rhodes has a good Classics department.
What is it about U of Dallas that you did not like?
As far as rude Northeasterners, I think that reputation is derived in part from the big cities and their fast pace. I don’t think that extends to New England towns.
Check out Davidson in North Carolina; they have a great Classics department. Also, if you really want something different, what about a UK school (St. Andrews, Edinburgh) or Trinity Dublin?
I do not want to go too far from my family, so a relatively short plane ride is the maximum for me. With that being said, it is unlikely that I will go far from my home; however, I also understand that it may be harder for me to find people that are from different areas throughout the country.
The right college for you sounds like one that brings in students from around the country and world. You might find colleges like this very close to home. That said, I think St. Olaf is a great suggestion…Macalester is another Minnesota school which you might love.
I’d choosing a group of schools that are strong in your area of interests that meets your geographic and financial needs. Many of the Catholic/Jesuit colleges are excellent for English and strong in Latin. Holy Cross sounds like a good option. Other Jesuit schools such as BC, Gtown, Fordham (there are a number of others) might work as well.
You should consider taking a semester or even a year abroad if are looking to broaden your horizons.
A large proportion of the people from a school like College of the Holy Cross (or Boston College, or Princeton) are likely to be from other regions besides the Northeast. Colleges like that tend to attract students from all over the country and world, although the Northeast will be overrepresented for a variety of reasons.
I also would not agree that most people within the Northeast are similar. There’s a shared culture, for sure, that’s different from other regions of the U.S. - but the Northeastern U.S. is one of the most diverse places in the world. Hundreds of languages spoken, hundreds of countries represented (in both immigration and family ancestry), lots of different view points and cultural backgrounds and religions and everything, You can certainly find a lot of diversity there - I mean, as you mentioned, you can even find it in NJ (which has very poor urban areas, like Camden and Newark, and also very wealthy areas, like Princeton, just to start). I mean, if you are 3 hours to Worcester then you must live in north Jersey relatively close to NYC, which may be the most diverse place on earth. I suspect it’s simply that you may live in a fairly homogeneous town in NJ.
You may also be interested in Brandeis. It’s a selective school with strong humanities in a very diverse city.
As a New Jersey resident, why not Rutgers?
Rutgers has highly respected philosophy and English departments, as well as good classics and Latin offerings.
Rutgers has greater diversity of student backgrounds than all of the colleges you mentioned in the original post. For example, it has 31% of undergraduates with Pell grants (proxy for lower ~40% family income), while the others have 10-15% except for Dallas at 22%. Rutgers is also more racially/ethnically diverse than the colleges you mentioned in the original post (largest group is 40%; Princeton’s largest group is 43%, but all of the others 61-88% of the largest group). As noted above, most of your list is religious colleges, which tend to have students skewed toward that religion, while Rutgers is likely to be more diverse in terms of student religious backgrounds. In addition, even less common types of student backgrounds may be more findable and visible at Rutgers, simply because it is large.
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ can show you a college’s Pell grant percentage and racial/ethnic distribution.
Holy Cross would be a great fit for you. There is a shared sense of community, but it is not as monolithic as you may perceive it to be. Academically, for your interests, it is an excellent choice.