Hi
I’m an art history and philosophy geek. Love literature. Love French. Do some computer programming. I love small liberal arts environment, and enjoy quirky, non-mainstream friends.
Accepted to:
UCLA (classes will be too large for me?),
McGill (classes too large? People too mainstream?),
Emory (slightly leaning towards Emory but do they have good humanities programs? Concerned with location),
Reed (my fave so far, but concerned with drugs culture and unemployment after graduation),
Boston College (too mainstream?),
Bryn Mawr (too traditional? Too feminist?).
Waitlisted by:
UC Berkeley (eh)
Cornell (would love it; but is it too preppy?)
Middlebury (don’t know much about besides language programs)
Haverford (love it; chances of getting off waitlist?)
Wellesley (not considering)
Basically I’m stuck between Reed, Emory, and (hopefully) Haverford or Cornell. Which one among the four?
Thoughts?
Why not BMC? It has a superb Art History department, you can take any and all philosophy classes you want at H’ford (a stronger dept, I believe, than BMC’s); it certainly scores on the quirky, non-mainstream front. 20 minute train ride from Philly, 2 hours from NYC, very well-regarded by employers, a strong, supportive alumni network. Seems to meet your requirements/preferences.
I can only speak to Emory. The school has an excellent programs in art history, philosophy, literature, and French and is beefing up their CS offerings. The on campus [Carlos Museum of Art](http://www.carlos.emory.edu/) is not only an excellent resource but also employs plenty of undergraduates.
As far as whether Emory has good humanities programs, it does, and the campus culture is widely supportive of such endeavors. What about the location concerns you?
Emory would certainly be a great fit. Can you visit?
Otherwise, Bryn Mawr would likely fit you best.
Your best odds of getting off the WL is if you have one favorite and your parents can pay full costs out of pocket for that one and the college knows it.
@whenhen @MYOS1634 Thanks yea I’m visiting Emory in two weeks so I’ll find out. But @Midwestmomofboys I’ve visited BMC and Haverford, and BMC gave me a feeling as though their academics does not appear to be as strong as Haverford or Reed; while I think I want to find a school that fits me the most, I also want an environment that would most expose me to academic challenges.
And I don’t qualify for Financial Aid so that doesn’t play as a factor.
What about Reed?
to the OP – BMC is extremely rigorous, and some would say, academically more demanding than H’ford ( a BMC grad myself, I did most of my course work at H’ford and identified more as a “Ford” than as a BMC grad). BMC is a superb education, and there are some amazing profs there. If it seemed “lighter weight” than Hford or other schools, I suspect it was because students were not wearing their brilliance on their sleeves. My classmates were straight out unbelievable students and people, and reading my alum magazine, BMC students still are today.
BMC has certain departments that are superb, as does Hford, and students can take advantage of the departments on each campus. BMC is known for Art History, Archaeology, Anthro, English; sciences are probably equally strong at each school; H’ford Music, Philosophy, and Studio Art were stronger than at BMC. Poli Sci could go either way, and I am guessing that Econ perhaps stronger at Hford.
The thing is, students at BMC (and H’ford) do not compete with each other, and therefore, it is not an overtly competitive community, which might be perceived as a less “rigorous” environment. H’ford is perceived to be a “better” school largely because it is now co-ed and gets more applications, and therefore, rejects more students. The academics themselves, are really not distinguishable between the two schools, in my opinion, as a former Bi-Co community member. A BMC degree will get you anywhere you want to go, and challenge you along the way.
But again, as between Emory and BMC, it is a question of fit. Enjoy your visits, you will have a wonderful experience wherever you choose, there really are no “bad” choices there.
Why would a Reed philosophy degree leave you unemployed, whereas a philosophy degree from any of the others lead to a different outcome? Some weird misconceptions here.
Right, any philosophy degree will leave you unemployed. Kidding but couldn’t pass up that softball.
I agree that you should seriously consider Bryn Mawr. You can even do your major at Haverford instead of Bryn Mawr if you choose. BM’s Art History is one of the better Art History departments in the country, the French department is strong, and take a look at the Bi-Co Comparative Literature major.
I agree with the suggestions of Bryn Mawr, as it seems strongest in what you are interested in. They’re pretty well known for their art history classes and you can take a great number of classes at Haverford, if you like. I’m not sure what you mean by “too feminist” - it is a women’s college, so the idea that women should be equal to men is pervasive throughout the curriculum and the atmosphere. I’m sure there are some militant activists at BMC but they exist at every women’s college (and, indeed, every college in general). If you don’t want to get involved in that scene, you don’t really have to. BMC also has a gorgeous campus!
Reed’s a good choice, too; I’m not sure why you are more worried about unemployment from there as it’s a well-respected LAC. Emory would also be a good fit - a little bigger than your average LAC but strong in the areas you contemplate. Yes, it has strengths in the humanities - it has a top 30ish doctoral program in philosophy, a top 20ish doctoral program in art history and a top 15ish program in French. Although they’re not perfectly correlated with undergraduate program quality, you at least know that you will have top professors putting out scholarship and acting as leaders in their respective fields.
Thanks guys for all the helpful comments! Ok to clarify about that unemployment thing, I guess I’m not sure if I’m going to grad school or straight to work after college, and thus fear if I decide to work instead of getting a PhD while at Reed, then it’s gonna be tough since the college is more known amongst grad schools and not amongst employers.
But honestly I’m a nerd I am super idealistic I just want to study all day and I’m very quirky and weird. So I thought my personality fits at Reed.
I see what your saying about Bryn Mawr I like it too. But i might not like the all girl thing. They offered me scholarship money though. Lol.
I would pick Reed or Bryn Mawr, given how you’ve described your interests and personality. Speaking just personally, I would pick Reed.
If you can visit them, pay attention to the vibe on campus. We know a kid who left Reed because they found it intensely competitive among students, a pressure-cooker kind of environment, and that is not what they wanted.
Again, great choices, congrats!
Hey guys thanks for all the helps. Good stuff. I’ll visit Reed and Emory soon. (Already seen BMC). Now my biggest concern is that as research universities, how would you rank Emory and McGill in terms of undergrad teaching? (E.g. Whether you actually get professors to teach you or just TAs, whether profs actually care about you, whether you can do research with profs which is huge at Haverford and Reed)
Mc Gill = 30,000 students, most classes are large lecture halls, not all have small discussions, profs don’t know your name or that you exist so no, they don’t care (unless you’re on the McDonald campus where classes are small and there’s more personal contact - but McDonald doesn’t have philosophy), and research with profs at the undergrad level is not as common as in the US but in philosophy I don’t know.