<p>if you want a “global” focus which is a trendy thing to say and all schools claim to have , just go to college in brazil, mexico or armenia. if not go to college in the united states and get a practical degree , do a summer in england or spain . then when you are ready to enter the real world you can decide to try and get a job abroad.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your suggestions! We did a lot of research this weekend. I agree that most schools having a study-abroad program and it might make more sense to choose a well-balanced college in case he changes his major. </p>
<p>American University is on our radar, but I don’t think he will be able to get in with his grades, same with our state flagship school. McGill is interesting, but it is difficult to tell if he would be eligible for financial or merit aid. Dartmouth and Tufts would be a dream come true, but again, his grades aren’t up to par, plus my son is not a type-A personality, so I am not sure going to a highly competitive school would be the best for him.</p>
<p>My S1 will be an incoming soph at Tufts in Sept. It is NOT a competitive environment. Getting admitted to the school may be tough, but once you are there, the kids seem to be quite collaborative and not competitive.</p>
<p>He LOVES it there, and as you know, it, too has a very international, global focus, as does other schools.</p>
<p>^^Natalieisbored: He does have a double major…one being a language.</p>
<p>chocchipcookie, thank you for your info! Would you mind sharing your son’s stats that gained him admission to Tufts?</p>
<p>Randolph College–formerly RMWC in Virginia.</p>
<p>[Randolph</a> College - A Private Liberal Arts and Sciences College in Lynchburg, Virginia](<a href=“http://www.randolphcollege.edu/]Randolph”>http://www.randolphcollege.edu/)</p>
<p>I agree that Tufts doesn’t have a very competitive environment. Here are some admission stats from this uear’s incoming class (from [Accepted</a> Student Profile Tufts University Admissions Department](<a href=“http://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/accepted-student-profile/]Accepted”>Accepted Student Profile | Tufts Admissions))</p>
<p>Acceptance Rate 21%
Academic Profile of Enrolled Students
Mean Rank in Class (when available) Top 5%
Percent Ranked in Top 10% of Graduating Class 90%
SAT and ACT Test Score Ranges
Mid-Range for SAT I Critical Reading 670-760
Mid-Range for SAT I Math 680-760
Mid-Range for SAT I Writing 680-760
Mean ACT Composite 31</p>
<p>Hi Spritle:</p>
<p>He had a very high GPA. He had straight A’s from Kindergarten through high school, with the exception of a B- in AP Physics as a Junior. His SAT’s were just under 2200. His EC’s were impressive and I think his essays were quite strong…it’s really a crapshoot…there are many, many bright kids with similar stats that don’t make it into certain colleges for one reason or another…it depends on what the admissions office is looking for!</p>
<p>Maybe others can suggest colleges similar to Tufts/Dartmouth/Middlebury that would be good fits for your S. American sounds like a good one! Maybe GWU too, although that’s in the middle of the city…</p>
<p>spritle, my son got into Tufts with a B+/A- average at a school where that put him in the top 6%. (Big school with a lot of underperforming kids!) His CR score was 790, M was 680 or 690, and I think his best writing score was 690. His teachers loved him, he had decent varied ECs, tons of orchestra, literary magazine, state level medals in Science Olympiad, quirky hobbies (sold origami earrings). Wrote a great alternative history for his optional essay. We considered AU a safety for him. He really liked American and got a nice merit scholarship there.</p>
<p>Your state’s flagship is a great plan if he can get in. </p>
<p>If you are looking for a small school and he does not mind cold weather, Concordia Moorhead would be good to add to the list of schools to consider. Lots of study abroad and they run the well-known Concordia Language Villages and are unusually global for a quite small, quite easy to get into LAC. Moorhead is not as remote as it sounds; Fargo is a city and the greater Fargo Moorhead area has a number of colleges.</p>
<p>FWIW, I think he would be a candidate for merit aid there, too. “Approximately 80 incoming first-year students will be selected as Presidential Scholars, receiving an award totaling $64,000 over four years ($16,000/year). Approximately 160 additional incoming first-year students will be chosen as Faculty Scholars, receiving a four-year award of $60,000 ($15,000/year). Eligible students must have a cumulative (non-weighted) GPA of 3.80 AND a score of 26 or higher on the ACT, or a score of 1,770 or above on the SAT for either award.”</p>
<p>Okay, so Tufts is definitely out, as is our state flagship school (we live in Virginia). Son is a B+ student without spectacular ec’s and no hook. Thanks for your suggestions, still researching!</p>
<p>A few other schools - not northeast, but midwest. Earlham. Fabulous school. Admissions are less selective than some others that have been suggested (because of location and the self-selecting nature of the students.) Also, take a look at Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>While there are lots of liberal arts schools that offer study abroad, some that have been suggested have tough admittance standards, and others, although great schools really don’t emphasize international studies - all will have French.</p>
<p>McGill is an excellent option. Grades are important to get in, SATs less so, they aren’t interested in extra curriculars and by American standards, it’s cheap.</p>
<p>Oberlin, Macalester, Vassar, Bates (and I think Tufts) are hard to get into - perhaps if your son falls in love with one of them - have him apply as a reach. My daughter had similar interests but higher stats as she was looking a couple of years ago. She was waitlisted at several of the mentioned schools.</p>
<p>I would suggest looking into Lafayette in Pennsylvania, it has a great reputation, isn’t quite as hard to get into, and has an interesting Marquis scholarship. Although I hate US New and World Report, it could be handy to look at some of those good, but perhaps not as well-known schools that may fit the bill. </p>
<p>Arcadia and Augsburg College in MN both have extensive international programs (and they offer programs to students from other schools). My son, who went to Oberlin, went on a fabulous program sponsored by Augsburg. Those two schools are much easier to get into than many of the schools being discussed. I would look at schools in PA, Ohio and the midwest, because they aren’t on as many people’s radar.</p>
<p>My son is a Soph at Augsburg College and loves it. He is a German major, and is minoring in creative writing. He is not special needs, but is very strong in the arts and languages, and VERY weak in all things math and science. Augsburg accepted him when others would not, and I mean accepted in more ways than one. From the day of Freshman orientation we were made to feel welcome as an ‘Auggie Family’ into the Augsburg community. He made many friends the first week there, and many are international students. He plans to study abroad next year, as they encourage students to participate in their wonderful study abroad program.</p>
<p>Second to Concordia in Moorehead, as access to the Language Villages provides a good venue for living in a French environment right here in the USA, as well as summer jobs. Time at the Language Villages, whether working or attending, is one of the best ways to really gain language fluency. For the college, you have to not mind winter, and it is Christian based. </p>
<p>Other Midwestern colleges not super hard to gain admittance to include Kalamazoo, Beloit, St. Olaf, and Illinois Weslyan. </p>
<p>My D went to U of Puget Sound for their French Program, and was very happy there. </p>
<p>Back when my S was an undergrad, he did a study abroad internship at Pitt. He was very impressed with their study abroad, as well as the program at U of Minnesota.</p>
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<p>Lafayette accepts a good amount of the students that apply, but I wouldn’t classify it in the same tier as some regional schools being mentioned. According to this [College</a> Navigator - Lafayette College](<a href=“College Navigator - Lafayette College”>College Navigator - Lafayette College) 75% of the students that were accepted has SAT scores of 680/700/680.</p>
<p>OP, since you are in Virginia, have you looked at Roanoke? My older son graduated from there a couple of years ago and did a study abroad as did all of his friends. Their merit aid transferred with them. They have very, very good need based and merit aid.</p>
<p>Maybe too far away for OP… SOKA in Southern California, liberal arts, global focus</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your suggestions! I have been researching schools until my eyes have crossed - there really are a lot of great schools out there! We seem to be looking at Mid-Atlantic/Northeast schools. I am not comfortable with West Coast schools (apron strings, lol) and my son isnt interested in the South. kathiep, we have looked at Roanoke and are scheduled to tour in a couple of weeks! </p>
<p>And now he has been talking about pharmacy school which opens up another can of worms entirely. I dont think pharmacy is really where his heart is, but he has been paying attention to the poor job maket/economy chatter and is starting to think about careers with a view of what may get him hired.</p>
<p>I second Arcadia in Glenside PA.</p>
<p>It is further down the “selective” scale, but it offers some really unique opportunities. You can get thru it and spend more time off campus than on campus. Many foreign internships. I young co-worker worked in the Irish Parliament.</p>
<p>Arcadia is generous with merit if you are in the 25% of their applicant pool.</p>
<p>Dickinson has been mentioned several times and is worth a visit.</p>
<p>Goucher was also mentioned. It is in the Colleges That Change Lives book. I like that CTCL gives an in-depth view of schools. Goucher has 70% female and in my limited knowledge, they are more generous with merit for boys.</p>
<p>If he truly wants to teach, he doesn’t need to find the highest rated school. It will be more important to find schools that will provide experience.</p>