Hello everyone. I have been lurking for a while and gathering as much info as possible as we are now beginning the college search in earnest with our son who is currently a junior. We are in NJ and son does not want to stay in-state but no further than a 6-7 hour drive away. He is a somewhat shy kid wanting a small, friendly LAC environment but is open to a smaller university where he can pursue a major in anthropology with the goal of archaeology grad studies. He also loves anything involving the outdoors and enjoys hiking, fishing, and geology. He has always wanted to be an archaeologist since he was very young because of his love for history, culture, and science but is a little worried about career opportunities in this field so he would like to have choices for interdisciplinary study of both environmental/earth science as well as archaeology/anthropology. An active outdoor club and location NOT in a major city is a must (which unfortunately excludes many great archaeology schools!). We have already visited Dickinson in Pa. which is high on the list, Hamilton (another contender but perhaps a reach), Skidmore, and Washington College (he didn’t really like). We may visit University of Richmond in the summer but were wondering about the anthro program there. William and Mary is out because of the high OOS cost. We have a FEC of about $30k so some financial aid would be needed. His stats are 1380 SAT (690, 690) and he is taking it again in May to try to break 1400. GPA UW is 3.8, APUSH 4, SAT II US HIstory 770, and will have taken 5 APs and all honors classes by the end of his senior year. His EC’s include French Honor Society, works with underclassmen in a Peer Outreach program, Golf (not too good but enjoys it!), and volunteers with the American Littoral Society with water testing and local fish statistics. We have a few safeties in mind in PA (Juniata, Lycoming) but were looking for some suggestions for a few more match or reach schools to add to the list. Sorry for being so specific and long-winded! Thanks for anything you could share!
While it is outside your desired area, I would take a serious look at Beloit College. It is an LAC with a well respected anthropology program.
This site describes various anthropology programs and includes some schools that meet your son’s general criteria:
“20 Best Value Small Colleges For Sociology and Anthropology Degrees”
Definitely have him consider looking at St Lawrence in upstate NY.
I don’t know much about it but Mercyhurst in Erie, PA offers archaeology. DD applied for that program in ‘12 and received a merit package that would have brought costs down equal to our instate flagship. She elected to stay closer to home and ended up changing majors as well.
I would second Beloit. A little outside 6-7 hours, but worth it. Take a look at their website. Their NPC gives merit estimates in addition to FA. The biggest risk is that if he really likes the outdoors and fishing, you may never get him back from Wisconsin.
College of the Atlantic is also a little outside of the 6-7 hours (more like 9-10 hours) but for an outdoorsy kid looking for a small LAC environment, it’s a great choice. It’s in a little rural location in Maine, near the shore. The only major is “human ecology,” but it’s basically a design-your-own major program where each student customizes what he wants to study. They do have strengths in environmental science and anthro.
This is also outside of your range, but Sewanee-the University of the South is another suggestion. It’s in Tennessee, but they have an anthropology major and archaeology minor and they’re in a quite rural location with lots of outdoorsy stuff to do nearby. They also have strengths in environmental science - check out their [integrated program in the environment](Programs of Study | The University of the South). It’s a match for him - his test scores fall at the top end of the accepted student body.
The College of Wooster offers a major in archaeology. Wooster is more suburban than rural - it’s between Akron and Columbus - but it’s not super-close to either one. That would be a match.
Likewise, Wesleyan University is in a small city - Middletown, CT - but not too far from some rural regions where one could engage in outdoors activities, and they have an archaeology major as well as anthropology and earth & environmental studies.
Whitman is another one - it’s WAY outside the range (it’s in Washington), but in a rural area with lots of great hiking and geology and a good match SLAC for him.
Most good small colleges are going to have good solid anthropology departments. Where they’ll vary is opportunities in archaeology (like the opportunity to go on digs and stuff) but he can supplement that with summer research experiences.
Here are some other suggestions:
Matches: Bard College, Susquehanna University, Bennington College,
Reaches: Colgate (requires a fieldwork experience for anthropology majors, so you know they help arrange these).
Strong archaeology programs are quite rare among liberal arts colleges, unfortunately. Archaeology labs are not cheap, nor are facilities for biological anthropology. Consequently most LACs focus on cultural anthropology and sociology, though they often make desultory efforts to offer a few basic courses in the other subfields. Check the faculty rosters carefully – look for at least two and preferably three archaeologists on faculty, excluding any visiting and emeritus professors.
I strongly second @juillet’s suggestion of Wooster. It has some fantastic archaeologists on faculty and has a good track record for placing students into graduate programs. It’s a member of the Keck Consortium for geology.
Wesleyan and Colgate were great suggestions too.
Check out Franklin & Marshall, which has good offerings in both anthro/archaeo and environmental science. It’s especially strong in classical archaeology.
Ithaca (~6200 undergrads) is a bit bigger than the suggestions above, but it has a solid anthro/archaeo program, and nearby Cornell has one of the strongest archaeology faculties in the US. There is cross-registration between the two universities. Ithaca itself is a very nice college town and offers good outdoors opportunities.
For graduate school in archaeology, language preparation will be key for many subfields. It’s rare to get into a program in Chinese archaeology without Chinese, Egyptian archaeology without Egyptian, classical archaeology without Greek and Latin, etc. Language preparation is much less important for subfields like North American archaeology and African archaeology.
Wow, thank you so much for the informative replies! @dadof2d and @Eeyore123, Beloit does look amazing but I know S would hate being so far for his undergrad. He wants to study abroad but is hoping for a college where he can get home more than the major holidays if need be. @merc81, thanks for the link! Lots of options that we haven’t explored yet. I think Bowdoin’s location, interdisciplinary majors, and active outing club would be perfect for him, although it’s really a reach. Some others on this list confirm what others are saying here. @juillet thank you for the awesome list and descriptions! Sewanee looks very cool, I can see him wanting to go the farther distance just for cave exploring alone as well as warmer temps (this winter was a particularly tough one)! Wesleyan is also one that is now on my radar to visit. They appear to have an excellent faculty onboard. Wooster seems interesting as well and may be worth a look although we weren’t originally considering Ohio but comes highly rated by many. He added Wooster to his raise.me account and they seem very generous so far. @warblersrule, thank you for the excellent advice. This helps tremendously in screening through any of the colleges we may be considering. S would never consider himself ivy material but the cross-registration with Ithaca might be worth checking into. I know a few people who have attended Ithaca and loved it. F&M is only about an hour away and we never considered it because we heard it was heavily into Greek culture and varsity athletics which S is not. Perhaps I’m wrong, but it is close enough to visit and see for ourselves. Thanks again everyone. I greatly appreciate sharing this information as we embark on this journey.
Check out Connecticut College - your son sounds like a perfect match and might get decent merit$$.
In terms of general criteria, @beachma, note that anthropology can be regarded as consisting of four sub-areas: cultural and social, linguistic, and biological anthroplogy and archaeology. A few LACs are indeed strong in all of these areas, though your son will most want to emphasize those with a solid archaeology track. For this, the presence of a strong geology department, as well as perhaps an available major in geoarchaeology, might indicate those colleges to look into first. Preference to colleges that maintain separate departments for anthropology, in contrast to those at which anthropology and sociology are combined, should also be considered.
So, depending on his area of interests in archaeology, it would be a reach, but a Haverford student could major in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College.
Excellent point @merc81. I will definitely consider this when we look at programs. Having the strong geology and even environmental program is something he wants as a possible minor as well.
@Midwestmomofboys thanks for the reply! We have heard of this school as well and depending on the results of next SAT may throw our hat in the ring. S wonders about their access to outdoor activities being so close to Philly though.
Colby might interest him. Great environmental science and geology. A little further than the 6-7 hours though. Another outdoorsy school is St. Lawrence. And it’s a little easier to get into.
Dickinson College.
http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20093/archaeology/1884/keck_archaeology_lab/1
They are also strong in environmental science/studies.
@beachman – Haverford College is not in a location like St Lawrence, which is paradise for outdoors kids. Still, it is an “enclosed” campus, entirely separate from the town of Haverford – with the the duck bond and nature trails, it feels bucolic, though granted there are only a couple miles of trails on campus. However, someone who wanted a campus where there are mountains and hiking just off campus would not be satisfied with the offerings at Haverford.
I’d strongly second Sewanee and Dickinson. Great academics and local outdoorsy opportunities and nice communities.
You might want to look at SUNY Plattsburgh. It has an anthropology major, archaeology minor, several environmental programs, a geology program and an outdoor program in expeditionary studies. My D’s ex-bf, an archaeology/anthro student there, was awarded a Fulbright several years ago for studies into indigenous people. He believed that the program was strong.
Without knowing where the OP lives, Newark to Colby is ~6 hours w/o considering traffic.
@beachma Is your son interested in studying abroad?
http://www.colby.edu/anthro/studentopportunities/study-abroad-ideas/