Suggestions for college list (LACs)?

Hello! I’m a current cc student who hopes to transfer for sophomore year and I’m looking at schools that have a more open curriculum or lack of core requirements. I also prefer schools with a smaller/intimate setting, an active art scene, and an absence of Greek life. So far, I’m really looking into Oberlin but otherwise, I’m not sure how what other schools to apply to. I’m considering Grinnell but heard it’s difficult to register for humanities courses and subsequently finish your major; for background information, I want to major in comparative literature and minor in Russian. Honestly, the more granola the better - plus policies to meet demonstrated financial need. My high school record had some bumps due to extraneous circumstances, I finished with a 3.92 weighted and am currently trying to reach as close to a 4.0 as possible at my cc. I hope to retake the ACT in September and earn a 30+ score (math kills me ngl) and my common app essay draft is pretty personal - any takers?

Do you have a regional preference or budget constraints?

While the two colleges I’ve mentioned previously are from the Midwest, I can’t say that I have a regional preference. I’m used to Ohio weather so I’m open to going East or West - I will say that I do love natural settings such as forests. Perhaps one exception would be avoiding going down South. Otherwise, my family is eligible for the Pell Grant and make <$60,000 a year (albeit we do have some savings, but nothing that would cover a full year without aid at LACs).

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My daughter was looking for Midwestern LACs with merit, strong humanities/theater and a Russian program. Both Grinnell and Oberlin are great for what you’re looking for academically (not sure about the forest part). She got into both but ended up at Kenyon. She enjoyed her Russian lit course there and is taking another one in the fall. Took a great English class as well. She’s not into Greek life at all, and its presence at Kenyon is not prevalent; she had no problem with it. Macalester is another excellent option but it’s in a city (vibrant residential area, lots of trees and private houses). Most New England LACs have strong (if small) Russian programs as well.

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Thank you! I was considering Kenyon but saw that they offered World Literature only as a concentration; then again, Grinnell’s closest equivalent is a major in General Literary studies. I hope to work in publishing specifically with the intention of increasing the number of works translated in the U.S.; I can see how working with the Kenyon Review could help build some experience. The forest part is definitely not required haha just an overall preference for some close proximity to nature. May I ask about your daughter’s stats or what made her choose Kenyon? And I’ll look more into Malacaster but from what I saw in prior research, their transfer acceptance rate is below 20%.

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I’ll pm you a little later.

Colleges known for their literary attributes may not offer a formal comparative literature major in all cases:

I second the suggestion of Kenyon.

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Yes, I may be wrong, but it looks like a Comparative Literature major is more common at larger universities with graduate programs. Majoring in English and/or a foreign language and literature or two will give the OP the training that they need. Kenyon has a Modern Languages and Literatures major with three tracks (and some literature courses under this more generic rubric, not unlike Comp Lit).

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Bates fits nearly all of your criteria. The curriculum is very open and my daughter never felt she lacked for choices within the broad scope of requirements. in fact, reading your post again, I would say it’s a great match for you. Bates language program is not large but it is excellent.

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Bryn Mawr College historically had a strong Russian department, though I’m not sure if there’ve been many changes. Beautiful Gothic campus, close academic coordination with Haverford College which is 1 mile away – class registration is fully integrated between the two schools, and class times are set so students can take class on each campus, major at either school etc. No greek life, not a big emphasis on sports. It is a women’s college, don’t know if that’s a non-starter.

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Note that Macalester accepted over one third of its recent transfer applicants, based on information from its Common Data Set.

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Check out UNC-Asheville and maybe Warren Wilson. Beautiful setting in the North Carolina mountains.

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I’m actually looking into possibly doing their summer Russian language program (given that the financial aid is feasible)! Bryn Mawr is the only women’s college with a Russian language flagship program so it has caught my attention. However, I found that their general education requirements are a bit stringent. I’ve considered Smith as well but saw that online credit isn’t taken for transfers; my cc is still mostly online for the fall and I’ve been taking summer classes. I forsee having transfer credit issues anyhow as these courses are meant for public institutions.

Perhaps email Admissions, explaining that you want to apply or Fall 2022 but due to the pandemic, your CC classes have been online: does it mean they don’t transfer? If they don’t transfer, does it mean you should apply as a freshman? Indicate you have … Cc credits including… or x% during the pandemic.

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The LACs included here may be especially likely to offer strong Russian studies departments:

From what I saw on their websites, those credits wouldn’t be accepted (albeit the courses themselves don’t appear any different on my transcript?). I don’t have a meeting with my academic advisor until later this July but in the meantime, I’ll get on contacting those admissions offices. Thank you for the guidelines on how to do so, my netiquette is still a work in progess. I’d think that there should still be some form of leniency given the pandemic. The vast majority of credits for my associate’s degree come from dual enrollment during high school and AP credits and from what I know, only the latter would be accepted of the two.

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Amherst has a freer curriculum. Very selective but you could try. Excellent financial aid too. Hamilton?

Bennington has a field work semester and very good for the study of literature, but small. Sarah Lawrence?

I like a lot of the Colleges that Change Lives. Look at the website. We love Clark U. in Worcester MA. Many other good schools on that list.

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Check Middlebury’s distribution requirements, which are fairly broad. It seems to have what you want with respect to location, Greek organizations (none), and departmental strengths. Highly selective admission rate, though.

A former babysitter who started at one of the LACS mentioned here discovered a love for Russian and ended up transferring to U Chicago because the program was limited. (Went on to get her PhD and now teaches there. ) I mention this because very few LACs can support lots of language programs at a higher level. When you choose a less common language and comparative lit, you can run up against those limitations.

With that said, the fact that many of many of the classes are small and most LACS have good study abroad options can make them an ideal way to start on a path toward profiency. Make sure you “map out” the rest of your college time to confirm it’s what you want.

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Thank you everyone for the suggestions! Both of the departments I’m looking into do err on the more obscure side so I understand that certain opportunities will be limited. Alas, so far my list is as follows:
Oberlin, Grinnell, Kenyon, Wesleyan, Beloit, Reed, Smith, St. Olaf, Earlham, Lawrence and the University of Vermont (which offers some transfer scholarships making OOS affordable). The list is definitely liable to change as I do more research into credit transfers and investigate the programs I’m interested in further. Some of the schools above don’t offer either Russian or a variation of world literature, albeit I’m fairly confident in my ability to do something with the two combined. Schools like Amherst or Middlebury would be great but unless I get Jack Kent Cooke or get recommended for an All-American team, they’re far less accessible as a sophomore transfer.

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