Top Anthropology LACs With Merit Aid

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello Everybody,</p>

<p>As I'm starting the second semester of my junior year, I'm looking more intensely into colleges. I am very interested in anthropology, particularly biological anthropology, which I now slims down my choices I attend a rigorous prep school in the Los Angeles Area (about 20% of the student body attends an Ivy League/Stanford after graduating), and I am looking for urban LACs with a strong focus on anthropology, and preferably a good opportunity for merit aid. My family is unlikely to qualify for financial aid, but I have a budget for college, and would like to not go over, as I'm likely looking at graduate school down the line. </p>

<p>I'm a female, so I'm not opposed to looking at women's colleges. I'm a pretty good student, with a 4.0 GPA freshman year, a 4.20 GPA sophomore year (AP Chem), and about a 4.33 weighted GPA junior year (3.67 unweighted, and it should go up...) - my semester hasn't finished yet, its hard to say which way my grades will go. I'm taking rigorous classes this year (AP Lang, APUSH, AP Bio, AP Calc AB, French III, Acting III, and a history elective); I scored 221 on the PSAT; I am a Girl Scout who earned my Gold Award; I started my own club at school. I also took an intro to BioAnth at the local CC over the summer, and I went to France with my school. I run XC and track (Varsity).</p>

<p>I want a LAC with a really good anthro program, and good graduate school admission rates. Preferably, my school would be in an urban area, but I'm open to look at schools everywhere to find a match that really fits. A LAC is preferable, but I'm planning on looking at bigger universities with really good anthro programs because I might have to move up to get what I want.</p>

<p>Last, but not least, I would like schools that offer good merit aid for a student like me. I don't want to have to take out loans for college, so something that will offer a student like me money would be awesome. I'm aware of CTCL, but I want a school where people around me are very driven and intelligent.</p>

<p>Schools with vibes that interest me are:
Reed
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
UChicago
Barnard
...But none of them really offer any merit aid, so I'd like to hear all of you chime in on any colleges with good merit aid opportunities, I would really appreciate it!</p>

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<p>You may want to investigate LACs with cross registration agreements with larger universities if you find a shortage of LACs with the desired anthropology offerings. But make sure to check that (a) the larger universities have the desired anthropology offerings, (b) cross registration is convenient administratively (i.e. not excessive hoops to jump through) and logistically (consider commuting between campuses and whether the schools have the same academic calendar and final exam schedules).</p>

<p>But remember to find a safety that you are certain to be admitted to and certain that you can afford first. You do not want to be like so many other high school seniors posting here looking for last minute safeties as application and scholarship deadlines are passing them by.</p>

<p>As a California resident, you will find numerous UCs and CSUs that offer anthropology; take a look at their department web sites to see if their offerings cover your areas of interest. Are they within your budget? If so, you may find safety or low match candidates here to start your list.</p>

<p>Anthropology (Archaeology) B.A. (UCSD)
Anthropology (Biological Anthropology) B.A. (UCSD)
Anthropology - Biological Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Anthropology - Cultural Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Anthropology A.B. (UCD)
Anthropology and Geography B.S. (CPSLO)
Anthropology B.A. (CSUB, CSUC, CSUCI, CSUFRES, CSUFULL, CSULA, CSULB, CSUN, CSUS, CSUSB, CSUSTAN, HSU, SDSU, SFSU, SJSU, SSU, UCB, UCI, UCLA, UCSC, UCSD)
Anthropology B.A. - Archeology and Biological Anthropology Option (CSUEB)
Anthropology B.A. - Socio-Cultural Anthropology Option (CSUEB)
Anthropology B.A. Concentration in Archaeology (CSUSTAN)
Anthropology B.A. Concentration in Ethnology (CSUSTAN)
Anthropology B.A. Concentration in Physical Anthropology (CSUSTAN)
Anthropology B.A. General Concentration (CSUDH)
Anthropology B.A. Specialization Anthropological Linguistics (CSUS)
Anthropology B.A. Specialization Archaeology (CSUS)
Anthropology B.A. Specialization Cultural and Social Anthropology (CSUS)
Anthropology B.A. Specialization Physical Anthropology (CSUS)
Anthropology B.A. with Archaeology Concentration (CSUDH)
Anthropology B.A./B.S. (UCR)
Anthropology B.S. (CPP, UCD, UCLA)
Anthropology B.S. with Cultural Resource Management Option (CPP)
Anthropology, B.A. (CSUSM, UCM)
Earth Sciences/Anthropology Combined B.A. (UCSC)
International Studies - Anthropology B.A. (UCSD)
Liberal Studies B.A. Concentration in Anthropology (CSUSTAN)
Linguistics and Anthropology B.A. (UCLA)
Social and Behavioral Sciences B.A. Concentration in Anthropology (CSUMB)</p>

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<p>I’m not familiar with the relative strength of LAC anthropology departments, but in the same general personality as your list but with merit aid, I’d suggest Smith, Grinnell, Oberlin. Possibly Macalester.</p>

<p>Williams has a large sociology department and a strong anthropology program. It may be less activist than you’re looking for, but they like Scouts and runners. No merit, though.</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr should be at or near the top of your list.
For 2012-13 it awarded merit scholarships to 26 full-time freshmen with no demonstrated need, in amounts averaging ~$11K (source: 2012-13 Common Data Set). According to Kiplinger’s, BMC has awarded merit aid to as many as 1 in 3 students, in amounts averaging ~$16K. But be aware that some selective private schools have been de-emphasizing merit aid recently. </p>

<p>Here’s an old thread that discussed good LACs for anthropology:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/395492-help-best-lacs-anthropology-education-history.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/395492-help-best-lacs-anthropology-education-history.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>According to post #6 (citing fairly old data), BMC was #2 among LACs with the highest percentages of alumni who earned PhDs in anthropology. Oberlin was #1. Oberlin also offers merit aid. BMC has the advantage of a suburban Philadelphia location (you said you wanted “urban”). It also is in a consortium with 3 other schools (Haverford, Swarthmore, UPenn). Penn in particular has a very strong anthropology department … although I don’t know about strengths in biological anthro specifically. For more detail about anthro program strengths, poster warblersrule seems to be the resident CC expert (so do a search for his posts on the subject).</p>

<p>Another LAC that seems to have a strong anthropology program, and merit aid, is Beloit. Grinnell has merit aid, and generates relatively high numbers of anthro PhDs (11, same as BMC, from 2006-10 according to NSF/webcaspar data). If you want merit aid from a more urban LAC, check out Colorado College, Macalester, or Occidental. </p>

<p>Be aware that even if you get merit aid from one of these LACs, it may not be enough. Selective LACs that offer it seem to like doling it out as $5K - $15K discounts to students who don’t qualify for n-b aid. If you need a much bigger scholarship, you should be looking at less selective schools including state universities with guaranteed full tuition or full ride scholarships. On the other hand, you also should be aware that many strong PhD programs will be fully funded (free tuition + stipend), more or less regardless of family income.</p>

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<p>Check out Kenyon College. It has a good anthropology department and offers merit aid. It is not urban, however. Some people find its small town setting charming, others not.</p>

<p>As mentioned above, Oberlin is another possibility. Oberlin is twice the size of Kenyon and has a more activist vibe. If you visit Ohio you can visit both in two days.</p>

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<p>If you’re serious about biological anthropology, there are much better options than Chicago. It has long focused on cultural anthropology to the detriment of bioanth, which is virtually nonexistent at the university. Including Barnard in your list was an extremely good decision; its cross-registration with Columbia, which has a great bioanth program, would be very useful. </p>

<p>To the best of my knowledge, no LAC has particular strength in bioanth, and most do not even offer it. Bryn Mawr is not unusual in this respect, but as TK points out, one has the option of cross-registration with Penn, which has superb anthropology offerings and resources. </p>

<p>Examine the faculty rosters very carefully. Many supposedly good anthropology programs focus solely on sociocultural anthro – any college of interest should have at least one full time, tenured/tenure-track faculty member in biological anthropology (two or more is definitely preferred). As a general rule of thumb, steer well clear of any LAC that combines its sociology and anthropology programs into one department.</p>

<p>Given your interests, I strongly recommend Emory, which I think would suit you quite well. Duke may be worth a try and has arguably the best bioanth program of any private college, but it is becoming exceptionally difficult to get into. The same goes for Columbia. NYU, Wisconsin, and Michigan are also quite good, but they’re much larger, and financially they are unlikely to be better deals than the UCs. </p>

<p>Case Western and GWU might be worth a look. Maybe Tulane as well. </p>

<p>Per post #4, be aware that most graduate (PhD) programs in anthropology are fully funded.</p>

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