<p>D is a good student, but will likely lack the stats needed to be admitted to an elite college. Regrettably, the top classics departments in our region appear to be at schools that are very tough to get into, such as Princeton, Penn, and Columbia.. D would like to stay close to home, so we'd prefer a school in central or eastern PA, MD, NJ, southern NY or CT. With some days off coming up, we are planning visits to Haverford and Bryn Mawr, and are considering adding Franklin & Marshall, Barnard, and Wesleyan. However, these are certainly not safety schools either! Any suggestions for decent classics/Latin programs in our region? Does anyone have experience with classics at Dickinson or Gettysburg, for example? I suspect these may be a better match for her stats-wise (no SAT yet, waiting for PSAT scores). We have looked at the classics websites of Bucknell, Bard, Colgate, Hamilton, and Vassar, but their departments are pretty small (or weak in Latin) and it's not as though they aren't also pretty elite LAC's. Univ. of MD, Rutgers and Montclair State are under consideration, but they are larger schools than we'd like. </p>
<p>As a related question, I wonder if it is even wise to pursue a major like classics if you can't do it a top school? </p>
<p>Holy Cross is on our list, if necessary. I meant Toronto was too far. D is considering getting a master’s in library science or museology afterward. Alternatively, she may consider pursuing a teaching license in Latin. She will have taken up to AP Latin in high school, and perhaps some summer supplemental study at the local CC. She is still a sophomore.</p>
<p>So this is her second year of high school Latin? What is it that interests her? Literature? History? Archaeology? Why do some of those programs look too small? I’m just curious.</p>
<p>Back in the day, Bryn Mawr was particularly known for classics. Richmond Lattimore was a professor there. Of course, he retired in 1971! Is she intending to learn Greek also, I sort of assume?</p>
<p>Here is a thread from 4 years ago with good information:</p>
<p>Thanks, I saw that thread. The problem is the competitive admissions at most of the schools discussed, as well as the distance from home of the state universities. And actually, the state schools like Cal, UCLA, and UMich are also pretty selective for OOS, right?</p>
<p>D is currently in Latin 3. In the middle school they covered 1, and then she took 2 last year. Her primary interest is in the language and ancient history. She is not well suited for an emphasis in Greek philosophy, and while I think she would enjoy the study of the material culture, she is as un-artistic and spatially deficient a person as you will ever meet so would likely not be too successful in art-related or architectural topics. She will no doubt want to take some Greek, but it might be better if it were not required, since she may struggle with the alphabet etc.</p>
<p>The small LAC’s have only a few profs, and their actual course offerings each semester are thin. I think Bucknell did not offer above intermediate Latin.</p>
<p>If her scores end up pretty good, what about the University of Richmond? They have a fairly extensive classics program (<a href=“http://classics.richmond.edu”>http://classics.richmond.edu</a>). It’s a selective school, but not on the level of the Ivy’s. Being in northern Virginia, it’s not too far outside your geographical preference. </p>
<p>Classics major here putting in my $0.02…I didn’t pursue classics at the graduate level, but I have kept up with the field. Good classics programs are definitely hard to find at less selective colleges, especially small ones. You’ve already found most of the obvious suspects. </p>
<p>Union may be an option. If she’s willing to go larger, there’s Fordham and Villanova. If you can afford it (and it’s not too big or too far), UVM has a very solid reputation in classics. Brandeis and W&M could be viable if she gets her grades up. </p>
<p>I think she may have to relax either her size or geographic restrictions. What is her aversion to large schools? If it’s simply avoiding large classes, Greek and Latin courses are usually very small even at the very largest universities. (Civilization courses, obviously, run far larger.) She may feel very differently about staying close to home two years from now; high schoolers change a lot, and she may feel much more independent by graduation. There’s some very good programs elsewhere that might suit her (e.g. Tulane, Oberlin, Trinity U, UNC Asheville). </p>
Attending an elite college (or, more accurately, an elite classics program) is definitely a huge leg up in the insanely competitive world of PhD admissions. For anything else, I don’t think it particularly matters. Some students go to law school; others take more unconventional paths. A friend of mine who majored in classics worked as a journalist for several years in Asia. Another classics friend got an English teaching Fulbright in Africa and then segued into a career in public health. Who would’ve thought? </p>
<p>Pursuing internships and developing marketable skills is obviously important for a major like classics regardless of the college one attends. </p>
<p>You might look at the colleges that change lives schools. Some of them might have good classics departments. Also, consider an English Major with a Latin minor, along the same lines. You might also look at Catholic Schools. I’d be surprised if they don’t have latin, for various reasons… Just some thoughts of places to look, though I could be completely wrong.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether or not Bard would suit your daughter but I have to pipe up for the program. My son was a Classics Major at Bard. It is a small but fantastic department. The majority of the professors are renowned in their fields, well known authors, and respected throughout the classics world. And there are some very unique classics professors like Anne Carson and Daniel Mendelsohn. Yes, the offerings are limited each semester as with any small liberal arts college - but there is no upper limit on what one can study as classes can be be tailored to the interests of the students in the major. And the courses themselves are as wide ranging as in any of the top programs. My son is now a grad student at Yale and in an advanced graduate level Greek tutorial: he is as well prepared as anyone but he also had the chance to take some fascinating undergrad classes not offered elsewhere.</p>
<p>SpiritManager, I did look at Bard’s site. It seems to be a great little school and a nice classics dept. We will check it out. Do you think the emphasis of their program leans toward drama and the arts? </p>
<p>Thanks to all for the replies. After our visits, and after we see some test scores, I plan to post again.</p>
<p>Take a look at the History offerings at the College of New Jersey with a Minor in Classics. I think before you have scores, a lot of this is very random btw.</p>
Is she intending to learn Greek also, I sort of assume?</p>