What might be a fit? (Classics programs)

[NROTCgrad]

Yes, my understanding is the Holy Cross is rather preppy. However, I always leave such judgments to the students themselves. One person’s preppy is sometimes another person’s irony. FWIW, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead used to wear Izod polo shirts when performing in concert. Not sure whether he counted as preppy or not.

Personally, I have never visited Holy Cross. So, all I know is via the internet.

Ohio University-Athens was kind of buried in my previous post, but I am very serious about it. Take a look at their Honors Tutorial College. You probably would get a full tuition scholarship, and I think you would fit in. OU is less peppy than OSU, and OSU has very few preps. OU is the hippest state university in Ohio, where I live.
https://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/programs/classics.cfm
https://www.ohio.edu/honors/future-students/index.cfm

[SDonCC]

Sorry, i misread your initial post. I thought that you preferred the vibe of an LAC, but you didn’t think that they offered what you want to study. Good luck!

[mountaingoats]

However, if you’re looking to avoid party culture, drinking/party culture is very very strong at OU.

[warblersrule]

Arriving late to this thread (my first post in over a month!), but at least that gives me the opportunity to comment on a few things.

@saverockandroll

Lots of Classics classwork (Latin and ancient Greek, taught self to near fluency to Italian, classical art history)

Aim high. Many (if not most) classics programs focus their resources on elementary and intermediate Greek and Latin, classical civ courses, and lit-in-translation courses. You’re coming in at a reasonably high level, especially since very few freshmen have already had some Greek.

Haverford, with its access to Penn and especially Bryn Mawr – hands down the best classics program of any LAC, though not the powerhouse it was a decade or two ago – is the one LAC I would recommend to you. The Claremont consortium may work as well, particularly Pomona.

@saverockandroll

My list as it stands:

Brown
Yale
UChicago
Georgetown
Penn
UMichigan
Johns Hopkins
Harvard
Wustl
Cornell
UC Berkeley
UW Madison
UWashington

I really like most of your list with the exception of Georgetown. Its classics program is not particularly notable, and the prevailing campus climate does not mesh well with what you’ve said you’re looking for. Unless you’re dying to be in a big city, consider swapping Georgetown out for a place like Duke, which has a greater focus on the liberal arts and a far stronger classics program.

@saverockandroll

I’m also applying to UK schools like Oxford and St. Andrews.

Great decision. Note that you can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge (not both), so pick carefully. Oxford has traditionally been a lot more friendly toward American students, and its classics program is widely considered to be the best in the world by a fair margin.

In addition to collegemom3717’s suggestion of Durham, there’s also UCL, King’s, Royal Holloway, Edinburgh, Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham…etc.

If your Italian is as good as you say, check out La Sapienza and maybe some other universities in Italy – tuition is incredibly low.

@Whenhen

You may wish to consider some Canadian schools like UToronto, UBC Vancouver, and Queens should be considered.

I couldn’t agree more with the suggestions of Toronto and UBC. I would replace Queens with U Alberta and/or U Western Ontario…though I think the OP can do better with those stats.

@NavalTradition

Would not recommend JHU for Classics. The department is both small (like a LAC) and not undergraduate focused (like a research U.). Worst of both worlds.

The program is a step or two down from the big leagues, certainly, but one could do much worse. Additionally, Hopkins is a powerhouse for related fields of ancient studies (biblical studies, Semitics, Assyriology, Egyptology, archaeology, etc.).

@saverockandroll

Does anyone have any more info about Classics at Cornell?

Cornell has a superb classics program, with a nice balance between philology and archaeology. Along with UCLA and Harvard, it’s also one of the three hotspots for Indo-European linguistics in the US. It’d be a fantastic option for you.

NYU is an obvious omission. It fits nearly all of your criteria and is far stronger in ancient studies than most of the schools mentioned in prior posts. It’s one of the very few schools that’s actively been expanding its offerings, in fact.

Consider Princeton. Your list will be top-heavy, but that’s okay if you have some good matches and safeties. Linguistics at Columbia has been pretty meh, but for classics it’s excellent. The Core may appeal to you.

I like the suggestion of Tufts a lot. Brandeis, Case, and BU are also pretty good suggestions. Along similar lines, look into William & Mary.

UT Austin is fantastic, and it’s especially great for studying Greek philology and linguistics, but it is extremely selective for OOS students, and it’s warmer than you’re looking for.

There’s many more good classics programs out there (Arizona, Tulane, Emory, UNC, UGA, UVA, etc.), but I’m not sure they’d meet a lot of your other criteria.

[par72]

Holy Cross has a balance of preps and non-preps, no greek-life, and decent diversity. Best way is to visit the campus.

[amtc]

You might want to look into Columbia. A good friend who is a noted Classics prof (at one of your schools already listed) was offered a position at Columbia and for a variety of reasons really wanted to take it (and for a variety of reasons, could not). This was probably about five years ago, but he was very impressed with their program.

[Tigers01]

Given your interests, I suggest a large public like Michigan or Wisconsin (colder side, not in the middle of nowhere) . Those universities have well regarded classics programs (both grad and undergrad) that will likely offer more depth (i.e., archaeology, culture and civilization, Greek, Latin, literature) than some of the smaller private schools you list. Brown Chicago, and Yale are also good choices, with plenty of non-traditional students and good classics programs (plus your climate preference). Finally, I hope you do not plan on applying to all the schools on your list and suggest taking off some of the mid-size privates with lots of pre-professional students. Good luck!

[Corinthian]

Warblesrule mentioned Pomona. Have you looked into it? Pomona’s Classics Department is an intercollegiate department with faculty members from Pomona, CMC, Scripps and Pitzer. http://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/classics/ The Claremont Consortium is definitely not in a rural location, and has the benefits of LAC’s without feeling as small as some of them do.

[saverockandroll]

@Tigers01 Sorry could elaborate on what you mean by “midsize privates with lots of pre-professional students”? If you mean WashU and Georgetown, that’s one of my concerns as well.

@warblersrule Wow! Thanks for all the information. Did you attend Duke? My GC and I discussed it, but we both were hesitant about the big sports, but perhaps that’s just a stereotype.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!