<p>Arabic is a very difficult language. Pre-med requirements are very challenging, too. A Middle Eastern Studies major would carry history and other requirements in addition to language requirements. So you may need to scale back to, say, ME Studies (or Arabic) as a single major plus pre-med courses (but no biology double major).</p>
<p>In any case, if you’re seriously interested in Arabic and ME Studies, that is the program (not pre-med) that will rule out the greatest number of colleges. Cappex lists 64 colleges that offer Near and Middle Eastern Studies majors. The ones with the best need-based financial aid) include:</p>
<p>Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Yale (Ivies*)
UChicago, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Washington University in St. Louis (other very selective private universities)
Middlebury, Swarthmore,Trinity College (selective private liberal arts colleges)</p>
<ul>
<li>UPenn offers a Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations major, even though Cappex does not list it among the 64 schools that offer Near and Middle Eastern Studies. Notre Dame (and perhaps a few other schools with good need-based aid) offers an Arabic Language & Literature major. Many large state universities have Arabic/ME Studies (or similar programs).</li>
</ul>
<p>@artlovers: “Wondering if Dr. Deresiewicz will write this book had he was tenured by Yale” – I’m aware that the author was denied tenure after 10 years in the trenches teaching English at Yale. While that may cause some of his observations to be viewed in a particular light, it doesn’t necessarily invalidate them. And I also think that some of his conclusions are valid, such as the one about the Ivies being populated by way too many children who are not allowed to fail at anything, and thus have little or no opportunity to benefit from their mistakes. This has been thrashed out elsewhere on CC, of course.</p>
<p>@marysidney: “I don’t think the recommendation to read Deresiewicz is that helpful at this stage. He is at best controversial, and at worst disingenuous.” – Well, the OP seems like a smart kid; and what better time to read something controversial, than in the time leading up to her choice of a college or university? I also have friends who are Ivy League grads with kids on the cusp of attending college, and who are recommending “Excellent Sheep”; I can only presume my friends think that Deresiewicz has written something worth reading.</p>
<p>Indeed. Some have decided that the best way to knock the Ivy League schools off their pedestals is to place them on different pedestals. Those people reveal their myopia.</p>
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<p>Even if you accept Dz.'s claims about the elites, you will not be able to escape their influence at any college. Higher education is thoroughly incestuous. One must be like Chuang Tzu’s sage if she hopes to avoid such forces, of whom Confucius says: “the sage does not work at anything, does not pursue profit, does not dodge harm, does not enjoy being sought after, does not follow the Way, says nothing yet says something, says something yet says nothing, and wanders beyond the dust and grime.”</p>
<p>Dorris’s article resembles this one from the New Yorker:</p>
<p>Of the small number of colleges that offer Arabic (or ME Studies), and also claim to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, many are Ivy League or other private schools that happen to be very selective and prestigious. If for any reason you want to avoid the Ivies, there are other schools with Arabic (or ME Studies) programs, including respected state universities such as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, these schools generally don’t give great financial aid to out of state students.</p>
<p>Wellesley and Mount Holyoke College both have Middle East Studies (incl Arabic) and Biology majors, and are meets-full-need schools. I’ll bet there are others out there as well.</p>
<p>@tk21769 Thanks so much! This is exactly the kind of information I needed! I understand arabic is very hard, but my mom speaks arabic, and I can read arabic completely and understand some of it too since I am fluent in reading and writing urdu. My point is that I have a pretty good background in Arabic since I’ve also a course that explains the basics and roots.
But yes, I get your point, a double major would still be very challenging. I will look into pre-med courses instead.</p>
<p>Barnard is another “full need” college for women that offers a MES program (as a"track" within the Asian & Middle Eastern Cultures program).</p>
<p>The University of Southern California is a “full need”, co-ed national university that has a MES program. Vanderbilt has an undergraduate minor in “Islamic Studies”.</p>
<p>I may very well have missed other meets-full-need colleges that offer some kind of MES program. However, only about 60 colleges claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need.</p>