Any thoughts on these colleges?

[Brisketexan 105158]

Thought I’d gather intel anywhere I can. And yes, I’ve tried to convince the girl to look at Texas...no dice (maybe for grad school). She’s a language person - wants to speak at least three by the time she graduates college, and is looking to study linguistics (which has driven her search).

 

She’s focused on these five schools (and we’ll have visited all by the time the fall is over).

 

Georgetown (a bit of a reach for her, we think...and fuck, it’s expensive)

McGill (in Montreal)

Edinburgh (not the RGV - Scotland)

Michigan

UMass at Amherst

 

I really would like her to apply to Rice, Texas, and Maryland...but she’s got a mind of her own, and I ain’t gonna drive this bus.

 

So, does anyone have any thoughts or experiences at those schools?

 

[TwiceHorn 31498]

No help at all.  Curious about the application process to a UK school.  I know or think they have some kind of way of translating GPA and AP scores into A-level scores.  Is that about right?

[Brisketexan 105158]

No help at all.  Curious about the application process to a UK school.  I know or think they have some kind of way of translating GPA and AP scores into A-level scores.  Is that about right?

Yep, it’s based on GPA and AP scores. She’s already qualified for Edinburgh. And it’s a great school in a cool city. I’d be ok if she went there (except, you know, I’m her dad, and I’d miss my daughter being an ocean away. And, she’ll meet and fall in love with some dude named Angus McHaggis, but you know, I’m not anxious or anything).

[TwiceHorn 31498]

Also, and I'm sure you both have figured this out, but I have had some exposure to linguistics and found it quite unlike anything I had ever studied, particularly at the high school level.  It gets very abstract and theoretical and, at least to me, kind of lost any connection to, for example, studying foreign languages.  The guy I was exposed to it through was a really hard core MIT/Chomsky disciple.  Brilliant guy.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Ross

[TKthunder2 4992]

Interesting list, why UMass? They are barely top 10 in their own state.

I know plenty of people who went there and loved it, but I’m just curious why it’s on the list?  Do they have a great linguistics program or something?

[luke duke 6413]

[Brisketexan 105158]

Also, and I'm sure you both have figured this out, but I have had some exposure to linguistics and found it quite unlike anything I had ever studied, particularly at the high school level.  It gets very abstract and theoretical and, at least to me, kind of lost any connection to, for example, studying foreign languages.  The guy I was exposed to it through was a really hard core MIT/Chomsky disciple.  Brilliant guy.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Ross

And that’s part of what she’s interested in - not so much the computational linguistics (although she has a knack for that, and advanced in a national competition), but more psycholinguistics....and yeah, I don’t understand a whole lot about it at all.

Interesting list, why UMass? They are barely top 10 in their own state.
I know plenty of people who went there and loved it, but I’m just curious why it’s on the list?  Do they have a great linguistics program or something?

It’s all about the linguistics program there. I really don’t get it....but it’s a highly regarded program there.

I’m not high on UMass at all....but like I said, this is her rodeo, not mine.

[jimmyjazz 45978]

For some reason I've always thought McGill was very highly ranked, but it's not like I know their #'s or anything.

My CEO has one daughter at Michigan, I can ask him what he thinks.  There is talk about a Rhodes scholarship so I assume they're pretty thrilled with the school.  (I have no idea how realistic her chances are.)

Edinburgh is quite easily the most amazing city I've ever visited.  That probably has something to do with the fact that I look exactly like every local guy who isn't a ginger -- it truly feels like "home" to me.  Going to school there would be a blast.

Edited August 15, 2018 by jimmyjazz

[millhouse 2615]

What about one of the service academies? Free school, guaranteed job and I'm sure they would be more than happy to teach her some other languages.

[Brisketexan 105158]

What about one of the service academies? Free school, guaranteed job and I'm sure they would be more than happy to teach her some other languages.

Yep...no interest (and genuinely not her speed). She might be interested in the foreign service one day, though.

[TwiceHorn 31498]

45 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And that’s part of what she’s interested in - not so much the computational linguistics (although she has a knack for that, and advanced in a national competition), but more psycholinguistics....and yeah, I don’t understand a whole lot about it at all.


It’s all about the linguistics program there. I really don’t get it....but it’s a highly regarded program there.

I’m not high on UMass at all....but like I said, this is her rodeo, not mine.

I figured, she's got a smart Dad and I assume a pretty sharp Mom, too.  I just was struck by the subject matter when I took a couple of poetry courses from Dr. Ross, who pulled in a bunch of his linguistic mumbo jumbo.  I kind of dug it, but it was waaaay different.

 

The really daunting thing about UK schools, particularly in the big cities (well London, anyway), is the cost of living.  I have gathered that they aren't huge on affordable student housing over there.

Edited August 15, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[DalTxHornFan 3106]

McGill is a pretty cool place -- a bit counter-cultural as an english-first school in Montreal, QC.

[phdhorn 6224]

I got a degree from Michigan.  It's okay.
Coldest fucking place in the universe when I was there.  Didn't crack freezing more or less from mid-December through early March.  Night or day.
Mud everywhere.  Have to hang coats on back of seats, etc. They get partly on the floor and get dirty.
Some days I felt like the mummy simply getting dressed for class.  Used to slip and fall a lot on the fucking icy sidewalks.
One year I was there we had eighty-six-fucking-inches of snow during the winter.  That's pretty much snow, nonstop, for 9 weeks.  After week 2, it ain't pretty, it ain't quaint, it sucks shit through a straw.
Ann Arbor is a nice town but not anything spectacular.
School has a "we're HARVARD, only in the Midwest!" insecurity about it.  But it's alright.
Campus is kinda split between "north" and "main".  They ain't within walking distance, especially in the winter.  Most schools are in "main" but man it's not fun to have to ride a bus to a class.

I wouldn't go to Amherst if you sent twenty stacked hos with me.

Edinburgh and McGill are in nice towns, good schools, but nothing particularly worth leaving the States for - unless that's part of the plan.  But lots to do in both towns.
 

 

 

[zork 629]

http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/edinburgh-population/

Quote

 

Fun facts of history of Edinburgh:

Quote

...

By the 18th century, Edinburgh was one of the most densely populated and unsanitary towns in all of Europe, with social classes sharing the same space and same buildings. The city became the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment and known as an intellectual center, earning the nickname "Athens of the North."

Through the 19th century, the city's distilling, brewing and printing industries continued to grow, along with engineering and rubber works. The city became the largest in Scotland by 1821 and much of it was deteriorating into slums before a revival and slum clearance.

In 1592, the population of Edinburgh was just over 8,000. The population grew quickly in the 18th and 19th centuries reaching 136,000 in 1831, mostly from residents migrating from rural areas to the city. This growing population led to poor sanitary conditions and outbreaks of cholera.

...

At the 2011 UK census, the population of Edinburgh was:

• White: 91.7%
• Asian: 5.5%
• Black: 1.4%
• Christian: 43.0%
• Muslim: 2.6%

 

http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/edinburgh-population/

 

Doesn't help you on the school.  But a decent idea of who is in the city.

 

Quote

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh#Climate

 

Climate[edit]

Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh has a temperate, maritime climate which is relatively mild despite its northerly latitude.^[93]Winter daytime temperatures rarely fall below freezing and are milder than places such as Moscow and Labrador which lie at similar latitudes.^[93] Summer temperatures are normally moderate, rarely exceeding 22 °C (72 °F).^[93] The highest temperature ever recorded in the city was 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) on 4 August 1975^[93] at Turnhouse Airport. The lowest temperature recorded in recent years was −14.6 °C (5.7 °F) during December 2010 at Gogarbank.^[94] In an average year, the temperature will drop to a minimum of −7.3 °C (18.9 °F).^[95]

The city's proximity to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. Given Edinburgh's position between the coast and hills, it is renowned as "the windy city", with the prevailing wind direction coming from the south west, which is often associated with warm, unstable air from the North Atlantic Current that can give rise to rainfall – although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow.^[93] Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year.^[93] Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but considerably colder, and may be accompanied by haar, a persistent coastal fog. Vigorous Atlantic depressions, known as European windstorms, can affect the city between October and May.^[93]

 

[HouTex 1880]

Michigan.  I like public universities and the town is kind of cool.  And there's football which she may get into, hopefully.

[Brisketexan 105158]

8 hours ago, phdhorn said:

I got a degree from Michigan.  It's okay.
Coldest fucking place in the universe when I was there.  Didn't crack freezing more or less from mid-December through early March.  Night or day.
Mud everywhere.  Have to hang coats on back of seats, etc. They get partly on the floor and get dirty.
Some days I felt like the mummy simply getting dressed for class.  Used to slip and fall a lot on the fucking icy sidewalks.
One year I was there we had eighty-six-fucking-inches of snow during the winter.  That's pretty much snow, nonstop, for 9 weeks.  After week 2, it ain't pretty, it ain't quaint, it sucks shit through a straw.
Ann Arbor is a nice town but not anything spectacular.
School has a "we're HARVARD, only in the Midwest!" insecurity about it.  But it's alright.
Campus is kinda split between "north" and "main".  They ain't within walking distance, especially in the winter.  Most schools are in "main" but man it's not fun to have to ride a bus to a class.

I wouldn't go to Amherst if you sent twenty stacked hos with me.

Edinburgh and McGill are in nice towns, good schools, but nothing particularly worth leaving the States for - unless that's part of the plan.  But lots to do in both towns.
 

 

 

Yeah, we've warned her that in pretty much every one of these places except Georgetown (did I mention how fucking expensive GT is?), she's gonna be much colder than she's used to.  In three of them, MUCH colder.  I had a college buddy whose sister went off to Amherst.  After one year, she said fuck this cold, and transferred to Rice.

She is pretty insistent on leaving Texas -- she wants to get out and about in the world.  And as you can tell, she's even quite interested in leaving the US to study.  I think she'll be happiest in either a cosmopolitan city (DC, Edinburgh, or Montreal), or at least a big campus with a vibrant life (Michigan).  I really see UMass as kind of a "safety school" (her counselor agrees).  But shit, if they throw the right amount of money at her....

Mostly, I'm nervous about her limiting her choices and options.  I'd like to see her apply to the University of Chicago, Indiana Bloomington, and Rice (all have strong linguistics programs).

All of that said....I'm confident that she'll bloom where she's planted.  She's a smart gal, with a good head on her shoulders, and she makes friends and ends up being a leader everywhere she goes.  I just want her to be happy. And, to tell the truth, I'm kinda dealing with the concept that she'll be far away from me. I'm a sentimental type, and I love my daughter and love spending time with her, and dammit, I"m gonna miss her.  And then, of course, paying for all this stuff -- but that's a pill we all gotta swallow, so that's life.

[SDG 3319]

Why not go instate and do study abroad so you pay instate tuition?  

[Brisketexan 105158]

18 minutes ago, SDG said:

Why not go instate and do study abroad so you pay instate tuition?  

Yeah -- see my post above.  She has pretty much zero interest in staying in Texas.

Oh, and as kind of a cool side note on Edinburgh, her Scottish roots run deep on her mother's side.  Her family came from Lanark (Walker and Burns).  And -- this is kind of cool -- just last week, going through some of her mom's old stuff, we found the Glasgow newspaper from December 8, 1873.  It contained the wedding announcement of her great great grandmother, who married a Scotsman who had moved to America, and she up and moved with him to Mobile.  It also revealed that her uncle at that time was the postmaster of Galsgow.  There's something poetic about a family leaving Scotland to pursue their future 150 years ago, and then one of their descendants returning to study.  We'll see.

[gsoda3 3263]

how much is georgetown now?  also did she consider university college london? great great school in the best city in the world.  and the cost of housing isn't too bad. 

[phdhorn 6224]

38 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Mostly, I'm nervous about her limiting her choices and options.  I'd like to see her apply to the University of Chicago, Indiana Bloomington, and Rice (all have strong linguistics programs).

Jeezuz, we must have had the same illegitimate parent, because among my 5 undergraduate schools applied for were U of C and Indiana.  in fact, I was deadset to leave Maryland (my home state, which I did, though not until 6 years later after actually "settling" for U of M, a whole 'nother story).  I was in fact accepted at UofC and IU (among my 5 acceptance choices) and attend Indiana, I was in fact completely set to go there until about 2 weeks before the semester started.  Why I stayed "home" is a long story and I won't go into it (except $$) but I can tell you without question that it was the greatest academic mistake of my life to commute from home.  Nope, never.  I ORDERED my kids to go away to college, even if my son now is at UT, he's AT UT, as in West Campus.  It's worth me coughing up the extra $10K/year to not have him at the house.  God what a shitty option.

Bloomington is sort of sleepy, but I liked it - a lot.  IU is a great place for some majors, but if she's looking to "excel", not sure that would be the place.

I loved visiting U of C but take care... it's kind of stodgy and stuffy, old-school.  I liked that shit (and actually Michigan is very much like that academically, despite its "progressive" overall rep).  I took to that "hard knocks" strict education, but many don't.  Plus the campus is nice but not 2 blocks away they're all up in heah a'shootin' each other.  Being plopped down in Chicago's South Side ain't my first choice.  Nearby housing is expensive and while the campus itself is crime-free and heavily patrolled by UCPD, you sure as shit don't want her living below 60th or west of Cottage Grove.   My guess is that if she's sorta kind of liberal at all, she wouldn't like it.  Kind of a "paper chase" type place.

 

My who gives a shit what I think 2 cents is of all the places you mentioned, Edinburgh is the winner with some distance to #2.  Not only will she experience Scotland which I sweatergod is the most beautiful place on earth in the summer, but the train into England and London is handy, overnight, and cheap.  She has all of Britain (and even ambitiously a chunnel trip to Paris one weekend) at her disposal, vs... uh.. "Canada" (nice but really, nah) and Greater Great Lakes region.  Plus there's that COLD again.

Edinburgh is actually fairly mild in the winter, at least it's not a polar beatdown; the Atlantic current and breezes keep it relatively decent (about 45° avg. daytime temp in the winter).  That would be my vote.

Plus Scottish guys are always drunk and have shitty teeth, so she won't be tempted.

Edited August 15, 2018 by phdhorn

[Brisketexan 105158]

31 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Plus Scottish guys are always drunk and have shitty teeth, so she won't be tempted.

From your lips to God's ears.  I live in fear of her bringing home Angus McHaggis, of the sheepfucking McHaggises.  And truly, we love Edinburgh -- we've spent time there, we have contacts there, and it's a great city.  It's funny, but my mexican oilpatch dad, who has actually traveled a good bit, says Edinburgh is his favorite city in the world.

And, yeah, she already has friends all over Europe -- Copenhagen, Santender, Berlin, London.  It would be cool for her to be able to visit (and crash places for free) for a cheap train or plane ticket.

BTW, I suggested the University of Maryland as well...I might yet prevail on getting her to look at it.

This is all really different than when I was applying to college.  I knew that I wanted to go to law school afterwards, and I knew that I wanted to drink beer and chase tail.  I applied to precisely two schools -- Georgetown, and UT (both regular and Plan II, with just plain old UT being my "safety school").  Georgetown invited me to pursue my options elsewhere, Plan II said "fuck it, we need a profane mexican coonass to take some of our goofy poetry classes," so that was that.  I was 160 miles away from home -- far enough that I was independent, but close enough so that I could hop in my care and see my family in 3 hours.  For my daughter, it's a whole different ballgame.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Brisketexan

[Brisketexan 105158]

41 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

how much is georgetown now?  also did she consider university college london? great great school in the best city in the world.  and the cost of housing isn't too bad. 

Georgetown is $50k a year (gulp).  And we make enough money that I'm betting the scholarship dollars she could get would be minimal.  Mom and dad would have to take on some debt to make that happen.

We talked about schools in England, but she wasn't super interested and, interestingly enough, in recent years, the student reviews of the experience at those schools (specifically UC London, actually) have been pretty harsh -- poor professor engagement and the like.  I love London, would be happy to have her study there, but I think her instinct is right in that it isn't the place for her.

[VRHorn 718]

11 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Yep...no interest (and genuinely not her speed). She might be interested in the foreign service one day, though.

I know it's not on your (her) list, but what about UVA? You can't throw a rock at State or the CIA without hitting a UVA grad.

[tokamak 6431]

Only connection I have to any of those schools is a good friend that went to UMass (nothing close to linguistics, though). Smart guy, good guy, but also a degenerate and a drunk. Come to think of it, he'd fit right in at Surly. So if you want to pass that down to your daughter, there's that.

[phdhorn 6224]

19 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

BTW, I suggested the University of Maryland as well...I might yet prevail on getting her to look at it.

As an alum, and gee, with some "stuff" in the news (I doubt she'll play linebacker, but if so, use caution), Maryland is a terrific school (it's moved way up from where it was 20 years ago, #61 in U.S. News, by contrast UT is tied for #56.. no big difference).   They had a huge, successful program to raise funds and essentially revamp the entire place from the late 90's through about 5 years ago, and it's worked.  It's a very good, underrated school.  Used to be a cum dumpster of so-so's (actually like Texas was, else most of our posters wouldn't be alums) but it's getting pretty tough to get in now, at 48%, not Harvard, but hell UT is about 41%, so it's not far off.

It's generally safe (although they've had little battles with minor crimes off/on in one part of the campus area, but nothing I'd worry about).  The campus is beautiful and there are a variety of smart kids there (Maryland is one of the largest depositories of smart-but-Ivy-rejected students in the Mid-Atlantic).  Plus of course you got access to D.C. and a lot of other places I'd recommend (mountains, beaches, etc. etc.).  That part of the country remains my favorite for the # and variety of places to go/things to do, by far.  The Metro is a short bus ride (too far to walk from campus, despite the station name), and there is plenty, and I mean TONS, of cheap, affordable housing in the town.  Most of the areas surrounding College Park are very safe (it gets a little dicey towards the south down Route 1, as the D.C. line is only about 7 miles from campus).  She could do a lot worse.

Plus Maryland guys are always drunk, short, fat, and infertile, so she won't be tempted.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

How many years of undergrad would she be looking at 2 or 3? If she doesn't need the full 4 then I'd really push Edinburgh as sort of an extended study abroad experience that would be really cool for her. Did she not want to look at any German schools? I thought I remembered that she was pretty far along in her study of German or was that the boy...God I spend too much time on here.

[Ollie Slatt 289]

Most of those schools sound great if she does not mind cold weather, but I would try to assert your fatherly influence to get UMass removed from the list.  

(1) College kids change majors.  Who you are at 18 and who you are at 20 can be drastically different.  You could pick a new major at Michigan and still be at a great school.  I am not sure the same is true at UMass.   Bottom line, I would never pick a school solely based on one program. 

(2) You would be greatly increasing the odds of ending up with a masshole son in law (just picture your grand kids decked in red sox and pats gear)    

 

Also, did she visit Scotland in winter?  The sun sets at 3:30.   

[deadshank 24653]

So?  Trump U is out of the question?  

[VolenteHawk 495]

47 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Georgetown is $50k a year (gulp).  And we make enough money that I'm betting the scholarship dollars she could get would be minimal.  Mom and dad would have to take on some debt to make that happen.

You must love your kids more than I love mine.  I'll be scratching a check for the cost of 4 years at UT and telling them good luck.

 

[Brisketexan 105158]

31 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

How many years of undergrad would she be looking at 2 or 3? If she doesn't need the full 4 then I'd really push Edinburgh as sort of an extended study abroad experience that would be really cool for her. Did she not want to look at any German schools? I thought I remembered that she was pretty far along in her study of German or was that the boy...God I spend too much time on here.

I suspect she'll be looking at 4, but who the hell knows?  And yes, she's far along in German -- confident she'll do a semester to a year studying in Germany no matter where she goes to college.  BUT, she's not fluent enough (yet) to be admitted to a place like Humboldt in Berlin.  And, she mentioned that she doesn't want to make German her whole life/major.

27 minutes ago, Ollie Slatt said:

Most of those schools sound great if she does not mind cold weather, but I would try to assert your fatherly influence to get UMass removed from the list.  

(1) College kids change majors.  Who you are at 18 and who you are at 20 can be drastically different.  You could pick a new major at Michigan and still be at a great school.  I am not sure the same is true at UMass.   Bottom line, I would never pick a school solely based on one program. 

(2) You would be greatly increasing the odds of ending up with a masshole son in law (just picture your grand kids decked in red sox and pats gear)    

 

Also, did she visit Scotland in winter?  The sun sets at 3:30.   

Yeah, I told her about Massholes last night.  She thought I was making it up, then googled it and we had some good laughs.  And yes, the "flexibility if you change majors" point is one we are introducing to the conversation, making exactly the point you just raised (you need someplace with some flexibility)

We've been to Edinburgh in early March, when it gets dark at 5:00 or so -- she knows the drill.

23 minutes ago, deadshank said:

So?  Trump U is out of the question?  

She's holding out for Alex Jones University, to major in gay frog studies.  

[RDCanecutter 26453]

12 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Georgetown (a bit of a reach for her, we think...and fuck, it’s expensive) You'll go broke, and she'll make you watch basketball.

McGill (in Montreal) You'll go broke, and for 20 years all her conversations will start with "You know, in Canada we..."

Edinburgh (not the RGV - Scotland) You'll go broke, she'll become a bitter alcoholic who picks fights with any Americans who wear plaid, and for 20 years all her conversations with start with "You know, in the UK we..."

Michigan You'll go broke, and she will call you from prison after killing some UM institutional molester, and you will feel responsible and will accept the call even though she now has a "nee nee nee nee" Michigan accent that could peel paint.

UMass at Amherst You'll go broke, and she will bring home some Bahney who ironically wears more "Texas" gear, boots, hat, buckle, bolo tie, little pearl buttons on his cowboy shirt, says the Alamo is "wicked pissah", and one day you are calling your daughter from prison because you caught the lad using Liquid Smoke.

 

[Brisketexan 105158]

26 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

 

.......but at least she ain't going to school in Alabama. 

[RDCanecutter 26453]

23 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

.......but at least she ain't going to school in Alabama. 

She'd learn proper blocking and tackling.

[Brisketexan 105158]

21 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

She'd learn proper blocking and tackling.

And she's already too old for Roy Moore to creep on her, so that's nice.

[RDCanecutter 26453]

19 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And she's already too old for Roy Moore to creep on her, so that's nice.

I think Roy avoids schools, libraries, all such monuments to Lucifer.

[RDCanecutter 26453]

14 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

 

She’s a language person - wants to speak at least three by the time she graduates college, and is looking to study linguistics (which has driven her search).

 

OK, just got around to reading what the actual question was.

I have been out of the go-to-college game for decades, but I also was a language person. I vaguely remember hearing McGill this and McGill that, but I don't remember the others being all that better or worse known for linguistics. I could have been too drunk plus things can change a lot in a generation.

I will say I am surprised I didn't see Middlebury on her list, have they fallen off? Or several others. Hell, I know nothing anymore.

Looks like she really wants to head north and east.

[RDCanecutter 26453]

As for actually learning languages, it can be done by sitting in a room with a bunch of Americans who really don't want to be there, same way you could learn to play baseball by hanging out with a bunch of people who don't really want to play baseball. But there are other options.

I had a friend who studied at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA. She wasn't military-- said if you rattled a dollar at them they'd let you in. This has been 25 years, so who knows. Seemed like a good course and gotta be cheaper than most colleges.

http://www.dliflc.edu/

And it turns out Middlebury has a school in Monterey too:

https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/

Another sure-fire way to learn languages is Study Abroad. Study Abroad programs through most US colleges are a total scam-- They pay $1K to a foreign school whose people do all the teaching, feeding, and guiding to the ruins. Then they charge $4-5K to the students and the US school pockets the difference. They send along one of their own US professors to do diddlysquat like grade diaries and then the US school counts all the work as "college credit". I know because I was one of the US professors sent along to do diddlysquat, got a vacay and a small kickback for my part in the scam, plus I think I kept a couple of our girls from getting killed, so there's that.

But what I'm gettin at, is if Girl-Girl just wants to learn to speak, skip the middleman and deal directly with the locals. In a public university in Mexico, for $300 USD/course + maybe $500/mo, she could take language courses in modern facilities, jabber all day with new friends and host family, and get fed, housed, and taken around to sites of local importance. It'd cost more for the plane ticket.

[Brisketexan 105158]

43 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

As for actually learning languages, it can be done by sitting in a room with a bunch of Americans who really don't want to be there, same way you could learn to play baseball by hanging out with a bunch of people who don't really want to play baseball. But there are other options.

I had a friend who studied at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA. She wasn't military-- said if you rattled a dollar at them they'd let you in. This has been 25 years, so who knows. Seemed like a good course and gotta be cheaper than most colleges.

http://www.dliflc.edu/

And it turns out Middlebury has a school in Monterey too:

https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/

Another sure-fire way to learn languages is Study Abroad. Study Abroad programs through most US colleges are a total scam-- They pay $1K to a foreign school whose people do all the teaching, feeding, and guiding to the ruins. Then they charge $4-5K to the students and the US school pockets the difference. They send along one of their own US professors to do diddlysquat like grade diaries and then the US school counts all the work as "college credit". I know because I was one of the US professors sent along to do diddlysquat, got a vacay and a small kickback for my part in the scam, plus I think I kept a couple of our girls from getting killed, so there's that.

But what I'm gettin at, is if Girl-Girl just wants to learn to speak, skip the middleman and deal directly with the locals. In a public university in Mexico, for $300 USD/course + maybe $500/mo, she could take language courses in modern facilities, jabber all day with new friends and host family, and get fed, housed, and taken around to sites of local importance. It'd cost more for the plane ticket.

Yeah, she's not just about learning languages (although that does seem to be important to her).  I'll be honest....I really don't know WTF you do with a linguistics degree, but what the hell do I know?

I think she wants to work with some sort of field with a foreign interface -- gov't, NGO, private multinational....but doing what (other than high level translation and intepretation), I have no idea.

[RDCanecutter 26453]

Who knows? I'll tell you what I find out when I grow up myself.

BTW, I didn't mean that she should go spend summers in Korea, Spain, and Pakistan and then not take languages at college. What I meant is there are ways for the motivated to get good enough to skip the glorified High School of first and second year college classes ("Calcetines are socks! Can you say 'calcetines'?" All: "Call-say-tee-nayz..." "Que bonito!") and jump straight into the small disturbed groups of third and fourth year faking that they finished the Proust assignment.

[wild_turkey 3167]

4 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Georgetown is $50k a year (gulp).  And we make enough money that I'm betting the scholarship dollars she could get would be minimal.  Mom and dad would have to take on some debt to make that happen.

What's the ROI on an education like that? She's looking at $200k in expenses, parents taking on debt, and ending up with a linguistics degree. 

[Brisketexan 105158]

20 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

What's the ROI on an education like that? She's looking at $200k in expenses, parents taking on debt, and ending up with a linguistics degree. 

If she gets in, will certainly be part of the discussion.  A school like GT is valuable in lots of ways, as is the network....but that ain't everything.  The degree matters.

[TexOx 110]

Having gone to school in Michigan and the UK, I can say that Michigan is cold and snowy, and the UK is cold and rainy.

[deadshank 24653]

33 minutes ago, TexOx said:

Having gone to school in Michigan and the UK, I can say that Michigan is cold and snowy, and the UK is cold and rainy.

And the women are fat and ugly.

[luke duke 6413]

And the women are fat and ugly.

Why do I sense that Vic is planning a vacation now?

[TexOx 110]

47 minutes ago, deadshank said:

And the women are fat and ugly.

There's a certain doughiness to them for sure.

[jimmyjazz 45978]

8 hours ago, phdhorn said:

Jeezuz, we must have had the same illegitimate parent, because among my 5 undergraduate schools applied for were U of C and Indiana. 

Lulz.  I applied to Michigan (music full ride), U of C (business), and Indiana (NM scholarship business).  Plus Illinois, UT, and Missouri-Rolla (when I decided on engineering late).

Strange commonalities in these lists.

[Player 4575]

UT-Pan Am or UNAM in Mexico City.

Finest lenguaistics programs anywhere.

[Gil Bang 25975]

www.tijuanatech.edu

[Beau Vine 54256]

UMass is basically New England's version of Tech.  

Something tells me that Michigan would be as hard to get into as Georgetown for an OOS student.

McGill is pretty badass, but she really needs to learn to speak French fluently to fit into Montreal (outside of McGill).  

And why in the hell is she looking at state schools OOS instead of private schools?  The private schools comparable to a place like UMass will be much more likely to give her merit money.  

[Shmitty 112]

On 8/14/2018 at 9:48 PM, Brisketexan said:

 

Thought I’d gather intel anywhere I can. And yes, I’ve tried to convince the girl to look at Texas...no dice (maybe for grad school). She’s a language person - wants to speak at least three by the time she graduates college, and is looking to study linguistics (which has driven her search).

 

She’s focused on these five schools (and we’ll have visited all by the time the fall is over).

 

Georgetown (a bit of a reach for her, we think...and fuck, it’s expensive)

McGill (in Montreal)

Edinburgh (not the RGV - Scotland)

Michigan

UMass at Amherst

 

I really would like her to apply to Rice, Texas, and Maryland...but she’s got a mind of her own, and I ain’t gonna drive this bus.

 

So, does anyone have any thoughts or experiences at those schools?

 

 

the absolutely best school for linguistics and studying foreign languages is BYU (Brigham Young) and for good reason.   Plus tuition, housing, etc will be cheaper by a mile compared to those schools.    But, hands down, BYU has the best foreign language department in the nation and one of the best in the world.  

Edited August 16, 2018 by Shmitty