My D22 sent in her deposit last night! She was looking for a west coast school with strong science and music programs, and she wanted either a LAC or an honors college within a larger school. Active outdoor program a plus. We don’t qualify for financial aid but wanted to keep the net cost below $50k/yr, so every place she applied was either a public university or offered merit.
Average excellent stats: 4.0uw/4.3w GPA at good urban public high school, 1470 SAT (submitted everywhere), NMF, 12 IB classes, excellent musician (all-state, all NW), leadership and community service related to music
She doesn’t want to major in music but definitely wanted to continue playing in high level ensembles during college, so she submitted music scholarship auditions or music portfolios to every school that took them.
She was accepted everywhere she applied, with merit and music scholarships at most of the schools. Only Scripps didn’t give her any scholarships. Here are her final results, in order of our net cost:
Willamette: 8k/yr
University of Oregon honors (in state for us): 20k/yr
Western Washington honors (got WUE): 24k/yr
University of Puget Sound: 29k/yr
Whitman: 46k/yr
Occidental: 58k/yr
Santa Clara University: 62k/yr
Scripps: 81k/yr
The California schools were out of budget so we didn’t even visit. She decided she wanted a smaller school, and Willamette’s music ensembles were too small for her, so that left UPS and Whitman. We visited both this month and Puget Sound was the clear winner for her. She spent time with the orchestra, wind ensemble, and in the science building and felt welcomed and at home everywhere. She paid her deposit last night and wore her sweatshirt to school today!
I’m happy with her decision. She’s a strong student and a great musician, and she was hoping to find a college where she would be challenged, engaged, and supported both academically and musically, but also not overwhelmed and stressed out. She wants to be able to have a social life and spend time outdoors too and I think she will be able to at Puget Sound.