A question from a student to parents that aren't her own

Parents Forum
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<p>You've come to the right place, skullduggery. This place is full of parents just full of valuable info that generally goes unappreciated by our offspring! Never a shortage of opinions here!</p>

<p>I agree that should spend some time in preparation, especially for retaking the Math section. Take some practice tests, see what you missed, and then seek out one of the nice but nerdy math geeks at your school to have them explain what you did wrong on each one you missed. D2 did that before the June SAT, and raised her math SAT by about 60 points....her math geek sister helped her, and D2 said that there were at least 5 problems that she wouldn't have known how to do had she not reviewed with big sis a few days before the test. Best wishes to you......Also, I saw there is a Questbridge thread on CC....certainly worth checking out, I think.</p>

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<p>Scull...in one post you mention a flute for college auditions. Are you planning to major in music? If so, this puts a slightly different angle to your admissions prospects and depending on your playing level, your potential for music performance awards. Could you please clarify this before I go on and on...if this isn't the case?</p>

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<p>Note that I'm really bad at asking for and accepting help, but I really, really, REALLY appreciate everything that you all have said and done. My parents didn't go through the college admissions process so their help is limited (but still something! Don't think they're completely devoid, I do like my dad very much), and guidance is inept, so every post has meant the world to me. And thanks for all of the compliments on my writing!</p>

<p>To address all questions posed:
~ I cannot say for certain what my average is at this moment, but it was an 87-point-something at the end of junior year. Mind you, this will be elevated because I scored 98/84 (ew!) and 92/98 in two grading periods during the summer semester.
My SATs are not great, as you can see, but I am working on improving them. My CR score is far too low, and even the writing should be better. Seriously, 11/12 on the essay!? I hate being one point away from perfection. I didn't study much for the June test, but I will be working my butt off before October and, if necessary, December. It sort of sucks being sixty points from your goal.</p>

<p>~Yes, a new or gently used (haha, sounds like a car commercial) flute is, unfortunately, necessary for my auditions. My current flute is nine years old and a student model, and it honestly does not work up to par anymore. Even a repair would not do much good, and for the amount of money we would need to put into this one for it to sound acceptable, it would be a better investment to purchase another.</p>

<p>~ I have not taken APs, per se, but I have taken college credit AP equivalent types of courses and passed them all with flying colours. It was noted above that my collegiate GPA is about a 3.65-3.85 at the moment. (Hopefully, that makes my transcripts stand out!) The only thing that brought me down was a B+ in Bio101 from Syracuse because my computer crashed before I could turn in my final research project for the semester. This definitely, DEFINITELY helps with costs. If you want to know the exact grades:
SUPA Biology 101: 3.33
SUPA Biology 104: 4.00
UHS Intermediate Spanish: 3.70
FMCC English 103: 4.00
FMCC American History I: 3.67
FMCC American History II: 4.00
(Roughly. I don't remember the exact details, but it seems right.)
Also, I am going to be taking SUPA Psychology and Sociology, and English 200ish level through UAlbany, and I think? Precalculus through FMCC this coming year.</p>

<p>~ My guidance counselor is probably knowledgeable, but she dislikes me intensely because I am not in her beloved Key Club. (My high school, just so you know, is loaded with petty biases.) Nevertheless, I sent her an email this afternoon, so I will keep you updated if she ever responds.</p>

<p>~ As for majoring? My ultimate goal is a double major in music performance and neuroscience with, likely, a minor in Spanish, or if neuroscience is not yet an applicable major at my chosen school, I will be a double major in music performance and biology with a minor in psych. We will see. Either way, I am crazy.</p>

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<p>DON'T spend too much time trying to make money now - focus on academics and some e.c.s! The "top" colleges have lots of money and are actively look for kids from very low income families - kids who have risen through adversity. If you waste too much time making small amounts of money now you may miss out on the BIG money from the schools with huge endowments. If you can get accepted to these schools, you will have a free ride. :)</p>

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<p>skullduggery --</p>

<p>I noticed that Berea was a "maybe" on one of your lists. I live in Kentucky, have been on the campus several times, and know a few graduates. If you want someone's opinion as to why or why not you might want it to stay on your list, feel free to pm me.</p>

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<p>Unless you're applying to conservatories, you won't need to audition even as a music performance major. But since you'll probably want to send in a supplementary recording, and as a clarinetist myself (too much experience with crappy student models, ugh), I say go for a relatively cheap flute (gently used, maybe) and splurge on the head joint. (I have a lot of flutist/flautist friends.)</p>

<p>Unfortunately, few or none of your college credits will transfer to many schools other than SUNY Albany and Syracuse or maybe other local options. Harvard, for instance (I know you aren't applying, but this seems to be a widespread policy), does not accept any college credits earned in HS. You should research schools that do accept the credits if that's important to you (and it sounds like it is).</p>

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<p>you have CUNYs on your list...are you planning on applying for the Honors College?
if you get accepted you get free tuition, a free laptop, a study grant for research/study abroad, and either a free dorm (at Hunter) or a stipend (for an apartment/food)</p>

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<p>Justaguy -- it says that I can't PM you, for some reason.</p>

<p>Keilexandra -- That's sort of what I was thinking about doing for the flute, actually. Having a great mechanism is nice, but without a good head joint, it can't be as excellent as one can potentially play. Do you have any suggestions?</p>

<p>Alamode -- I was, but my HS GPA is not nearly high enough. It's worth a try, though.</p>

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<p>You could volunteer for Americorps for up to 2 years, getting a living stipend plus about $4,700 a year that you can use for college. Being an Americorps volunteer also could help you qualify for aid at the colleges that offer special scholarships for students with impressive leadership and community service backgrounds. </p>

<p>I see that you are considering applying to Penn State as an OOS student, and to BU. I don't think that you're likely to get the aid that you need from either place.</p>

<p>Colleges offering Bonners Scholarship programs could be possibilities for excellent aid if you do something first like Americorps: [url=<a href="http://www.bonner.org/directories/bonnercampuscontacts.htm%5DDirectories%5B/url"&gt;http://www.bonner.org/directories/bonnercampuscontacts.htm]Directories[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

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<p>Blanking on specific suggestions, unfortunately--my friends all bought super-expensive flutes (with even more expensive head joints, heh). But if you're desperate, I can ask at school next week. What price range are you looking at?</p>

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<p>I'm confused. At first thought OP wasn't American because of word spelling/usage (neighbourhood, to university, colours sounds nonAmerican), then saw she was, then complains about stifling small town life, but college credits and many EC's... wanting an expensive flute and dirt poor. By now she should be very aware of how the scholarship/college system works in NY and resources available with all the credits obtained. </p>

<p>Nothing wrong with going to a public U (not a CC) and getting grants/loans/ working. College isn't about the HS experience of extracurriculars, you outgrow that. I wouldn't wait to earn money for a more luxurious college experience but get by like so many of us and people we know did.</p>

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<p>Wis75: I'm confused about why you want the OP to settle for less, or "get by like so many of us and people we know did."</p>

<p>Look at her independence and enthusiasm:</p>

<p>"being an independent sort of soul who values intelligence and learning above all else....the idea of facing another year in this little farm town is enough to suffocate the life right out of me...
as an American woman, I try to reach my dreams and never, ever give up. </p>

<p>And she's willing to work hard for it. I don't see her desire for a quality flute as being spoiled at all. I see it as a desire to reach for the beauty in this world. Anybody who has become a good musician knows that it takes a quality instrument to produce a superior sound. Looking at her resume, I'd say she's taken a student instrument far past its expected level of performance. Bravo.</p>

<p>Also I take issue with your statement:
"College isn't about the HS experience of extracurriculars, you outgrow that." As an adult that is still participating in sports, learning a new musical instrument, working on expanding a book club, and helping to lead a community group, I'd say no, these "extras" are what life is all about. Let's live a little now. We have all eternity to be dead.</p>

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<p>wis75, have you ever played a student-model instrument at an intermediate level of talent? I have, and it's a frustrating experience. I'm lucky that a) I play clarinet, one of the cheapest instruments to upgrade, and b) my parents are middle-class and able to pay for a new instrument. Music appears to be very important to the OP and once you get past a certain point, an instrumentalist IS dependent on his or her instrument.</p>

<p>And I second geomom's words regarding the rest of your post.</p>

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<p>First of all, I admire your determination, ability to overcome, and keen intellect/writing--you're obviously very well-positioned for college from an academic standpoint! :)</p>

<p>While I don't have any specific advice per se, I do have a friend who pays for her own school and sorority dues (it actually comes out to a little less than dorm living)--she's out of state (and oddly doesn't qualify for aid.... probably something to do with coming from Alaska with its sky-high COL), so she pays about $24,000 a year solely from on campus jobs and summer jobs. She takes a good number of credits, generally does well, and has time for things like leadership positions in the sorority while working about 40 hours a week on campus.</p>

<p>I do know that she found it to be almost impossible last year when she was trying to work 50-60 hours a week, but getting a relatively small grant (I think it was a $1,000 dollars or so) allowed her to knock it down to a more do-able fourty last year and a particularly productive summer allowed her to do the same this year.</p>

<p>Cavaet: She's obviously really, really tough (as you appear to be! :) ), and it does look exhausting at times (I don't think I could pull it off!), but she says that you adjust and it is do-able. However, from what you said, it looks like you would definitely qualify for some serious need-based aid, as well as being a contender for merit aid! How important is it for you to go out of state for school? If you could find an in-state school that you generally like, you could likely nab some serious merit aid in the process and couple that with the advantages of in-state tuition... Additionally, you could apply for music performance scholarships at schools you are interested; these are competitive, of course, but worth a shot.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is if the colleges will accept your already earned credits, the likelyhood of which increases if you stay in state.</p>

<p>Good luck!!!!</p>

<p>(And if you don't mind me asking, how is your mother doing now? That must have been so scary and stressful...)</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your concern, wis75! I really, really appreciate it! : D To answer your un-posed question, I use British spellings because that happens to be my preference. There are many Americans who do the same thing. Is there a problem with not liking American English opposed to British English? I think not.</p>

<p>I'm not trying to come off as a spoiled kid, here, and I am sorry that you seem to feel as though I am. I was more trying to communicate my situation in colourful and non-boring terms, and clearly I have not done so effectively, but I can't go back and edit my post to fluff it up. I wrote what was on my mind, and perhaps that is a character flaw. Yes, I am a rotten sixteen-year-old kid who is trying to get by in the world with no cash whatsoever. I do feel immensely guilty for needing a good flute to pass successfully through the auditions process, and believe me, I have gone as far as I can on one that was meant for fourth- and fifth-graders. It's not as though I want to break my parents any farther and feel terrible for having to drain their wallets for what others may consider to be silly little things, but it's not so much wanting a new flute as needing one at this point. (To be honest, as someone who is planning to pursue a degree in instrumental music performance, I probably should have had it at least a year ago.) You are not the first person to have pointed out that I am poor and illegitimate in my wants, so thank you very much for that. Wanting a "luxurious" college experience is not at all what I was attempting to say. I would just like to be able to survive, given that my resources will likely be less than those of the other current and past college students I know, and they have a hard enough time as it is.</p>

<p>I know very little outside of what the lovely people who have posted here have said as per scholarships, grants, and loans. My guidance office has done a mediocre job of explaining to my class what we need to be doing. Basically, they said "sign up for Fastweb and look at the SUNY homepage." For someone who may or may not be interested in pursuing a SUNY school, that is not much help, and I am looking at many public universities including in-state ones. Sorry for having a wide array of different college settings and liking to have choices?</p>

<p>And please, if you are going to talk about me, do it directly. I would prefer if you said "you" rather than "the OP," it feels less as though you are talking down via the other people in this thread and I am sitting right here.</p>

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<p>If I can caution a small bit of unsolicited advice: If you plan a degree in musical performance, please have a double major or - the dreaded word - a fallback. I know a lot of musicians and very few are able to make a living with instrumental music alone. I do know a trumpet player who supports his family very nicely, but he also composes, arranges, sings (legit and radio jingles) and hires and directs other musicians for trade shows, cruise ships, etc. Even though he is a terrific player, that income alone was not enough.</p>

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<p>Now for a nicer post!</p>

<p>Geomom and Keilexandra -- Thanks for sticking up for me, it means a lot. Good to know that I'm not just being spoiled...because honestly, I was thinking that maybe I am a bit out of hand. So, in other words, brownie points for you!</p>

<p>Question_Quest -- Thanks for the compliment!</p>

<p>Your friend obviously does a lot of work, but if she can make $24k a year, that's quite a step in the right direction. I guess it is do-able, then. That's pretty amazing that she (and, from the looks of it, lots of people) can work all on her own. I didn't think a grant could make that much difference. Where does she go?</p>

<p>My #1 is PSU, but my #2 is Skidmore, which is in-state. It's a private school (and costly. Piffle!) and I don't know whether TAP and all of those grants would help to cover costs?</p>

<p>And she is doing okay, thanks for asking. Just had surgery for something completely different, but cancer-free since tenth grade. : )</p>

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<p>Missypie, one step ahead of you! Double majoring with neuroscience and minoring/certificate in Spanish. I was hoping for something travel-related in Amnesty International or the Peace Corps (teaching English or music to Spanish schoolchildren, or running studies on indigenous tribes of South America would be optimal, for example).</p>

<p>He directs on cruises? That must be spiffy.</p>

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<p>Are you applying as a Music Performance major? Music Ed major? If it's the latter, think about The College of St Rose in Albany. I have many students that apply there and get huge amounts of financial aid, both merit and need. The trick is to apply early. Also, the app fee is waived if you apply online. </p>

<p>Lots of my students end up there for just this reason: it can become cheaper than a SUNY. </p>

<p>Also, consider Music Ed over Performance. You have to get a Master's degree anyway if you go for Ed, and you can do performance then. It is mighty difficult to make a living with a performance degree (personal experience!)</p>

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<p>Ah, sorry, cross post!</p>