<p>Our son just received a letter from Barrett offering him a scholarship for tuition & fees. and monetary help getting out to Barrett to look at the school. I have searched this site & read up on Barrett, but there was nothing current. Any thoughts on the quality of Barrett now? How is it regarded? Our son wishes to study physics and/or music composition/theory. At this point he is saying he wants to be a professor. He might also be interested in computer science. (In other words, he doesn't really know yet what he wants!) I mention the professor stuff because I am guessing he will need to attend a graduate school, so money will be an issue in the future. Any comments about Barrett will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Barrett is a very nice program is a very large and not-very-selective university. I live in AZ, and many of my very bright students have gone there. It is an educational bargain, and they treat their honors students very well. (Housing and foods are very good, they give “extras” like laptops and trips, etc.) The weather is great, and the campus is pretty safe for a school that size. I’d have your son visit and see what he thinks. My feeling generally is that the contacts you make at a state school are most useful regionally, so that may be a factor, but ASU has many solid programs and a good location for fun activities. (I really know nothing about the comp sci program, though.)</p>
<p>ASU is not very selective but Barrett certainly is, especially considering that it reels in its share of NMF’s. It should be high on your list as far as a free rides go. GL & Congrats to your kid. He just saved you $100K</p>
<p>sosomenza, Does this mean we can assume he can get in?</p>
<p>Also be aware that the selective school of music will be an additional hurdle. Call music admissions if you need to figure out what sort of music portfolio he needs to assemble for composition. And yes you can be in Barrett and the music school simultaneously. In fact the two together along with a good scholarship can be a fantastic opportunity. We know of two students who did their well financed undergrad at ASU SOM and did their grad at Yale. Congratulations.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman NMF in Barrett dbl major math/oboe perf. </p>
<p>I can tell you a lot, but it’s too much to post. I’ll write a bit and let me know if you want me to send you a PM with more info. </p>
<p>I assume your son is NMF since he got that scholarship? In addition, he may receive a music scholarship based on audition, or whatever you do for composition. My D got a nice one, so school is pretty cheap. And she worked all summer so buying her own reeds and tools, yay.</p>
<p>Current annual report for NMSC profiles an ASU physics grad who is now working on PhD at MIT.</p>
<p>For composition they require prescreen. Engineering and Herberger(art/music/dance/design/film) have established a collaborative school -‘Arts Media and Engineering’ and music students can add classes from there. I don’t know much about it, but it might be a way for S to get into CS related stuff without doing a dbl major. The dbl major can be tough. The BM is, well you know how it is, demanding. They do have a BA, but at least in performance, the credit hours required are not that much less than BM. Luckily school is very generous with AP credit.</p>
<p>The head of the dept. is in composition, had a long talk with him at orientation and he arranged for D to meet with a student of his who is dbl major with math.</p>
<p>You can use the travel voucher for the audition trip. They have a mid January date. Schedule non-music class visits in between the music and Barrett stuff so he can get a feel for the what the students are like. </p>
<p>We had appts with advisor in math office and also a math prof. A whole crew of profs stopped by to add insight, on their roller blades and longboards, LOL. The culture is pretty interesting there. You could do something similar for physics or CS. I’m guessing they’ll tell you somethig similar to what they told us. Advanced students can take grad classes early on, get involved with research, various competitions and summer programs they have with other universities.</p>
<p>We are from the upper Midwest so the heat was pretty tough getting used to in September. After that the weather is wonderful.</p>
<p>Oh, daughter loves the music practice rooms as they have windows. In Barrett she claims there is a lounge on each floor of the dorms and every lounge has a piano. I can’t vouch for that, but there definitely are pianos on the Herberger freshman floors of Barrett dorms and a grand piano in its dining hall. The Herberger kids are all grouped together on two floorsof one dorm. D says people are singing in the halls, rooms decorated with crazy artwork and photo spreads, very creative kids. Barrett has a great choir for the guys.</p>
<p>App is very easy. There is a separate Barrett app. It’s pretty automatic for NMF, but do have to complete it, essay and so forth. If NMF, can do that much later, wait until you’re sure you are attending if you want.</p>
<p>If he wants to do a PhD in physics or CS, the situation is different than some of the liberal arts. If he gets into a decent school, he should be funded. That is, he should get a tuition waiver and also a stipend, maybe $1500/month to help with living expenses. In return he’ll be expected to TA a class or 2, or work in a lab with professor. This is pretty standard in the sciences. Cheaper than med/law/vet.</p>