<p>I'm looking to be a Music major with an emphasis in the culture and history of music, like (ethno)musicology. I'm mostly looking for OOS LACs (I'm in Colorado). My GPA isn't great but I test well, interview well, and have been told I come across as interesting in writing.</p>
<p>Here are some schools I'm looking at -
Lewis & Clark
Willamette
Reed
Linfield
Puget Sound
Evergreen State
Whittier
Occidental
Colorado College</p>
<p>I'm also interviewing at L&C, Willamette, and Reed next month if that matters...I'm doing campus visits of those 3 plus Linfield, PS, and maybe Evergreen.</p>
<p>So, if you can tell me a bit about the music programs at each and which ones have the best music program for someone like me, that would be great. Or if you have other similar schools to suggest looking into, I would appreciate that as well! Thanks.</p>
<p>Evergreen State doesn’t seem to have a lot to offer around your interests although you can self design and mix and match programs</p>
<p>Linfield seems like a cultural outlier on your list - it is more conservative, sporty, business major oriented than the others - not sure if that matters</p>
<p>Everyone I know - my D included - seems to like either Willamette or Lewis and Clark but not both. You will get a good feel for them though since you are visiting. Purely in terms of admissions full pay will help - especially with Reed that offers only need based aid and anecdotally that is a pull with Colorado College. WIllamette offers really great merit aid but doesn’t meet need.</p>
<p>@saintfan Ok, thanks for letting me know. My family is in a very bad financial situation right now so I’m going to need a lot of financial aid and my grades aren’t good enough to get any big scholarships. Full pay is 100% out of the question, it’s to the point where I’m not entirely sure I can afford to go to college unless I get a LOT of aid. So that makes Willamette a bit iffier, unfortunately. Do you know anything about L&C’s aid?
(BTW, what do you mean when you say “that is a pull with Colorado College”? Thanks.)</p>
<p>Ha! I mis-typed! I meant that I have heard that CC is not as need blind as they may claim to be and your chances diminish if you have need. Reed meets need (I think) but is difficult to get into and likely much harder if you have need. However . . . my impression is that they really care about fit and the right kid so they could fall in love with you.</p>
<p>I don’t know any more than you do about the music programs. My kid who looked at these schools had other interests so I didn’t check out that aspect. My kid decided not to apply to L @ C so I can’t speak directly to their aid - I’m sorry. </p>
<p>How about Northern Colorado? They would be in state for you and are reputed to have a really solid music program.</p>
<p>If you are really in a financial bind could you live at home an attend community college then transfer to Northern Colorado as a safety option?</p>
<p>Are you willing to share GPA and test scores?</p>
<p>Generally the LACs give the best money to students who bring something to the table for them by way of grades, test scores, NMF status etc. They also usually give music performance and theater scholarships to attract a balanced student body. Have you matched your metrics against their published numbers? I will say that my D with high GPA, test scored and IB diploma got high merit aid at Willamette but still had an aid to need gap. It is a school that ends up being a really good deal and attractive option to families who don’t have a lot of need if any. Reed is the opposite - very expensive if you are full pay but might be affordable for you if you can get in.</p>
<p>I just realized that you have shared some details in other places. I have to run get some things done but will come back to this. Maybe an update now that you have some scores and a gpa through jr year would help. URM might be a hook at some of the schools that interest you and help with aid. I will read back through other things - get my day in order and check back later. :-B </p>
<p>@saintfan My counselor suggested UNC as an in-state safety, so I am thinking of applying there. I haven’t actually visited yet, and I would like to do everything I can to get out of state and out west. I’m also thinking about maaaaaaaaybe applying to University of Denver but that’s way too close to home for me, I also visited the campus and wasn’t crazy about it. I know it has a great music program though. Thanks for helping!</p>
<p>As people have said many times on CC - finding a financially and academically viable safety that offers your program is a good base to work from then branch out from there. People have talked about “loving your safety” and I’m not sure that you have to love it on every front but it has to be viable at least. </p>
<p>A classmate of my son’s went to Franklin and Marshall (had to go on medical leave due to a health problem that emerged). He was a good musician and he said he found the music there only so-so, which was fine as he was not majoring in music and liked the fact that he could be in a lead position in their Jazz Orchestra and not have it take any more time than he spent on band in HS. </p>
<p>It seems like you are set on going West but have you considered Hampshire college in Western MA. Hampshire is very similar to Reed and Evergreen and attracts similar types of students, but their admissions is a bit more nuanced. Another possible school is Bard, which has a unique application process where you can write a research paper instead of having them look at your grades. That admissions process is specifically set up to attract the sort of student you say you are.</p>
<p>Another school to consider as a financial safety is a little unknown gem but a school that is surprisingly strong across the board in most majors which is University of Pittsburgh. And if you go there you can take classes at Carnegie Melon. </p>
<p>University of Utah also has a very strong music department. </p>
<p>In fact if finances are tight then you might seriously look into state schools like Pitt and Utah and Tennessee that have strong academics but are eager to have out of state students that might bring something special to their community.</p>
<p>Does Utah have any kind of reciprocity with Colorado, @codexsplanade?</p>
<p>@StacJip You’ve got a lot of interesting suggestions, thanks.
I don’t want to rule out going east, but I really want to be out west. To be honest, long story short, I grew up in the Northeast and I have a lot of negative feelings surrounding that area and I’m not sure if I’m ready to go back, even to visit. Especially since the main negative thing in the Northeast is still unresolved. So I feel really bad for not considering schools in that region, or in the east in general, as much as schools in the west but at the moment even thinking about going back there is very upsetting for me.
Bard is especially…“ruled out”, since it’s extremely close to where I grew up and my dad actually used to be a professor there. It’s a lovely school and I very well might have applied, given different circumstances, but I’m not really ready to take that step.</p>
<p>@saintfan I’m not sure…could you elaborate?</p>
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<p>Have u given thought to what u are going to do with this degree once u graduate? </p>
<p>@GMTplus7 To be honest, not really. Ideally I would like to be a musician - not a very big one, but playing in a band that’s not massive or anything but big enough to support ourselves financially. Obviously that’s not the most practical of career choices and if it doesn’t work out I would be open to a lot of different career possibilities, I’m just pretty certain that I want to be working directly with music. Worst case scenario I’ll just become a teacher (I’m kidding!)</p>
<p>Many of the students who apply to schools on your list apply to Bennington. Check their music dept. I also like Clark U. i Worcester. Sorry these are on the East Coast! U. of Colorado is pretty darn good in music too…</p>
<p>CU Boulder is a nice school and all, but I’d like to avoid schools that are really that massive, as well as wanting to get out of state in general (notice how there’s only one in-state school on my list). Again, looking for smaller schools, especially LACs. But if it’s a bigger school, I definitely want one OOS.</p>
<p>I just didn’t know off the top of my head if Colorado and Utah are in the Western Undergraduate Exchange group
for discounted OOS tuition</p>