Oh my goodness @papdad! Talk about down to the wire! Is McGill a serious contender?
@PAPDAD It’s crazy, isn’t it!? We’re still waiting to hear from a music department where my d auditioned. She’s accepted to the university for academics, but last Wednesday the music department said she’d be notified within a couple weeks, but to start checking the portal this week. (!)
As for McGill, my older daughter went there for undergrad and is back there for her PhD (non music), so if you have any questions about the school in general, let me know. My music D almost aoplied (we toured Schulich) but she decided it was too far away for her.
Good luck and I hope they notify you soon!!
@meltedbutter, it’s funny, when I read your post #4096, I was in the middle of composing the following message for you, so here it is: I don’t know if you read my post #4057, in which I describe my daughter’s more than satisfying musical progress in her BA program thus far, but the other part of it, which I want to share with you, is that my daughter is very into the academic and intellectual part of going to college. She has become interested in the intersection between music and social transformation, and the liberal arts environment is the best place for her to be looking for her unique path in music. Maybe this perspective will be useful for you as you help your daughter navigate this decision-making process. Best wishes to you. Also @Choirsong, @“Pikachu’s Mom”
@SuzeViolin thank you! I still don’t think I can DM, but I’d love to know where she is if you wouldn’t mind sharing (can you DM me?). And what her BM options were. No worries if you don’t want to give those details.
@meltedbutter, I DM’ed you.
@PAPDAD - that is CRAZY!! I’m sorry that is an added stresser in your house. My issue with McGill is they only gave S until next Monday to accept (4/15). Guessing Canadians do things differently than we do…
@akapiratequeen, @Meryem Ouhirra, @tripletmama, and @ParentalUnitInPA Congratulations on making your final decisions. I am admittedly jealous of those able to change their photo images, but crazy happy for you all. We are not even close to that moment, but I’m trying not to stress.
@jazzboydad Wow-congrats to your son! Can’t wait to hear how he navigates these wonderful choices!
We now know the full financial picture for 7 out of 8 colleges. We are just waiting on FAFSA info from New School but spoke to them today and they indicated we should hear soon.
My daughter is currently at Loyola University (New Orleans) for the Accepted Student overnight. So far, her impressions have been positive, but she has been busy so I will get more detailed feedback late tonight or tomorrow. She has another Accepted Student overnight on Friday at Columbia College in Chicago and then a one day Accepted Student event at Saint Rose on 4/14. So,in my mind, I am looking at April 15th not as “tax day” but as “serious sorting out day” as we start to rank her colleges with the goal of a solid top choice by April 22nd with a few backups if an appeal is necessary and/or rejected.
She ended up getting a very generous scholarship of $22K to CalArts so she was thrilled and honored by that and we were pretty shocked since it is tough to get into the college in the first place. It is still way above our price range but we will speak with them this week to see if there is any hope for an appeal or to determine if it needs to be removed from the list. Elena is artsy in so many ways (music, photography, theatre, make-up artistry, visual arts) so it’s definitely an art-lovers dream school and she thinks it could be a perfect school for her. But she did say “How can I know that for sure if I haven’t visited the school? We’ve never even been to California.” The accepted student days they offer don’t work for us and I just don’t know if we could schedule a visit before May 1st. Is it possible to choose a school you’ve never visited? Seems risky. She has a friend who was accepted into UCLA last year and did not visit the school until orientation. She loves it and has done well, but still! And who knows? It may have to come off the list for financial reasons anyway so I guess we will see how things play out.
Hang tough everyone!
@AmyIzzy so many great choices! My mind is spinning and I am sure yours is, as well!
As for never visiting the school you choose, full disclosure – I did that, and loved it. But I think it was more of the norm back in the old days. If she’s never been to CA I would definitely check it out if CalArts is a real option. But as my son would say, “That’s a problem for future you” – see if it’s a real financial option first.
Hopefully, things will sort themselves out in the next few weeks. So much to think about!
@AmyIzzy You can definitely be happy at a school you’ve never visited before! I was a Florida girl who had never been north of Washington, DC when I stepped off a plane with my suitcase (alone, not with parents) to attend UG school in New Hampshire. We couldn’t afford college visits and my parents couldn’t afford to accompany me. It was an AMAZING four years, and I chose it solely based on brochures and college guides – I didn’t even know anyone personally who went to school there, other than the alumni interviewers I’d met. Not sure if an advance visit would have made any difference.
However, sometimes even the quick visit isn’t a true indication. My cousin’s daughter from NC got an almost-full ride from University of Rochester (not Eastman – she’s not a music student). She’d never been there, but based on everything she’d read and heard she’d fallen in love with UofR and it was her top choice. To be sure, however, she and her mom traveled to accepted students day… and she was shocked: she didn’t like UofR AT ALL. She was in a panic, because she’d built it up so much in her mind and really didn’t have a back-up school on deck that she wanted to go to. They decided she’d go for freshman year and then make a plan to transfer. Well… she went… and LOVED it. She’s a junior there now and it’s been the perfect place for her. She’s a communication or film major (I’m not quite sure) and the program has been great and she’s even done quite a bit of work with the film industry in Toronto on weekends and during breaks. I don’t know whether the explanation is that things turn often turn out better than we may expect, or that people tend to rationalize their decisions in retrospect (confirmation bias in behavioral science lingo) – but it will ALL work out well for your daughter in the end, I am sure – visit or no visit! I hope that CalArts ups its offer so it can become a real option among all of the good ones you already have.
That said, I feel fortunate that we can make the trip to a lot of the school my daughter is interested in, but we will not be able to go to them all. Which is why I love hearing about people’s impressions here – it’s really helpful to hear from eyewitness visitors!
Can anybody confirm and email they send an appeal for Financial Aid to Mannes? the one that i have is not in use anymore!!!
@pianomom74 my d not home but she said the one they originally gave her didn’t work but it sounded like when it bounced back it gave her a new address. She said she sent it to the new address. I hope she did!! I’ll try to find out.
@meltedbutter you would not believe but… Its not the email they give you when it bounce back. I spend 48 mints on hold with Financial aid office . They were looking for new email to give me. They had no idea that everything was turned around. Finally, they gave me new email with one more to cc just in case. It worked. Got the appeal form and emailed it back already.
@pianomom74 Oh no! Ugh. I didn’t get to check with D and now she’s at her voice lesson. Could you DM me the email so I can see if that’s where she sent it. She did it on Friday afternoon.
Thank you @akapiratequeen & @khill87. Glad to hear some success stories of “getting married to a school before properly meeting in person.” Lol. It may be a non-issue after my daughter’s amazing experience at the Accepted Student overnight at Loyola University. She absolutely loves the school, the music program, the people, and the city of New Orleans (this was only her second visit to NOLA, the first being a whirlwind 3 hour visit on audition day!) I thought she’d enjoy it but I wasn’t expecting her to be SO excited.
Other than the negative of it being so far away from home, I must admit I had a good “parent vibe” that it could be a happy college home for her (artsy, diverse, focus on social justice, many interesting clubs and activities, teachers seemed to really connect with the students, easy access to recording studios-things I know she was looking for) and it helps that the generous scholarships will keep the price in our comfort zone.
I know she still likes some others and wants to keep an open mind, but Loyola definitely took a leap forward on her list after the visit.
@meltedbutter im new to the forum, i cannot DM yet. You can DM me, may be i can answer:)
I can’t recall who asked about happiness at a school they’ve never visited before but the very first day I stepped foot on campus at Michigan State was the first day of registration! I loved college life here. 
That was me @SpartanDrew. My daughter has never visited CalArts and it would be tough to visit this month. But not sure it will even stay on the list due to price and other factors. Sounds like your blind marriage to Michigan State worked out well! Love those success stories!
The topic of gender and jazz has come up a few times here so I thought I’d share this great piece that digs into what Berklee is doing on this topic. My wife and D attended the open house back in October when the center was created, and came away really impressed. I know @tripletmama and her D are very aware of and excited about these efforts. Hopefully this trend will spread to other schools and the jazz scene will be a more diverse and interesting place.
https://www.wbur.org/artery/2019/04/09/berklees-institute-of-jazz-and-gender-justice-sexism-jazz
Well maybe it’s just me… I met my husband on a blind date too and the rest is history! HAHA!
We have some news… with the appeal being successful, my D has committed to Eastman… yay!!