<p>Hey all!</p>
<p>I have been trying to decide on my early decision school for quite awhile now and am still having some difficulty, so I thought it might be a good idea to get some opinions. I am deciding between Claremont Mckenna, Vandy, Northwestern, and I am also considering Emory. I have found the process of choosing to be a bit difficult as I am not 100% sure of what I want to study; my brother went to Northwestern for Journalism and within the year totally switched his focus to Political Science, so I don't want to assign myself a major which will likely change within my first year of college as I develop new interests. As of now I am very interested in Neuroscience and Psychology, and music has also been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have also considered studying Economics, International Relations, Political Science, etc. </p>
<p>I would ideally like to be at a school with a big city nearby, so Northwestern, Vandy and CMC all take care of that. In addition, I'd like to be somewhere with a good music scene as I will most likely want to take some music courses, form a couple bands, etc. Traveling abroad is also important to me; I want to be somewhere where taking a semester or year abroad is encouraged. My brother is a current Sophomore at Northwestern and a Sigma Chi, so the Greek Life at Northwestern and Vandy applies to me, but it is not a deal breaker...thoughts?</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Also, I have already visited and toured at each of these schools, loved all of them in different ways, so that is also making it a bit difficult to decide…CMC may have been my favorite based on the visit though, part of me has always wanted to live in California</p>
<p>Your majors very strongly fit CMC, but you are warned- the music scene is subpar.</p>
<p>hm, do you think the music scene from the other consortium schools would help make up for it? I’m sure Pitzer has plenty of musicians haha. As far as actual music courses go I know very little about what CMC offers. I know that Northwestern has an Auditory Neurosciene lab which is of huge interest to me, so I am starting to lean towards there a bit…the issue is that Northwestern would likely be the most difficult to get accepted to (even with ED) out of the schools I am considering…it’s not an easy choice haha</p>
<p>CMC’s ed rate= 35%, Northwestern= 33%, Vanderbilt= 22%, Emory= 49%.</p>
<p>So actually, Vanderbilt would be the “toughest” to get into.</p>
<p>Music options are greatly expanded by Pomona and Scripps, not Pitzer, but I’m not sure how many of the resources themselves are actually open to CMC students.</p>
<p>Re CMC: Music courses are offered through Pomona, Scripps & Harvey Mudd and open to all. And I’ve known students at CMC who formed bands. And bands play on campus. Not sure what you mean by music scene. There are always the clubs in LA… Academically Harvey Mudd offers some of the more interesting music courses. And the college ensembles are also drawn from the full 5C’s. So explore the music offerings at all the schools. But again, what kind of scene are you looking for?</p>
<p>If you are torn between 4 schools, than it doesn’t appear that early decision is for you. I am not convinced that applying ED gives any advantage to an unhooked applicant, so it should be used for those who have a clear number one choice and do not have concerns about finances regarding that college.</p>
<p>Also, 3 of those colleges, Vandy, CMC and Emory (not sure about Northwestern), give competitive merit scholarships. I am pretty certain these schools do not waste this money on ED applicants, why should they when the student has committed to attend without this carrot? If you want to try for the very competitive merit dollars at these schools, then absolutely don’t apply ED. </p>
<p>Apply to these four wonderful schools either EA or regular decision, along with matches and a safety, and then see what you choices are in April.</p>