College Selection

College Search & Selection
1

<p>List:
Stanford
Yale
Northwestern (music/engineering dual degree, Murphy Scholar)</p>

<p>I'm planning on double majoring in chemical engineering and music. Stanford has the strongest engineering program by far, but it seems like music is an afterthought there. Northwestern has a pretty good engineering program, an amazing music school (the only one I can get an actual performance degree at), and being a Murphy Scholar gives me a scholarship to start my own research right away. Yale has a weaker engineering program, a great music program, an amazing campus, an intellectual atmosphere, and (I have to say) the most prestige. One thing to note is that while Stanford and Yale do offer music majors, it is a general music major, not a performance major.</p>

<p>I love chemistry and music and I would have a very difficult time choosing a career path if I were asked to do so now. It's a long shot for anyone to successfully audition into a major symphony orchestra, but I feel like if I never gave that path a go (or at least give a music school a shot) I'd regret it. I didn't think I had ANY shot at that type of a career, but I've been somewhat convinced that I have a (small) degree of potential after being accepted into a program like Northwestern's. On the other hand, engineering seems to be a pretty stable job, and if I do attend Northwestern, there is a chance I would end up dropping from the dual degree program and only complete one of the 2 majors (probably engineering). Last thing: I hate to admit it, but I do care a bit about prestige. It's not like Northwestern isn't prestigious, it's just that I'm so lucky to have been admitted to world-class colleges like Stanford and Yale and I'd have a hard time turning them down.</p>

<p>Basically (between my 3 schools):
Stanford - #1 engineering, #2 prestige, #2 campus/atmosphere, #3 music
Northwestern - #1 music, #2 engineering, #3 campus/atmosphere, #3 prestige
Yale - #1 campus/atmosphere, #1 prestige, #2 music, #3 engineering</p>

<p>One suggestion I was given (disclaimer: music teacher) was to attend Northwestern for undergrad to allow myself to choose between music and engineering, and then attend grad school once I've decided.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long and probably incoherent post, but I'm torn. I welcome any comments...</p>

2

<p>I’m big on narrowing the field down to a few schools using cold-blooded logic (can I afford it? does it have my major? etc.). But then making the FINAL choice on emotion. Which campus made you most excied? In 10 years, if someone asks you where you went to school, which school’s name are you going to be happiest to say? Buy a t-shirt from each school and wear each for a day…one will feel just right. Look in a mirror and say “I go to Stanford,” “I go to Yale,” “I go to Northwestern.” Which feels best?</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the response.</p>

<p>Well, all three schools have my major, but not all of them are equally strong at it…should that be taken into account? Do rankings really matter? Because I’m under the impression that if I make the most of any school it will be good enough.</p>

<p>Based on your emotional criteria, I’d have to eliminate Northwestern right away. Doesn’t have the name. Yale is a bit more prestigious than Stanford and I was just stunned by the campus when I visited (Stanford has a nice one too but not like Yale’s). I have this question though: although Yale is extremely prestigious, do people employing engineers and whatnot view it the same way even if it’s engineering programs aren’t particularly strong? Or would they value Stanford more because it has a much stronger engineering program?</p>

4

<p>I don’t think anybody anywhere is ever going to see a resume with Yale on it and say, “Oh, Yale, too bad he couldn’t have gone to a GOOD school.”</p>