<p>Can anyone offer ideas on potential schools for a very talented young woman ( HS sophomore) in math who also loves music. I have a friend who is beginning to look for his daughter and asked for my help. Older brother will graduate May 2013 from Georgia Tech with BME, but sister wants a different school. While family lives in Georgia, the would be happy to look at schools out of state, especially if scholarship funds might be in play. Don't have any standardized national test scores, but she is taking senior level and AP math classes as a sophomore. </p>
<p>" Recording Arts and Sciences at the Peabody Institute and TheJohns Hopkins University" is a combined engineering and music degree. Very small program, very expensive, very difficult admission, as you must be admitted to both the Engineering Department at Hopkins and The Peabody Institute, and very difficult to complete once you are in it, but for the right person…</p>
<p>My son once received a 60 page, spiral bound brochure from the program because he had marked “music” as a possible major when he took the SATs, and scored very high on the math portion of the test. </p>
<p>He did not pursue it any farther, but that brochure stuck in our heads!</p>
<p>She would earn a Bachelor of Music In Recording Arts and Sciences.</p>
<p>Just FYI, Carnegie Mellon has an early admission program for mature students who, by end of junior year, have exhausted what their HS can offer. You do have to audition to be admitted to their music program.</p>
<p>Is math the intended major with music on the side? MIT has a strong music program, University of Rochester is partnered with Eastman Conservatory of Music, Carnegie Mellon is strong in both fields, and there are many other possibilities. Farther south, Vanderbilt has a good music program, but I don’t know anything about their math department.</p>
<p>It’s probably too early but does she have any idea what she wants to do with a math degree? As a female math student, she should give serious consideration to Actuarial Science. Have them look on the Society of Actuaries website and they have a listing of all of the schools that have various levels of Actuarial Science programs. There are 3 levels, introductory, advanced and Centers of Actuarial Excellence. The different levels indicate how many tests they prep you for before you graduate. [SOA</a> - Society of Actuaries - College Listing](<a href=“http://www.soa.org/Education/Resources/actuarial-colleges/actuarial-college-listings-details.aspx]SOA”>Universities & Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP) | SOA)</p>
<p>She can pretty much write her own ticket in this field, which currently has a zero percent unemployment rate nationally. There are also several scholarships available for sophomore and above students in this field. It is a very lucrative field with much more job stability than engineering.</p>
<p>Check out the music board for ideas. In terms of schools in the south, Rice has a great music program. A lot will depend on whether she wants to focus primarily on math or music. But most top tier schools have good programs in both areas. Those schools with conservatory level programs may require a double major and admission into the music program. Each is different and you would need to check them out.</p>
<p>Given how advanced she is, she likely needs a school with a strong graduate math program, since she is likely to exhaust the math offerings at an undergraduate-only school. Most LACs would probably be inappropriate for her, due to limited upper division and no graduate level math offerings, while she would not benefit as much from their advantages at the lower division level (since she will be ready for upper division math courses (which are typically small faculty led classes) as a freshman).</p>
<p>^I’m not sure I agree UCB. The reason I say that is I know 3 math professors, all at different but highly regarded universities. Two of them went to LACs for undergrad, and not even LACs you’d even think of when you think math/science.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus-I disagree. LAC with strong math programs will have plenty of opportunities for an advanced math student to fill out a schedule through senior year as well as offering individual instruction as needed. We had a boy from our high school test out of (not take) a college math" major" from our flagship by the time he graduated from high school. He finished all high school math classes before he entered his freshman year. He is majoring in “math” at a strong LAC, however, he is doing that 100% through individual studies in collaboration with some professors at other top math schools around the nation.</p>
<p>Thank each of you so much! As usual, the parents on CC have more expertise than most counselors my DD and DS ever worked with. This will be ( along with any other ideas people have) tremendous help to this young woman and her family. Wish I had been on task enough to ask the same question for my daughter in 2007-interests very much the same. </p>
<p>Steve,
All I know is she wants to utilize math skills because she loves the subject. I didn’t even think about actuarial careers-what a great idea. Will pass along today to her parents. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>Does that passion extend to the level of wanting a conservatory type education, especially at a highly competitive level? </p>
<p>If so, you may want to consider Oberlin College as it has a topflight conservatory and a double-degree program that takes 5 years to complete. From what I’ve heard from several graduate faculty members and college classmates, the only negative is that it doesn’t have too much for those interested in the applied math side while they were there. </p>
<p>Noticed someone above also mentioned Tufts. Don’t know about their math department, but they’re affiliated with the New England Conservatory…a topflight conservatory. </p>
<p>You should also consider URochester as their STEM programs are top-notch and they’re affiliated with the Eastman School of Music…another topflight conservatory. </p>
<p>Julliard has an affiliation with Columbia U/Barnard and Manhattan College of Music is located next door to the Morningside Heights campus. I knew a few Columbia/Barnard undergrads who did a double-degree program with Julliard…but admission requirements and time commitments are extreme…especially considering the level of both institutions and geographic distance of the campuses.</p>
<p>However, keep in mind that these conservatories audition the best prospective conservatory students from all over the world for admission so it can be quite competitive to get in. Also, some departments in each of those conservatories may have extremely competitive environments. Knew several undergrad classmates in Oberlin’s piano department who felt the departmental atmosphere was cutthroat at times. </p>
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<p>For someone whose passion for music is at the level of a conservatory student, only URochester/Eastman and possibly CMU’s school for the arts. Even so, the former would be ranked far higher than the latter by friends who are classical musicians/teachers. </p>
<p>If you’re looking into the latter, I’d also consider Indiana U as their conservatory program is considered respectable. </p>
<p>Unless things have changed very recently, MIT’s music program is geared mainly for those who consider music to be a side activity/hobby. For someone whose musical passions are at the conservatory level, the program would be considered inadequate for their needs.</p>
<p>Not all who become math professors start at a super-advanced level in math, as is the case with the student who is the subject of this thread (three years ahead in math, will likely be ready for upper division math as a college freshman, if she has not already taken some at a local four year school). A student who is not advanced in math, or only a semester or year ahead in math (no more than AP credit), could find a LAC perfectly suitable for studying math without exhausting its math course offerings.</p>
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<p>But did he choose the LAC for some reason other than math? Couldn’t he have attended one of the “other top math schools” which has a graduate program in math, be able to take graduate level math courses, and do research as an undergraduate (if that brilliant, will likely be offered research opportunities of graduate-level difficulty)?</p>
<p>I’d like to second ucbalumnus. I also happened to be one of those advanced math students who got “stuck” at a LAC. Running out of courses to take after my sophomore year sucked. Yes, there are work-arounds (like independent study arrangements with faculty or the occasional esoteric elective) but it’s not ideal. Luckily I had a research university nearby that let me audit graduate courses. Interacting with other students at my level was so much better than working in solitude with a professor or two!</p>
<p>University of Michigan allows undergraduate students to take graduate courses. In most departments, including math, these classes have no “enforced” prerequisites, so if she’s self-studied she can jump into grad level classes of her choosing as early as first semester freshman year. I think this is a huge strength of Michigan. I’m no math genius but I think the math courses I’ve taken (well, 2 out of 3) have been sufficiently difficult and rewarding. </p>
<p>I think the Music programs are highly regarded too, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about them. She will be able to get a dual-degree, many kids do so.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus==he chose that school because it was a good fit for him, they allowed him to design his own major to accommodate his brilliance-something the major U’s would not do for him. He is taking what would be considered grad-level classes and he has all the research opportunities he wants and he is not being taught by TA’s that know less than he does. Why would he choose to go elsewhere-especially with the full ride he was offered?</p>
Because he might want to interact with other students who share his brilliance and enthusiasm? </p>
<p>Your statements are either misinformed or intentionally misleading. Graduate courses are generally taught by professors, not TAs. Research universities provide more resources for research too: you’ll find whole research groups and regular seminars with outside speakers, which are not typically found at small colleges. And in my experience, professors at research universities are just as happy to work one-on-one with advanced undergraduates as professors at LACs. </p>
<p>My experience matches that of ucbalumnus: professors at LACs are more willing to work with less advanced undergraduates than professors at research universities. But that’s not really a concern for a student who’ll be placing out of those lower-level classes.</p>