<p>D plans to study IR/government (at cornell, it's communication and gov) and is trying to choose from among these 3. She's visited each, knows the climates and sizes, but needs more detailed info about programs and on-campus feel. Also, how are music programs at these schools? It seems to be weaker at Cornell and UVA than Tufts. Can anyone advise?</p>
<p>Ooh, we visited UVA last spring and thought it was great. My D, who is at Cornell, said she thought she could love UVA, and my S put it on his list. He ended up getting into Cornell ED, so it was a moot point.</p>
<p>We visited Cornell in Feb, and were told by students that the govt. program there is fantastic. Wonderful profs and interesting classes. I don't think Cornell is noted for its music program, however.</p>
<p>Can't speak to Tufts, but I can offer some insight re: UVA and Cornell music programs. My daughter is a serious musician and has been accepted at both schools. Doesn't want to major but wants to continue course work and instrumental study. We visited both UVA and Cornell and made a particular point of visiting music departments and facilities. Brief take on both schools:</p>
<p>UVA: Dept. is housed in Old Cabell Hall, not originally constructed as music building. Auditorium is old and picturesque, but stage narrow and not well suited to performance for medium/large groups. Department has all of four (4!) practice rooms for entire university. In its 200-year self-evaluation, UVA recognized that it has done a mediocre to terrible job in supporting the arts and has made a major commitment to upgrade. A new performing arts center is planned, and large part of necessary funds have been raised, but by the time this facility is up and running, class of 2010 will be long gone. Hoped to hear orchestra, but schedule did not allow. Heard sectional rehearsal, which was decent.</p>
<p>Cornell: Dept. is housed in Lincoln Hall, originally built as engineering building in 19th century. However, Cornell gutted this building 6 years ago and added a new wing, claim it is now the best music facility in the Ivy League. Can't judge whether that is the case, but it is a great, state of the art facility, with large, extensive music library, a number of rehearsal spaces of varying sizes, and about 30-40 practice rooms. The department does not offer a performance major but has excellent performing faculty on board. (Check their bios on dept. website.) They seem to be able to attract quality people, because they work closely with musicologists and composers in performing new music and interesting historical work. Musicology and composing programs have been outstanding for a long time. Orchestra is not as good as you would find at a major conservatory but still impressive and performs challenging works. Conductor is young, energetic, approachable,and very talented. Taking the group to Berlin this June and planning tour for next year. Students really seem to like him. Also, large performing space - Bailey Hall - is just about finished with multi-year renovations. Had very good acoustics for music previously, and university has hired some of the best acoustical consultants in the country to make sure that renovations improve them and also make space better adaptible for lectures.</p>
<p>There are obviously other factors that may influence your decision, but based on our research on what is a very important factor in my daughter's college decision, Cornell was the hands-down winner. Good luck on your decision.</p>
<p>it's a tough questions...</p>
<p>i couldn't comment specifically on the programs your D is interested in. I'm not sure how they rank, though i do know that if it's being taught at Cornell, the program is probably ranked very high to begin with. </p>
<p>For 'on campus feel,' It's really up to the type of person you are. The overall 'feel' of the campus is very academic. Students are generally very stuidous and work very hard. But, you also need to remember that there's over 13,000 undergraduates at Cornell. I've seen every type of group i can think of: the jocks, the nerds (i think i'm one of those), the slackers, the hippies, the conservatives, the liberals, the radicals, the people that are just too cool because daddy bought them a BMW, and the students who have worked hard all of their lives to be at Cornell and are grateful for every minute on campus. There's no question that your daughter will find a group of people to hang out with. There are also 700 registered student organizations, she could easily find somebody with similar interests (regardless of what those intersts may be). </p>
<p>If she's interested in music, look online at housing.cornell.edu into the JAM dorm. JAM stands for Just About Music and has (on every floor) practice rooms with tuned pianos, as well as a stage and probably a recording studio in there some place. Consult Ninian's post about Lincoln hall for more info on that. </p>
<p>hope this helps...</p>
<p>Thank you so much for info, esp. Ninian's extensive comparison of music programs at these two top choices. And to think I had the impression that music was getting short shrift at Cornell! What instrument does your daughter play? We will look up violin faculty for more info. Thanks, too, Gomestar. I was pretty sure that d would find all kinds of kids at Cornell and will go to Cornell days next week to see more.</p>
<p>My daughter is also a violinist but spends almost as much time with her viola. Link to bio for violin instructor Vesselin Gelev:</p>
<p>To follow up on Gomestar's post: Your daughter might also want to check into Risley College, a dorm that has a heavy performing and visual arts emphasis. As I understand it, Risley has a very artsy tone that might be a little intense for some students. One option to try it on for size would be to live elsewhere freshman year but apply to them for an associate membership, which would still allow your daughter to participate in all their programs. If she decided she liked it, she could apply to live there the following year.</p>
<p>We visited Cornell at the same time as Cornell Days last year, and we found it really helpful to observe an orchestra rehearsal. We contacted the conductor Chris Younghoon Kim ahead of time to ask permission, and he was very receptive to this. He also met with us afterwards to answer any questions. I highly recommend that you do this. His email is: <a href="mailto:cyk8@cornell.edu">cyk8@cornell.edu</a></p>
<p>Symphony Orchestra rehearses Monday/Wednesday evenings, Chamber Orchestra late afternoons Tuesdays/Thursdays. Enjoy your trip, and I hope you have a good experience!</p>
<p>Our travel plans require d to attend Days on Friday, but as we are not far d will definately return to observe orchestra rehearsal and I'll recommend she speak with the conductor during the visit. Thanks for your great ideas. Cornell is looking better and better.</p>