<p>My DD got into all the schools she applied. Didn't care much about Hart and UMass (Amherst ) that much. Hartt's scholarship was so so. Umass mediocore. Final list was Ithaca / Fredonia and Uconn ( CT is the home state ) Got mediocore scholarship @ Ithaca and decided it was not worth the expense to go there although she loved the teacher and school. her First choice was and has always been Fredonia got about 6000 in scholarship per year which brings the cost down to Instate prices. UConn being the state school got a full ride in tuition but doesn't want to go there. So we are looking @ atleast 10 grand per year extra at Fredonia. Also UConn is a direct masters programme so they cover tuition for 5 years and she comes out with a masters in Edocation - instrument viola. At fredonia she wants to double major in performance and Ed. So over the coarse of 5 yrs or so it will cost us 50k more to go to Fredonia as she wants to do a Masters right after her Bachelors. Can domebody give me advise as to weather going to Fredonia and then doing a Masters which will be 50 to 60 K more is justifiable for a Music Ed student. As we are almost in the last week of decision making need some rational and real world answers. Also Uconn will be 2 hours away while Fredonia is 9 Hours away from us. We don't qualify for need based scholarship as we are considered to be just over the limit for financial aid other than loans.
Please help us in this decision making and rationalise the spending</p>
<p>Hi! We’re at the same point. Fortunately, for us Fredonia is an “in state school”. Hopefully some of the Ct CC community can help with UConn info. We just visited Fredonia this week and they told son that he doesn’t need the dual major since all their ed majors get the same treatment with lessons, studio time and ensembles as the performance majors. They also told him they like to be known as the poor man’s “Eastman”. As far as taking on debt or whether its worth it to spend more at Fredonia than your home state school, it would depend on whether or not your daughter likes either studio teacher better. Also, where does your daughter see herself teaching? Since my son would like to teach in NY, a NY school makes sense due to the different certification requirements from each state. Son was told by his high school teachers that if you are truly planning on music ed then don’t take on debt since you have to get a masters anyway and he can do performance for his masters. Son loved Hartt but it was too expensive and we’re deciding between our two state schools for undergrad and he may go back to Hartt for grad…</p>
<p>My violist daughter was steered away from UConn for string study by her high school teachers, for what it’s worth. They felt the program was not very strong.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we do know two music education students there who are both thriving and getting a lot out of UConn.</p>
<p>(That wasn’t actually very helpful, was it? 
)</p>
<p>Weather along the NYS Thruway to Fredonia can be horrible, and that’s putting it mildly! Often, during the winter, you’ll encounter stretches of the road that are closed, forcing you to take an alternate route, or just to wait it out. Fredonia itself sits in the snow belt of Lake Erie, while the areas around Syracuse and Rochester get the snow from Lake Ontario; Syracuse already had over 6 feet of snow by Christmas last year, and my usual 3 1/2 hour trip from Rochester to Cleveland on 12/4 took over 5 hours due to the snow around Fredonia.In fact, I had to put off a trip back to the Fredonia area 3 times in January just because of the bad weather there!
I’m used to the weather, lived in upstate NY for several decades, but if I could avoid driving that area, I would. Bottom line, are the additional mega-bucks worth it to attend school there? I’d say no, unless your D is willing to work while in school and in the summer and breaks, and pay the difference. That wouldn’t kill her, plenty of kids do it at other schools, but this is a SUNY school we’re talking about, not, pardon me, one of the top-tier conservatories. Sit your D down and show her the numbers, and have her figure out how she would help pay for the difference in cost.</p>
<p>I’ll agree with the weather comment. It snowed at Fredonia when we were there on Monday of this week! (Of course, son’s choice school as of today is on the Canadian border so I don’t think we’re getting better weather there either.)</p>
<p>Has your DD spent time at UConn in the music dept? </p>
<p>My D was not sure what school she wanted to go to and was seriously leaning towards UMass. She knew UNH - having spent a fair amount of time there for various music events. So she thought she might be wanting something “more” or “different” and then she spent a day in the music dept at UNH a week ago, and remembered why she likes UNH so much! It quickly became the 1st choice again. </p>
<p>My D also is a music ed major so money end of going to the state school also made it very appealing. She is really happy with her decision.</p>
<p>So if your DD has not spent a significant amount of time at UConn it might be helpful to schedule a visit. It was very helpful for us.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>