decision issues--i can't believe this is happening!!

<p>I just got an email/phone call from Oberlin saying that I have been admitted off the wait-list!</p>

<p>I can't believe it. This isn't conservatory, it's arts and sciences, but it is still a big problem for me because now I have to re-decide.</p>

<p>Should I go with IU, where I got in for music, but isn't academically as good...</p>

<p>or Oberlin, academically better but didn't get in for music. </p>

<p>I guess maybe it come down to what I want to do. I kind of want to be a music teacher, but I'm not sure about it. I wanted to keep that option open by majoring in music education and science, but now...I don't know!!!</p>

<p>I don't want to have to decide yet. Oberlin is such a wonderful school. Doesn't have all the perks of a state school (for me--marching band, great school spirit/sports teams, lots of extracurricular options, the nearby city of bloomington...), but it seems like the type of place I'd thrive in.</p>

<p>I have a neighbor who's an alumnist who really encouraged me to go there. She thinks I'd love the environment. I did love it when I visited. It was amazing! I don't know what to decide.</p>

<p>If you have any comments, suggestions, comparisons between the two, I'd love to hear ANY and ALL input. Thank you so much!:)</p>

<p>I can't help much, but I do sympathize. My son also applied to Oberlin (last year), but did not get into the music school and was waitlisted for the college. His trumpet teacher thought Oberlin would be a wonderful school for him. However, he knew he wanted music, so he went with IU where he was admitted into the music school and did not pursue the wait list. He hasn't regretted his decision. However, had he been accepted to Oberlin, it would have been a tough decision for him, too.</p>

<p>Congratulations on the news, and good luck in making your decision. You have two great choices.</p>

<p>My D was accepted to both IU and Oberlin several years ago. She would have chosen IU over Oberlin. She felt IU had more to offer for her, although Oberlin is an excellent school with a top voice program. (she is at Rice going into her senior year). If you think you want music ed, I would go to Indiana. The academics are strong. It is VERY different from Oberlin. It is a huge university. If you want a smaller environment, Oberlin would be better. I am an IU alum and can highly recommend it.</p>

<p>Since you haven't been admitted to the conservatory, and you think at this point you want music, then it seems to me that IU is definitely the better option. It's quite an achievement, IMHO, to be admitted to IU for music.</p>

<p>srtatzarina-I just happened to read your post on the "jobs" thread regarding marching bands. Marching and music education seem to be passions of yours. While Oberlin College seems to be a likely fit for you academically, IU has the whole package. You can get a strong arts and science education, be part of a Big Ten Marching Band (which is an experience unlike any other, especially for a percussionist) and train to be a music educator at one of the top schools in the country. You can be very proud of the fact that you have been accepted at excellent schools and have the opportunity to make the choice that fits you best. Best of luck with your decision making.</p>

<p>I agree with most of the others here. If you a pretty sure you want to go into music, IU makes more sense. And if you love marching band, then you really need to go to IU. Yes, Oberlin has a higher ranking than IU, but your education will be what you make it. In the greater scheme of things, the difference in ranking between the 2 schools won't mean much. I suggest you leave your options open and go to IU.</p>

<p>Have you been accepted into the Honors College at IU? If so, there are plenty of great honors classes you could take, which would up the level of academic rigor. It's still an entirely different atmosphere than Oberlin, I am sure, but it is also a great college.</p>

<p>Srta, from your description, it really sounds like IU is the better choice. I know how excited you have been about IU, from the marching band on down! Don't doubt your original choice, because you can clearly have a very strong academic experience at IU too.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p>Hi,
Just an observation regarding a single instance... My cousin, a very strong instrumentalist (member of Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra), was accepted to Oberlin College. She did not apply to the conservatory. She was assured prior to "signing on" that she would have no problem enrolling in music classes via the conservatory. To date she has not been successful in doing so. Out of frustration, she has made application to other schools (and come fall will likely start at a coservatory). I have no idea whether this represents an isolated issue or is generalizable, but it seemed worth mentioning. IU certainly sounds like a wonderful choice.</p>

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<p>Throw that thing away from Oberlin! You are going to have a blast at IU. Their music department is fabulous. You want to be on the outside looking in at Oberlin???</p>

<p>Wow, your story sounds exactly like what happened to me but for Northwestern. I got into A&S at Northwestern but not the School of Music. (I also want to be a music teacher and wanted to do music ed/science route) I did get into University of Toronto School of Music and although Northwestern was my absolute dream school, U of T had the whole package and I turned down Northwestern in the end. I would go for IU if I were you. It's got everything and you're only going to regret not having the music you want at Oberlin.</p>

<p>If you want to pursue music at all, you will not be able to do so as a degree student at Oberlin. Go to Indiana...it sounds like it has more of the things you are looking for and more of the options you would like to explore.</p>

<p>I tend to agree with your advice about IU. (By the way, thank you to all of you!!!)</p>

<p>However, I do lean toward Oberlin because of it's higher academic level. It also has smaller class sizes, and I won't be taught by TAs (which apparently happens often at IU). </p>

<p>I know I have really asserted my passion for marching band and music education. I think part of why I want to teach music is because I don't want students to have to have the teachers I've had. Some of my teachers have really done terrible jobs, and I just want to give studnets who love music something better.</p>

<p>But at the same time, I feel like I want to do something else than a music teacher. Maybe I'd hate teaching little brats who mostly don't care. Maybe I'm meant to be a physicist or something. I'm not sure I need music.</p>

<p>But it is nice to have the option at IU.</p>

<p>I just feel I'd benefit so much at oberlin from the super academics and small size of the school, the intimacy there would be great. I might not be in the music program, but I would try my best to be involved. I'd most definitely do Oberlin's marching band.</p>

<p>Again, thanks for the help. If I end up deciding not to do music, I think I'll regret having not going to Oberlin.
Hm.</p>

<p>Have you really looked into IU? From what I heard about big state Us, the introductionary classes are a mess, especially if you don't like big lecture classes, but once you get into higher level classes, the class size quickly shrinks, and small classes with a lots of attention from the prof. comparable to those of small liberal art colleges are not uncommmon. Do you have a lots of AP credits under your belt? If so, you can avoid a lots of those freshmen lecture classes. </p>

<p>Also, are you in the honors program (or does IU have honors program)? If so, the honors student usually live in seperate dorms, and the experience of honors college perhaps is very comparable to small private colleges. </p>

<p>Just more things for you to think about. When do you have to reply Oberlin?</p>

<p>I went to IU (not accepted as music major) and later went to music school and graduated from Michigan. The music theory courses at IU were MUCH HARDER and MUCH MUCH BETTER at IU than at U of M. Also the non-music at IU was pretty challenging. Only weak point is the TA's. (You sometimes get prof's for lecture, TA's for small group.) But this was 1970's, so I can't say about now! I'd go to IU if I were you...</p>

<p>At this point, if you feel that you must major in either music performance or music ed, then you should go to IU. If you would be satisfied studying something else and having music as a sideline, then go to Oberlin. Unless you feel that you must major in music, you probably should major in something else.</p>

<p>You can get a BA in music from the college at Oberlin, but not in performance or music ed. It is not easy to transfer into the con from the college because you have to reaudition along with everyone else trying to get in that year. Your next chance to start in the conservatory would be September 2007, meaning that you probably would not graduate until 2011 if you go that route. As a student in the college, you will be shut out of many courses in the con, you will most likely get 30 minute lessons on your instrument instead of 60 minute lessons, and those lessons may be taught by an advanced conservatory student only a couple of years older than yourself. There are enough ensembles for anyone who wants to perform, but you have to be exceptionally good to get into the top conservatory groups as a student in the college. This situation could be very frustrating for someone who really wants to be a performance or music ed major.</p>

<p>MY daughter told me about someone she knows at Oberlin who did not get into the con, but was told (or believed, for whatever reason) that she could reapply subsequently. She reapplied, after spending a year in the Arts & Sciences College, and was again turned down by the con.</p>

<p>I believe she transfered.</p>

<p>This is not to say that nobody does successfuly transfer to the con after-the-fact; actually I have no idea. But , based on this story, personally I wouldn't count on it.</p>

<p>I mentioned your situation to my son (just finished freshman year at IU). He agreed that you would probably get a higher level of academic rigor at Oberlin, but said you can get some great classes through the Honors program at IU--small classes taught by professors. (It is true that many introductory non-Honors classes at IU are taught by grad students.)</p>

<p>However, he added that if you are interested in music ed, IU is the best in the country. We have also heard stories of students who went to Oberlin (the college), having not made it into the conservatory and found they were unable to get into any of the music classes they had hoped to take, since con. students get first choice and often fill up the classes.</p>

<p>Monydad is correct that you should not count on being able to transfer into the con. Apparently, it does happen on rare occasion, but the odds are not good.</p>

<p>My daughter was accepted into the conservatory at Oberlin a year ago and did not bother applying to the college. The summer after high school, she decided that she really wanted to double major. On her first day at the school, she went to the con admissions office and asked about the procedure for transferring to double major status. Because they did not recognize her, they must have thought she was a current college student and began telling her about how difficult the audition process was, that it was very unusual to get accepted into the con from the college, particularly so for someone who has already auditioned and gotten rejected. It was obvious that they get asked this question a lot and that they try to set the expectations at a reasonable level.</p>

<p>Then she mentioned that she was already a first-year conservatory student and actually wanted to transfer into the college as well. That changed everything. The new answer was that she had to take two elective courses in the college, and have both teachers sign a recommendation form that she would find in the registrar's office. As long as her grades were OK (a B average or better I think,) acceptance was pretty much automatic.</p>

<p>While the con admissions office does not give academics quite the same weight as Rice or CMU, they still give it a lot more attention than Curtis or NEC. Oberlin conservatory requires that their students take an average of a course per semester in the college. The courses they choose from are the same ones that the college students attend, so the con looks for applicants who can keep up with the student body at one of the better LAC's in the country. While the college encourages its students to take advantage of any opportunities they may find in the conservatory, their admissions decisions normally do not consider the applicant's ability to do well in the con. Many (probably most) Oberlin College graduates have never had a course in the con.</p>

It’s all up to you, but here’s an idea. If you go to Oberlin, you can get a part time job teaching music (I know in the town I’m moving to next year for UMW has this) at a music shop, usually, they teach music too. You can teach music, as in private lessons, and if you love it, transfer to IU, if not, continue on with Oberlin. My Piano teacher (private lessons) has known me since I was 7 (I’m now 18), and she’s been the best teacher I’ve ever had. She’s a family friend, and so wonderful. She’s made a real difference in my life and I think you can do the same.