<p>My D is thinking of doing a double major in Music and liberal arts. Is it better to apply for the Beinin school only and then try and get into the liberal arts program when she is there or Apply for the double degree form the beginning. I only ask as she does not have the SAT scores that fall in the 25th-75th Percentile for Northwestern </p>
<p>Easiest way to find out is to pick up the telephone and call the admissions office at the school. They will have the real answers as opposed to speculation from a message board. </p>
<p>bigdjp, that was a bit rude, although I agree that reading Northwestern’s website or calling them would provide the most up to date information…</p>
<p>My understanding, when we read through the application procedure for Northwestern two years ago, is that there is no separate application for the Bienan school. One must have high SAT scores to get admitted into the music school.</p>
<p>This is just anecdotal, but I read–perhaps on this message board–that several of the professors left Northwestern in protest because their top applicant picks were turned down due to the high SAT requirement.</p>
<p>I can add, although this is from 30 years ago, that excellent players on instruments that were in short supply were not admitted to Northwestern if they were not academically qualified.</p>
<p>My comment wasn’t meant as rude. It was meant as a direct was to get a real response. Too much speculation goes on in boards like this and people think this is the way to find direct answers about specific schools when in reality it’s a lot easier to contact the school and get the real info. </p>
<p>I think people crowdsource information <em>and</em> also go to the source. It all goes into the hopper. Oftimes the official explanation is necessarily short on detail. One of my pet peeves is a sour poster who bothers to log in just to try to shut down a thread. What’s the point? Of course she should call the school–that should be obvious. But there is no reason for her not to ask.</p>
<p>Thank you glassharmonica</p>
<p>It may be possible to be admitted to Bienen with scores on the lower end of the scale - more so than applying only to the school of liberal arts - but that’s just because the student has something special that makes them appealing to general admissions. However, we’ve witnessed on this forum a number of students who were told that they were recommended for admission by the studio professor but were denied admission to the university because they did not have the grades and scores. I think you have to assume that if your daughter wouldn’t be admitted for an academic major, with music on her resume as an extracurricular, then she will have a hard time being admitted to the university, even if applying only to Bienen. A university that is very supportive of double degrees, and not as difficult academically for admission, which you might look at, is Lawrence University.</p>
<p>It depends on how far her score is away from the 25th percentile. Also, is she in the top-tenth of her class?
If you go to their RD decision thread, you will see quite a few people with relatively low scores (lower than their 25th percentile) got in while a bunch with much higher scores get denied. You never know until you try.</p>
<p>Having just gone thru double degree admissions with D2, our experience was that Northwestern makes independent decisions for music and the other major. D2 applied via the common app, indicated both majors, completed the separate Bienen app, and I think there might have been a dual degree form as well (the different colleges are beginning to blur a bit at this point!). I don’t think there would be a huge downside to trying for the double degree admit in the OP’s case. If the two schools (music and liberal arts) have different minimum requirements, that should be considered. Agree that a call or email to admissions should be able to verify.
My D got in engineering at Northwestern, but not music. One of her friends from youth orchestra got the exact opposite results. Both ended up with some schools where they were accepted for both majors, some for music only, and some for the other major only. D is still undecided on her final choice, as is her friend. </p>
<p>@spiritmanager Thank you. I suppose the converse would also be true. If she was good enough to get into music she would get into liberal arts</p>
<p>@chachaanteng Thanks you. I am a bit new to all this so what is “RD” stand for. where can i find this thread</p>
<p>@momof2teengirls… Is there any fear in your mind on the ability to cope with two degrees? I hear the drop our rates are high but I am preapred to support my D id she need 5 years to complete here double degree</p>
<p>RD stands for Regular Decision as opposed to ED or EA (Early Decision or Early Action).</p>
<p>@Svalrani I think there is some worry about dual degrees for D2, but no more that I worry about D1 succeeding in college as well. D1 is on track to complete her BS in engineering with two minors (music and Spanish) in three years - so both my kids like to take on a lot. D1 entered college with sophomore standing due to AP credit and D2 should be similar. We have tried to talk them out of taking on so much (so many APs, aggressive college plans, etc.), but they seem to thrive with the choices they make. When D2 has seemed a bit stressed at times by her choices, I always remind her that she can take something down a notch. So far, she has refused. </p>
<p>I know of so many kids that have changed majors and/or transferred schools, and in some ways this is not very different for dual degrees. A college kid may find they don’t like their major (music or otherwise), or their major is too challenging, or they don’t like their school - in which case they can explore options to either deal with or change things. With the dual degree there are the same issues, although some may be a bit more complex. You do need to look at merit and financial aid carefully, for example, to understand if they are dependent on staying in one major or the other and require a certain GPA. </p>
<p>D2 made it clear to the music profs when she took sample lessons and to admissions early on that she was interested in dual degree. There were varying degrees of support on the music side, and the main comment from the non-music folks was simply that it might take five years. </p>
<p>Will D2 succeed? I wish I had that crystal ball! She is considering her options now and due to the mix of acceptances and scholarships is looking at dual degree as well as an engineering major with a music minor. She is pretty sure she does not want to go music major only, but that’s not completely off the table either… In any case, she is glad she went through the dual degree admissions process as it is helping her sort her passions and priorities. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have more specific Qs and I will try to answer. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>The OP mentioned a double major as well as a dual degree (two different things). It would be easier to pick up a second major once in the Bienen school than it would be to qualify for two separate degrees. When my son auditioned as a potential dual degree student, he had to bring a form to his audition. This included standardized test scores, class rank, etc. He was told at the info session that students had to be admitted to both programs, separately, in order to be a dual degree student. There was a chance they’d be accepted (or rejected) by one or both. It was implied that students applying only to Bienen could get in with lower stats and a fabulous audition, but a dual degree student whose second degree was outside of Bienen would have to have the stats for that outside college as well as a great audition. Doesn’t hurt to try. The OP’s daughter could find herself admitted to Bienen, one of the other colleges or both (or neither). Good luck. </p>