<p>Thank you for taking the time to read (and maybe even respond!).</p>
<p>It's about that time of year again, when the admissions cycle occurs all over again. :)</p>
<p>My list will most likely change over the course of the summer (as I do more research), but as of this moment, these are my inclinations:</p>
<p>Wellesley College
Hamilton College
Smith College
Middlebury College
UChicago
Brown University
Yale University
Stanford University</p>
<p>Please assume that my "numerical stats" qualify me for each of these schools (based on each school's average GPA, SAT, etc.). </p>
<p>I have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does this list cover a good range of schools (i.e. solids, matches, either-ways, reaches)? I am happy with every single school on this list.</p></li>
<li><p>How popular are the music programs at each of these schools? Do any of these schools have nationally recognized programs in music?</p></li>
<li><p>Which of these schools has (or have) the best overall Humanities program(s)?
Muchas gracias!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You need more safeties. Look at your flagship state university. Otherwise, I’d say your list is pretty solid.
Yale has one of the best music programs in the country, good choice there.
All of them have relatively good humanities. Stanford is great at nearly everything.
So is Yale. Brown is quite good at humanities. The others, as LACs, are indeed good at humanities.
I’m going to Yale this fall. You should definitely apply!</p>
<p>I am applying to a few state universities; I just didn’t bother to put them on that list. :-)</p>
<p>Thank you so much, beatlesdisturbed! I’m glad to hear from a Yalie because I am considering dropping Yale from the list. I will reconsider that decision.</p>
<p>1-2 safeties couldn’t hurt. It depends on what state you’re from, but state flagships are often excellent alternatives, and much cheaper than almost all LACs. By the way, if you happen to be from New York, definitely look into SUNY Geneseo, as it would be a perfect fit for you as a safety.</p>
<p>@thsfan345: I have a few safeties. ^^ Sadly, I am not from New York, nor have I ever visited the state, either!</p>
<p>This is a great list of schools; however, they’re not the most popular ones for music. I’ve heard that Yale has a fantastic music program, but I’ve been through my share of research on music schools and haven’t heard anything about the music departments of any of these other schools. Here are some colleges with more prestigious music programs (in no particular order): </p>
<p>U of Michigan
Boston U
Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins U
Carnegie Mellon U
Indiana U
The New School
U of Southern California
U of Rochester
U of Cincinnatti
Northwestern U
U of Miami</p>
<p>If you’re into jazz, U of North Texas and Temple U are also great. If you’re a jazz vocalist or a contemporary musician, disregard all that and let me know so I can give you a different list of schools to look into. Keep in mind that the more popular and nationally recognized the program is, the more competitive the auditions are. I don’t know anything about humanities programs. Best of luck!</p>
<p>@27dreams: Thank you for your recommendations! </p>
<p>I’m a trained “classical” violist, but I am open to contemporary music (our youth symphony plays many contemporary pieces in addition to baroque, classical, romantic, etc.).
I have considered USC but it’s not one of my favorites. And no need to send in a whole new list of schools; the ones you’ve supplied are great, and I will look into those too! :-)</p>
<p>Does anyone else have an opinion?</p>
<p>If you have state universities as safeties, then this is a good list. Make sure you’re comfortable with your safeties, as well, though.</p>
<p>I admit I don’t know anything about music programs, but you seem to have gotten good information. I’ll just say I’d be astonished if UChicago, Brown, Yale, and Stanford didn’t have great music programs, and the same more or less goes for the others.</p>
<p>All are strong in humanities. Overall Stanford tends a little towards math/science when compared to the others, but it is still Stanford, so it is strong in everything. Middlebury has amazing language programs, if you’re interested in that.</p>
<p>Thank you for the encouragement, notanengineer!</p>