<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I'm looking for some basic info on a few colleges here. Specifically, I'm looking at how much aid they generally give out, the quality of their music program, and the quality of their academic program as a whole.</p>
<p>CU-Boulder
University of Montana
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Louisiana State University
University of North Carolina</p>
<p>As for stats - I have a 3.8 GPA going into my senior year, and a 1960 SAT (1410 without writing). I have one very strong music EC, but not too much aside from that. </p>
<p>College decisions are a pain. Thanks!</p>
<p>Need-based aid for out-of-state students at public colleges is usually not good. UNC is an exception, they claim to meet 100% of need for out-of-state students. (One of only two such public universities - the other being UVa.)</p>
<p>Your stats would likely get you good merit-based aid at LSU. </p>
<p>You can get the figures on need-based and non-need-based aid from the Common Data Set for each school, or from collegedata.com, however the figures are not separated out by in-state and out-of-state, so they can be deceptive.</p>
<p>Need-based unfortunately isn’t gonna happen, or at least not too much. My dad has a fairly well paying job, so we technically aren’t in need of aid. I’m pretty sure we’re right in that gray area where OOS colleges are just a bit of a stretch, but they won’t give us much need-based aid. I went through UNC’s EFC calculator (though I honestly have no idea how much my parents make) and just based off guesses, I only got about 1500 in aid and another 10000 in loans and work.</p>
<p>Academics as a whole (academic rep for undergrad):</p>
<p>1a. UNC
1b. UW
3. U of Minnesota
4. CU
5. LSU/Montana</p>
<p>IMO there is a fair dropoff from #4 to those tied for fifth.</p>
<p>UW vs. UNC is hard to figure: UW has the Nobel winners and the massive research and international rep. Most UW grad and PhD programs are strongly ranked. But UNC, I think, has a bit better of a rep for <em>undergrad</em> studies. Honestly, flip a coin. And both are just a smudge better than Minnesota, which also enjoys a great rep as an international research institution. CU is pretty decent too.</p>
<p>Have you considered private schools?
Oberlin College and Lawrence University are small liberal arts colleges with music conservatories. Oberlin appears to be a low reach and Lawrence a low match for your stats.
The total cost to attend Lawrence is only a few thousand more than UC-Boulder (OOS). For the money, you get much smaller classes. Both Lawrence and Oberlin offer merit scholarships, as well as better need-based aid than most OOS public schools would offer. </p>
<p>[Lawrence</a> University | Colleges That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/lawrence]Lawrence”>Lawrence University – Colleges That Change Lives)</p>
<p>OK, so you are looking for merit aid. Of the schools you listed, LSU will almost certainly give you the best merit aid. (Probably full tuition.)</p>
<p>You would be a match for the Chancellor’s scholarship at UColorado, which is $5000/year.</p>
<p>Merit aid at UNC is ridiculously competitive and would be a high reach for you (or almost anyone).</p>
<p>The best merit awards for Minnesota are in-state only, although there are a few of magnitude similar to the UC award. Minnesota schools are much cheaper for OOS than typical, however. (What is your home state, BTW?)</p>
<p>Home state is Washington. I’m really looking for a public school, since I like the large schools and large marching band. I realized today that I want to go to UW even less though, since they are on the semester system and their end date (Mid June) conflicts with summer activities.</p>
<p>“I realized today that I want to go to UW even less though, since they are on the semester system and their end date (Mid June) conflicts with summer activities.” </p>
<p>That is incorrect – UW’s Spring finals are in mid-May.</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Catalog, University of Wisconsin-Madison | Academic Calendar](<a href=“Guide < University of Wisconsin-Madison”>Guide < University of Wisconsin-Madison)</p>
<p>Sorry, I was referring to University of Washington. That’s the other school I was considering due to in-state tuition, I just forgot to include it on my list.</p>
<p>Also, a question regarding your list: When you say there is a clear drop off, do you mean that as in they are not quite as good, but still a quality school? Or as in they aren’t worth the money to go there?</p>
<p>Beware of people who rank schools.</p>