<p>Waitlisted as well. </p>
<p>This is my last post on college confidential, so I wish the best of luck to everyone, wherever you may go.</p>
<p>I was accepted long ago, but am considering it.</p>
<p>NYU or Grinnell?
Pros and cons please if you can...</p>
<p>Obviously NYU is a city experience rather than a campus experience. Grinnell has small classes, close relationships with profs and a tightly knit campus. Is probably better with FA. I know almost nothing about NYU except that it's in a great exciting city. I imagine a student could get a great education at either school.</p>
<p>Also have similar decision problem. D loves playing her violin, not conservatory material but is a bit concerned about music at Grinnell. She was accepted to Oberlin (not conservatory, just the regular college part), Case Western, Reed, Lawrence (again the LAC part).</p>
<p>How is Grinnell in terms of student population compared to these schools (they all seem like good places). How are the music experiences at Grinnell? The academic offerings seen very similar to most of these schools but if you know of big differences, I would love to hear them.</p>
<p>hornet: Don't know if this will help, but Williams seems very similar to Grinnell to me. S attends Williams and plays the violin and is enjoying their program very much. He is not conservatory material either, and he was afraid of being completely intimidated and eclipsed by much better musicians at Oberlin. </p>
<p>Every kid is different, but that's what worked for him.</p>
<p>Thanks mythmom. We have been getting the sense that Oberlin might be painful-she could hear the music but not be allowed to play in the groups due to the outstanding caliber of the players. </p>
<p>Is your son happy with the level of the players at Williams?</p>
<p>I had a different experience with Williams than mythmom did--not a more valid one, just different. I looked at both Grinnell and Williams pretty seriously during my college process, but they came off as very different. People at Grinnell were tolerant, accepting, quirky, diverse; people at Williams were pretty much all white and upper-middle class, plus they bragged about the fact that so many high school valedictorians were doing poorly there. The fact that they seemed to take joy in their classmates' struggles turned me off from Williams permanently. </p>
<p>Of course, that was only my experience--I don't mean to offend anyone who applied or goes to Williams, but it just wasn't the right school for me. I don't know much about the music scene at either, but it seems to me that Grinnell and Williams have some pretty big differences.</p>
<p>What my son loved about Grinnell and why he chose it, was that the students there take learning very seriously, but not themselves. I'm sure there are students like this at every good school, but at Grinnell, it felt pervasive. He also found the students to be highly unconventional in their thinking, in a way he found nowhere else.</p>
<p>I've been to one music performance at Grinnell and it was most impressive. The performance facilities are absolutely beautiful. They have a music major and 9 faculty members are listed in the catalog.</p>
<p>I sympathize with you and your daughter, as mine is doing the same thing. Really disappointing. I will be thinking about yours and wishing her the best.</p>
<p>hornet</p>
<p>On one visit to Oberlin (my hubby is an alum, so we've been there often), we went to a concert of a cappella groups. It was incredible and we talked to a bunch of the students afterwards. Most of them were not conservatory students, though a few joked that they were ex-cons. So the singing sounds like it's very open to non-cons. I think I was told other musical stuff was too, but it would be better to ask someone at the school.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone,
Your comments are very helpful. D has visited Oberlin and Case and liked them both for different reasons. I think we need to fly out to Grinnell and check it out now that she has been admitted.</p>
<p>Anyone else that has thoughts on their experience with music at Grinnell, I'd love to hear.</p>
<p>bethievt,
Since you have experience with both schools, what are your thoughts about Oberlin vs Grinnell in terms of overall experience (social-types of students, extracurricular groups)? Both schools seem to be outstanding academically. I think it is the social fit now that will be the focus.</p>
<p>hornet</p>
<p>I've pm'd you with some thoughts, but another difference is size. Oberlin is twice the size of Grinnell and was the largest school my son applied to. For some people this would be a plus. In the final analysis, my son decided he wanted to have smaller class sizes and closer relationships with profs.</p>
<p>i just wanted to echo rahapsodyinpink's sentiments. I'm not going to matriculate at Grinnell, and i hope one you awesome, and deserving ccers gets my place. Grinnell is an awesome school! Enjoy!</p>
<p>This may sound weird and might be totally inaccurate, but I feel like I learned a lot about the "feel" of the schools through reading their student run newspapers online. So maybe your son could try that?</p>
<p>I don't think the poster criticizing Williams is doing justice to it. My S attends and the kids are quirky, accepting and diverse. I don't want to be specific because it will sound stupid.</p>
<p>However, that wasn't my point. My point was that the level of musicianship isn't similar. I wasn't suggesting that the culture of the schools is similar.</p>
<p>Yes, hornet, he has been pleased with his opportunities. There are kids better than he is by far (always important to a musician) but he has also been invited to play violin one on some pieces (important to a violinist.)</p>
<p>A capella groups are different because kids aren't practicing hours a day in them.</p>
<p>He practices at least an hour a day and has had good lessons. The choir is outstanding. I know being a slightly bigger fish makes him feel more confident than he would at Oberlin.</p>
<p>Again, I am not being proscriptive; just one kid's experience and needs. I want send him to Grinnell over Oberlin in a heartbeat because he is easily intimidated and is not aggressive by nature, and I think he would shrink into himself around all the confident musicians at Oberlin. This is no disrespect to Oberlin at all, just awareness of one person (one very important person to me LOL) and his psychology.</p>
<p>For another kid all the music at Oberlin would be invigorating and inspiring.</p>
<p>hornet,
The orchestra at Grinnell could provide a very satisfying experience for a strong player who wants to continue in college without being a music major. </p>
<p>We have a son who spent two years at Lawrence then two at Oberlin. We have heard several concerts so are aware of the musical level. Our second son is a wind player so was trying to find an LAC with an orchestra that was good enough that he would enjoy playing and be challenged, but without the conservatory players taking all the top spots. He met with Grinnell's orchestra conductor a few times and on his third visit was able to observe a rehearsal. He was very pleasantly surprised with the level of playing, and impressed with how rehearsals were run. </p>
<p>I would recommend contacting the conductor and also trying to schedule a visit so your daughter can observe a rehearsal or hear a concert.</p>
<p>If Lawrence is still in the running, as a string player she would have the opportunity to play in the orchestra which would give her an outstanding musical experience.</p>
<p>Please feel free to contact me if you have other specific questions regarding Lawrence or Oberlin. As far as Grinnell goes, I wish we had another child so we could send one there!</p>