I give advice on these boards, now I’d love to get perspective from the other mavens. My last child leaving the nest. I’ll just outline the basics:
4.3 WGPA, 4.0 UWGPA, 780M, 750R, 6 AP courses (3 junior year all 5s on exam; 3 senior year), all other courses honors; this year’s schedule includes calculus, physics, AP Econ, AP Spanish Lit, AP English Lit; advanced percussionist with extensive musical involvement. Does not plan to major in music, but wants to continue his music education and involvement in college. Major is undecided, but it will likely be a social science or humanity. No career goal at the moment. Just going for a rigorous liberal arts education.
The list:
Middlebury
Williams
Tufts
Amherst
Vassar
Brandeis
Rochester
Skidmore
Lawrence
Ithaca
Not sure if you were looking for any additional suggestions, but Hamilton’s open curriculum might be enticing to someone unsure of a major. Lots of opportunities to be involved in music too. Otherwise looks like a great list!
I would caution about liberal arts schools that also have a conservatory. I am sure you have checked this out. But for the sake of others, attending a college BA program that also has a conservatory/BM program (Lawrence, Ithaca) may mean the better teachers and performance opportunities go to the music majors in the BM program, so sometimes it is advised to avoid those schools if you want a BA. There are exceptions of course but it is something to research and ask about.
I also wonder if a percussionist who is not doing a BM might benefit from being in or near a city. Tufts has a wonderful music department and I know a physics major who does lots of gigs off campus. Vassar is relatively close to NYC of course and also has wonderful music.
The Amherst area has a lot going on and there is the consortium with UMass, Smith, Mt. Holyoke and Hampshire…
I think Lawrence is good about allowing non-majors good opportunities in music, so they seem like a good choice. That is less true at Oberlin, so I’m not sure I’d add them. It seems like a good list to me. Be sure he’s showing interest at the safeties and matches (solid Why X? essays, although I remember Lawrence’s as very short - but my kid packed a lot into those 100 words or whatever it was). And have him check his portals regularly once the apps are in, and open all the emails he is getting.
Do not push him into ED if he is happy with his list and one school doesn’t clearly stand out. He will have acceptances to choose from.
So Lawrence and Ithaca are the safeties? Is he happy with those or would you feel more comfortable building out the match part of the list? I don’t know Rochester’s admissions, but I’m guessing that Rochester and Skidmore are matches, and maybe Brandeis? Rest are reaches for everyone. Vassar has a big gap between female and male acceptance rates – 19% female vs. 35% male last year. If he loves Vassar and is confident he’d be happy there, ED there be a solid option. Then again, with the higher male acceptance rate, maybe that means he’d ED somewhere else, with the idea that he has a solid chance at Vassar RD.
I agree Lawrence is a great option – we met with percussion faculty at Lawrence who was clear about Con ensemble auditions being completely open to non-Con kids. I would not add Oberlin to the list as its Con ensembles are not open to non-Con kids.
A lot of the super bright kids around here who are interested in music end up at Wesleyan, but it’s smaller than other colleges on the list at 2,800. It looks like a pretty good list to me. Do any of those schools have EA?
Thanks, everyone! To answer a few questions:
-We’ve checked NPCs.
-Considering adding Hamilton and/or Kenyon.
-We toured Brown. He nixed it.
-Agree about being solid about interest on the matches/safeties.
-Vassar didn’t wow him. Maybe because we toured on a Saturday, and not many students were walking around.
-Lawrence and Ithaca have EA.
The only other super-reach he’s considered is Yale. Still deciding on whether to SCEA there, then ED-2 Tufts or Middlebury if necessary.
All great choices! Your son sounds like a great student and a strong applicant. Best of luck to him!
It sounds like he is leaning towards Middlebury or Tufts, since you named those as possible ED schools. Both are fantastic, and as he weighs which he prefers of these two colleges, which have some pronounced differences as well as many similarities, it also will help him further clarify what he is looking for in a college experience.
I think his list is well-balanced and he should experience success with admissions. An in-state public option might provide an additional layer of safety, as the state colleges often are less “holistic” and therefore more predictable based on a student’s stats. But I do think Ithaca is probably pretty safe for him… and will have amazing music opportunities for him as well!
In the ‘middle’ of his list, especially at Skidmore (which sounds like a really good fit for him), be sure he demonstrates interest.
If he knows a college at which he is sure he would be happy, and if he will not have regrets about not waiting to hear from a different college, then applying somewhere ED is a smart move.
Two more colleges in New England that might be worth a look are Bowdoin and Colby. I don’t know what your current center of gravity is, but these two colleges are likely to be closer to home than several others on your list. Also, when I see the stats that your son has I keep open the idea of graduate study of some kind, including PhD. You might look at the stats on percentage of students who go on to earn PhD’s, as another point of information. I looked at this information when my son was applying. As it turned out he was one-and-done with his AB degree at Chicago. But a doctorate was a possible goal.
Wesleyan (music opportunities equivalent to the best on your list); Hamilton (balanced, flexible, beautiful facilities, interesting history); Kenyon (excellent for music and other fine arts and most humanities and social sciences, collegiate Gothic architecture).
Be sure he’s showing interest at the safeties and matches (solid Why X? essays, although I remember Lawrence’s as very short - but my kid packed a lot into those 100 words or whatever it was). And have him check his portals regularly once the apps are in, and open all the emails he is getting.