Hi,
My younger son (junior) is starting to compile a list of possible schools in preparation for a spring college road trip. He is learning toward computer science/computer engineering/mathematics although he is a top double bass player (has won many awards/competitions and is conservatory-level, but doesn’t want to major in music). However, a school with a good music program is important to him, so that he can play in the orchestra and continue taking lessons. Academically, he has a 4.0 UW/4.6W GPA with tons of AP classes, 2200 SAT and will have taken math through Linear Algebra. so very math-oriented although he attends a performing arts high school.
We live in CA, and here’s his preliminary list so far:
Harvey Mudd - visited and he LOVED it but financial/merit aid unlikely
Cal Poly - probably his top choice, unless he receives a scholarship from Mudd
Caltech - financial/merit aid unlikely
Stanford - financial/merit aid unlikely
UCB, UCLA (both parents graduated from here)
Possibly UCSD, UCSB, UCD?
Santa Clara - possible merit aid, but is he a fit?
Out of State possibilities: Carnegie Mellon, Rice, Vanderbilt - good music programs, possible merit aid?
He really prefers a smaller school, so honestly he’s not that interested in the large UC schools I’ve listed above. I should add that he’s politically conservative and Jewish, so neither a religious nor a super-liberal school would likely be a good fit. Besides music he really likes Magic the Gathering (tournament player) but is not a typical “nerd” and has a variety of interests. Our income is too high to qualify for financial aid, but we have committed to pay the full price of a UC for both of our kids (about $30K) with merit aid needed for the difference. Do you have any suggestions for smaller schools that would have a great CS/Math program, and opportunities to keep playing music, with possible merit aid?
The University of Rochester offers merit scholarships and their students can study at the Eastman School of Music in any course for which they have met the prerequisites.
Thank you for the suggestions! He would prefer a less urban and more laid-back environment if possible (Cleveland isn’t appealing, and dragging a double bass to Eastman on a bus through Rochester in the winter won’t work). Any other recommendations?
Before seriously considering any schools that have a top-notch music school near/affiliated with them, make sure that participation in ensembles and private lessons with faculty are an option for kids who aren’t in the music school proper. Pretty sure that’s not true at Rochester, not sure about Case/Cleveland.
We just went through the process of identifying schools that are exactly what you’re looking for (LAC, CS, music, merit), with the one difference being conservative vs liberal. Thirding St. Olaf. By the way, St. Olaf is particularly noted for having a very strong math department (well stronger than CS, quite frankly). U. of Puget Sound meets all your criteria except politically conservative, which it very much does not. Trinity U in TX has great merit, is pretty middle of the road politically, very strong in CS and at least decent in music. I put it appreciably ahead of St. Olaf in CS, but well behind in music. Furman would be worth a look (we ruled it out for being too conservative )
The merit requirement substantially limits your field. I don’t think you can expect anything from CMU, Rice or Vandy.
Regarding Rochester, every student of at least intermediate ability is offered free lessons in his instrument from a music professor, whether or not he is an Eastman student. Beyond that, the ensembles on the main campus offer similar qualities to those at Eastman.
Oh, check out Gettysburg, too. Looks like they have a decent sized CS department for a LAC, and they have the Sunderman conservatory, access to which appears to be available to all students.
I was going to recommend CWRU too. It has strengths in all of the areas you are seeking including good merit aid as a rule. I can’t help the bias against Cleveland. You can’t get away from the snow and while parts of Cleveland definitely have their issues there is also a good bit to recommend it (the football team is not one of them:)). I agree with MYOS1634 that University Circle is very nice.
@carlsbadbruin, check out the University of Richmond - Artist Scholars program. It is highly competitive but for approximately 6 talented students it is a full tuition scholarship - with a commitment to minor in music. A frequent poster on their page is a Double major CS and Math, Double minor Music and Dance - @guineagirl96 .
Secondly, I think you absolutely should visit Trinity University in San Antonio. The new Center for the Sciences and Innovation (CSI) Building is incredible. Automatic academic merit listed on their site, music merit stacks on top of academic merit and does not require a music major or minor. They attract a lot of high caliber musicians that are multi-talented yet prefer to major in other areas. Warm weather, great food, fabulous dorms with walk-in closets, great location just 3 miles from the bustle of San Antonio, yet nested in a quiet area. We don’t hear a lot about Trinity U on CC. It is a hidden gem with an amazing endowment for a school its size (about 2500 students).
I just noticed that @rayrick has suggested Trinity U - so I second!
Like you @carlsbadbruin, hailing from a warm weather state, I cannot wrap my head around sending my musician (and his instrument) to a cold weather state. So we have likely missed some good fit schools out there.
@lots2do, my guy is in to Trinity EA, and there’s a pretty high probability he’ll end up there. Definitely top 3 at this point, and probably top 2. Have you heard good things about their music? I know they seem to have a fair number of majors (for a LAC), offer a B.M., and have a beautiful Steinway in every practice room, and that’s about it. If you’ve got any more intel, I’d love to hear it!
Yes URichmond definitely fits the bill. If you want more details, check out the URichmond forum or feel free to PM me. I came in with credit for calc 1 and 2 and the math chair waived Calc 3 because I took it in high school. The CS program is great and there’s lots of opportunities to participate in music.
I actually also got full tuition at Case Western (CWRU) and my brother attended Cleveland Institute of Music. The Case scholarship was dependent on majoring in music, however. Note that the Case/CIM consortium is not completely open. Yes, there is only one course catalog and CIM students take their gen eds at Case, but it’s harder for Case students to take CIM courses. There are some shared ensembles and CIM students can participate in Case ensembles but Case students cannot participate in CIM exclusive ensembles. All music theory for both are taught by CIM faculty but there are separate tracks of theory for the two schools (although Case students can take CIM track theory if they place into it). All music history courses are taught by Case faculty I believe, even for CIM students and are shared. Finally, almost all lessons (except early music instruments and a couple other exceptions) are taught by CIM falculty- yes even for Case students! However, typically the top studio professors don’t teach Case students (when CIM has multiple professors for that instrument).
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