<p>Full disclosure: my wife (music ed/flute major) and her brother (non musical) are Susquehanna alumni, and my son (musical but not a music or music ed major) is there now.</p>
<p>My impressions are that the music ed program there is very good. We know several grads, both from my wife’s years there and more recent, who are doing well in the teaching profession and have had no problem finding employment (although recent cuts in school funding, particularly in the arts, could change some of that.)</p>
<p>The talent among the music and music ed majors covers quite a range. Some of their students could obviously have gotten into programs that are much better known; others could not. I have heard their choirs live and they are surprisingly good for a college in the middle of rural Pennsylvania with only 2000 students. I would have to agree with your daughter, though, that they are not at the same level as choirs at St. Olaf, Concordia or Luther. Depending on her level of accomplishment, that could either be a source of frustration, or it could mean that she has a much better chance of getting into the best groups as a freshman and of getting solos and, if interested, roles in their musical theater productions throughout her career there. From what I have seen, music ed students have the same opportunities in the ensembles as performance majors. If they are better musicians, they will get the solos and sit at the top of their sections. Unlike some of the other schools, the tours undertaken by the performing groups will be local rather than international.</p>
<p>The campus is beautiful, although somewhat remote. Other than the school, about the only things within walking range are a few restaurants, a small supermarket, a used book store and a second hand shop. There is a big strip of malls, chain restaurants, big box stores, and so forth a couple of miles away that looks like it gets a lot of business from SU and Bucknell (which is a couple more miles on the other side of the strip). I could see that the place could start feeling a bit small for someone without a car. Even with a car, the closest city of any size is Philadelphia, which is a bit over a two hour drive each way. They do run inexpensive bus trips to New York at least once or twice a semester and they have some interesting study abroad opportunities for those who feel the need to get out of Selinsgrove.</p>
<p>The music building was refurbished several years back and has a medium-sized recital hall with excellent acoustics. The rest of the facilities seem very well taken care of. There is a brand new science building opening up in the fall. They also have some brand new upperclass dorms that are very nice. Most of the freshman dorms are quite spacious and are air conditioned. The cafeteria food is very good, but I could see that it might seem somewhat repetitive once you have eaten there every day for months.</p>
<p>The teachers and administrators at the school are genuinely nice people and will go out of their way to help the students.</p>
<p>Possibly of more interest to parents are the brewpub in town and the small farmer’s market run by some of the local Amish on Saturday mornings from May through November.</p>