I am a high-achieving female student, (3.97 UW, 5.20 W GPA), junior at a very highly ranked public high school in Chicago. My planned standardized tests have been postponed for the moment, but I could realistically expect a 34 on the ACT. I’m involved in music on many levels - vocals, songwriting, and audio engineering, and I’m currently finishing a self-recorded album of my own songs. For many years, I’ve been singing in a youth choir performing with top professional ensembles and soloists - including Grammy-award-winning/platinum album musicians. I also love languages, and I am near-native in 3 foreign languages, and intermediate in another one. I am less oriented toward “leadership roles” but recently became more involved in my community, as a Queer Students Alliance leader/representative, NHS member, election judge, etc. Even though STEM is not my forte, my math teacher will write one of the recommendations, and it will be a very good one.
I plan to major in something related to the Romance languages/international relations, combined (as a double major or minor) with music production.
I don’t have a preference for school size, as long as the size is not on the extremes (very large or microscopic) and although I’d prefer to study somewhere urban or at least close to an urban area, especially one with a good music scene, a few of the colleges on my list are definitely very remote and rural. I’m politically liberal and identify as queer, so I’d appreciate a school where I can feel safe and well-represented in the student body.
In terms of finances, I’m middle-class; my parents net slightly over 100k/year from their own business, and saved about $200k for my education (undergrad + grad). We have a $400k condo with no mortgage, so if I read CC correctly, I would qualify for some need-based aid in some of the richest colleges but for not much elsewhere.
I made a list of some obvious choices, with USC at the top, and I found searching for “reaches” easy, especially at the school where so many students apply to them. I’m looking for help with choosing “safety” schools to look into. This is an ~uncertain time~ and a lot of normal beneficial-for-college activities are impossible to do, and we really have no idea how colleges will change the student admission process. Because of this, I want to focus also on looking into second choices, so I have an option that is a good fit for me if the first ones don’t work out.
If you have any colleges in mind that could fit these criteria, I would really appreciate your recommendations!
For financial aid estimates, check the net price calculator at each college. However, if much of your parents’ income is from a business, you may want to do a second run of the net price calculator at each college using revenue instead of net income from the business because many colleges add back some deducted business expenses.
Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada will be close to a safety. They have a BA in media production with a concentration in radio and sound, along with other concentrations. Ryerson is situated in downtown Toronto in a very liberal, very queer-friendly area. The cost of attendance will come in under $50K USD/year.
URochester isn’t a safety but could be a solid match. Their Audio & Music Engineering program may be too STEMmy for you but there’s a minor that might fit what you’re looking for. Lots of foreign language and culture classes, flexible open-ish curriculum, an IR major, music study through Eastman, and lots of performing arts culture in the city of Rochester.
I’d guess you’re probably looking at NYU already. Northeastern could be worth considering too.
For a safety, maybe look at the University of Denver: Lamont School of Music + Korbel School of International Studies + Pioneer Leadership Program. University of Miami"s Frost School of Music + International Studies could be worth a look also, depending on whether their tilt toward Latin America appeals.
I’m sure you could find what you need at any number of public flagship U’s, as well, although many of the ones that are strong in all of your areas of interest tend to be expensive (and also not safeties) for OOS. Coming from Chicago, you must be looking at UMIch already, yes? UT Austin of course has a great local music scene and strength in all the areas you need.
Not sure if the above offers anything you haven’t already thought of, but good luck!
I definitely would look into University of Denver. Your stats would definitely qualify you for their highest merit level (~$30K) and the music programs and IR fit your interests well. Denver is a great mid-sized city and relatively liberal and welcoming. My D will be attending this Fall and ended up choosing DU over some higher ranked options (CMC, American, Bryn Mawr, Scripps). Ultimately, it came down to finances for her. She received a full-ride through a local Colorado foundation that required that she stay in-state for college, so even though she would have loved to attend CMC, she ended up focused on Colorado schools and she’s so happy she had DU as an option. It should definitely be a safety for you and given the merit, even if you didn’t receive much need-based aid, your current savings would be sufficient
Thank you for everyone’s help and detailed responses!
If you have any more advice or recommendations, please feel free to keep posting them.