My son's college list is dangerous

College Search & Selection
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<p>Thank you to the many of you who have responded to my posts about my quirky, theatrical son. After a lot of coercing, nagging, reading of the Fiske guide, and kind encouragement, my son has the following colleges on his "will definitely apply" list:</p>

<p>Brown (ED)--application is all done
Stanford (Dad is making him apply; legacy; waste of application fee, IMHO!)
Haverford (reachy)
Swarthmore (reachy)
Oberlin (likely to get in, based on acceptance rate)
New College of Florida (safety, but really likes what he read in CTCL and liked the admissions guy)
Gordon (safety; everyone from his school who applies gets in, and they have an excellent theatre program)</p>

<p>What is clearly missing is enough match schools! The thing that all of these schools have in common, except for Stanford, is minimal distribution requirements and a do-it-yourself approach to education. </p>

<p>My son has been heavily involved in theatre and music. He now says he wants to study theatre and English because he wants to be a playwright, and that we should just expect him to be poor but happy his entire life. :) We're okay with poor and happy, but in the meantime, he needs a few more matches. Geography doesn't seem to matter.</p>

<p>Stats: 2230 SAT/ Subj tests: 760 Math 2/ 750 English Lit
4.0 (well, one B) rigorous classes
band (1st trombone)
drama (lead roles in several shows, playwriting class, AD of middle school production this year)
tech help desk (one of 4 kids chosen for this)
That's it. No awards or athletics.
His common app essay was excellent, though--funny, poignant and very honest. Ad comms will know exactly who it is they are accepting/rejecting! They will definitely like him, even if they don't think he's right for their school.</p>

<p>He has ruled out Bennington, Hampshire, Vassar for various and complicated reasons, as well as any school with a Greek system. We do not qualify for aid. Merit money would be nice, but isn't required. My husband's approach is "throw darts at a lot of good schools and you're bound to hit one." I need more peace of mind that that.</p>

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<p>Really he needs to pick some. If you want to light a fire make a paper that says</p>

<p>Brown DENIED
Stanford DENIED
Oberlin DENIED
Swarthmore DENIED
Haverford DENIED
New College ACCEPTED
Gordon ACCEPTED</p>

<p>And ask him to look forward and think where he wished he applied. Also I like this thread to see how it is interesting to have choices to mull over when you don’t get in where you think.</p>

<p>I can’t suggest since I don’t know about theater programs much. I think Brown has overlaps with Yale and Wesleyan (has very good film program and seems a lot of screenwriters come out of that.) both which would be good but reachy too. Your husband strategy maybe not good, but your son had a very nice profile, imo. What about Emerson or NYU? Any good writing program, but one with film dept would get more specific Maybe browse the theater forum? </p>

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<p>Your husband’s approach is a good way if a student wants to get into a great school. However, you are right in seeking out more matches, and you already have safeties it seems.</p>

<p>Do you have any financial constraints? How much can you afford per year and have you run the net price calculators on the schools already on his list?</p>

<p>Also, I think he should reconsider schools that have greek life. Many of them have quite varying cultures associated with Greek life. Many may have it but very few students are actually in it. Some schools may have them in abundance but they may not be characteristic of what is usually associated with fraternities / sororities. At any school there will be a large crowd of students who want nothing to do with Greek life. I’m not sure if you agree with him or not, but for schools that do have greek life, look more into the vibe because many times their greek life isn’t so “greek”.</p>

<p>Bard may be something he’s interested in. Has a quirky/nerdy vibe he may like. Also, take a look at University of Rochester. I know they have an excellent music school - but not sure about their theatre. URoch’s theatre program is housed under the English department, but it is very rich with theater offerings.</p>

<p><a href=“Theater : Undergraduate Program : Department of English : University of Rochester”>http://www.rochester.edu/college/eng/undergrad/majors/theater.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank you. @Ctesiphon, I will have him look at U of Rochester, as it has come up before, and I keep forgetting to mention it. He did rule out Emerson after visiting. I think his dilemma is that he wants an intellectual atmosphere and although Emerson says it is a liberal arts institution, it’s really more of a trade school for those who are sure they want to go into some type of media. The students I know there are very serious about film or musical theatre, but not so serious about, say, philosophy or literature.</p>

<p>I will take your suggestion, @Brownparent about the list of denials. Having a visual like that will help a lot.</p>

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<p>Does he have any location preferences? You said geography doesn’t seem to matter, but has he expressed more interest in a college in a city or a rural area? It’s a pretty broad search because he seems highly qualified so there are potentially hundreds of good matches. </p>

<p>I did some more research and Muhlenberg College appears to have a great theatre program. He has a great chance of getting in there. However they do have a Greek presence, albeit not overwhelming - around 16%ish kids are in it, and it is not all “parties and alcohol”, as one would assume about Greek Life. I’d search around more to see what it’s like on-campus. Check it out!</p>

<p>Also, what is your home state? Do you think you’ll be reasonably able to visit any of these colleges?</p>

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<p>Fordham at Lincoln Center has a vibrant theatre program, amazing location and free tuition if he is a NMSF. My daughter is also a theatre kid and writer who toured and met with Fordham’s theatre department and absolutely loved it. Also, they have brand new high-rise dorms at Lincoln Center in Manhattan adjacent to Juilliard.</p>

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<p>oops I left the link off to the thread in the ‘Hindsights’ forum
<a href=“My college application results and final decision - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>My college application results and final decision - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>DePaul in Chicago? Also, I’m thinking “theater scene.”</p>

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<p>Take a look at Brandeis. Muhlenberg is a good suggestion. </p>

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<p>If the Greek thing isn’t hard and fast (and both Brown and Stanford have them) how about Carnegie Mellon.</p>

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<p>If he is not set up for auditions, starting now on them is going to be difficult. Looking for any school with good theater options is what he should be doing. Muhlenberg, for example, would be a good choice. Those schools with audition based theater programs often have more limted non audition based options for those students not in those programs. IMO, just about any school that has a non audition theatre offerings without an audition based program would fill that mid gap. </p>

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<p>Goucher, Wheaton, Skidmore, UCharleston, SMU, are some that come to mind, but really having interest in theater would give a lot of opportunities in just about any school that does not have audition based programs taking over the college theatre scene. Fordham at LC, DePaul,Emerson, Nyu are not good choices because of that.</p>

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<p>What state are you in? Has he looked at any of the public Us there? What he wants can be cobbled together at just about any public U. And most of them are big enough to offer the intellectual challenge he’s looking for, provided he has enough self-direction to go out looking for it.</p>

<p>Here’s one no one else is likely to mention: Towson U. Happykid designed lights for umpteen original student scripts while she was there - both from the MFA program, and from undergrad students.</p>

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<p>Fordham mentioned above is a great option for a theater/playwright kid. @Glassharmonica’s daughter is there and loves it. I would also recommend Bard as a match for this student - vibrant theater department, phenomenal English/Creative Writing department with a very intellectual and passionate student body. My son had grades & scores comparable to the OP’s (even a bit higher) and he had a phenomenal experience at Bard. It’s also possible merit money would be offered…</p>

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<p>Bard, Skidmore, hear good things about Muhlenberg. Don’t know about their theater programs specifically, but match schools could include Dickinson, Earlham (though Dickinson considers interest). </p>

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<p>The list looks pretty good just as it is, as long as your son would be happy to attend (and you can afford) one of the safeties. Oberlin appears to be a match; Haverford is not too much more selective than Oberlin. So you have 3 or 4 reaches, one or two matches, and two safeties. That’s not an unreasonable number or distribution of applications.</p>

<p>If you want more peace of mind by adding more matches, consider (roughly in descending order of selectivity):</p>

<p>Wesleyan University
Bard, Colorado College, Kenyon, Whitman
Skidmore</p>

<p>You might like these 6 if you like Swarthmore, Haverford, Oberlin, and New College.</p>

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<p>Muhlenberg would be a safety for him and he would probably get significant merit aid. He could double major in theater and English. My D is a theater major with a creative writing minor.</p>

<p>The BA at Fordham Lincoln Center is an amazing program but it is by audition. You will need to get on that quickly to schedule his audition. I am not sure if there is a portfolio option for playwrights. Worth looking into.</p>

<p>Tufts has a good theater program. Kenyon has a good theater program and a good writing program. I have heard good things about theater at Tulane and Emory if he wants to look southward.</p>

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<p>I second Brandeis.</p>

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<p>I can’t imagine a kid applying to NCF AND Gordon. They’re polar opposite in terms of values and culture. If your son likes Gordon, I would suggest Calvin, Hope, Wheaton (IL). If he likes NCF, I would suggest Eckerd, Guilford, UNC-Asheville.</p>

<p>For his stats, Muhlenberg would be definite merit and its theater program is fabulous (it even gets recruited for NY. I don’t know how it works but it’s way up there). I second Fordham Lincoln Center, too! For good music and rather intellectual/no Greek/wholesome, you have St Olaf. For intellectual and urban living, you have Macalester. For intellectual and urban living, 2, you have Reed. For philosophical and historical, you have William&Mary (49k though, not sure about merit). For writing, what about Knox and Eckerd (Eckerd has the writers’ conference), merit would be guaranteed at both.</p>

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<p>Sarah Lawrence sounds like a good match for him although it may be a bit too alternative. Admission safety, especially because he’s a male. </p>

<p>Kenyon College might also suit him, as would some of the Claremont Colleges. I can also see a student like this in Occidental which is in an excellent location for a theater geek. </p>

<p>A more off the wall suggestion would be Santa Clara University, a mid sized private located in Silicon Valley. It’s an admissions safety and lacks a greek system. </p>

<p>If you can afford the OOS tuition, look into the College of William and Mary.</p>