New England College Tour: Fall '08

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My father and I are planning a week-long trip to the Northeast this Fall to look at some colleges. I am currently a junior from Vancouver Washington, and the trip will probably be the week before I begin my senior year. </p>

<p>This is a tentative itinerary; Boston is our "home base" because we have friends to stay with there. I am most interested in smaller, liberal-arts colleges, preferably with decent music programs (9 years of classical piano training, non-performance major... composition). This is where we are probably going... any helpful ideas as to which colleges to hit up?</p>

<p>Boston: probably 3 days total.
Providence: I am considering Brown, and want to look here...any other ideas? 1 day here.
New Hampshire: 1 day
Vermont: 1 day
Upstate NY: 1 day</p>

<p>This is extremely rough planning at this point, and if there are reasonably nearby colleges in states I neglected, feel free to alter the plans.</p>

<p>Of course, if you just have a single, burning suggestion, I am open to that as well.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>-Ethan</p>

2

<p>Ethan, some good ones in NY are Vassar, Skidmore, Ithaca and University of Rochester.</p>

3

<p>Providence - Providence College
NH - Dartmouth
VT - Middlebury</p>

<p>Definitely also check out Amherst and Williams in Western Massachusetts. You may also want to get up to Maine to check out Bowdoin, Bates, or Colby.</p>

4

<p>Holy Cross, 40 miles west of Boston, is a top liberal arts school (2800 students) and offers these full tuition merit scholarships for music majors:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.holycross.edu/departments/music/website/scholarships.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.holycross.edu/departments/music/website/scholarships.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>Luckily for you all the colleges are within driving range of eachother.</p>

<p>In Boston: Northeastern, BU, BC
NH: UNH, Dartmouth
Connecticut: Yale, UCONN
Rhode Island: URI, Brown
New York really isn't in New England, but close enough: NYU, Syracuse, SUNY</p>

<p>I didn't list liberal arts colleges as I'm not as familiar with them. Although, my list has a good bit of variety as it is.</p>

6

<p>Take a look at college guides, and get a feel for colleges that might be of interest, and then figure get out some maps, or head to google maps.</p>

<p>I'm not familiar enough with music programs, but Emerson and Boston Conservatory in addition to some of the others suggested in Boston. Tufts, too.</p>

<p>There are 8 colleges in Worcester, including Clark, which is a lesser know but good LAC. Trinity, near Hartford, Weslyean, </p>

<p>Really, there are a lot of schools in New England. Try to figure out which seem possibly interesting, then do the mapping. </p>

<p>Also count on total exhaustion/burnout by the 3rd day, so jot down notes, take photos as you go, so that later you'll remember which school it was that had the great coffee bar or the neat performing arts center.</p>

<p>And don't get too ambitious on what you can cover - NYU is 5-6 hours away from Boston, in NYC, and Syracuse is 7.</p>

7

<p>I'd suggest trying to add a day in CT if you can. My own school, Wesleyan, is a LAC with a good music program (and is also a lot like Brown in many ways, if you like that), and I also think Conn College might be of interest, and perhaps Trinity as well, depending on what kind of atnosphere you're looking for. </p>

<p>I agree with Vassar and Skidmore for upstate New York.</p>

<p>You might want to cut one day out of Boston, unless there are a TON of schools you want to look at there, so as to have more time in other places.</p>

8

<p>Amherst is not too far from Boston, and Williams is near Vermont. You might want to check out Providence College, but Rhode Island is kind of out of the way, unless you are headed to Connecticut. Definitely try to make it up to Maine to see Bowdoin, and if you can, Colby. Middlebury is in Vermont, and Hamilton is in upstate New York. Try this order: Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Williams, Hamilton. I visited 10 colleges in the Northeast in 6 days, so it can be done!</p>

9

<p>Ethan, As you can tell from the responses, there are dozens of small liberal arts colleges and medium sized universities in New England, so we'd need some more information of what you're looking for, aside from music.</p>

<p>Williams has an excellent music department with plentiful performance opportunities for non-majors. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Boston and is reasonably close to several other colleges that you may want to visit.</p>

10

<p>Brandeis and Tufts near Boston. Brandeis has music scholarships (Leonard Bernstein was a professor there), and you don't need to be a music major. Tufts has a joint program with New England Conservatory; I'm not sure about non-majors taking classes.</p>

<p>If you're looking for a LAC-type experience, forget BU - it's way too big and is a real university, not a LAC. BC, perhaps.</p>

11

<p>I'd say that you should check out those listed above, as well as Emerson.</p>

<p>I have friends that went from Clark via Running Start to URochester, Oberlin (though it is not in New England), Wesleyan, Bates, Boston U, NYU, Trinity, and Bates. URochester is excellent (as is Oberlin); New England schools that might be interesting with respect to music would be NYU, Wesleyan, Williams, Connecticut, Brandeis, and Boston Conservatory. </p>

<p>If you have any credits through RStart, check with each school to see if they will take your course credits, as some may not, if that is an issue. Had a few friends that applied to top LACs and universities that did not take credits from Clark.</p>

<p>Anyhow, I'd suggest sharing more of what you'd like from college, besides your major, since fit can be just as important. What kind of college atmosphere do you want? How important is access to cultural events (on and off campus? What kind of students do you think would make your college experience memorable? Is financial aid a large consideration? What kind of workload are you anticipating? </p>

<p>You get the idea.</p>

12

<p>I agree with many of the above suggestions. One bit of info, though, about Providence College-- it is run by Dominican Friars, and seems, from its web site, to be very religion-affiliated. Of course, that is fine for those of that persuasion, but it may not be a right choice for everyone. Holy Cross is also a religious school. In your post, you did not indicate any religious preferences. Many of these regions have good music schools and good music departments within great schools. I would search either these forums (CC) or search for music departments on College Board, and other match sites.</p>

13

<p>Thanks to everyone for the great replies!</p>

<p>To franglish- thank you for bringing religion up; I will go out of my way to avoid ANY form of religious affiliation, but if I absolutely love a school, I can get over it.</p>

<p>And several of you- Isleboy and momrath- asked for a little more info. Sorry for being sort of vague! It is really nice to get such a wide variety of replies, but here is a bit more of what I want in a school:</p>

<p>-I already mentioned the "smallish liberal arts" type thing... a smaller school and low student:staff ratio appeals to me more than a large school.
-That said, an urban environment really appeals to me more than living out in the sticks. I live near Portland, OR and love it; anything comparable to that would be ideal. (I will definitely apply to Reed, but the Northwest pales in comparison to the Northeast in terms of selection).
-Financial Aid: these schools are EXPENSIVE. If I am accepted to just about any of these schools listed, the amount of aid I receive will be crucial to whether or not I attend. Which ones would be good bets for generous financial aid packages/merit-based music scholarships?
-Music composition MIGHT be what I end up majoring in, but it is not a sure thing. I basically just want the option.
-Local cultural events are extremely important. I am involved in lots of local music in Vancouver and Portland and plan to continue playing in bands and booking basement shows; I suppose this kind of ties into the desire for an urban environment akin to Portland (of course, smaller is just fine).
-An insane workload is not going to deter me from a college that I like.</p>

<p>More personal stats:</p>

<p>-I just took the SAT I and got a 2030; 660 verbal, 680 math, 690 writing... and I will DEFINITELY take it again, with improvement in mind.
-I plan to take 2 SAT II's; probably German Reading/Listening and Literature... just in case I'll need them.
-4 years of German (well, 2 years at high school, and what will probably end up being 3 quarters at Clark; each quarter at Clark counts, credit-wise, as a full year at my high school).
-Math through Calculus
-Honors English and Math in my Freshman and Sophomore years.
-Cum. GPA is 3.992 unweighted. (haha... one A-)
-Since I am doing Running Start full-time, I do not have AP classes, but I would hope that doing the whole Community College thing would be a plus, even if credits cannot be transferred.
-9 years of classical piano training (and counting).
-Community service through the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Outdoor School Counseling for the Battle Ground School District.</p>

<p>Sorry for the novel. I hope this info helps.</p>

14

<p>Running Start is a plus in the sense that it shows that you are challenging yourself. The 3-quarter sequence at Clark will count as 2 semesters at most of the colleges you will look at, if they consider it for credit. As for tests, you might want to take the ACT since, for a good number of applicants, it can be easier.</p>

<p>The issue with the RS program is that some colleges would consider you a transfer student, while others would consider you a first-year. If you get an AA degree from Clark, things get even more complicated.</p>

<p>As for colleges in an urban setting, URochester, Emerson, Boston Conservatory, NYU, Tufts, Brindeis, Amherst, Trinity, Brown, BU, and BC are good choices. Just keep in mind that LACs tend to be in less urban environments, but they do have access to big cities like New York and Boston. Wesleyan, Trinity, Connecticut, Oberlin (in OH), Middlebury (in a small town), Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby are good bets.</p>

<p>Since aid is important, make sure you at least have a few schools that guarantee to meet need. Also, you might want to look outside the New England, even if you are unable to visit other places. For instance, Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, Oberlin, Earlham, Beloit, Reed, Bard, and Sarah Lawrence have a very similar ethos and feel to Wesleyan and Brown. And, all but Earlham guarantee to meet your full need.</p>

<p>Try not to miss URochester, Wesleyan, Connecticut, Brandeis, Tufts, and Brown. Even if you only make it to those schools, you'll have a good reach/match/safety list. </p>

<p>In any event, just follow your instincts when you visit. You'll be surprised by your reactions to schools that you may not have seriously considered before. Currently, a friend at Clark is looking at UPennsylvania, Wash U., Tulane, Trinity, Mt. Holyoke, Beloit, Earlham, Knox, and a few others. She did not expect her list to be that way, but after her visit in the Spring, that is the way it congealed.</p>

15

<p>As far as my RS credit goes, while I will have earned over 90 credits by the end of my senior year, I am not attempting to earn an AA, because there are certain requirements that I do not really feel like fulfilling, in terms of credit distrobution.</p>

<p>Yeah, it is really hard for me to narrow myself down to one area, but it looks as if New England would be the most feasible in terms of sheer density of colleges to visit. We can really only manage this one trip.</p>

<p>IsleBoy, when you say that "all of these schools guarantee to meet your full need," what does that entail? Just loans, or loan-free?</p>

<p>Thanks again for all of the insight.</p>

16

<p>ethan, Let's talk about money before you go any further. First, will your family qualify for enough need based aid to allow you to attend a private school? If yes, your list can include a wide range of schools. Some, like Williams, are loan free. Some offer a mix of loans/grants/work study. Your individual package may vary from school to school.</p>

<p>If, on the other hand, you *require<a href="as%20opposed%20to" title="it would be nice">/I</a> merit aid, then you'll have a very different list. Very few of the highly selective New England schools offer merit aid. Need based aid can be generous; but merit aid non-existent. If merit aid is essential, you'll have to do thorough research school by school.</p>

<p>After that's settled, you should make a priority list of what's most important to you and what elements you can do without. If you really want urban -- as in Boston, New York, Providence, Washington -- then stay out of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Upstate New York and Western Mass. Geographically, New England is compact so you will always be within 2-3 hours of a major metropolis, but this is a very different thing from an urban environment and the music performance opportunites contained therein. There's also mid-way between strictly rural and strictly urban, which is small town. That's what you'd find in Dartmouth, Amherst, Skidmore for example. </p>

<p>If, on the other hand, your top priority is the depth and professionalism of the music department vis a vis classical piano, you will have another list altogether. I keep harping on about Williams because several of my son's friends were intensely involved in music (including classical piano) even though they actually majored in other disciplines. There are many performance venues and music of all kinds is enthusiastically supported by the campus community. </p>

<p>Again, you'll have to do some research about the music offerings at the schools on your list. All colleges have music departments, but they are not created equal.</p>

17

<p>camp.ethan, Princeton Review has a pretty good questionairre which will match you to schools based on your interests and statistics. A really nice school in this area (New Hampshire) is St. Anselms college. I have no idea about their music program though...</p>

18

<p>Using the FAFSA EFC, or in combination with the schools own forms/CSS Profile, the colleges will meet the difference between cost of attendance and your family's calculated EFC.</p>

<p>For instance:
$45,000..........College Cost (tuition, room & board, travel, books, misc.)
$10,000..........calculated family EFC</p>

<hr>

<p>$35,000..........difference between EFC & College Cost</p>

<p>$35,000..........Aid package (Grants, work study, and loans)</p>

<p>Keep in mind that some of the LACs and top universities have done away with the loan portion for families making less than $60,000-75,000. Merit money is different altogether, since the are sometimes, but not always, from schools that tend not to meet full need.</p>

<p>Momrath has excellent advice, and I agree with her that your list would look different if you are primarily concerned with merit aid--since you can receive merit aid even if you do not have any financial need. Merit aid is harder to come by, while full need-based aid tends to be more straight forward, at least with respect to who gets it and qualifies for it.</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
the colleges will meet the difference between cost of attendance and your family's calculated EFC.

[/quote]

IsleBoy, this is correct for those schools that promise to meet 100% of need. However, only schools such as Vassar, Brown, Dartmouth, Middlebury mentioned here make that promise. Other schools mentioned on this thread, such as Skidmore, Ithaca, Providence College, Holy Cross, BU, do not make this promise. They are more likely to "gap" - using your numbers, the "need" is $35,000, but the school may offer financial aid of only, say, $20,000, leaving the student to come up with the missing $15,000 in addition to the EFC.</p>