<p>I know there are already plenty of these threads, but I'm still incredibly undecided between these three. I was also accepted to WashU, University of Michigan, and University of Illinois UC.</p>
<p>I was accepted at Northwestern, Carnegie, and Case as a biomedical engineering and viola performance dual degree student. Generally I like the campus and general vibe of Northwestern the best (I spent last summer at their college prep program), the ease of doing a dual degree at Case, and I really connected with the viola professor at Carnegie.</p>
<p>I have a $30,000/yr scholarship at Case but only ~$5,000 in loans at the other two.</p>
<p>I am planning on doing the overnights at Carnegie and Case and the Wildcat Days at Northwestern. Does anyone have any thoughts on the quality of the engineering departments and music programs at each of the schools as well as the general feel of each of the campuses? How do I decide?!?!</p>
<p>First, you are taking the right approach by visiting again.
Second, all other things being equal, I would pick NU hands down.
Finally, the difference in money makes it hard to turn down Case. $100K over 4 years is a lot of debt to finish college with.</p>
<p>Two comments - 1) You shouldn’t choose a college based on one teacher because you never know if he’s going to be there all four years. Take that out of the equation and where does that put CMU? 2) How can it be easier to take a double major at Case vs NU? Kids double major at NU all the time? Not saying it’s not, just wondering in what way?</p>
<p>I’m pretty certain your level of education would be very similar at all three schools, nitpicking the stats isn’t going to find your answer for you. Of course the money might help give you the answer depending on conversations with your parents. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you look at the quality of the overall Engineering programs at the 3 schools, NU and CMU beat Case. But if you look at Biomedical engineering alone, you are probably better off at Case. I would also make sure that it is possible to double major in 2 such different programs. I was under the impression at CMU and NU you were accepted into their schools of engineering, but there might be some flexibility with that.</p>
<p>Yes arbiter but teachers leave, so there has to be more than one teacher that you click with and more to the program that works for you than just that one teacher. My daughter has had 3 voice teachers in her three years at NU, things happen.</p>
<p>I’m in the third year of a dual degree between music and political science, so perhaps I can shed some light on the NU side of the equation.</p>
<p>The dual degree program is pretty popular within the school of music, partially because Northwestern makes it the easiest out of almost any place I know. From the very beginning of your freshman year, you’re assigned two freshman advisers, one from each school you’re enrolled in, who meet with you jointly and help you make a rough plan of your 5 years, so you know exactly what to expect. They check up on you throughout the rest of your freshman year and often even beyond (my former freshman advisers still ask me how I’m doing on my degrees whenever I see them on campus). Because of the popularity of the dual-degree program, there’s also a great network of peer support among the dual-degree students.</p>
<p>As for professors, it’s safe to say that Vamos isn’t going anywhere for a while. And the handful of viola majors I know have nothing but good things to say about him. And it sounds like you’ve got the campus vibe thing figured out. Not saying that Case Western or Carnegie Mellon aren’t equally nice, but Northwestern looks GOOD right now.</p>
<p>Ultimately though, amtc’s right; the money matters quite a lot. $30,000 a year is an awfully big incentive for any school.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I think voice teachers for Theatre majors are a very different matter than an instrumental teacher for a Music major. It is more common than not for MTs we know in schools around the country to work with multiple teachers over 4 years, but S has looked at Classical Guitar programs and most schools admit you to the specific studio of one guitar professor, and D saw similar things with top flute programs, where folks commonly choose their school based on a specific teacher.</p>
<p>But you are of course right that there’s more to school than even a single mentor in music.</p>
<p>Teachers are human and life changes sometimes in unexpected ways (divorce, pregnancy, better offer) so it’s the philosophy of the department that you want to agree with, not just one specific teacher. </p>
<p>At NU the goal, at least at the present, is to work with the same teacher in MT for all your years, but that does not always happen due to circumstances beyond your control.</p>
<p>Thanks - I didn’t know that! In some ways it might be even better for D if she ends up working with multiple vocal coaches while at NU (though she LOVES her current NU teacher and would happily work with her forever but also learned from her H while she was out for maternity leave), as she already has that “key influence” voice teacher she’s worked with for years at home.</p>
<p>I do agree that it’s hard to imagine any school that makes it more possible to double major than NU.</p>
<p>this is second hand information, but a friend of mine told me that Carnegie Melon sometimes matches merit money from Case. My friend’s son is interested in computer science and this was the case (no pun intended) for them, but I would think engineering would be similar. You may want to investigate this if you are interested in Carnegie Melon. I would also not rule out Michigan. Both the music school and engineering school are on North campus and both programs are top notch. But I’m guessing money at Michigan may be an issue as well.</p>
<p>Being raised and worked in NYC, now living in suburb (long island), Cleveland was shockingly beautiful! We visited Case a few days ago and loved it! Ate in restaurant in Cleveland and was surprised how prices were cheaper than NY (duh! of course- COL) Cleveland’s architecture was amazing. Case’s campus, cultural offerings, architecture (Frank Gehry management bldg) were mind blowing! AND they are offering 40K in scholarships/grants and aid! So anyway, coming from a New York, the ultimate city, I would not put down Cleveland, who holds it’s own against any other city. I am a fan!</p>