<p>First, let me thank all of you helpful people out there who graciously give out great advice! My d is looking for a college in the pacific NW. (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, or Northern Calif.) She is unsure what she will major in (possibly in the medical field). Here are her hs stats:
4.0 gpa unweighted
higher than 4.0 weighted (can't remember that detail!)<br>
by the end of her senior year, she should have completed about 6-7 AP classes along with many honors-type classes.<br>
sat score this april : 680CR;670M;650W...total 2000. (she was hoping for at least 2100 on this....)
She has played piano for many years, and has competed at the state level a few times. With her love of music, she would like to possibly double major in music, but is unsure how difficult this would be. ? Money is an issue for our family, so we are hoping for some merit scholarships. EFC will probably be about 10,000. Any thoughts would be appreciated!!</p>
<p>Need more info: Does she prefer big school or small? Research university or LAC? Is she in-state for any of the Pacific NW states?</p>
<p>Although she is willing to consider both large and small, and consider the merits that each might offer, she would feel more comfortable with a smaller school. She is in state for oregon. University or LAC.... ? We just don't know enough about the benefits of one over the other to decide.</p>
<p>My son got excellent financial aid from Lewis & Clark about 5 years ago. He chose to attend another college, but the out-of-pocket cost for us would have been less than the cost to send him to a UC campus. I don't know whether L&C has any sort of music programs though-- I just was chiming in because of our good experience with a combination of need-based + merit aid.</p>
<p>Look at Willamette U. Her stats are in the good range, and as I recall Willamette has a good music program. I don't know how good their finaid is though.</p>
<p>Thank you calmom and coureur. Do either of you have any opinions on going university vs. lac?</p>
<p>I have first hand knowledge of both Lewis & Clark College and Willamette University. Both very fine colleges. If you don't mind the isolation of a rural community, check out Whitman COllege in Walla Walla, WA. FOr a large but comfy campus, see Washington State University in Pullman.</p>
<p>Any ideas on the following:
Seattle Pacific University
Willamette University
Corban College
Oregon State University-honors program
Linfield
Lewis & Clark
Whitworth
Pepperdine
I know the problem is that she is unclear in what she wants to major in, but in general, any thoughts on these?</p>
<p>I visited Lewis & Clark and Whitman this past summer. They were my two top choices behind Kenyon (where I'll be going in the fall). They have spectacular campuses (facilities and aesthetics) and both seem to be top notch academically. Whitman is VERY isolated (4 hours from Portland, 5 from Seattle) but Walla Walla is a very neat town! </p>
<p>I highly recommend checking out both.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Any ideas on the following:<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Oregon State - large land grant univ. Strong in agriculture and engineering.
Pepperdine - in SoCal, not the NW. Very religious school. Gorgeous ocean scenery right from the campus.
Willamette - Salem is a nice-sized town. School is near the Capitol.</p>
<p>Oregon State: party scene and big. Drunk girls peeing out of windows (or so says a friend whose daughter left there because she didn't like the party scene)
U of Oregon just dumped some big bucks into their music school and has an honors college-why aren't you looking there?
Western Oregon: friend just opted for this over OSU because it is smaller and more liberal-arts focused. </p>
<p>Lewis and Clark: we just visited and were really impressed. Not as well known or highly rated as Whitman. Their US News ranking seems to suffer because their retention and graduation rates are lower than comparable schools. GREAT study abroad and brand-new music building. My D. who has comparable grades/classes and a little higher SATs vastly preferred it over Reed who we also visited on our recent trip. If they can fix their retention rate their US News ranking will soar--could be an undervalued place.</p>
<p>Whitman--getting harder to get in. Lots of solid kids rejected this year.</p>
<p>WSU: getting better. May also be undervalued.</p>
<p>Western Washington U: great honors program.</p>
<p>Seattle Pacific: VERY conservative Evangelical Christian school. Lots of rules but really solid academics. </p>
<p>University of Portland is well regarded--not sure about music.
Gonzaga and Seattle U. are good solid Jesuit schools and diverse--you don't need to be Catholic to have a good experience.</p>
<p>Also look at Linfield in McMinnville--I know kids who have gotten good merit packages and it always rates highly in US News/Master's college rankings.</p>
<p>Son attends Lewis and Clark and loves it. He is not into music, but I think it is one of their stronger areas. Academically the school is quite good. You also might want to check out University of Puget Sound. I seem to remember them offering merit aid for music. They are in Tacoma.</p>
<p>Mombot, that just proves the limits of the USNews ratings. I don't recommend that potential college applicants rely on USNews to sum up the appeal and assets of a college or university.</p>
<p>University of Oregon has by far the best music program in the northwest (and the best music composition program on the entire west coast). They also have an honors college (which I don't know too much about.) Great town, too! </p>
<p>The head of the piano department at U.Puget Sound - Duane Hulbert - is topnotch, but overall, the music department at Pacific Lutheran (the other side of town) is significantly stronger. </p>
<p>Music at Reed is weak ( very weak) - as in they can barely field an orchestra (and couldn't without community participation.) They have exactly 3 music profs, though this includes a first-rate composer, David Schiff.</p>
<p>I don't know much about Whitman's music program (I love the school) - I do know they have produced several high-flying jazz musicians who play around here.</p>
<p>My daughter is a musician-athlete -science geek - wants to do physics in college. As we live in Alaska the NW schools were a natural starting point. I agree with Mombot on Lewis and Clark and Western Wa. Check out U Puget Sound - They offer music scholarship for non-music majors - D2 received generous offer- beautiful campus. Also consider the University of British Columbia - Vancouver
Does your daughter qualify for WUE or WICHE check this web site <a href="http://www.wiche.edu/-%5B/url%5D">http://www.wiche.edu/-</a> D2 has a good friend, also musician science geek, at Willamette, who loves it. Also Pacific Luthern in Tacoma</p>
<p>U Puget Sound is GORGEOUS, and the seattle area is amazing</p>
<p>If big is okay, I would take a look at the University of Washington. Seattle is great, as are the academics at UW. With a 4.0 and a 2000, there would be an excellent shot at admission. For a smaller, somewhat alternative, but increasingly popular school, check out The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Everyone I know who attends raves about it. For what may be a reach, there is Reed College, my personal favorite in the NW; it is a very special place.</p>
<p>My daughter ( who is a bio major) loves her music prof and is even having her on her orals board ( you need one prof out of your dept and Ginny has a Phd in chem)
Reed is indeed very special-for example the senior all are finishing up their theses this week ( they have desks in the library- if a non science thesis), * little fairies* have been coming around and leaving treats and encouraging notes on their desks.
Its kind of like summer camp- with mid terms</p>
<p>Thank you all so very much for your ideas! I think we have our work cut out for us! :)</p>