<p>supportivemom,</p>
<p>I'm sorry I didn't respond to your question sooner! I didn't see it. But in terms of the academic environment, it is far from competitive. From the experiences that I've had, it's very much cooperative and many classes have group projects to help foster that. We also have the honor code which also allows for us to work together on assignments, projects, etc. but still ensures we do our own work. I hope that answers your question. :)</p>
<p>Worcester is nothing exciting, and I don't think there is much interesting music to speak of at Clark. Only benefit is that it is just an hour to Boston.</p>
<p>I have to disagree a bit with -Allmusic- on this one. While Worcester in and of itself nothing to write home about, there is a pretty vibrant classical music scene in Worcester across a number of venues. My daughter attended school in the area, and I was amazed at the international and national name performers. I can look up specific links if I have to. </p>
<p>Additionally, if Clark is one of the five college consortium Holy Cross, WPI, a couple of others, there are numerous opportunites for cross course curriculum and ensemble participation among the five schools.</p>
<p>Springfield and Hartford are also an hour away. Not Boston, but between the four cities there is more than enough happening musically to suit just about anybody.</p>
<p>Thank you -- those answers really help fill in the picture.</p>
<p>OK, so here are some more colleges we have questions about. I have heard some of these have good financial aid, which is a factor for my son, too.</p>
<p>Davidson
Dickenson
Grinnell
Earlham
Hendrix
Beloit
College of Wooster
University of Puget Sound
University of Rochester
Evergreen</p>
<p>I know this is quite a mix, but we're hearing that it's important to cast the net wide if financial aid is important, which it is in my son's case. So -- any input would be appreciated regarding academics, competitive vs. cooperative atmosphere, and music scene (and also financial aid opportunities) at these schools. Would you say these are a big step down academically from some of the colleges that have been discussed in this thread, such as Macalester, Oberlin, UChicago, Columbia, Tufts, Sarah Lawrence, Clark and others?</p>
<p>Davidson, Grinnell, University of Rochester -- not a step down.
The others? I have the impression that they are a step down.</p>
<p>UR is is great schoo... i dotn know about the others</p>
<p>I will be a freshman at Davidson next year (deferred my enrollment for a year), and I will be there on a music scholarship for flute. This scholarship gives me $8,000/year plus $1,200 for lessons. I'm also an avid concert goer, and I was worried about getting my flll of live performances while there, but there seems to be tonns of music on campus. One of the nights I was there was the battle of the bands, and I saw five or six really talented bands that played a variety of music. They have a capella, jazz, chorale, orchestra, band (I think) and each group performs often. They told me that they try to have a band play every Thursday in the Student Union building, and there's also a really cool coffee shop across the street from the campus that hosts live music a lot. The campus is also 30 minutes from Charlotte, and I've heard that students drive into Charlotte whenever there's a concert or some other art event they want to see.</p>
<p>I didn't catch the beginning of the thread, but if your son plays any sort of classical (I think jazz is also allowed for the scholarship) instrument, he should DEFINITELY apply. You just send in a recording, a music resume, and a recommendation by a music teacher at the same time you send in your application. About 9 finalists (from the 60 or so who applied last year) were selected, and we all got to go to Davidson for Scholars Weekend - where they rolled out the red carpet and gave us banquets and lots of things to do. At Scholars Weekend, the music scholarship finalists competed live, with an accompianist, for a panel made up of music faculty members and also for anyone from the public who wanted to come. From there, four winners were selected to receive the $8,000/year. Everyone who was named a finalist won the $1,200/year for music lessons.</p>
<p>It's also a fantastic school academically - known to be very rigorous and great for grad school placement. It also ended up being the cheapest option for me aside from U-Wash, and might've been even without the merit aid, because they offered me great need-based aid. That helped make choosing easier - Haverford, my initial dream school, wanted me to give them the full $47,000 a year!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info on Davidson, Bluetissues. I assume you are a music major? Do you know if music scholarships are ever available (at Davidson or elsewhere) for those who only want a music minor?</p>
<p>Actually I'm not a music major and don't plan to be one (I think I'll be a minor, though). You do not need to be a major to get a scholarship - you just have to participate in the main ensemble for your instrument, usher at a few music events a year, and do well in your private lessons. It works well for me because I LOVE music, but it won't be my career, just a serious hobby.. I'm probably going to major in biology.</p>
<p>Thanks -- that's very good to know. I wonder how true that is for other colleges.</p>
<p>supportivemom- The scholarship aspect for the types of schools you've focused on is pretty school specific, and usually detailed somewhere on the music department's webpages, or the the schools finaid/scholarship pages.</p>
<p>It will depend on department funding, overall strength of program, type of instrument or voice. Some offer small scholarships to a number of music oriented students for a committment to participate in an ensemble or two as bluetissues said, some will restrict it to music majors, some will not.</p>
<p>If the department needs an odd instrument, say a bassoon, tuba, or if a student can effectively double on a couple of instruments with a reasonable degree of proficiency, they might dangle a bigger carrot.</p>
<p>But, there is no hard and fast rule. When in doubt, check the website, or call the admissions or music department directly.</p>
<p>At the higher level programs (conservatory, conservatory level), in almost all circumstances the merit/talent scholarships are strictly auditioned based and the amount of scholarship money offered is directly related to a student's audition outcome in relation to the competing group for a particular instrument or voice.</p>
<p>Thank you, violadad. I will follow up on the individual college websites.</p>
<p>Now I have some more questions. I don't know if they really deserve a separate thread, or if people will still be interested on this thread, but I appreciate all input. My questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How do you manage to visit most of the LACs of interest, when they are so spread out, and my S is taking lots of tough classes, so he can't afford to miss much school? Obviously it would be best to visit when the colleges are in session, to be able to get a sense of the student population and professors, but...</p></li>
<li><p>We are planning a trip in the Spring to visit East Coast and Middle West colleges (S's high school's Spring break fortunately does not coincide with the Spring Breaks of many of the colleges, so we should be able to visit at least some colleges that are in session). I think we are developing a good list of schools to visit in the NY area, Chicago, and in the Twin Cities. The question is: does anyone have any suggestions of colleges that would suit our son in the Boston area? As noted before, the main points would be: fairly liberal, good academics, small, discussion-style classes, and a good music scene. I am assuming that since it is in Boston, there would be a great music scene in the area, even if the college itself is not that strong on music. So far, the one school in the Boston area that has been mentioned a lot is Tufts. Any other suggestions?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a list somewhere of colleges that send a lot of graduates into the Peace Corps?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks in advance, folks.</p>
<p>Oops -- I just realized that I asked the Boston question before, and mythmom suggested Brandeis, Emerson and Wheaton. I'll need to follow up on those. Sorry!</p>
<p>Your son sounds great! My son went to Univ of Florida and studied zoology. He did research in the Congo for 9months while waiting for his Peace Corps assignment. He has been in Zambia for almost 2 years and loves it… He is working on staying in Zambia to do zoological research… My son took Swahili in college so language learning went smoothly. But Peace corps trains them for 3 months, which is intense and sufficient.
My daughter has been in Colombia with the Peace Corps since Oct. and loves it. Tell your son to apply during his senior year… the application is very indepth and takes a great deal of time. The school should have a Peace Corps rep to assist. Let me know if you have any questions…</p>
<p>Sorry, I should add that University of Florida has the highest Peace Corps recruitment in the East… if you look on the Peace Corps website they may have a list. I will ask my daughter and get back with you.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that in the five years since this thread was last bumped, that Wesleyan has emerged as one of the livliest music scenes of any college its size, with the possible exception of Oberlin. </p>
<p>Performance venues at Wesleyan range from the intimate to the stadium-like with fraternity-sponsored parties nearly every weekend (the role of independent Greek and other “theme housing” at Wesleyan is worth an entire thread of its own). Performance art of all kind is front and center at Wesleyan, not just as an “enrichment”; an unusual number of successful alumni in the music business have blazed a trail with one benefit being the constant import of rock bands from the Brooklyn area (which others have noted is just a couple of hours away) as well as many home-grown groups vying for recognition. There are so many that an entire website is devoted to just music with Wesleyan connections: <a href=“auralwes.org”>http://www.auralwes.org/</a></p>
<p>^^^[Student</a> and alumni musicians bring ‘Wesleyan Wave’ to the national scene | USA TODAY College](<a href=“USA Today Educate - Teacher & Student Resources & Guides”>USA Today Educate - Teacher & Student Resources & Guides)</p>