<p>thats all fine and good.. but i fear she may be thinking too highly of the importance of merit money. Unless she's very wealthy, shes going to get need-aid.. and if shes very wealthy, i dont see why cost should be a concern.
I was concerned about merit money too, so i ended up applying to a lot of schools below my potential, and got scholarships from all of them. But the merit aid in grants that i am getting from northwestern evened everything out, so that, despite not having any merit money, I will be paying the exact same cost to attend northwestern as i would if i attended any of the private schools that gave me scholarships. </p>
<p>Unless your friend has some deep-seeded idealogical opposition to taking money she hasn't "earned" with merit, I fear that it would be a big mistake for her to insist on only applying to safety schools.</p>
<p>Ok, if she wants to double major, and she liked Carnegie Mellon because of its top drama school, there is a program called "BHA - Bachelor of Humanities and Arts." Basically, she would apply to the Drama School AND The Liberal Arts College. It's basically a double major, and she would need to get accepted by both schools in order to participate.</p>
<p>Boo OSU! I used to be a Michigan fan (until I got their aid package). I'm now a Fighting Irishman (and would have gone to ND, had my parents had their way), but headed off to New Hampshire and the Ivy League.</p>
<p>OSU--I wouldn't recommend it. They have friendly students, not much else besides athletics.</p>
<p>UM--if you can get better aid than I did, go for it! A very academic (though slightly stuffy) school in a beautiful college town.</p>
<p>ND--definitely worth a look! Although there is somewhat of a peaceful, religious feeling, but I get the feeling it can be as religious or not religious as you want it to be. Warning: not for the flaming liberal!</p>
<p>Case--also a great school! Though expensive, there's plenty of opportunity for merit aid, especially if you do well on your SATs. Excellent for the sciences and engineering, good for the arts, great cultural location in University Circle. A bit of a nerd school, but hey, aren't all the good ones?</p>