<p>If your daughter is serious enough about music to want to pursue a conservatory education right away, then it sounds like she's probably got the right perspective. Plus, I'm a huge advocate of going to college far from home (I live 2,500 miles from Smith). </p>
<p>Yes, you are farther from your comfort zone, and I can't say my mom is a huge fan of me being so far away, but the kids I know who have gone really away to school have grown much more than the kids I know who haven't. It's scary, but you really get a sense for how you stand on your own two feet, and since you have to basically make all new friends, you get very integrated into your campus. For me, Smith is home now, and when I'm there, my friends are literally my only family within a six hour plane ride. But I've learned a lot about myself, and definitely become much more of an adult than my friends who stayed closer to home. </p>
<p>I was attracted to Oberlin for its strength in writing and its proximity to my grandmother's house, but eventually went with Smith as a better overall fit. I was becoming more interested in politics, Ohio as a place didn't really interest me much, I wanted to be closer to major cities, and Smith just "felt" right. </p>
<p>All things being equal, price should definitely matter. If it's financially viable, i don't think that price should trump personal fit, but if a student is equally amiable to both schools, or if the family just can't swing it without the better aid package, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with placing price first. </p>
<p>I don't think that merit awards neccessarily make up much of the decision however. They're pretty rare at small LACs, and they're not always renewable (STRIDE is only for two years, for example), so you can't really count on them the same way as need-based aid (which you can't really count on either).</p>