<p>Okay, so I'm having difficulty sifting through all the mail that I'm being sent, and all the college websites I'm being directed to, so I'm asking for a few specific suggestions to look up. Help would be so appreciated!</p>
<p>What I'm looking for is a (preferably small, but larger would be okay too) college that has an accredited music school where vocal performance and musicology are both options as an undergraduate concentration. The ability to participate in choirs and opera are important to me, and it would be wonderful if it was primarily undergraduate.</p>
<p>Another thing I'd really love is a good anthropology department- I find anthropology and archaeology interesting enough to minor in, or at least take a few electives in. Also, I'd really prefer a school that doesn't have a reputation as a party school- I'm not the frat party type. I know there are always alternative options, but I'd really rather not end up at a school where everybody and their brother goes out every night.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm sorry if I'm being too specific or unrealistic, I'm just a very particular person. And area of the country/size of the city doesn't really matter to me. That's the one thing I'm NOT particular about (: As far as my grades go, I have a 4.0 GPA (uw), a 34 ACT score, and 4 AP and 3 honors classes under my belt at the end of my junior year, and 200+ hours of community service at local therapeutic riding associations and NHS opportunities.</p>
<p>Any suggestions would be appreciated, I'm starting to feel like I'm drowning in the flood of letters and emails and suggestions from my guidance counselors, private voice teacher, and choir teachers. Thank you!</p>
<p>Schools to look into:
Yale
Rice
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
Oberlin</p>
<p>All of these schools are known for their dedicated music programs as well as superb liberal arts based education opportunities for undergraduates</p>
<p>Also:
FSU
U Mich
Ohio State
Texas University System</p>
<p>Have great music programs but are quite different from the ones aforementioned.</p>
<p>Purpender: Thank you, I have looked at most of those and the main turn-off for me was the size of the programs in the majority of them. What I really want is a small program that gives a lot of one-on-one attention. I’ll have to look back into them and dig a little deeper to see if I totally overlooked something (: Thanks again!</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: That’s a tough question- they won’t really be contributing. Basically, I need to get scholarships and grants up the wazoo. The max they’d contribute is maybe $5,000. It’s up to me and how much money I can get from a school that really wants me there.</p>
<p>dlcor1026: Mm, thank you (: I’ll look into them further- I do remember not really being fond of the two bookends, but I did like Oberlin quite a bit. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Alot of University of Rochester students take lessons at Eastman and it feels like almost everyone is involved musically, whether that means double majoring in it, taking lessons, or merely being a member of one of our many on campus musical groups. They also offer significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Also look at Lawrence U, which, like Oberlin, has a conservatory attached on campus.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how good CMU would be for someone who wants to major in anthropology, though I can’t say for sure. When I visited, it placed a high emphasis on engineering and the arts, but not much in between…it was a pretty big turn off for me. </p>
<p>Another option might be Beloit. They apparently have a top notch anthro department, have a music major (though I have no idea about the opportunities available through it) and also give out a lotttt of merit aid.</p>
<p>If they are low income and can only contribute a little, then schools that meet need will work.</p>
<p>HOWEVER…if your family has a good income/assets, then the elites won’t work because they don’t give merit aid.</p>
<p>And many other schools that most give need-based aid might not work either.</p>
<p>As for needing scholarships…you need to understand… Private scholarships are very hard to get and are usually for small amounts…not enough to fund college. AND, they’re often ONLY for freshman year…so you’d be stuck after frosh year.</p>
<p>The best and biggest merit scholarships are USUALLY from the colleges that give them…and those are for 4 years.</p>
<p>Are you still going to be pre-med?</p>
<p>As for your comment about party schools. Your scenario is way overblown. most kids at party schools are not going out every night. There are many, many serious students at these schools. My kids go/went to a big party school (one has graduated)…they hardly ever partied. They are in serious majors. Kids in serious major can’t party a lot.</p>
<p>Erin’sDad: Thank you, I’ll check out both those threads!</p>
<p>CollegeXC: Okay, I’ll put those on my list to look at. Thank you! And I live right by Lawrence, so I’ve been involved there for years. Love it, just not sure I want to go to college fifteen minutes away from my house. We’ll see (:</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: My parents make on average about $60,000 a year, but they’re really set on me paying for as much of it myself as possible- they’ve said on numerous occasions that they don’t plan on contributing much. And I know that my comment about party schools was a little exaggerated, I was just making a point (: Don’t worry, I’m not COMPLETELY close-minded My mother (she’s quite controlling, which is why I have to be super picky) has said that she refuses to let me go to a school with a reputation for a party school. That’s all I’m trying to do- get a few schools on the list that don’t have serious reputations. I honestly couldn’t care less about it, personally, but she’s on my case about that.</p>
<p>As far as scholarship goes, I think I knew that, but I wasn’t really thinking about it that way. And premed- yeah, I might be, but it’ll depend on how realistically I can get all the prerequisites and volunteer work and whatnot done in college. I was all gung-ho about that earlier, but it depends on what I decide. Anyway, thank you, you seem like you know a lot and you’re quite helpful (:</p>
<p>My mother (she’s quite controlling, which is why I have to be super picky) has said that she refuses to let me go to a school with a reputation for a party school. That’s all I’m trying to do- get a few schools on the list that don’t have serious reputations. </p>
<p>==============</p>
<p>You need to diplomatically tell your mom that you will go where you can afford to go. Period. </p>
<p>With your stats, you do have a good chance at getting accepted to some great schools with very good FA. But, if those schools don’t accept you or they don’t give you all the aid you need, you’ll need to go where you get lots of merit…even if it’s a party school. your mom needs to accept that you need to go to college SOMEWHERE…and a party school is better than NO SCHOOL.</p>
<p>Regardless, you need to apply to the best schools that give the best aid. And, as a safety net, you need to apply to some schools that will give you huge merit.</p>
<p>Have you investigated Case Western Reserve?</p>
<p>They have a small, but intensive Anthropology dept., as well as an Archeology major.
They are known for their merit aid, based on your GPA and SAT/ACT numbers. Check out the Case thread as this year, kids with a 34 ACT seem to be getting between $25K and $30K per year in merit aid.</p>
<p>They also have a close connection with the Cleveland Conservatory next door, which allows Case students to both cross-register and double major.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Okay, I’ll do my best to tell her. She’s kinda scary, but I get what you’re saying. I’ll do more research on financial aid when looking at schools, since that’s a big part of my decision. Phew. Thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>hop & Erin’s Dad: I’ll look at Case Western, but I seem to remember not being a huge fan of something about it. I don’t know, maybe I’m imagining it. Anyway, I’ll look again and check it out. Thanks!</p>
<p>Well…then you may have to let the results speak for themselves.</p>
<p>If you protect yourself (which you MUST do) and include some financial safety schools that will give you large merit, then if “push comes to shove” and the other schools don’t work out, what can your mom say when the results are in “black and white.”</p>
<p>Of course, hopefully, you’ll get accepted to a great school with an awesome FA package that covers all or nearly all of your costs. But, since there are no guarantees, you have to have a safety net. </p>
<p>Case Western does give very good merit, but may not work for someone with a low EFC because the school may not award other grants. That’s fine for someone with a high EFC, but for someone like you, a $20k+ gap is insurmountable.</p>
My mother (she’s quite controlling, which is why I have to be super picky) has said that she refuses to let me go to a school with a reputation for a party school. That’s all I’m trying to do- get a few schools on the list that don’t have serious reputations. I honestly couldn’t care less about it, personally, but she’s on my case about that.</p>