What college is right for me? Struggle :/

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Urgle. It's time to start thinkin about applications, and I hvaen't found any colleges that I've immediately fallen in love with yet. It would be really helpful if you guys could give me some suggestions on which direction I should be looking towards.</p>

<p>I'm a junior with a 3.92 uw/satI 2320 with lots of music ecs (but almost none of any other kind). Currently live in Southern California.</p>

<p>I'm interested in a medium-sized school, with, at the very very minimum, 2500 students--preferably more. I'm still not sure how I feel about LACs, so I guess either liberal arts colleges/universities are ok for now. Urban or suburban are both fine (not rural!!!!!), and I'd like the school to be north of the mason-dixon line. </p>

<p>I don't know what I want to major in, but it'll definitely be in either in humanities or social sciences, so the college should be strong in those departments. </p>

<p>One of the very big 'musts' is a strong music program, classical & jazz, and it's got to be the kind that provides opportunities for non-majors to join orchestras/bands etc.</p>

<p>As for academic rigor... um, not to the extent of University of Chicago's intensity or anything. I definitely want to be intellectually stimulated and challenged, but not in the way where all the students are pretentious a-holes constantly trading pseudophilosophical bs. </p>

<p>Socially, I'm not a big fan of Greek, and I'm not a party girl--reeeeeallly not into zepplin-sized kegs and whatnot. Big + if there's a good indie scene.</p>

<p>Oh umm and because of the parents, prestige is very important :/</p>

<p>Ummmm what else? I think that's all. Ohh um the school probably should be need-blind.</p>

<p>So, anywhere?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Ivies.. I'd say NYU for its drama/music department but that is a pretty big place.</p>

<p>Actually this can be pretty easy, just take the top 25 and rule out all the big schools and non-music + massive greek.</p>

<p>You can cut: MIT, Uchicago, Vanderbilt, all public schools, Duke, WUSTL, JHU, etc. </p>

<p>I do not know how important music is to you but if it is important, CMU would be a good fit for you. It's amazingly strong in the arts and the music department allows double majors and other group activities. The school isn't competitive or cutthroat but it is filled with intellectuals who work hard and the professors definitely stimulate you. It's about 5k ugrad students and it has need-blind aid as well as prestige. Perhaps this link will help you <a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/cfa/cfacc/www/music/index.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/cfa/cfacc/www/music/index.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Cognitive psychology/creative writing/philosophy/economics (joint with Tepper) are top in their field but majors like History or a foreign language are not as good. To reiterate, Pittsburgh is very artsy and has many museums and a world-reknowned orchestra thanks to the contributions by Andrew Carnegie. </p>

<p>I would try for the Ivies just for prestige though I don't know much about their music programs.</p>

3

<p>Oberlin! Excellent music program.</p>

4

<p>I think Oberlin is a little too small and middle-of-nowherey for my tastes. </p>

<p>I was thinking about NU before, but people have been telling me that it's got a huuuge Greek scene and that it's really preppy. Are these 2 traits hugely noticeable at NU, or completely avoidable?</p>

5

<p>I visited a couple of friends there who are really preppy (as am I) so I wouldnt' say its avoidable.</p>

6

<p>You might want to take a look at Rice.</p>

7

<p>I disagree with cutting Johns Hopkins. Peabody is a great resource, and JHU is strong in humanities and social sciences.</p>

<p>Out of the Ivies, Yale would be (by far) the best fit. Northwestern also springs to mind. It has a large party scene, but not everyone there parties, and the proximity of Chicago gives you plenty of things to do with friends besides party and drink. Boston U and U Rochester would be good safeties/matches. Lawrence U and Rice are also worth looking into. Case Western also might be worth consideration, and the application is free if you apply online.</p>

8

<p>JHU doesn't sound like the right fit at all. </p>

<p>I would say Brown sounds like absolutely without a doubt the best school for you, followed by Harvard and Yale. Vassar would be a great safety/ match for you. Brown is amazing.</p>

9

<p>wustl, rice, pomona? and yeah vassar is good... definitely not brown (sorry i just think it's so overrated)</p>

10

<p>Overrated how? It has crazy good placement (I know tons of people I know at top grad schools went to Brown - I have many Brown alum friends), an incredibly connected and talented student body that is open minded and intellectual without being pretentious, and great academics make it one of the best schools in the country.</p>

<p>I've probably visited 30 schools in my life, Brown is one of the best college experiences out there. This girl (chill, not into pretentious people, smart, cool, slightly indie) is a perfect fit.</p>

11

<p>tufts sounds like it may work</p>

12

<p>she says "prestige is very important"</p>

<p>probably the least known of the ivies and definitely not as wellknown as many of the top20 eg ucla, berkeley, jhu, wustl.... "internationally"</p>

13

<p>I think Vassar is a bit isolated, but maybe that's just me. I forgot about Brown; it does have a great music program. Of course, being Brown, it has to offer rare music courses too (like ethnomusicology). :D</p>

14

<p>Wes - that is flat wrong. Those who know Brown know its a top 10 school, significantly better than all of the schools you mentioned. Its one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, with a strong alumni network. Does it matter what Joe Schmo in Calcutta thinks?</p>

<p>Vassar is actually an hour from NYC and it totally isn't in the middle of nowhere.</p>

15

<p>trust me slipper i've lived in japan for 4 years and hongkong for 2 years.. people've heard of schools like jhu and ucla but not brown... no doubt brown has great undergrad program but its grad schools suck.. and international reputation comes mainly from grad programs like med, law or business not undergrad</p>

16

<p>I've lived in Japan for a while myself, and it's true that Brown's name doesn't carry as well.</p>

<p>But who cares?</p>

<p>If the OP has no desire to live in East Asia, why does it matter? I have teachers here who've never heard of Princeton for goodness sake, but I wouldn't pass on a Princeton education.</p>

<p>Besides, unless the Japanese can katakanize it easily, they don't ever learn it. :p</p>

17

<p>You might also look at Wesleyan. Good academics, good music, not in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>We didn't see a lot of jazz at Brown, but there are a lot of musicians, and definitely an indie scene.</p>

<p>Northwestern does have excellent music, but if that's not going to be your major, you might not get access to it. And, at least from our visit, it seemed the Greek scene kind of permeates the place.</p>

18

<p>Wes, asian countries tend to focus on math/ medical/ scientific prowess so I agree with you. But in the US Brown is absolutely well known, and trust me it will have an impact anywhere. People who matter know it.</p>

19

<p>slipper,</p>

<p>Brown's name is certainly good, but in California, Brown is not going to carry as well as UCLA. Is it fair? I dunno.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Wes, asian countries tend to focus on math/ medical/ scientific prowess so I agree with you.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Stereotyping much?</p>

20

<p>Hahaha, well I'm completely rot at math/science anyway, so my parents gave up on schools like Caltech looong ago. You know what, I think they just gave up on me altogether. </p>

<p>Brown sounds like a fit, but how is their music program? Is there one? I've heard that they have great acapella groups, but that's about it. Also, how is music @ wustl? Man, I apologize for just vomitting questions everywhere.</p>

<p>And here's something I should mention. It's really flattering that you guys are mention ivies, but they do seem like a huuge reach for me. On paper, my stats sound relatively good but compared to the 923934289234 people at my school who take more APs, are involved with more ECs, have own more awards, and are generally way more brilliant, I doubt I have too much of a chance. If there's 50 people who surpass my talents just in my school alone, I don't even want to think about other places.</p>