Worried about my younger sister's college future--recommendations?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I do. My roommate is a very intelligent recruited athlete. Schools have academic indexes that must be met by athletes seeking to get recruited.</p>

<p>They bar some athletes based on academics, but that doesn’t mean that the athletes on average have the same academic standing as the rest of the student body. They don’t, and the SAT/GPA threshold they need to pass is substantially lower in some cases that what a normal applicant would be expected to have.</p>

<p>I know my facts. Clearly you do not. So before grasping at straws in an ill-fated attempt to point out a “flaw,” try making sure that your argument is actually correct.</p>

<p>And I’m not here to pick fights – you did that yourself with your attitude toward the sister.</p>

<p>I also already mentioned that you should be talking to her college counselors, and she should be looking into art schools.</p>

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<p>*College counseling doesn’t seem to be worried. *</p>

<p>College counseling - even at some/many prep schools - don’t really get “down and dirty” with each student to say, “hey, you need to get your act together, otherwise your choices are limited.” They really leave that stuff up to parents/family. Hence, dear sister’s legit concern. :)</p>

<p>NU…there’s nothing wrong about being concerned about your younger sister. I was concerned about my youngest brother who seemed to be rather “too laid back” when it game to grades, etc (this was back in the stone age) ;)</p>

<p>That said…as I mentioned earlier, your sister does have some choices. What is the financial situation. Will your parents pay for wherever she wants to go? Or will they limit her budget to in-state public and commuting?</p>

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<p>*Neither are recruited athletes, those recruited for a particular extracurricular talent, etc. Yet they are still at NU. “Statistically speaking,” she will not get in based on academic merit. And you didn’t caveat your post. Given that I have not perfected the art of telepathy, what you post is what I and others see.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Baeler…as someone who’s at Princeton, you don’t need telepathy to know that she’s talking about her sister’s potential to get accepted to NWU based on academic merit - she knows her sis isn’t a recruited athlete, etc. She doesn’t need to add a caveat; the rest of us could easily figure out her point.</p>

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<p>sorry I was away at the outback bowl, </p>

<p>Thanks mom2college for the support. It is just difficult to see your younger sibling be so blase about college. Maybe for some people in different circumstances (baelor perhaps is an only child or has the good fortune of having smart siblings) it’s hard to understand this frustration, but I’m just looking for objective insight on specific schools, which have been ascertained. Thanks a lot!</p>

<p>*i did write a retort, but then realized that it wasn’t worth giving into petty arguments, I’m clearly right</p>

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<p>“Baeler…as someone who’s at Princeton, you don’t need telepathy to know that she’s talking about her sister’s potential to get accepted to NWU based on academic merit - she knows her sis isn’t a recruited athlete, etc. She doesn’t need to add a caveat; the rest of us could easily figure out her point.”</p>

<p>Agreed mom. She is absolutely correct in saying that her sister is NOT NU material. I think the concern for her sister’s educational future is something to be commended. That’s what thoughtful older siblings should be doing!</p>

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<p>“I suggest that you not help your sister because you don’t seem to have much confidence in her.”</p>

<p>Ill take it 1 step further and tell you you re being a tool. If she’s talented in and passionate about performing, encourage her to pursue that.</p>

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<p>“However a lot of top notch schools that are serious about academics ( Stanford duke northwestern notre dame) simply cannot afford to lower standards that much. I just saw on espn last night a special on notre dame recruitment and how many great athletes routinely are barred from playing at notre dame because of their academic performance in high schoo”</p>

<p>Exception to the nearly ubiquitous rule, my friend. Check your facts!</p>

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<p>NU, I didn’t read the whole thread, but based on your sister’s interest, I’m assuming you’re Asian. She may have two things in her favor - 1) she may be going to areas where she isn’t an ORM (pre-med/engg, etc) and in the school that caters to her interests she may actually be a URM, and 2) you the private school may do a good job placing her based on her skills.</p>

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<p>tom, I was talking about NU specifically, so I cited other similar schools like notre dame in their policy on recruiting/academics. This was in response to baelor and the fact that my sister is not NU material, which is an accurate statement. So yes, in most other places this is considered ubiquitous, but before you go ranting, why don’t you use contextual evidence before you use general knowledge. I have a legitimate concern, so calling me a ‘tool’ is just rude.</p>

<p>Dad, these things could be, but I’m not going to bank on affirmative action and they are great college counseling services, but they’ve been having some adjustments in staffing since i’ve left…</p>

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<p>Does your sister think she would like to major in performance in college? </p>

<p>Professional musical theatre credits for a HS student actually are impressive. </p>

<p>You clearly are worried about your sister – but she is different than you, and will most likely follow a different path. Trying to convince her to follow the path that you have followed will certainly back fire. </p>

<p>It may seem like a pie in the sky dream to become a pop star in Asia – but, there are college and career paths that could develop out of that interest. Performance, Music Industry, Asian Studies… it might be helpful for her to see that there are things that she might want to study that are related to that dream, rather than simply having everyone tell her that her dream is silly. It could help focus her if she sees that in order to pursue a career path as a performer she will have to start working hard to develop the skills needed.</p>

<p>If she is truly interested in commercial music she might want to look at Belmont in Nashville, they have one of the best commercial music programs in the country.</p>

<p>If she is interested in Musical Theatre as a major I would suggest you (or she) check out the musical theatre forum… for information about music programs the music forum is a good place to check.</p>

<p>I was not a particularly strong HS student at my private HS… similar stats to your sister… similar GPA, higher SATs (although this was in the late 1980s with the “old” SAT – not sure how that relates to the current one)… I was focused on pursuing performance in college, and as a career.</p>

<p>I only applied to schools that also required an audition to declare an acting or musical theatre major. I was admitted to schools where my stats were on the low end or below the admitted student range — like Syracuse and NYU, because my audition was weighted into the admissions decision. </p>

<p>I believe that admissions has gotten more difficult over the past 20 years… but at many audition based schools the audition will still count for 50% - 90% or the admissions decision… for example at Carnegie Mellon University the audition counts for 90% of the admissions decision, so a student with WELL below the normal CMU stats can be admitted to the Drama School. Of course the Drama School admit rate is 2%, so this does not mean that it is EASIER to get into the Drama School than the university, just different in terms of deciding factors. </p>

<p>This does not mean that she can blow off HS – there is a lot of talk on the Musical Theatre forum about this – but, she may end up looking at a different set of schools if performance is what she wants to pursue.</p>

<p>When I was in HS people (not my family, who were very supportive) … kids at HS… some of the teachers, etc… thought that the idea of pursuing performance in college in preparation for a career in the performing arts was a bit “pie in the sky.” Well – I have made my life in the performing arts… first as a professional performer, then director, now as a college professor (after attending graduate school). </p>

<p>Your sister’s path will be different than yours, but not necessarily less rewarding to her, or less successful in the long run.</p>

<p>You can be helpful to her by supporting her as she clarifies her chosen path. </p>

<p>If she truly does not know what she wants to study in college two years at a good community college could help her explore her options. There are even some community colleges that offer AFA (Associate of Fine Arts) degrees.</p>

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<p>NU…</p>

<p>If you’re Asian then there are schools that do want more Asian kids, which would help your sister gain admittance. However, admittance is not the “end all” as a NU student would know. Once admitted, a student has to perform at a level in order to stay enrolled. :)</p>

<p>Therefore, to target those schools for your sister…please ask her the following about school preferences… (if you’ve mentioned some before and I’ve forgotten, please excuse me.)</p>

<p>Big, small, single sex, quiet, rah rah big sports, rural, city, college town, warm weather, cold/snowy weather, etc…</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>Musical Theatre Programs where HS stats may not not weighed as heavily in the admissions process, or where her stats may be within the admitted student range – </p>

<p>AMDA (LA or NY)
Boston Conservatory (MA)
Carnegie Mellon University ¶
Columbia College for the Arts (IL)
Millikin University (IL)
Plymouth State University (NH)
Point Park Conservatory ¶
Roosevelt University (IL)
Shenandoah Conservatory (VA)</p>

<p>many of the schools above are highly selective in terms of program admissions… 2% - 10% admit rate… but it could be a place to start if she is interested in performance.</p>

<p>Schools in MO that offer musical theatre performance degrees are:</p>

<p>Avila University (BFA)
Missouri Valley College (BFA)
Southwest Missouri State (BFA)
University of Missouri, Kansas City (BA Music with Theatre concentration)
Webster University (BFA)</p>

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<p>You might want to ask her to take a look at the following schools, all of which have strong theater and/or music programs:</p>

<p>Stephens College–located in Columbia, MO (so I assume you’ve heard of it)–all female school with very strong performing arts</p>

<p>Drew University–a reach, but it is SAT optional, so her scores might not be an issue here</p>

<p>Millikin University–I believe you would have to audition for the musical theater and vocal programs but it might be worth considering</p>

<p>Columbia College in Chicago–an arts school</p>

<p>Point Park University–located in Pittsburgh PA</p>

<p>West Chester University–good music department, I believe it requires an audition</p>

<p>In general, your sister needs to become interested in this process and decide what she wants to do. Does she want to go to college? If so, does she want to major in voice or music or theater (if so, most schools require auditions) Does she want to work first/take a gap year and then decide what to do? Does she have any other academic interests? If I were you, I would probably not get super involved in the process, but I would look her some school websites with her and see if any of them pique her interest.</p>

<p>sorry–I posted before I saw KAT MT’s post and so some of the schools are overlaps</p>

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<p>Awesome thanks so much to both of you, I have heard of many of those schools as well because I did perform for many years as well before and alongside my sister. That was an option for me, but I gave that up for my academic career… I realize we are going to take different paths but for me it’s frustrating because she doesn’t have a tangible/feasible path. </p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>