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NJdad
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| Joined: | Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 |
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 02:02 pm |
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I am a father of 4 - Oldest D is entering sophmore year of HS, Next D is entering 9th grade, a 2nd Grade D who thinks she is ready for HS now, and 2 yr old S.
My Oldest D is beginning to think about college. She is interested in Music Education, but her dream is Music Performance. Her only considerations so far is that the college must be close to home and have a marching band. I am sure the MB portion is not a show stopper. Currently close to home is within 3 hours.
I found this site via College Confidential and hope to use it to get some reviews on schools in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region.
Last edited on Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 03:41 pm by NJdad
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binx
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 03:31 pm |
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Welcome, NJ dad. (I am also binx on the other board.) I have 3 kids, two of whom are music performance majors. If I can help at all, let me know. My S2 goes to Juilliard, which doesn't have a marching band  , and D goes to Miami Ohio, which is more than 3 hours from you. (Otherwise, it would be worth a look!)
Large state schools might be your best bet for marching bands. Like Penn State? What instrument does your D play? How are her academics? Those might help us think of appropriate schools. There is a good (old) music thread on here, too, that might have some good suggestions.
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NJdad
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 03:46 pm |
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My D's primary instrument is flute, but also dabbles with piccolo (marching band), saxophone, and piano. Academics are very strong, all honors or advanced classes. I am sure that the MB requirement would disappear if the school was a good fit for her.
Her primary music teacher is mentioning Rutgers (Mason Gross) and her private flute teacher attended Shenadoah Conservatory. I now little about music schools but would hope that she would consider schools which may be outside the 2/3 hour range.
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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 05:53 pm |
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Welcome NJDad! It's wonderful that you are getting an early start on gathering information and ideas for your daughter. There's so much to absorb and get on top of that starting early is helpful.
One important thing to keep in mind is that a lot of development and growth happens between the start of sophomore year and the start of senior year. *Most* kids end up changing their minds about what they want several times. College is also a pretty theoretical idea to most high school sophomores -- it's hard to envision going off to college when you've only just settled into high school. So, don't worry too much about your daughter saying she wants to stay close to home at this point. Horizons tend to broaden with maturity. 
At this point, over the next year you may want to just expose her to different *types* of colleges - a liberal arts school, a large university(sounds like she is already exposed to Rutgers), a medium sized university, and perhaps a music conservatory. I would keep any visits pretty loose at this point -- unless she expresses an interest and willingness, I wouldn't start doing formal campus tours until next spring at the earliest. But some "drive bys" of different campuses is fine.
I'd also encourage you to listen carefully to what she likes and doesn't like about her high school experience and pay attention to her learning style over the next two years. Ask lots of questions about high school -- which teachers does she like and dislike, and why? Which groups of kids does she like or dislike, and why? How does she feel about discussion based classes versus classes that are straight lecture? How does she feel about writing papers versus multiple choice questions? How does she feel about group projects versus working independently? Does she like the size of her high school? All of this information will give you important clues about which types of colleges might be good fits or wrong fits for her.
Of course, at this point you also don't have much of the information you'll need to determine what colleges may be realistic options for her. If her school allows, one thing I would suggest is that you have her take the PSAT this October just as a trial run. Don't have her study for it and make it clear to her that it absolutely is not something to stress over. But that will give you a baseline of sorts of where her test scores might fall.
Here's one other piece of unsolicited advice: Don't start with highly selective schools. It's hard to fall in love with safer bets when you've decided in 10th grade that Yale or Harvard are the only place to be. Start with realistic options and work up from there -- as you get a clearer sense of her test scores and grades towards the end of junior year you can move up the selectiveness scale if all looks good.
If you'd like to look at a few colleges just for your own edification about what's available, here are a few suggestions, although not all of them are within that three hour driving range: Muhlenberg, Goucher, Otterbein, St. Olaf, SUNY Purchase, Moravian, Northwestern, Bucknell, Boston U, Lawrence U, Oberlin, University of Rochester, NYU, Skidmore, Brandeis, Johns Hopkins, Bard, Denison, Ithaca College, Vassar, Rider, Rowan, Indiana U, Susquehanna, the College of Wooster. This list is not exhaustive, obviously, but will give you a good tour of different types of schools and music programs.
Start by visiting the music department websites of the above schools and comparing their approaches and philosophies. Don't forget to pay attention to the bigger picture -- distribution requirements, COST, financial aid availability, merit scholarship availability, etc. Work on the assumption that your daughter's interests may change and she may end up with a different major, so look at the broader academic offerings as well.
And, speaking of financial aid, now is a very good time to start getting up to speed on that as well. Even if you think your family won't qualify for anything, do use one of the online calculators to verify your eligibility. And, read, read, read everything you can get your hands on about managing college costs. A few good websites to get you started: http://www.collegeboard.com, http://www.finaid.com, http://studentaid.ed.gov
I have links to many articles and resources about financial aid, merit scholarships, and paying for college on my blog as well - AdmissionsAdvice.com
Last edited on Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 05:55 pm by CarolynLawrence
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NJdad
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 06:21 pm |
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Carolyn,
Thank you for the advice and list of schools to look at. I failed to mention that my D has already taken the SATs twice, once in 8th grade and again in her Freshman year. She has been part of John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. SATs are what they are, but her scores were good for being in 9th grade: 650 - Math, 550 Verbal, and 520 in writing, without any preparation.
Besides music her leanings are towards mathmatics.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 11:16 pm |
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Excellent!
Although there's no way to predict with certainty, of course, she should have solid SAT scores when she takes them again in junior/senior year. Assuming she is taking a challenging high school curriculum (plan on 4 years of math, science, and foreign language if possible, and honors/AP in areas of strength) and keeps her overall GPA in core academic subjects above 3.5 (unweighted) or so, she should be in good shape and have many options.
Sounds like your daughter will be a fun child to help through the process -- and, as I said, now is a good time for you to start getting up to speed on possible options. In addition to Binx, we have a number of other "music parents" in this community so you should also get some additional suggestions as well.
Last edited on Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 11:17 pm by CarolynLawrence
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