Any college ideas for me? :)

College Search & Selection
#1

<p>my info:
*California resident
*majoring in either english, psychology, or something in liberal arts
*possibly minoring in music
*3.7 uw GPA, 4.00 W
*2000 SAT (600 CR, 690 W, 710 M)
*no subject tests (could take them if needed)
*sending in a recording of me playing flute
*music teacher recommendation is going to be excellent
*teacher recommendation is probably very good
*counselor rec is not going to be very intimate; she doesn't really know me (but it's a requirement for some colleges)
*essays are hopefully going to be unique/interesting and pretty darn good (in an ideal world! haha)</p>

<p>ECs - unfortunately not very impressive:
*Pit Orchestra (10th-12th, lead flute and piccolo part)
*Music Mentoring (volunteer, 11th & 12th, ~50 hours)
*Giving flute lessons (10th-12th, two students, paid)
*Save the Music festival volunteer (10th - 12th ~10 hours haha)
*Swing Dance Club (just 12th grade)
*Internship at Riverbed Tech. this summer, 3 weeks (11th and 12th - doing it again next summer)</p>

<p>Awards:
*silver award on national spanish exam
*CMEA solo & ensemble "superior" rating on flute 3 years
*math award (95% or up in math) for 3 years</p>

<p>WOW that was a lot!</p>

<p>What I want in a college:
*over 2000, preferably small to medium-sized (5000-10,000 is perfect!)
*beautiful campus! :)
*somewhere with all 4 seasons (snow please! but preferably not like, minnesota weather haha)
*suburban/urban campus
*preferably within an hour away from a large-ish city
*low student-staff ratio and smaller class sizes
*not a huge drug scene, but alcohol is OK
*a balance between social life and education
*with FA, under $30,000 COA per year
*I guess this isn't really important, but a music scene would be nice too :D haha</p>

<p>I plan on being a teacher!</p>

<p>And I have a list of colleges that I'm changing around a bit, but right now I really like University of Rochester, Lehigh University, U Wisconsin Madison (but it's rather large), and Boston U</p>

<p>Any suggestions? Please and thanks! :D</p>

#2

<p>OH! also, University of Michigan has been a school I've always kinda wanted to go to, but now I'm not even sure about it. I don't think I could get out without debt... is it worth it?</p>

#3

<p>Have you run through the financial aid calculations yet? How does your family feel about paying for an OOS public?</p>

#4

<p>You should consider Bucknell. It has most of what you want. It is in a rural area, but seems to have a lot going on as far as places to eat, drink and shop for a small town. And it is quaint.</p>

<p>I think this a great quote from a current student
[quote]
The day before the enrollment deposit was due, my brother and I drove eight hours from Michigan to see campus. I saw that students, faculty and staff were excited to be at Bucknell, not because it was near some major attraction, not because it was in a major city, but because they wanted specifically to be part of the Bucknell community

[/quote]
</p>

#5

<p>Pepperdine
UCSC
Vassar
SUNY Geneseo
Emory
Vanderbuilt</p>

#6

<p>If you plan on being a teacher, your state university would be fine. you'll make same amount of money as you attend $50k private colleges.</p>

#7

<p>Just note about madison (i live there but go to college somewhere else bc the UW is too big for me). A plus is that tutition is only 14k, and the town is great. On the downside, there is a lot of snow and it can get into the -10s, and -20s during jan or feb (with wind chill). Also UW classes are very large as well. Also because there are so many students and there are major requirements, it is difficult to graduate in 5 years occaisonally, especially if you are undecided.</p>