My impression is that it’s very difficult to do a dual degree with Bienen if you haven’t already been accepted as an incoming freshman.
How would you feel about NU and BU if you weren’t able to do viola performance?
I’m also in the camp that it sounds like CMU checks most of your boxes and you’ve been admitted to the program you want. It’s very well regarded in my circles!
You need to call each college and ask how your brother’s graduating will affect your aid. We had two kids in college at the same time and when the older one graduated, our package for the younger one decreases by about $15k.
Given your situation, you could ask for a written commitment that his graduation will not affect your aid package. They will likely say no, but iirc someone posted in the past that that worked for them.
You can also run the net price calculator for all these colleges with both your current and anticipated income/number of siblings in college and see how it fluctuates. It won’t be exact but will give you an idea. You can then always ask the financial aid offices if there is any flexibility regarding this. The correct term to use is professional judgement.
I think you’re underestimating CMU by a lot. Their fine arts programs are world class. Look at the alumni list in entertainment. Also, the Pittsburgh Symphony is also highly regarded.
The drawback is weather. CMU has a grind reputation for CS. Not sure that applies to music.
What you heard about Pittsburgh is off.
I was going to put my vote in for CMU but if they’ve already warned you that your aid will decrease, that would give me pause. On the other hand, if BU is truly saying your aid won’t decrease when your sibling graduates college, that would be enough to make me seriously consider that option.
I agree. My musician kid looked at CMU, but the trumpet faculty he was interested in studying with were not there. But the music program itself was/is highly regarded. CMU fine arts are all well regarded.
Pittsburgh is a terrific city. I think the OP needs to think again about the quality of this city. My kid applied to Duquesne, trumpet faculty there were PSO players and came highly recommended. He visited twice and liked Pittsburgh more each time he visited. If his number one choices in Boston hadn’t come through, he might have attended Duquesne…or Peabody. Both also great choices.
Yes, I visited this past weekend and definitely liked it more than I expected! I wasn’t really able to talk to any arts/humanities students as STEM and business definitely seemed to be the majority of the students they pushed (ambassadors, tour guides, etc.) but hopefully I’ll be able to get in touch with some others, and the city and campus seemed nice! Honestly the neighborhoods CMU and Pitt were in had kind of a small-town feel, but I wasn’t able to explore much and I’m sure there’s plenty to do! I also liked that I saw TONS of people running, walking, biking, etc all over, so clearly people feel very safe and things are accessible in that part of the city. I also was talking to one music girl and she brought up the point that she loves to go out and have fun, so if she were in a bigger city like NYC or Boston, she might get distracted very easily, but because Pittsburgh has less prominent nightlife, she’s able to stay focused (I think she had 2 majors and 2 jobs), which is also a consideration for me since I think I might have a similar problem in Boston, for example. Thank you for your input, and I definitely feel like I have a better impression of CMU and Pittsburgh overall after visiting!
I’m really leaning against Northwestern just because I haven’t been admitted to Bienen, and I’d rather do performance somewhere else than general music at NU. If I’m not doing performance, I might as well go to Duke and get a bigger name for policy as well as being able to actually study with faculty, albeit less well-known faculty. If I got into Bienen off the bat, Northwestern would be a no-brainer, but since I didn’t, it’s probably not the best choice for me.
As for BU, I’m talking to music admissions tomorrow, so if I’m able to do viola, I think it is a very strong possibility, especially since they have their scholarship assurance program. If not, it will still be in the running and I would enjoy doing voice, but it would probably move down in the ranking at that point.
Thank you for your input, and CMU is definitely looking like a strong possibility as well after talking to fin aid!
Yes, I have been talking to financial aid people at each place, as looking at cost estimators it did look like the cost would increase by about $15k+ per year for the 2 years after my brother graduates. Thank you for mentioning asking for a written commitment; I talked to financial aid at CMU and they said they don’t consider siblings in college, but a worry of mine was that they could be mistaken and then end up giving me whatever financial aid package they want, and I couldn’t do anything about it, so I will definitely look into that! My parents were planning on beginning to draw Social Security for extra income that we really need, but after discussing with them that it would make it pretty much completely impossible for me to go to college debt-free, I think we’re planning to just hunker down until 2028 or ‘29 when our taxes won’t affect my financial aid anymore, so we probably won’t have a significant change in income that will affect my aid in addition to my brother graduating, which is a relief. Rest assured, though, that I am thinking about all the factors and talking to financial aid people to get a realistic idea of how much my 4 years will cost.
Yes, I know CMU is super well-known for musical theater and drama, and I got a good vibe from the music school when I visited as well. I’ve been hearing better and better things about Pittsburgh the more people I talk to, so I think my initial assumptions were erroneous. As for the weather, it’s going to be pretty much just as bad or worse in Boston, so I’m unfortunately just going to have to deal with it. As for the grind reputation, I need to talk to some more arts/humanities students, but with a double major or dual degree I would be busy no matter what. I did feel like the overall student body vibe was very focused and not extremely social, but also chill and collaborative, not cutthroat at all, which I liked, and I’m sure I could find people that would want to be more social (especially in arts).
Thank you for your input, and although it’s not the forefront of CMU’s branding, I do agree that their arts and music programs are well-regarded. I need to talk to my viola teacher about the CMU viola faculty, as I felt like our trial lesson went well, but he has a very different technical philosophy from my current teacher, but I think it would be a good place for me to learn and grow.
I also liked Pittsburgh a lot better than I thought I would, and I think it’s a good size to have things to do without getting distracted by going out every night or anything like that.
I considered Peabody for their dual-degree program with JHU, but ended up getting waitlisted from both, so it’s not on the table. However, I do appreciate that at CMU all the different disciplines are pretty integrated, as the conservatory and university being super separate was something that I did not like at all about Peabody when I went to audition. If I have any friends ask for college recommendations, I’ll keep Duquesne in mind!
D24 is in BU and Kilachand for film and loves it, as well as Boston (despite the winter weather). We chose it over T20 acceptances for the aid we received and the scholarship assurance(as well as the film department) and I have been grateful for it ever since as federal aid has decreased a bit over the years. Kilachand offers some great benefits and community, and it’s also been no problem for her to find community outside of it as well. She is an active person both in the arts and sports and definitely also loves her time spent alone. She has told me she loves the campus way more than she thought she would for how it’s set up and what is has to offer. And she really appreciates how welcoming people are compared to other campuses she’s visited since then.
I’m glad your Pittsburgh visit went well! What CMU’s financial aid office said also sounded promising, but I agree it wouldn’t hurt to ask about a written commitment. The worst thing they can do is say no, and maybe they would at least put into an email (which you could save) what they told you about not considering siblings.
Financial aid policies change so the school may be reluctant to give a student any type of written assurance that the same policy will continue throughout his/her college years.
Yep. It probably won’t work, but again there is no particular downside if it doesn’t.
After reading the thread and thinking about your costs and your clear preference to play viola, CMU seems the best option. CMU is very prestigious. Have a look at Niche to see what stduents say about their university. https://www.niche.com/colleges/carnegie-mellon-university/
As you might pursue music professionally, it is good sense to keep your costs low while earning a degree from aan elite university. Is Pittsburgh glamorous? Maybe not, but you can easily get anywhere in the country from there and you will have every amenity you desire. If you liked CMU, I’d say its your best option.
Edit: CMU said they don’t consder siblings when calculating FA. If that’s what they said, don’t worry that they are “mistaken.” They aren’t going to deliberately mislead a student they clearly want. Call them again to be sure.
I never doubted CMU. My concern is future years as the OP said
OP mentioned taking social security and a brother not being in school. Perhaps there’s other income changes too. Does that increase the financial requirement of OP in future years?
To me, that’s the biggest concern. And will any school assuredly mitigate that. It seems BU will? But you can’t do Viola there. Will anyone else?
What can be done to assure the student has the ability to finish financially? To me, that would be my biggest concern that I would talk to all of them about up front - at least with the forthcoming changes you know about. I would start with the schools where you can play your instrument.
I think there’s a risk/reward thing here - that trumps, what schools is fantastic.
Based on your interest in music, I would choose Northwestern.
It is Duke’s academic equal overall: marginally better in some things, worse in others, fairly equal in most. They are peer institutions.
Also, it’s a bit less expensive than Duke. And its location in Evanston/Chicago yields access to a cornucopia of opporunities.
The winters would be more harsh, but hey, that’s what hats, coats, and gloves are for. hehe
My second choice actually would be CMU. Though not necessarily Music, CMU is known for strength in (other) performing arts, and I would bet that some of that talent seeps into and enriches the music groups/program. And it is your least-expensive option.
I’m biased. I used to work for Carnegie Museums. I like Pittsburgh.
My son is a violist. Bienen has a great reputation supporting dual degree students; however, it’s not easy getting in. I remember one of my son’s friends (not violist) from NYO2 applied to transfer there but didn’t get in.
It is wonderful that you have these interests, but it is highly unlikely that you (or anyone) will become a professional musician. Duke, Northwestern and CMU at these prices are incredible. You can’t really go wrong, unless you really hate cold weather & lots of snow.