I've got 99 problems... and finding a college is one.

portableheart · August 5, 2011, 4:51am

I had a thread but it is WAY outdated already. This one is somewhat different anyway.

Location: Washington state
Grade: Rising senior, class of 2012.
GPA: 3.8
SAT: 1760 (560CR, 590M, 610W... retaking in October. I didn't study the first time so I should do better the next time. Also possibly taking the ACT.)
ECs/Achievements:
-Have played guitar for 4-5 years, had lessons for 2 years.
-Self learning piano as of recent
-Violin for ~4 years with lessons
-Saxophone for 3 years
-I write and do interviews and photography for an online music magazine
-I have my own little free-lance photography "business"
-Manager of the cheerleading team
-Student government for 3 years, 2 years on executive council
-Photo club member for 3 years, executive for 2 years
-GSA for a year
-National Honor Society for 2 years
-Helped start the environmental club at my school
-Disqus award winner 2009-2010
-Organized a march to get the levy passed for my school so our district didn't have to get dissolved (it was the first to pass in years, we got on the news, and I got two certificates for it from the district)
-I volunteer for the Red Cross, Music Saves Lives, Keep A Breast, and the Dear Jack Foundation, and volunteer to help advertise bands by doing missions for them. I also volunteer in my school's ASB office
-Two AP classes: AP statistics (I got a 4, and an A in the class) and AP Lit. (taking this upcoming year). I would have taken more, but we only have like, six at my school. I also took a semester of AP Language last year but had to drop it second semester due to multiple reasons.

I'm not sure all of those things really count but I don't really know what does and doesn't.

Anyway, I want to have my major or concentration in Event Management (which falls under various majors usually such as Hospitality Management, Recreation Management, Recreation/Parks/Tourism Admin., Sport/Entertainment/Event Management etc.). Or, I want to major in Entertainment Marketing/Management., or Music Industry, or... well, here, just look at this list of schools and what majors I like at them.

-Eastern Washington U: Recreation Management
-Central Washington U: Recreation & Tourism w/ Recreation Management specialization
-Oregon State U: New Media Communication 
-Cal Poly SLO: Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Admin. w/ concentration in Event Planning and Management
-Cal Poly Pomona: Hospitality Management w/ emphasis in Club Management
-CSU Monterey Bay: Business Admin. w/ "pathway" in Hospitality Management
-CSU Long Beach: Recreation
-San Diego State U: Recreation Admin. w/ emphasis in Recreation Systems Management
-San Francisco State U: Hospitality & Tourism Management w/ emphasis in Conventions, Meetings, and Event Management OR Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Management w/ emphasis in Commercial Recreation/Tourism & Events
-Endicott College (Beverly, MA): Event Management OR Marketing Communications with a minor in Event Management
-Emerson College (Boston, MA): Marketing Communication w/ specialization in Entertainment Marketing
-Northeastern U (Boston, MA): Music Industry
-Johnson & Wales U (Providence, RI): Sports/Entertainment/Event Management w/ concentration in Entertainment Management, Meeting and Event Management, OR Advertising & Marketing Communications, OR Marketing w/ a concentration in Sport and Entertainment Marketing
-SUNY Purchase: Arts Management
-Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY): Communications w/ concentration in Advertising w/ specialization in Advertising Management

There are various minors I would plan on doing at each school as well.

SO yeah... Help me out here now that I just spent way too long making that list....

<ol>
<li>I need information on these schools. Are any of them terrible? Are any in terrible areas where I might get shot? Reputations? Which are commuter schools? Which are party schools (If every person does nothing but party, that's not my thing.)? Do I have no chance at getting into any of them with my stats (I'm aware NEU is a reach.)? Are there any schools that SHOULD be on my list because they are known for being good in one of the majors I like (please restrict to WA, OR, CA, non-rural NY, close to Boston, MA, and RI. Also, no religious schools, I'm an atheist.) Any information that will tell me which schools I shouldn't bother with and such would be useful. </li>
<li>I probably can't afford to go to some of these schools (like Emerson because their aid apparently sucks :[ ), so would it be good to stay in state for two years, then try to transfer out-of-state if I want to? How difficult is it to do that, and is it way harder to get accepted? </li>
<li>The two in-state schools would be very cheap for me to attend probably. CWU's in-state tuition is $7,113 and it's room and board is $8,901. Their meet 71% of aid. EWU's in-state is $6,605 and room and board is $7,350, and they meet 91% of aid, which is even better in all aspects. The thing is, both schools aren't too hard to get into... At Eastern, My SATs are above their 75th percentile in every subject, and only 29% had above a 3.5, when 28% had between a 2.5-3.0. At Central, only 21% had above a 3.5, and 32% had a 2.5-3.0. Don't get me wrong, they aren't the only schools on my list where I'm decently above their academic standard, but would it look less-impressive to go to one of these schools since they aren't that selective, or does it matter? Plus, I've heard that Central is known for being a big party school, and I'm not sure about Eastern, but that aspect isn't too appealing either. </li>
</ol>

Anyway, I just need information and to start getting a more concrete list. School starts next month so I need to get a better idea of where I'm applying to. Any help you can provide would rule. Thanks!

happymomof1 · August 5, 2011, 8:40am

Your first step is to sit down with your parents and have The Money Talk. Find out just exactly how they expect you to pay for your education. Get a budget from them. Until you know how much they can pay, how they feel about student loans, and how much they expect you to earn with summer jobs and jobs during the school year, you can't make any plans at all.

Your GPA is good, but your SAT is a bit low for significant merit-based aid. Pay a visit to the Financial Aid Forum, and read the threads on guaranteed merit-based aid so that you can find out where your SAT/ACT score would need to be in order to qualify.

Everyone needs a Rock-Solid Safety school that they can afford to pay for without any financial aid other than federally determined (FAFSA) aid, and that they are guaranteed admissions to. From your desctiption CWU and EWU come pretty close to meeting those requirements. If either of them offers a major more or less like the one you want, that is even better. Don't worry about "less impressive" when you identify your Safeties. Just be dead certain that you have at least one on your list. You do not want to be the author of one of next spring's "Didn't get in anywhere I can afford" threads.

For ideas on transferring, see Transfer</a> Students - College Confidential Start with the thread titled "Transfer Admissions 101"

For information about all those colleges/universities you have listed here, look for their individual sub-forums Colleges</a> and Universities - College Confidential

When you get back to school this fall, talk ask your counselor which of the places on your shortlist participate in the Western Governor's Agreement. That would make the OOS cost a bit cheaper for you.

katliamom · August 5, 2011, 11:06am

In the fields you're interested in, internship is everything. Check out internship and career placement opportunities at each of the schools you're interested in.

portableheart · August 5, 2011, 10:55pm

I've tried to talk to my dad about the whole money thing and he doesn't understand it at all. He went to community college for a semester or less back in like, the late 60's/early 70's, so he basically knows nothing about college or the whole financial aid thing or anything (he doesn't even understand what the SATs are and I've explained to him multiple times). He doesn't get how college is expensive basically no matter what, and won't ever give me an answer on any of the money questions. Not to mention, he's never home anyway, and I don't live with my mom (who also didn't even graduate HS, let alone go to college, and she hasn't had a job in like 20 years). I'll get what information I can from my dad, but it's not very easy.

I need to raise my CR and math more basically (which sucks because writing is my best subject and always has been). I've been studying a bit and am about to start studying way more, so hopefully that'll help some.

CWU and EWU definitely are my safeties. They're seemingly affordable and I can basically guarantee I'll get in. Luckily, both have majors somewhat similar to my interests.

CSU Monterey Bay is the only school (besides my two in-states) that participate in the Western Undergraduate exchange, so at least that should help extend my options outside of my state more. I have no idea if the WUE is the same as the Western Governor's Agreement though.

I will definitely look into the internship opportunities. It's a bummer that Northeastern is so expensive because I adore their co-op program (but who doesn't?). Emerson has a cool thing where you can go to LA for an internship too, but thus, it is also pretty pricey. Same goes for Endicott...

goodManThinking · August 5, 2011, 11:07pm

Go to the best college you can get into. I agree that you should look for schools in other states also. Some schools have very good FA. Just keep looking.

Darian2012 · August 5, 2011, 11:13pm

Take a look at the University of Northern Iowa. They just started their Music Management type of program which works closely with their college of business. I'm also a rising senior and I can give you some great contact info for them if you'd like to explore their program. They are reasonably priced and there are tons of scholarships available.
If you look at UNI, let me know and I can help you calculate your Regent Admissions Index (RAI.) There are some scholarships for out of state students based on that score alone.
Message me an I can get you the number of a super sweet lady to call with all the information you could want. They have all new equipment and it looks to be an awesome program.

Darian2012 · August 5, 2011, 11:18pm

I know Iowa isn't where you had been looking, but seriously consider it.

portableheart · August 5, 2011, 11:53pm

As awesome as that sounds, I don't think there's anything I could do to convince myself to go to somewhere in the middle of the country, especially somewhere land-locked. It's just not my thing, I suppose. It sounds silly, I know. Thank you anyway, though.

ucbalumnus · August 6, 2011, 12:09am

If you go to the Cal</a> Poly SLO career survey, you will find that Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration majors do not get particularly high pay after graduation. Take that into account when considering the cost of attending school (in particular, be very careful about how much student loan debt to take on).

You may want to see if a lower cost option is to take freshman and sophomore level courses at a community college, then transfer to a lower cost four year school (EWU or CWU or a WUE school?) as a junior. Check at the four year school to see if the freshman and sophomore level courses for your major are available at community colleges so that you won't have to do a lot of catch up after transferring.

portableheart · August 6, 2011, 1:10am

I considered the option of going to a CC for two years to make it cheaper. There are a couple reasons I'd like to get around doing that though. One being that I want the college experience. Not the excessive partying, but going to events and sports games, and being spirited and involved. After being in leadership (student gov.) for three years, I'm pretty into that kind of stuff and it's rather important to me. Leadership basically has consumed my high school life, but in a good way. I love leadership and I love being involved. My second reason is that if I transfer, chances are I won't get much FA. Even if I go to a cheaper university like CWU or EWU, I still could probably use the aid, even if I saved money by going to CC for two years.

The sad truth is that I just don't have high paying interests. I realized it when I first started looking at colleges when I was a freshman (yes, I started that early... not sure why, basically everything I thought back then has changed by now) that everything I like is rather hit or miss. I originally was dead set on working in the music industry and doing photography as a side job and refused to expand my horizon or have a back up plan as much as I knew I needed one. I've come a long way since then. I just recently found that hospitality may be interesting, providing I can focus on event planning/management. Being in leadership made me realize my love for event planning. I had always liked it but never really realized it somehow. I always was trying to extensively plan my birthday parties (and others') as a child and stuff like that. Now that I planned the best prom with that my school's ever had with the aid of only one other person, I've come to realize that I'm pretty good at event planning too, which is good to know I guess haha. For a while I was looking into marketing degrees, but they're generally too math-y for me. I really don't want to major in anything that requires me to learn calculus. Sounds dumb but I have had enough stressful, boring math classes by now. I do plan to have some kind of business minor no matter what though.
These are basically the jobs that interest me:
-Working in the music industry (going on tour, working in a studio, whatever. It's just always been my dream to work in the music industry.)
-Doing photography
-Working in the music industry as a photographer
-Planning events (concert planning would rule)
-Being a fashion buyer (it just sounds like an amazing job... free clothes = major bonus)

Basically, I'm just probably not going to find a job I like that makes me a bunch of money, unless I just get lucky with making connections and networking. It sucks being an "artsy kid" some times. Nothing I'm good at can easily get me anywhere really haha. I really don't want to be stuck working in a cubicle though, but I also don't want to be stuck working at McDonalds.

portableheart · August 6, 2011, 1:33am

Another question for anyone: Should I be skeptical of schools with low four-year graduation rates? For example, CSU MB only has a 4-year graduation rate of 14%, which seems really low. Is something to be cautious about if a school's 4-year graduation rate is rather low?

Lennon · August 6, 2011, 6:29am

Can i just throw out there that if you can, now is the time to figure out what your issue with math is and fix it--not just try to move past it. I am an arts person, and went off to college without without calculus, went into low-paying book publishing and I've had a great career. But as I move up in my career, I can see that having an MBA would be a huge boost. But you need calculus. Also, real life math, especially when it is all tied into the money that you or your company makes--it's so much more interesting! Don't write it off.

As to schools I might come at it from a different angle. If you're interested in concert promoting and planning, which of the schools you are looking at have a good schedule of concerts at school that they offer? Because you can volunteer in that office at the college and gain experience that way. Which schools are in areas that attract major concert events, where you could also gain internship experience outside the school?

Lastly--to do the things you're interested in and be in the arts you don't necessarily need a college degree. At least not to start. So don't sign up for a ton of debt just to go to college. All it will mean is that you can't afford to live like an artist (on a shoestring) after graduation.

happymomof1 · August 6, 2011, 9:30am

You should spend some time at FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans and then show the most pertinent info to your dad. A lot of parents are afraid to look at that kind of info because they fear that they won't be able to afford anything. You seem pretty level-headed about your financial issues, so I'm sure you will be able to come up with a plan once you get your dad's attention.

And yes, by Western Governors, I meant WUE. I just couldn't think of the acronym.

annasdad · August 6, 2011, 10:12am

It's fine to have plans for a career that's not going to make you a lot of money. Life is about more than money. D1 is a librarian and loves her job, although she'll never be rich.

Just be careful about digging yourself into a student debt hole so deep that you will have to spend half your adult life trying to dig your way out of it.

I would be very skeptical about schools with very low grad rates. I'd ask why - and I wouldn't accept the brushoff initial answers you're likely to get.

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Erin_s_Dad · August 6, 2011, 10:30am

The four year graduation rate for CSU MB is 14% but the six year rate is 41%. That increase between 4 and 6 years is what I would expect with most public Us. There is a reason that the 6 year rate is what is used for most CDS comparisons - kids change majors, drop out for a semester to work, have personal issues that come up.

annasdad · August 6, 2011, 10:32am

41% is abysmal.

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happymomof1 · August 6, 2011, 2:29pm

Lots of public universities have that kind of graduation rate. The real question is what the OP's personal time to graduation will be. He/she needs to find out more about the reasons for that graduation rate. If the U is essentially open admission and lots of kids who aren't ready for college flunk out that is one thing, if there aren't enough sections of core classes and students wait years to get into classes they need it would be another thing entirely.

katliamom · August 6, 2011, 2:49pm

Absolutely agree with happymomof1.

The question isn't necessarily "how many graduate in 4 years" but rather "Is it reasonable to expect that you CAN graduate in 4 years."

My other question would be "how many go on to good graduate programs," which is indicative of both the program and student quality.

portableheart · August 6, 2011, 4:55pm

@Lennon: I can see it being require for an MBA, makes sense. I doubt I'll be doing anything that requires an MBA, though. I just can't see how calculus would help me do what I want to do. AP statistics was real-life math enough for me haha. It's not that I'm terrible at math, I'm like a B student when it comes to math. I've just had a strong hate for it since ever since I started doing advanced math courses in school haha. We'll see...

Part of the reason I don't want to go to places like Iowa and such are because they're not tour-heavy for bands and there's not a big music scene. Most of my schools are in California, Boston, and New York because there are music scenes there. I'm currently researching which schools have the best internship/co-op programs, besides NEU since I likely cannot afford it or even get accepted probably.

Wanting to do things that don't require a degree has always been my dilemma. I fought with the idea of going to college for a while. I could spend a bunch of money on college and not make it anywhere. I also could not go to college, and not make it anywhere and have no degree or anything. But, I could go to college and find the perfect opportunity, or I could not go to college and find a good opportunity. College is just kind of like a safety net for me. I've tried for a long time to find a major I don't mind that is more broad than just 'music industry'. I think that's why I wish Emerson seemed reasonably affordable, because their Marketing Communications major has a specialization in entertainment marketing. That way, I have something more general yet at the same time am focusing on something I really like.

@happymomof1 Thanks for the links, I shall take a took!

@annasdad: Yeah, I want to avoid a bunch of debt as much as possible. I need to find a good balance between a decent school that can give me a good education, but is somewhat affordable. After seeing the videos and articles about people who went to places like NYU and ended up with low-paying jobs and 200k-300k of debt, I've definitely seem that spendy "dream schools" are not worth it. I would never want to take on that kind of debt. I do need to figure out an estimate of how much debt I would be able to safely take on without having to take way too many years to pay it off. Obviously no debt is the best option, but for someone going into a lower-paying area like I probably will be, how much debt is a "safe" amount most likely? 5k? 10k? 20k? Obviously a very rough estimate, but even that is better than having no idea.

@Erin's Dad: I'm going to look more into why their rates are so low. I definitely don't want to end up at a school where it'll take me extra years just to get what is supposed to be a four-year degree. Nor do I want to go somewhere that is bad enough to where a ton of kids constantly drop-out, or where it's seemingly impossible to get into the classes needed.

@happymomof1 (again) & katliamom: That all makes sense, I will definitely look more into the details. Thanks!

portableheart · August 7, 2011, 3:42pm

BUMPy roads.