Match Me/Advise: Junior from MO, 4.0 UW, Math/Engineering/Physics + Music Double Major, need Significant FA [<$10k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hello, I’m a Junior in HS planning to start college in the fall of 2027. I’m looking to be matched with schools and also just seeking advice about everything related to the college search and admissions. See the details below.

Affordability: I‘m looking for colleges with significant need and merit based FA.

Intended Majors: Music and Math or Physics or Engineering, haven’t decided yet.

GPA & Test Scores: 4.0 UW, 1450 PSAT

HS Coursework (including courses expected to take Senior year):

English: 2 yrs Honors, 2 yrs AP (Lang and Lit), total of 4 yrs

Math: Algebra I, H Geometry, H Algebra II, H Precalc, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Stats

Social Studies: World History, AP US History, AP American Gov‘t

Science: Physics, H Chem, H Bio, AP Physics

Orchestra: 4 yrs in school‘s top group, double bassist

Awards: 3 yrs accepted into All State Orchestra (so far—expecting to make it all 4), Member of National Honors Society, Member of Tri-M Honors Society, 3 Goldurkunde awards from National German Exam, 5th place team member at National Math League competition.

Extracurriculars: 300+ volunteering hours through church, Captain of club Ultimate Frisbee team, member of Young Persons Symphonic Orchestra @ Webster U for 4 yrs (so far), compete in mathleague, sing with high level church choir.

Essays/LoR: expected to be quite strong

Schools I’m already looking at: St Olaf college, John Hopkins (and Peabody), Bard college, Yale, Princeton

Let me know if I’m missing anything!

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Just wanted to say I’m so glad St. Olaf is already on your list. I think it could be the perfect match for what you’re looking for. Good luck with the process!

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Thanks!

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If you’re interested in schools where you can seriously pursue music (as a major or non-major) alongside other majors, consider Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore, and Williams(and Bryn Mawr, if you identify as female). Of these, only Oberlin and Bryn Mawr will offer merit, but the others are generous with need-based aid, so you should run the NPCs. Williams offers students the opportunity to try out for the Berkshire Symphony, which includes faculty, students, and professional musicians in the community. At Oberlin, you could take advantage of the resources of a school that has a conservatory, even if you’re in the liberal arts division (much like St. Olaf). All of these schools have lots of small ensembles in which non-music majors can participate (in case you decide to drop the double major but stick with music).

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Lawrence U would be a safety for you (and would give you both merit aid and need-based aid), but its two greatest strengths are music and physics, and double-majoring is very common. Probably stronger on the STEM side than Bard.

USC (California) is double-major friendly, great for music, lots of STEM major options. URochester could be a good option if you are good with a music BA - more complicated if you want to double in the conservatory which has its own campus. They have an audio engineering degree in addition to the usual engineering disciplines and math/physics. CWRU and their program with CIM could work well, and their engineering physics major is worth a look.

Williams College would be the LAC version of Yale - highly selective, and excellent across the board both academically and musically.

Trinity University in San Antonio meets need, offers both a BM and a double-major-friendly BA, and has ABET-accredited general engineering in addition to math and physics. Strong in all areas, really great school that gets overlooked in a lot of college searches.

It’s much tougher to double-major with engineering, because of the heavy requirements. Math is probably the easiest, logistically, because of less need to schedule lab sections. ABET engineering plus a BM is not very doable at all, whereas a math and music BS/BA or dual major is common and straightforward.

Are you likely to be a National Merit Semifinalist? (Depends on your score breakdown but seems possible with a 1450 PSAT in MO.) If so, you’d be eligible for a full ride scholarship at U of Tulsa, which has both a music school (offering both BM and BA programs) and strong STEM. (Like CWRU, they have an engineering physics option.) Depending on your financial aid eligibility, this could be more financially advantageous than relying on need-based aid.

If you do have very high need-based aid eligibility, would you qualify for Questbridge?

Good luck with the search!

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Sit down with your parents and run the net price calculator for Northwestern. They don’t offer merit but are generous with need based aid for low income students. They would be a reach school for you but very strong in your intended major (including engineering if you opt to go that route instead of pure math/physics) and almost everyone double majors. Their music program is crazy good but I believe it’s audition required.

Seconding Rochester and CWRU which should offer a mix of merit and need and are strong in all areas of interest.

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If you are interested in St. Olaf, also look at Luther College. Similar vibe and they give a lot of stackable merit, especially to musicians (even those that aren’t majoring in music). There are even some full tuition scholarships available. It’s rarely talked about on CC , but we know a similar student who loved it there and did well with med school acceptances. There orchestra travels internationally, if that is of any interest to you.

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Have your parents given a price limit?

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No, but I’m expecting to pay most of the cost myself. I’m one of 7 kids living off my dad‘s income with two siblings in college. Thus, I can get significant FA from FAFSA, but I’d like to keep the cost under $10k a year, which I already know would be possible at St Olaf.

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Thank you everyone for the feedback, I’ll start looking into the schools people suggested! Also, here’s some more info I forgot to include in the post: my ideal school would be small-medium sized and north of MO, though that‘s not a hard rule. Also, I play classical double bass, not jazz. I’m probably borderline for National Merit in MO; my selection index score is 214.

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The best advice for prospective music majors consider pursuing more than one degree, or major, is on the Music Major page -reposted by permission of the author who was in admissions at Peabody: Double Degree Dilemma reposted

To those not in the music academic world - there is a big difference between a Double Degree - a BM plus another degree, and a double major which is a BA in Music.

The OP’s original list of programs looks sound to me although for Yale and Princeton, it would be a single degree, with elective music - not a double degree. Which isn’t to say that wouldn’t be just fine.

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Yale does actually have a double degree for very qualified students.

I suggest the “little Ivies” (google that) or Colleges that Change Lives ctcl.org

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Ah, yes - but that is a BA and then an MM… not two undergraduate degrees.

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