Plan B

April 9, 2008 at 4:23 PM

Although not everything's settled yet, I figured I should update all of you who volunteered help and information as to my current college situation, since a lot has developed since my last post.

I finished getting all of my letters back from everywhere, and, of the eight places I auditioned, I was accepted to two: Florida Gulf Coast University (where my current teacher teaches) and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, both of whom offered me some scholarships. Although I was majorly bummed about not getting into any more than that, I was able to console myself with a letter from the dean at Northwestern, stating that this was a record year for application mass. In fact, they received 25,000 applications for 2000 spots! That's only like a 4% acceptance rate compared with last year's 40%!

Turns out that this has been the worst year in history to apply to college all around. Last year, many colleges took more students than they could handle (colleges overbook like airplanes, because they expect a certain percentage of refusals...but last year there were more acceptances than expected) so this year, they were forced to cut back acceptances. Add a massive swell of people this year, and kabang! No college for you! One of the teachers I applied for at University of Texas at Austin was only allowed to accept two students this year and wasn't allowed to have a wait list! That's how cut throat it is this year.

Fortunately, I was accepted into Case Western with a grant to cover most of the miscellaneous fees, a hefty renewable merit scholarship that covers half my tuition, and an assortment of federal work study and subsidized loans. I'd still have to borrow just under 20k a year, but that's a lot better than the supposed 50k estimate I got hit with. Florida Gulf Coast is also an option, but as I'd REALLY like to get out of the state and away from home, I've left it out of this blog, although it still remains a possibility.

A lot of you suggested I take a year off and fulfill my core requirements somewhere else while practicing. Truth is, I've already done a year's worth of work at the local university as a dual-enrolled student (in fact, I'll technically be a sophomore next year). Fortunately, Case will accept my college credits IF they were not used for graduation requirements for high school. After doing some calculations, I discovered that I can indeed graduate from high school without counting my college classes towards the diploma, if I take a 1/2 credit elective in my spare time. Lucky for me, my school offers a 1/2 credit typing course that I can take. Since I already time very accurately at 60 wpm...well, you get the idea.

In a nutshell, Case will take my credits, and I will go in as a sophomore. Not only does this potentially save me a year's worth of school, it opens up cheaper dining and housing options. This isn't flawless, of course, as there may be four-year-courses I need to take, but even still, it will help tremendously, especially if I decide to pursue their double major in music and music ed (still tossing that idea around, but it's a potential possibility).

So that's about where I stand right now. I'm currently waiting to hear back from a potential violin instructor, which will have quite a bit of bearing on whether I actually attend or not, but so far, it's looking like this could be it. I'd love to go to Case, and I think I'd do really well there. Money-wise, it's going to be a burden, but I believe it's do-able, and I've applied to several good local scholarships that I will hear back from in a month or so.

Thanks all for your words of wisdom and advice! Hopefully it will all turn out for the best and I can look back on all this and say "Man, it was so worth the trouble!"

From Drew Lecher
Posted on April 9, 2008 at 6:35 PM

Natasha,
Congratulations! Make the most and be the best you can where you go. That is what counts the most.
Drew

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 9, 2008 at 7:12 PM

Congratulations, Natasha. Case is known as a great place to study music, and you beat some very tough odds to get accepted. The financial support and the sophomore entrance level are great, too. You can be proud of all the hard work you've done, which has paid off so well. I'm very, very happy for you. Yay!

From Patricia Baser
Posted on April 9, 2008 at 7:47 PM

Case is an excellent school, and you should still be able to take advantage of its relationship with CIM. Hopefully, more of those scholarships will come through and help reduce your debt load.

From Tom Holzman
Posted on April 9, 2008 at 8:21 PM

Congratulations. It looks like things worked out for you. That is excellent.

From Pieter Viljoen
Posted on April 9, 2008 at 8:44 PM

You could study privately with someone at CIM, so case could be a good options.

I saw a segment on the news about this year being the most difficult for undergrad and graduate admissions in history. They said the lowest acceptance rate this year was Harvard and MIT at around 6%... unbelievable.

University of Texas and Northwestern are two very competitive schools, so there is no shame in not succeeding the first time. Ironically, those are two of the schools I am considering most seriously. I have to let them know if I accept their offers by next week. Very stressful. Just remember that you could always transfer if Case isn't to your liking, so you are still in a good position.

From E. Smith
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 6:04 PM

Congratulations! As stressful as this has been, your plan B sounds really exciting, especially since you can get credits for other courses, which will help facilitate your double major. This was a really awful year for college admissions (I've read that it's going to peak next year) because of a baby boomlet.

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