Anonymous wrote:I am the OP. We did apply to Emory and William and Mary, as I said. When we first visited Muhlenberg, DD said "too small" so she targeted some bigger schools with decent music programs and perhaps didn't apply to enough SLAC. Now, she has to live with the results.

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted to Muhlenberg College and other schools including Indiana (Honors), Maryland, Florida, Pitt. She was actually waitlisted at William and Mary. Applied there because she enjoys liberal arts AND voice/musical theater and we were looking for options where the two could be

Background - She was recently waitlisted at Michigan STMD and rejected at Northwestern after auditioning in person at both places - beautiful voice! She didn't apply to music school at Indiana because she thought it might be too big of a music school. And who knows if she would have gotten in. This entire year has been tough on her.

AT any rate, everyone tells me what a 'great' and 'caring' school Muhlenberg is. And it seems that way. She did a zoom last week and the first question someone asked was how their kid's IEP would be handled.

DD has been in school with many kids with IEP plans, meds, problems. Yes, it is sad in this day and age that kids have this, but she doesn't. She came away from the zoom feeling like Muhlenberg might be a place where quirky kids go who cannot handle bigger places and need a lot of support. She does know several kids who go who are kinda quirky and odd. DD wants to be with different folks.. She loves the arts but doesn't want to be in a school with solely funky arts people.

She takes pride in herself and it made her feel she was accepted to a second rate place. I don't mean to insult Muhlenberg or those who have kids there. I guess I am a little worried too.

Should she target higher ranked places like Maryland, Indiana Honors, Pitt etc in lieu of a smaller school like Muhlenberg?

Does anyone know about Muhlenberg? Can she find academic challenge and peers there? Good outcomes?

SAT is 1400 GPA is 4.7 w/3.98 UW. Beautiful voice. Loves English, History. Just a great kid.

The whole process this year is so difficult.

Thank you!

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Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

Allentown is not “impoverished.” https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Lehigh-Valley-Demographics.html And the school sits in a nice leafy suburb walking distance from downtown.

Thank you for this link. It tells us
blue-collar employees account for 25.35%.
over 77k people live below the poverty line
majority of population had "some high school" - 38.96% while 2.96% had "no high school"

It's hardly Bethesda.

No one said it was Bethesda.

It's impoverished

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

Allentown is not “impoverished.” https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Lehigh-Valley-Demographics.html And the school sits in a nice leafy suburb walking distance from downtown.

Thank you for this link. It tells us
blue-collar employees account for 25.35%.
over 77k people live below the poverty line
majority of population had "some high school" - 38.96% while 2.96% had "no high school"

It's hardly Bethesda.

No one said it was Bethesda.

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Anonymous wrote:What is also weird and creepy from those results is over 30% of the population "never married"

Same as both Maryland and Virginia. What on earth is “weird and creepy” about that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

Allentown is not “impoverished.” https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Lehigh-Valley-Demographics.html And the school sits in a nice leafy suburb walking distance from downtown.

Thank you for this link. It tells us
blue-collar employees account for 25.35%.
over 77k people live below the poverty line
majority of population had "some high school" - 38.96% while 2.96% had "no high school"

It's hardly Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:What is also weird and creepy from those results is over 30% of the population "never married"

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Anonymous wrote:I would imagine the location of the school would factor into your decision. Pittsburgh is like 1000x more interesting for a college student than Allentown.

I realize the city is maybe not a factor Freshman year because college is this great new experience. But, once your DD starts looking to branch out she will find little to nothing in Allentown.

+1
Pitt looked like a great option to me too because of location. I personally would vote for Pitt (or W&M spring admit if you're considering that). Pitt is one of the smaller big universities on your list.

That said, being in music/theater will absorb a lot of free time where others would be "exploring" the town around their school--so it may be great for focus to be in a place like Allentown where there's not much outside of it.

Ultimately it's your daughter's choice though--I would just help her weigh the pros and cons of each of her options in a more systematic way rather than going with vague fears.

Although, Pittsburgh is going to have way more actual theatre (large touring productions and small fringe stuff) happening for DD to attend. Also, CMU's theatre program is like #1 in the country...I don't know, but suspect Pitt gets some halo effects from that in terms of agents and other industry professionals visiting Pittsburgh.

I think you are underestimating Allentown and Muhlenberg here. There is a ton of college and local theater in the Lehigh Valley, enhanced by the large supply of NYC-based theatre professionals and faculty. Muhlenberg does incredible productions with Actors Equity members and the area is close enough to NYC for day trips. There is a serious theater community and students who go on to professional careers in theater and dance.

Underestimating is kind - basically the PP is demonstrating they know nothing about that area.

Please, elaborate about the area...tell us all the exciting things to do.

The point wasn't all the exciting things to do, but the robust theatre/performance scene in the Lehigh Valley, partially due to its proximity to NYC.

It's not a Pittsburgh or nothing in PA, but two different theatre scenes. And FWIW, OP's DC is not in at CMU while they are at Muhlenberg.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

Allentown is not “impoverished.” https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Lehigh-Valley-Demographics.html And the school sits in a nice leafy suburb walking distance from downtown.

Thank you for this link. It tells us
blue-collar employees account for 25.35%.
over 77k people live below the poverty line
majority of population had "some high school" - 38.96% while 2.96% had "no high school"

It's hardly Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

Allentown is not “impoverished.” https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Lehigh-Valley-Demographics.html And the school sits in a nice leafy suburb walking distance from downtown.

Anonymous wrote:The acceptance rate is high at 67.8% so it's not a competitive school, its more a safety for high achieving students and a reach only for those who are struggling.

It's also in Allentown Pennsylvania, which is impoverished.

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Anonymous wrote:I think she’s reading way too much into the IEP question. One person asks this and she thinks the whole school is full of weirdos?

I think it is a lovely SLAC. Well known for their arts department. Not an easy admit - you have to have good stats. It is part of a consortium with a few other local LACs.

+1 We visited Muhlenberg and the first question at the information session was about financial aid. I did not come away from that thinking everyone there was poor.

My kid really liked it, applied and got in but chose to attend another similarly sized/ranked mid-Atlantic LAC. I loved Muhlenberg but I can’t imagine being interested in it if your other choices are giant state schools.