1) Oberlin Conservatory
1a) SMU
3) Western Michigan (Super-Secret Backup School)
Growing up were I did (Michigan
) I did not know much about SMU. My first real exposure to the school was at college fair night in high school - I decided I really needed to apply to a third school and saw the SMU booth and thought - "hey, I'm Methodist, I should check it out." I found out about the great music department and that SMU had/has one of the best horn teachers around (I majored in (french) horn and (music) composition).
What the choice really came down to though - with the scholarships being offered by both Oberlin and SMU about the same - was that Oberlin was three hours drive from home and in a cornfield and SMU wasn't - it was time for something new! A bit of a gamble on my part I guess, as the first day of orientation was my first trip to SMU, Dallas, or Texas.
I have to say though - the business leaders in my home town (I was the pianist for the local rotary club) were quite impressed I was attending SMU. THAT generation knows about our school, even in Michigan.
)
