College Tour, 2013

Let me catch my breath.

After six different cities, six different states, and more miles on Greenie than I care to admit, I have finished another college tour.  Last time I did this was back in 2010 with Mark.  I had just broken my ankle and was heavily drugged on narcotics.  While I remember very little of it, I have fond memories of spending time with my boy, and it was a blessing to have a reason to get out of the house.  I can hardly believe it now, but I drove all those miles with my right leg propped up on the dash, and my left foot controlling the brake and accelerator!

Mark "warming up" before his lessonat Northwestern (and after we had missed our flight out of Philly the night before).
Gosh, this just makes me LAUGH,even now.

This college tour was very different.  I had my senses about me, and all the flying, driving and hotel stays weren't quite as fun.  I am, however, glad that I got to do it all with my girl, Johannah.

Hannah actually began her college tour last summer, and she did it solo.  I put her on a plane to Salt Lake City so that she could attend the Young Musicians' Summer Festival at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.  BYU is by far the best deal in a college that we could ask for, and I like to ensure that my kids have a full-on experience there.  I personally have some rather negative feelings towards the school, so I want them to make their own judgements about it (and hopefully get their own feel about it).

Hannah was a trooper.  No joke, I don't think she could have handled the experience any better.  Utah is a beautiful place, but when I go to Provo, I can't help feeling that I'm Alice, falling down the rabbit hole.  It's a city full of people who look very different from me and who act very different from us Kennedys.

I know this might seem ridiculous, but being a tall, full-figured woman, it's hard to be around short, tiny, skinny girls who wear the latest fashions and who sport the blondest of highlights.  It was no different for Johannah.  She's 5'9" (at last measurement), and she's a size 10.  She doesn't own a maxi dress, or skirt, and she certainly doesn't have anything with horizontal stripes or chevrons.  Too, she doesn't wear any makeup, and one thing we have both discovered:  Provo girls wear a LOT of makeup.  These kinds of things matter to a teenager.

In addition, my kids have worked like dogs for their testimonies.  They have had experiences in their lives that a lot of those BYU kids would never dream of, or if they did, it would be on a mission, in the "mission field".  There is a sense of fake spirituality there that Johannah couldn't quite wrap her mind around.

All this being said, Johannah kept the best attitude about it all, because in all honesty, she wanted to know if the school WAS the right one for her.  She didn't want to deny herself a great college experience because of what she thought a school was like.

Johannah hated it.  In fact, the only redeeming quality of the school that she found was the Jamba Juice place, but she ran out of money on the second day, so even that was short-lived.

She had a lesson with the one viola teacher there, Claudine Bigelow, and the lesson was good.  However, the teacher told the kids flat out that she only has four slots open next fall, and she will accept people who audition live over people who send in recordings.  That's find for people who live in the west, but it can be a thousand dollar experience for anyone who doesn't.  Once again, the close-minded mentality of Provo-ites.

Johannah was never so happy to come back home, and while she put on a brave face, she finally buckled and broke down in tears.  She hadn't been asked to dance once at any of the dances, and one of the other violists had mercilessly teased her about her playing.  She was devastated.

College Visit #1.  Done.  Thankfully.

Over the next few weeks, a teacher at Interlochen fell in love with Johannah and had her apply to the Academy (the boarding school arm of Interlochen).  Hannah was accepted immediately, but Interlochen wouldn't meet our price.  However, Mrs. Skerik was more than happy to point us in the direction of some possible colleges that she felt would be a good "fit" for Hannah.

College Visit #2.  Penn State University (right here in our backyard)

Within a day of Hannah submitting her application to Penn State, she heard from the viola professor there.  He wanted to meet her, have a lesson and answer any questions.  John, Glo and I weren't even home when Hannie went in, and it was really a non-event.  Tim Deighton, the professor, told her that she was unofficially already accepted to his program.  She needed to go through the motions of an audition, but she was in.

While Penn State would not be Hannah's top choice, it was confidence-building to know that if there is no other place, she could study viola here.

College Visit #3:  Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY

Eastman is consistently ranked in the top 3 music schools in the country, mostly because it is a conservatory.  Nothing but music happening there, and the kids who are accepted are very serious.  In all honesty, Mark could have applied here (and would have been accepted) but Mark knew that he wanted more out of college.  More diversity, more opportunities, chances to escape music occasionally.  Too, the thought of Eastman intimidated the heck out of him.

Johannah didn't even blink an eye.  We drove up the night before and were ready for the tour the next morning.

It's a crazy set-up.  The school takes up one block in downtown Rochester, and quite honestly, once you enter the school, it feels a bit like a tomb.

It's obvious that the school knows exactly what it's doing as it should considering it only works with music kids.  There is a printout of the exact classes Hannah would take for four years, and there's nothing but music.  There are several performance halls, large and small for different needs, and there are a LOT of practice rooms.

Hannah had a 30 minute lesson with one of the four viola teachers there.  It went well.

A huge consideration for all of my kids is the status of the church in any area.  We drove about two miles to the CES building (where she would have church).  Not going to lie--it was a SCARY part of town, and there was one scary looking dude sitting on the front step.

In the end, I felt that Eastman wasn't the place for Hannie.  We like nature.  And safety.  And people who do more than sit in a practice room all day.

THIS I remember from Mark's college tour.
Lots of sleeping in the car…while I drive.

College Visit #4.  Baldwin Wallace Conservatory in Berea, OH (outside of Cleveland)

The teacher from Interlochen had personally called the viola teacher at BW to talk about Johannah, so when I wrote to ask for a lesson, she already knew who Hannah was!  Louise Zeitlin is well known in the viola community, and is a respected educator.  Too, she has connections with the Cleveland Orchestra and brings those connections to Baldwin Wallace.

Baldwin Wallace University itself is way below Hannah's abilities.  In fact, right off the top, we know that she would be offered an $11,000 scholarship for her SAT scores.  The kids walking around looked a bit like the drop outs at our local high school.  The conservatory, however, was a different story.  The kids were well-groomed, polite and friendly.

Boy, did they ever roll out the red carpet for Hannah!  They had the whole day set up, just for her.  Private tours, lunch with a current student, everything.  The teacher didn't even charge us for the lesson.  There's no doubt that Hannah would be a super star at the school.  A huge bonus is that it's only 3 hours from our home--perfect for attending Hannah's concerts.

Again, church is important.  The CES building is in downtown Cleveland, a 35 minute drive from Baldwin Wallace.  Not ideal, but certainly doable.  My main concern is that Johannah will be alone on campus as an LDS woman.  I think she could get rather lonely.

College Visit #5.  The University of Michigan in (duh!) Ann Arbor, MI

We left Berea at 2 p.m. to drive like mad women to Ann Arbor for a lesson at 7 p.m.  This was poor planning on my part, because in all honesty, Hannah was exhausted (we had left PA that morning at 5 a.m.)

The nice thing was that we didn't need to take any kind of tour of Michigan at all.  When Mark was a freshman, Hannah had attended some of his classes with him and knows all about the school itself.  What we needed to do was talk to the people in charge and find out all we could about getting Hannah into the school.

Caroline Coade, one of the two viola teachers there, was very honest.  Michigan is ranked #5 in the nation as a music school, is extremely competitive and Johannah wasn't good enough to get any money.  (This puts Mark's large scholarship into perspective for us now.)  She could get in, but we would have to pay for it all.  While we were thankful that she didn't mince words, it was painful to hear.  I knew I felt sick to my stomach (while keeping a smile on my face), but I could only imagine how Hannie was feeling.

There's always a silver lining though, eh?

Mrs. Coade knew that Hannie was thinking of applying as a double degree applicant with Viola Performance and Music Education.  She asked Hannah if she actually was interested in music education, or was it just a backup plan.  She told us about the scholarship assignment process, and felt that while Hannah would be fifth or sixth on the performance scholarship list (and not likely to get any money), she would be first on the music education scholarship list because of her good viola playing skills.  In other words, most (but not all) music education majors are just washed-up musicians, or musicians who never really practiced.  Because Hannah has put in the hours of practicing, she would be better than most, if not all of the music education applicants in auditions.

We left the lesson, picked up pizza at the Pizza House, went back to the hotel and Hannah cried a bit.  I was so desperate to get us in the hotel room where we could decompress and chill a bit that I parked in a handicapped parking spot when I couldn't find any other.  I've never done this and will never do this again, but at the moment, it seemed okay.

However, the next day, we met with one of the admissions counselors, and we looked at the class schedule for four years.  Too, I wrote Mark about it.  Turns out, the performance majors and the music education majors take the exact same classes (including orchestra), and seeing as Johannah is a violist, and the music world ALWAYS needs more violists, she would have most of the same opportunities through music education that she would have through performance.  And the best part?  She would be able to find a job out of college!


It's funny what some sleep and a new perspective can do for a girl and her mother.

The best part about Michigan?  Hannah would have Mark, and that would probably be the best thing for her.  And another great thing?  There's a great student ward there where Mark felt loved and accepted.

We left feeling like there was some hope, and with the thought of not being able to attend Michigan, Hannah discovered that she doesn't really want to go anywhere else.


College Visit #6.  The University of Illinois in Urbana, IL

This school was completely off the map for both of us.  I didn't know and wouldn't have ever considered it.  However, a viola student of Interlochen received a full-tuition, out-of-state scholarship last year, and Mrs. Skerik felt like Hannah should look at it.

One problem.  It's a bear to get there.  We drove to Pittsburgh (3 hours), flew to Chicago Midway, drove to Urbana (three more hours).  Flying directly out of State College wouldn't be any easier (State College --> Detroit, Detroit -->Chicago, Chicago-->Urbana).  Unfortunately too, it's just out of driving comfort zone range for me.  10.5 hours one way.

Okay.  Forget that.  Let's look at the school.

It's a FABULOUS school.

This I remember too.
Warming up before a lesson.

I could hardly believe it as we neared the exit for Urbana.  Just one exit for the town, and it follows hours of driving through fields of corn.  Our family personally likes the midwest with its space and friendly feel.  We drove directly into the university, and surprise surprise, there's parking everywhere!  I guess that's what happens when you aren't hemmed in by geography.

We barely made it for the lesson, having hit some traffic in Chicago.  The teacher, Liz Freivogel, is part of a resident string quartet that just moved to Illinois last year.  For being the tiniest thing to ever hold a viola (I'm surprised it doesn't squash her), she has the most amazing sound, and a wonderful sense for teaching musicality to her students.  String teachers can be very focused on technique, but it seemed that she felt if the student understood the music emotionally, the technique would follow.  In all honesty, that's my kind of teacher.

We met with the assistant director of admissions who confirmed that they DO give out full tuition scholarships.  Seeing as the string program is exceptionally small at Illinois, and seeing that Johannah is a violist, she stands a good chance of getting money if she has a great audition.  That was music to our ears (COMPLETE pun intended!)

We walked around a bit, and while the campus is huge, it's beautiful.  Too, there are bikes everywhere as well as churches.  Yes, churches on the campus.

Final bullet point.  Our church.

I found a CES building on the church's website, and we put the address into the GPS.  We thought something was wrong when it said we would be there in one minute.  Did we have it right?

Turns out, the CES building (the building where the LDS kids hang out, have activities and hold Sunday meetings) is TWO BLOCKS from the music building!  And, it's a brand new building.  Of course, we got out and went up to the door.  We found a really nice guy in the kitchen, eating his lunch, who was more than happy to ask if Johannah was looking at Illinois ;-)  He told us how close the branch of 40 kids is, and that there's a bunch to do.

While Mark had warned us about the "obnoxious" orange that is the Fightin' Illini, that orange is more of a warm, sunsetty glow in our minds.

Illinois would be a great school for Johannah.  I'm thinking that we just can't go wrong with a Big Ten school!

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So what's next?  Johannah has to practice her heart out over the next few months, because auditions run from the end of January to the beginning of March.

And John still thinks that Hannah should go into science where her biggest competitor would be herself.  After all this work...and stress...and worrying, I just might agree ;-)