My Kind of Town, Chicago Is

Last night I got home from my fantastic Chicago trip! I really got a chance to bond with the other AIT kids; especially Olivia, a girl I'm good friends with who is a year above me at my school and in my choir this year, and the AIT kids who I didn't know as well but will be in the program again this year. There were many laughs and jokes and naps in the car and it was all around a wonderful experience.

But of course what I specifically want to mention is the college visits we took. We toured the music schools of Northwestern, DePaul, and Roosevelt University. They were all really interesting and cool, but from getting a taste of all 3, Northwestern is still top choice. Roosevelt has a music conservatory, which is not what I'm looking for. I want to study music in college but since I don't want to have a musical career, I need the whole college oppurtunity. That brings up something I forgot to mention in my last post. Northwestern not only offers but encourages students and especially music students to double major or even do the dual degree program. A third of their music students are involved in those programs, and this is something I'm really interested. The dual degree is different from a double major. It takes five years rather than four, but you actually receive two degrees, rather than one degree with two majors. This also means that, while applying, even if you don't get into the music school, you still have the chance to be accepted into the other school you applied for. This is good for me, because even if Northwestern didn't accept me into the music school, I'd still want to go there. DePaul University offers all this, but it is not common and not encouraged. Their vocal program is also a little too competitve for what I'm looking for, but their music school is very good. I loved the campus, because even though it was right in Chicago there were different buildings and a campus vibe, but I'm not interested in what DePaul has to offer me.

So that's that! Northwestern is still looking really great, and I feel like I can study music there without having to go on with it as a career. I believe that I'm visiting U of I next week, so there will probably be lots more to tell you about soon! Till then, God bless you!