Hi! This is my first post, I am a singer songwriter, and I really want to apply for a music major. The schools I have in mind are NYU Steinhardt, USC Thornton, Miami Frost and Weslyan. I currently have a GPA of 3.5 unweighted and an SAT score of 1360. I am wondering about what are the academic requirements for these schools for applying for a music major?
Also, does anyone of you have recommendations for more schools I can choose from for songwriting? I would prefer for more LACs. Thanks~~~
I would say that for NYU you are ok as long as you pass the portfolio/audition requirements and write strong essays.
The academic requirements for music programs is going to vary from school to school. I am most familiar with McGill and the Berkelee College of Music, knowing people who have graduated from both. These are of course pretty much on opposite ends of the “non-musical academic requirements for music majors” scale. Your stats should be better than what you would need for Berkelee.
You should carefully consider the cost of each school. I used to know someone (my guitar teacher in the past) who was doing very well at Berkelee but had to drop out because he ran out of money. He ended up graduating from U.Mass Lowell which was much less expensive and which also has a very strong music program (as does U.Mass Amherst). Your GPA and SAT would be quite strong for U.Mass Lowell, and are probably sufficient for U.Mass Amherst.
How far are you willing to go, and what is your budget? Acadia University in Nova Scotia is a small university with a very strong music program and with very reasonable prices for international students. Canada does not use the term “liberal arts college”, but does have a few very good schools which are essentially the same thing. I think that your stats should be sufficient here also.
If you are a songwriting major, I would strongly recommend that you plan to graduate university with as little debt as possible, and preferably no debt at all.
Wesleyan will be tough with those scores – their averages are 1440 SAT and 3.76 GPA and it is a non audition program, so you apply as a music major, but their is no music school. USC and NYU each have music schools, but they do look at grades and scores. They also are both audition programs, Miami as well. NYU and USC will look at both your grades and auditions to make a decision, but in general if you pass the audition and they really want you the music school will talk with admissions to get you in.
Consider Skidmore, Berklee, New School as well.
NYU sets an academic benchmark, and it is 50% of admissions. There might be a bit of wiggle room, but not much. Candidates should still shoot for 25th percentile as a realistic minimum.
Thanks guys for letting me know about those infos. I just received my latest May SAT score and I am planning to take the SAT again in October. Right now I have an SAT superscore of 1400. Although I am doing a music major, I am still looking for general universities rather than music conservatories. My family would prefer me to study in an LAC and the cost for learning is not a very big problem.
Wesleyan is strong in world music. I don’t see a lot of classes for singer/songwriters. Is there a reason you chose it? It is also the only non-BM program on your list.
You realize that all the other schools are audition BM programs with a conservatory or school of music, right? A BM is 2/3-3/4 music classes; a BA would be 1/3-1/4 music classes generally. For a BA program, rather than audition, you would often have the option to submit a music supplement to the common application, with a recording of your work, a music resume, and letters of recommendation from teachers or directors.
If you are not going to do a BM, then I would say it is necessary to reconsider schools that offer that degree, because the BM students often get the best teachers and opportunities versus the BA music majors. This is not universally true but is a serious consideration.
Wesleyan is a “little Ivy,” a group that includes Tufts, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates, Ct. College,Colby and Hamilton (this is not a formally defined league like the Ivies). These schools are very selective, and tend to have good music depts. (I know Tufts’ dept. well, and Williams is known to have excellent music).
I would suggest looking at the website for Colleges that Change Lives for more ideas. Clark University and College of Wooster are both on there (Wooster has a BM though. I believe).
Schools like Skidmore, Bennington and Sarah Lawrence might be worth a look. The latter two have a lot of independent study. All three are artsy and have opportunities in music.
State universities tend to have BM programs.
If you do end up wanting a BM program to focus on singing and songwriting, then Berklee, Frost, Belmont, and USC are most often mentioned, for popular or contemporary music programs.
You always have the option of attending a school you like for other reasons, like size, location, academics and general “vibe” and doing your music work either within a major or in extracurriculars. There are many paths to follow.
Be aware that many college music majors (BA) will be general liberal arts music degrees with classical theory, aural skills, music history, composition, music analysis, ethnomusicology, technology and so on. Carefully check course listings to see if there are courses for your desired area of study. (Wesleyan, for instance, doesn’t seem to…)
@compmom all the schools you mentioned are part of the NESCAC conference, though.
There are lots of reasons why someone with a creative bent might prefer the broad academic palette offered by a top LAC, especially one with Wesleyan’s reputation. Some pretty good singers and songwriters have come out of there and I don’t think there was a single songwriting course offered the entire time they were in attendance. Sometimes it’s the vibe and the intellectual soup you are surrounded by that may suffice to support your passion.
Tufts2021, the term “little Ivy” varies in its interpretation. Williams, Wesleyan and Amherst are the “big three” of the “Little Ivies.”
circuitrider, you are referring to one option I described: “You always have the option of attending a school you like for other reasons, like size, location, academics and general “vibe” and doing your music work either within a major or in extracurriculars. There are many paths to follow.”
However, most of the schools in the original post are conservatories/schools of music with BM programs, and Wesleyan is the only school on the list that is not. The list is a bit of “apples and oranges” in that way, but only one orange 
I would have expected an applicant to Thornton, Frost and Steinhardt, who is also interested in BA programs, to have some choices that did have courses in singing and songwriting since the rest of the list would seem to indicate a desire for some applied music. But singing and songwriting outside of the classroom is always a good option.
And though the OP expresses a desire for more LAC’s, I don’t see a single LAC on the list. I tried to suggest a few and others will too.
Often newbies who want to study music benefit from reading the Double Degree Dilemma essay posted closer to the top of the music forum. The essay describes the different ways to study music. It can be helpful in clarifying things.
There is a great book entitled “Creative Colleges” that can be a good resource for this type of student. Good luck!
If I were considering the option of attending a school that does not offer a performance degree, I would be very careful about researching what voice (music) lessons are available and their quality. D considered that option at several universities and LAC’s and was disappointed with the quality of lessons available. In some cases, lessons were available to upper classmen and not freshman via a lottery system. In other schools, they were taught by outside instructors who were of varying levels of experience and pedagogy.
In the end, the only school D considered without a performance tract was Barnard, because she could rely on taking outside voice classes in NYC that we would pay for. But unfortunately, that would have added a lot of expense on top of tuition.
Location is important! The LAC’s we contacted sometimes offered to find a teacher in the community. Depending on location, this could work or not work at all, as uskoolfish so wisely said. NYC would certainly be ideal in that way. Many opportunities for gigging as well.
That said, some musicians do okay studying music academically (or something else) and doing their own work on the side. It is important to decide whether a teacher for singing or songwriting is even needed.
It is often easier for classical or possibly jazz musicians to find resources while at a non-BM program. A young person who writes songs and performs alone won’t necessarily benefit from a wonderful student orchestra or ensemble. And finding a teacher anywhere can be problematic, except at those schools focused on popular music.
BenGuan, do you currently have a teacher? Do you picture yourself growing on your own, so to speak or do you need a teacher and/or a full program in singing/songwriting?
Yes, it would be nice to give @benguan a chance to reply before we go much further.
Thank you guys so much and I’m sorry that I didn’t check this forum for a while…
Probably because of the “asian culture”…even though my family agrees to let me do a music major, they still wanted me to apply for a university with a good academic ranking. I am in the process of making my songwriting portfolio and personally I want to make that portfolio to be a strong aspect of my application process. So what schools I am looking for are schools that focuses on a student’s artistic performance and with a good academic atmosphere (because I am still thinking of taking non-music courses). But based on what I searched online, a lot of schools including both colleges and LACs focuses mainly on classical or jazz music… I don’t know whether they will still be interested in popular music style and my songwriting portfolio…
Thanks guys!
So are your parents allowing you to apply for a BM music degree, or do they want you to do a BA or BS? No matter what the ranking, a BM will still be about 3/4 music classes.
Do you have a teacher or do you work on your own? Do you need a teacher?
You can use your portfolio either for prescreens for BM or for a music supplement to the common app for a BA or BS. It is fine to apply to all options.
There are songwriting programs (Berklee, Belmont, NYU, Miami Frost, USC Thornton, CU Denver) but as mentioned before, you can apply to most LAC’s for a BA, if that is what you want, and still progress in music.
I actually don’t really mind about a BM or a BA degree and I have a teacher to work with and finish my portfolio. What I am wondering is that does schools with a music major actually thinks a songwriting portfolio is enough, especially when they do not really offer songwriting course or popular music for undergraduates. For me, my GPA and SAT are not really competitive so I want my music work to stand out in my application.