Which MT programs are least rigorous academically? Most rigorous?
Most rigorous would be places like: Northwestern, NYU, Penn State - primarily b/c of the rigor of the outside classes
Least rigorous (academically) would be school’s that are more “pure” conservatory- meaning you don’t take many/any classes outside the BFA. That doesn’t necessarily mean the schools themselves are “easier” - still lots of work being done, just in major. I have heard @mom4bwayboy say the outside classes at Wright State have not been a massive challenge for her son.
Thank you!
Yes, agree with @toowonderful - Classes at WSU are not academically challenging, but finding time to study, write papers - even fitting required academics into the schedule - can be difficult b/c of the conservatory-style BFA class/rehearsal/performance schedule.
@mom4bwayboy -totally agree!
So would a straight conservatory be more manageable (in an academic sense) than a conservatory-style program within a university?
It is very tough to generalize about the academic rigor of MT programs. You pretty much have to look at each program in some detail to figure things out. It pays to look at each school’s academic requirements in detail as there is a wide variance from less than 20 to more than 50 hours of Gen Eds required for BFA programs, whether at a “straight conservatory” (of which there are only a handful) or in a “conservatory-style” program. Note that the term “conservatory” is used very loosely among college programs.
Programs at schools with higher academic admission standards (say, less than 50% admitted) are probably going to require more academic work in Gen Ed courses, including (expanding on the list in a previous post): American, Emerson, Florida State, Illinois Wesleyan, Miami, Michigan, NYU, Penn State, Syracuse, TCU, UCLA, Muhlenberg, Northwestern, UC Irvine, and USC. Note that almost every school offers an Honors Program, so students interested in more academic rigor can usually find it no matter where they go.
BA programs will require more general education classes than BFA programs and, hence, will tend to require more academic rigor (more papers to write, more essay tests, etc.), including programs like James Madision and American.
BM programs are likely to require somewhat more academic rigor than BFA programs due to additional depth in music theory, practice requirements may be more intense due to increased emphasis on keyboard skills, and in some cases, diction in foreign languages is required. I think some MT majors without some formal training in high school in music theory go through struggles with college theory if taught at roughly the same level as typical music courses. Many MT programs have offer a “watered-down” theory course for MT’s, but it still may require more academic effort than some MT’s would prefer.
Some BFA programs require more than 40 hours of Gen Ed courses which usually means two science classes and a foreign language requirement. Schools with low Gen Ed requirements include (all numbers are approximate): Carnegie-Mellon ~20, Catholic U ~30, CCM ~18, Florida State ~36, Ithaca College ~20, Montclair State ~31, NYU Tisch ~32, Rider ~33, Roosevelt/CCPA ~24, SUNY Buffalo ~31, Syracuse ~30, U Miami ~21-30 (note that some of these are at schools with relatively high academic admission requirements, like Miami).
The least rigorous programs, therefore, are likely to be BFA programs at schools with lower standards for admission with less than 40 (or so) hours of Gen Eds required, such as: Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Hartt, Montclair State, Roosevelt, Sam Houston, Texas State, U Arts, Viterbo, Webster, Western Michigan, and Wright State. As previously stated, no doubt you can find academic rigor at these institutions if you want it in their Honors Programs.
Note that I did not point out the high level of academic rigor at Carnegie Mellon because of the low Gen Ed requirements and the generally-accepted-wisdom that CMU has relatively low standards for academic admission for MT majors.
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I would add Otterbein to the last group mentioned above.
Fitting in Honors Program classes with the crazy BFA schedule is also difficult at some schools (D is a senior at Wright State). She knows of only 1 student during her time there who actually completed the Honors Program. She tried but couldn’t fit them in during freshman and sophomore years. I think as a junior she finally gave up! I also think it became less important to her over the years. @mom4bwayboy’s S is also in the Honors Program - don’t know if he’s been able to fit the classes in?
@EmsDad - wow, that is exactly the information I needed - thanks so much!
I would add LIU Post to this list .
Something to pay attention to if you have AP credits is whether or not schools accept them, or if they only accept higher scores. For example, NYU only takes 4s and 5s (not 3s) as passing score- which could change the number of credits needed. Also, some schools have required course you cannot place/test out if. Again with NYU- freshmen take 2 semesters of English (writing the essay) NO MATTER WHAT.
Like @MTmom2017’s D, my S (a junior) has also be unable to fit any honors classes into his WSU schedule. On the flip side, the less rigorous academic admissions standards meant he got lots of college credit for his APs (including less than tippy-top scores). This was beneficial in several ways: 1. he got credit for some low-level required Gen Eds we didn’t have to pay for; 2. allowed him to get into some higher level classes w/o first taking the prerequisite class that MAY have been more interesting/challenging; 3. freed up his schedule to add other things of greater interest - extra tap/dance, drama/movement classes usually reserved for Acting majors, Music Theory, Business, more student-led productions; 4. made it easier for him to get in all the required academics before his graduation date. This last item can be VERY tricky for BFA majors. Every year there are WSU students who don’t graduate on time - or have to cram in way over the normal load of credits their senior year in order to make the graduation date. AP credits can come in pretty handy at less academically rigorous BFA programs.
For honors classes/programs, take a look at what that means at each school. Many will fulfill the gened requirements, so if you’re in a liberal arts college and need to take a gened Social Sciences class in the core curriculum, you may be able to take a section or course that is honors-based and fulfills that core class requirement.
This was a big factor for our child. Very very strong academics but she wanted the focus in college to be on her performance courses:)
It is really a tough call. Our child had 5s in all her APs and also several college level classes so she had many classes waived at all the schools she applied to. She did not apply to the IVIES so not sure about those. She still in the end really wanted a conservatory program with the choice of taking some general academic courses, so we focused on schools which had a conservatory MT program and courses in the area she wanted to pursue outside of MT. We however also tend to be big proponents of the there are tons of very very qualified teachers in colleges all over, it is what you put in that counts the most:)
My S is in the Honors Program at BW and so far, he and one other Jr MT are completing the requirements. I don’t know if that will last into Senior year. It is tricky to get in the extra coursework with the BFA and rehearsal schedules so we shall see. I know he plans to do at least one of his academic requirements over the summer (online) in order to free up a class period Sr year. BW will permit students to “convert” some regular classes into honors classes by completing additional work (generally research papers) so it is a little easier to the coursework into a BFA schedule. Getting the extra papers done is another story!