My daughter is a HS Junior (HS class of 25) and trying to figure out where to apply. Her main instrument is violin, but she is not a strictly classical musician - she plays a lot of fiddle, traditional Irish and Scottish, etc. She also plays bass and mandolin and loves joining whatever group she can. She’s in orchestra and chamber groups, plays in the pit for school musicals and other performances, and plays weddings and events. She wants to go to a school with a strong academic program in humanities/social sciences, but wants to make sure music remains a big part of her life. She thinks she would like to double major or minor in music so she can be around other musical kids and have opportunities for performance. Any perfect fit schools come to mind or any tips on how we should look? Her grades/scores are quite good so far and she’s a little bit snobby about going to a “good” school (whatever that means 
Would appreciate any thoughts!!
I am most familiar with William and Mary as both of my children attended/attend there. They just opened a new Arts Quarter with a fabulous main stage/theater/dance building and a new music building with great performance spaces. Very strong academic experience and now is a great opportunity for the arts kids. My son is a dancer and has immediately joined three dance programs there. My daughter was a STEM major, but performed extensively with music and percussion groups. WM may deserve a look.
Sending you a PM.
There are hundreds of “good” schools where she could have the experience you describe! Has she reseached or visited any schools? To narrow down the list, does she have preferences about the size of the school, rural/urban, east or west, the “vibe”, Greek Life? It would help to understand what else would make a school a good fit for her. If she is a strong student, she will have lots of good options
Agree this could happen most anyplace with a strong music program. If you can share her stats and the type of school she’s looking for, maybe we can offer better suggestions.
Thanks so much for such helpful replies, and so quickly! She has a 35 ACT and GPA around 4.25 at a rigorous private school. I think she would prefer small to medium school, not in the South (we are from the South and this is apparently non-negotiable She seems most interested in the Northeast and Midwest.
She’s not so sure between small town/city - seems interested in both but probably doesn’t want a school in the middle of nowhere without a town. No interest in Greek life or college sports. She is somewhat reserved and shy but feels most comfortable making friends in music settings, so I’d love for her to be able to connect with other music kids early on. She went to Interlochen and loved it. We are so grateful for any suggestions!
Such strong academic stats. She’s likely to have lots of great options! Perhaps a look at The University of Michigan? Not exactly a small school, but it has split campuses—with the School of Music being on the much quieter and more natural (think trees) North Campus. Buses run frequently between the two. Kids (music majors and otherwise) make the approx. 15 min. trip all the time. North Campus definitely provides some separation from Greek life and sports—if that’s not your thing. My D has been able to avoid both unless she has a desire for them. From our experience, there is a nice depth and breath of courses, and great options musically. Would be worth exploring whether or not non-music majors have access to ensembles, chamber groups, and lessons. UMich seems to be beloved by the Interlochen set. The majority of kids in my daughter’s incoming studio class were also friends from Inty. 
Good look with your exploration!
Northwestern would be a good reach school.
How about St. Olaf? Excellent school, exceptionally good for music.
With her academics and music, she could consider schools like Harvard, where the curriculum has changed quite a bit- more diverse, more access. Your daughter’s varied musical experiences could help with admission at highly selective schools if she does a music supplement with videos/recordings, music resume (hers would be great!) and 1-2 letters of recommendation related to music (and not just about talent, but work ethic, working with others, wide interests, character etc.)
So she can apply to Ivies like Harvard, Princeton, as well as “little Ivies” like Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan, Tufts.
I also like the Colleges that Change Lives…check that out. Clark, Wooster, St. Olaf etc.
Barnard, Vassar are often mentioned for music. MacAlaster, Davidson. Oberlin has a new Musical Studies degree that gives access to the Conservatory resources without being in the Con.
People will recommend schools known for music but I would caution you that you need to check whether non-BM students losee out with the presence of a BM program. Often the best teachers and resources will go to the BM students. Not always though. Check with the schools (like U Michigan, St. Olaf, Northwestern).
I could list some schools with BM programs but other than Oberlin I am refraining for now!
She sounds like a kid who might thrive at a LAC-?
ps Has she or have you read the Double Degree Dilemma essay in the Read Me thread here in the music major forum? It uses hypothetical individuals to demonstrate different ways to study music. Some find it helpful.
I was in your same spot with DS23 a year ago. Conversation I had with him was
- Do you want to make sure you have opportunities to perform?
- Do you want to pursue a minor or major with the intent of being able to perform, continue to learn more about music (and your instrument)
- Do you want to pursue a Major with the intent of actually doing something occupationally with it post graduation?
The answer to that can help steer the research.
My youngest is a first year at Pomona college and having a fabulous experience. Mine is a theater kid, looking for a traditional college experience with lots of arts opportunities. No interest in a tiny school, but loves small classes and a close community. They hoped for a school with a campus, but access to a city for culture and arts. The 5C’s offers a large undergraduate community, but Pomona itself is a close community. All the classes are small and discussion based. There are lots of kids interested in music and lots of opportunities to get involved. LA is close enough for students to go to the city for concerts and shows. Worth a look!
This thread is very helpful because my daughter is in a similar situation, though with more interest in science (perhaps chem or physics) than social science, and her main instrument is French horn.
She is a HS junior with strong academic stats (4.0 unweighted GPA, 1550 from one SAT sitting). She had been thinking of BM programs in French horn performance (potentially with a dual degree in science), but after discussing things like the Double Degree Dilemma essay, she now thinks she would prefer a BA program where she has the option to double major or have music as a minor. She is also interested in small class sizes, so we are focusing on liberal arts colleges and smaller universities.
The caution raised by @compmom about being a BA student at a school with a strong BM program makes sense. Does anyone have suggestions of how to figure out when this is a concern? E.g. might she be less happy doing Oberlin’s BA degree because of all the BM conservatory students?
Or any suggestions on how to figure out which BA schools have good music programs in general, or for French horn in particular? E.g., here’s our initial list of schools she might be interested in that only offer a BA degree in music, but we’re not sure how to evaluate the music programs here, or whether there are other schools that ought to be on this list.
Amherst
Bowdoin
Carlton
Dartmouth
Harvard
Pomona
Princeton
Stanford
Swarthmore
UChicago
Vassar
Wesleyan
Williams
Yale
We’re pretty new to this whole process, so any advice is appreciated!
My daughter is a freshman this year and went through many of these same questions. The forums on CC were invaluable, searching by school and seeing what folks had to say. Also - for your child’s particular instrument (Horn or Violin, etc.), there’s no substitute for just looking up on the college website who the professor is for that instrument.
Most of the LAC’s do not have enough music majors to have various instrumental specialists on staff as full-time faculty ,so they use instructors who typically have additional jobs (playing in an orchestra, offering lessons in other colleges etc.). This can make it difficult to communicate with the person who would be your child’s private lessons instructor in some cases, but we found that the music departments of the schools my daughter was interested in always were willing to answer her emailed questions, and meet with her when she visited. Ultimately, my daughter thought that the relationship with her private instructor would be a crucial one through her four years of college, and she wanted an instructor who was a full-time faculty member, and who would have a “culture” in their studio (a studio that would consist of other college aged students).
A second particular concern for her was not just who would be teaching her instrument, but also the musical culture on campus. She wanted opportunities to play with other students at a high level, and not just in small combos. Many SLACs have great jazz programs - the advantage is that you can make a dynamite jazz combo with just a handful of musicians. Obviously, this will not help a horn player. I think that as look more closely, you might be disappointed with the options at Carleton, for instance, where the orchestra is large, but from what we heard on a visit, consists primarily of students who play for one year to satisfy an arts distribution requirement, and who are not really “into” music in the same way as my daughter was (as opposed to St. Olaf across town, where the music offerings are mind-blowingly good for majors and non-majors). For strings - small string ensembles are common in LACs. And in these small combos, often faculty participate as well to fill out parts. Many of the SLACs include recordings of their orchestra on-line. My daughter would listen and know in a few minutes if a college was coming off her list, or staying on.
My daughter only applied to LAC’s (she loves the small size of classes - her freshman year fall classes: 15, 8, 8, and 6 - granted, classes this small are not for everyone!). But this really limited her in terms of the number of schools where she felt equally good about the orchestra, the lessons, and the non-music side of the school
She ended up at Amherst College, where she was also able to be admitted to the studio of a faculty member of UMass Amherst. So all of her classes are at Amherst, but she rides the bus 10 minutes to UMass twice a week, once for her private lesson (for which she receives Amherst credit) and once for the studio session, where she meets with the other 17 people getting their music degrees at UMass on her instrument. Her last “cut” was Oberlin, where she was admitted to the dual-degree in the Conservatory and the College. Her opinion was that being at Oberlin, but not in the conservatory, would not have been satisfying for her… but she ultimately chose the Amherst/UMass option because she thought that the BA in music at Amherst, combined with a second degree, would better fit her interests than the rather intense BM/BA at Oberlin.
Sounds like your D has found the right place for her needs and interests!
S24 is in the same position. He is currently in the midst of it and we have found that the teachers at LACs have been very receptive to talking to him and giving him trial lessons. There are multiple music departments that have been very receptive and eager to have him. He is also auditioning at a few schools that have more flexible BM type programs and allow second majors.
In terms of your list some less selective schools to consider are U Richmond, Davidson, William and Mary, Skidmore (these are all selective but not less than 10% admissions rates like those on your list).
@horn_mom it is helpful to ask about resources for non_BM students. I think it is a common question.
You could ask at Lawrence, St. Olaf (already known to be okay)…Bard Conservatory students are required to do a double degree and I know a young woman who did science there. Oberlin’s Musical Studies program might be worth looking into, since it gives access to the Conservatory teachers and resources but is a BA.
Good list overall. We hear good things about Vassar and Williams for music (Williams students play in a regional orchestra). The Amherst area has the 5 college consortium so plenty of teachers. Some schools will find a teacher for you.
I would consider Tufts too- active music program and good science BUT not sure if the NEC double degree students are considered more serious. Lots of teachers in town with NEC, BoCo/Berklee and Longy.
I have a horn playing senior. He’s planning to apply ED to Vanderbilt/Blair, but if that doesn’t work out he’ll be applying to a mix of schools where he can get a BM and do a dual degree and LACs with strong music offerings. Overlapping with your list, he has Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Vassar, and Williams. For places where he could do a BM, he’s looking at Oberlin (he’d also consider the college and maybe the musical studies major; he thinks getting into the conservatory is a longshot for him), College of Wooster, St. Olaf, and Lawrence. Other LACs that are on the list because music opportunities look good are Hamilton, Grinnell, Emory (an outlier since it’s a bigger university, but it’s local for us so he’s familiar with some people in the music department), Macalester, Brandeis, Brown, Kalamazoo…it’s a big list. Make sure there are some safeties that she’d be happy going to on the final list. I’ll be interested to see how things turn out with admissions with this kid (assuming he doesn’t get into Blair)…my oldest was super strong academically (1550/4.0UW) but had sort of solid but unremarkable ECs and ended up with some great acceptances but also TONS of waitlists. This kid is pretty similar academically (slightly lower test scores, but maybe a bit stronger course load…and applying in a test optional landscape unlike kid #1) but brings strong music ECs to the mix–I’m hoping that will tip him over the top in the kinds of schools where the first kid got waitlisted).
Where we haven’t been able to tour in person, we’ve done virtual tours and info sessions and then looked at the music department pages in particular and read up on faculty (like whether they have a dedicated horn teacher, but I’m not sure how important that is), ensembles (including checking out YouTube videos when possible), etc. My son wants to make sure he’ll be able to continue taking lessons wherever he ends up and also wants to be playing in strong ensembles…he actually crossed Swarthmore off his list because our tour guide said that all the ensembles are open to everyone without auditioning. But this is probably a common issue in tiny schools like that…so places like Williams (and I think Kalamazoo??) where there are opportunities to play in groups that draw from the larger community outside the school are appealing to him.
Consider universities with strong music programs and strong humanities/social sciences departments, such as Oberlin College, University of Michigan, or Indiana University. Encourage her to visit and audition at potential schools to gauge the music department’s atmosphere and opportunities for non-classical music involvement. Prioritize a school that offers the right balance of academic rigor and musical engagement to match her interests and aspirations.