I can’t believe my junior D has to turn in her course selections for next year already! With very few required classes left and knowing that she is going to be VERY busy with applications, auditions and composing, along with a brutal marching band season as head drum major next year, she is trying to make wise choices of classes that will be beneficial but also not look like her schedule is too academically simple.
She will be doing dual enrollment at a local college for College Algebra and English, taking Honors Gov and Econ at her high school and then filling in with electives. The electives are currently Honors Band, AICE Music 1 and AICE Media Studies. The question is will this be music overkill? Should I suggest she add a more academic course instead of the Music or Media Studies class? She has definitely decided not to take a fourth year in Science or Foreign Language but I am wondering she should consider something like AP Psych. One advantage we have in our high school of over 4500 students is they offer every class imaginable.
Any advice would be appreciated. I would be particularly interested in anyone whose child has taken either of the AICE classes and what they thought of them.
I had to look up AICE to see what it is 
Some music classes ARE academic. Are these performance classes? If not, then they are academic.
Does she want to go to conservatory/music school or college/university? BM or BA?
For a BM, she is fine taking lots of music. Personally, I think that pursuing a strong interest and having a strong focus in an area like music is also a plus in applying to colleges, regardless of expected major.
For a BM she will need a portfolio of some kind for composition (3-4 pieces). For a college she will be able to do an arts supplement.
If she is not taking science or foreign language, and has math, English , gov and economics on board (is she done with history?), it would seem that she could follow interests and take the electives she wants, at least in my view.
I wish people would not us acronyms (unless they are very common like SAT and ACT.) We’ve gotten into trouble with U of M and even USC. Anyway, here is what AICE is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_International_Certificate_of_Education
Thanks. I was wondering what that was.
Sorry for the acronym our school never uses the full name. I wasn’t even sure what it was. The full definition…
“The Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Diploma is an international curriculum and examination system that emphasizes the value of broad and balanced study. Alongside in-depth understanding of a variety of subjects, students also need to master a broader range of skills critical for success in university study and employment.”
It gives the same weight as an AP course, has an exam at the end for college credit at some colleges and is becoming a popular choice for students at our high school. AICE Music 1 syllabus…" examines Western European music along with other cultures" and says that …"learners listen to, perform and compose music, encouraging aesthetic and emotional development, self-discipline and creativity. " My D is seeking a BM and looking at conservatory training. Her portfolio is shaping up nicely and she is currently working privately with a composition Professor as well as taking Orchestration from Berklee online.
I think keeping her super focused on her music is a good thing, I just don’t want it to look like she is ignoring the academics,
That music class IS an academic class. Music history, ethnomusicology, musicology and composition are all academic ways to study music and the performance in this class is also geared to academic learning. This class sounds very much like (an academic) college class for music majors.
Colleges and conservatories will love that she is focusing on music at this point in her high school career, and that she is working with a composition teacher, doing online orchestration and so on. She probably has some theory under her belt as well- a good idea.
The only caveat would be if she has other interests she wants to explore. Conservatory will have liberal arts classes but only about 1/4-1/3 of her classes will be outside music so if she wants to do another subject in high school, that is also fine. But no problem in doing the music at all in the eyes of schools she might apply to.
Some conservatory students have gone to schools like Walnut Hill where the focus during high school is very much on music. They do very well in admissions.
Thanks compmom that is very reassuring information.
If she is applying to Berllee or Belmont, it will not matter which courses she takes her senior year. You should check websites of colleges she is applying to and see what their recommend course study is I.e. 4 years of English, 2 years of Foreign Language. Sounds like she will be just fine. No need to load her down with classes that the college may not even care about. Good luck