<p>I am considering going into music, but I know I'm going to apply to a music-only school / conservatory.</p>
<p>I was wondering if people knew of any Ivy League colleges, or big-name colleges (Duke, Emory, Georgetown, of that essence) with national recognition that have good all-around programs (and obviously really good medicine or poli. sci or business programs) but also have decent to good music programs.</p>
<p>Same stuff, different day! I think we have probably gone over this every year but I know for sure that it’s been discussed earlier this season! Sorry, Prism, I am not picking on you, but may I suggest that you make use of the “search” feature here and see what comes up. I know that the whole “Ivy” with music has been gone over ad infinitum, with much good information. Check it out! It all depends upon what your ultimate goal is, and from your post, I’m guessing that you have a few choices of major and don’t intend to have a career in music?
To add my own two-cents, if you are looking for one of the schools you named (or the Ivies) to have a terrific undergrad music program, I’m not sure you’ll find it, but that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t be happy playing in their orchestra or one of the chamber music groups. Re-reading your post has me thinking that you are not a singer, correct? If you were, and were thinking of a career in opera,etc, I would say that Yale is very well known for their Graduate and Artist Certificate programs in voice and I think they have some excellent teachers in the field of composition and piano (and probably many others- hoping someone else can elaborate on this?).</p>
<p>Without knowing your instrument or discipline, level of experience and musical background, to name specific schools becomes a shotgun approach, be they conservatory/conservatory level programs, or academic bastions of renown.</p>
<p>Any of the programs you name may or may not work for you. Depends how you are defining “music”, and your long term goals, but realize a talent competitive in a conservatory audition pool used to high quality experiences and like minded peers may find some aspects of these programs sorely lacking; those you list in parenthesis are normally not included in discussions centered around high level undergrad music disciplines.</p>
<p>I won’t speak to the vocal disciplines, as there are others far more qualified than I. In general, for instrumental performance, the Ivys and Ivy like schools do not offer the depth of faculty and musical peer level necessary for high level development. While you will find exceptional talent across a range of instruments, quality can be spotty or downright lacking in any given program. Secondary concerns include the vastly different approaches and policies to private instruction, and often the depth and strength of high level small ensemble or chamber music can be lacking.</p>
<p>Having said that, realize that there are a number of high level performers at these schools doing either a music or academic discipline undergrad degree that will apply and be accepted to some of the “best” grad programs for performance MM’s.</p>
<p>The structure of the Ivy programs is that of a BA, rather than a BM, with the coursework and degree requirements skewed towards liberal arts rather than music. Additionally, the nature of the admit process is extremely competitive academically, and adds another level of angst to the audition based conservatory type admit scene if you are considering both types of programs. Depending on the specific institution, your instrument and skill level coupled with the school’s need may or may not be an “in” in any given year.</p>
<p>There are a couple of highly selective joint registration programs: Harvard/NEC, Tufts/NEC, Columbia/Juilliard, each with its own stumbling blocks and nuances. For reference, selective is defined as accepting 5-12 applicants per cycle; some of the posters here are represented within these groups.</p>
<p>Typically, schools such as Northwestern, Rice/Shepherd, Oberlin, Bard, Hopkins/Peabody, Rochester/Eastman are mentioned as offering the best of both worlds academically and musically. Each has its own nuances and caveats in terms of admissions factors, cross discipline pursuit philosophy, as well.</p>
<p>Some prior related threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/685881-opera-yale-harvard-princeton.html?highlight=yale[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/685881-opera-yale-harvard-princeton.html?highlight=yale</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/684160-music-performance-yale-undergraduate.html?highlight=yale[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/684160-music-performance-yale-undergraduate.html?highlight=yale</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/510621-yale-undergraduate.html?highlight=yale[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/510621-yale-undergraduate.html?highlight=yale</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242843-yale.html?highlight=yale[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242843-yale.html?highlight=yale</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/145994-music-yale.html?highlight=yale[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/145994-music-yale.html?highlight=yale</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/682696-info-harvard-music-degree.html?highlight=harvard[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/682696-info-harvard-music-degree.html?highlight=harvard</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/489065-composition-harvard.html?highlight=harvard[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/489065-composition-harvard.html?highlight=harvard</a></p>
<p>Some suggested reading:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors.html</a></p>
<p>As Mezzo’sMama says, we’ve beaten this horse before. The search function is your friend. There is a wealth of past info here, and posters with current and past experiences are quick to lend a hand.</p>