Cross-posted to Williams since comparing specifically between Amherst and Williams.
Trying to compare the music resources, i.e., instrument instructors, faculty, facilities (private practice rooms, concert hall, etc.), performance opportunities (college orchestra and other ensemble), programs (master classes, visiting artists, etc.) between Amherst and Williams for a music major with a strong violin background. I’d also very much appreciate any insights into double-majoring (music and pre-med area).
You probably know this but pre-med is not a major at Amherst. There are certain classes pre-meds need for med school and there is strong health career advising at Amherst, with an adviser in addition to the major adviser and many events, lunches, seminars, etc for pre-health students.
So D can be a music major and pre-med without double majoring, though if she wished to do so it’s not hard at Amherst since the open curriculum means there are no required courses beyond those for the major(s) (and one first year seminar the first semester).
I can’t speak to music opportunities beyond what you can find on the Music dept web pages and the event calendar, though I’ve attended several concerts as part of parent weekend.
@OHMomof2 - I’ve been debating within myself as to whether it’d be better to double-major or major in music and fulfill pre-med courses. For this, of course, Amherst’s open curriculum is what attracted us to apply to the school. Is your D a music major at Amherst and planning on double majoring?
There are a good amount of practice rooms in the music building (maybe 35? I’m not sure of the exact number). You can reserve guaranteed practice time at the beginning of the semester, or can drop by any time and use any practice room available. You should not have any trouble getting a practice room, especially if you sign up for specific times at the beginning of the semester.
Regarding instructors - You can take music lessons for free as long as you take one class in the music department either when you start taking lessons or one semester later. (I know this is the case for students on financial aid. I’m not 100% sure about the situation if you’re not on financial aid, but I could check on that if you would like.) I have not personally taken violin lessons, but I have heard that students like the instructor and plan to take lessons from her next semester.
The orchestra here is amazing for a small liberal arts college. Most of the LAC colleges had 20 person orchestras at best, and Amherst’s orchestra has 60 or 70 people in it. When I visited, I was very impressed with the full-sized orchestra, especially compared to the struggling orchestras at the other small LACs I visited.
At the beginning of the semester you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for an ensemble, if you would like.
Because of the flexibility of the open curriculum, many students complete double majors. The science majors tend to be the most demanding, but the music major is among the easier majors to add as a double major. So double majoring would be very doable.
I hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions/clarifications, and good luck with your decision!
@TiggerDad – This may help (if these links work).
There is all sorts of interesting info on these two webpages, which contain data on the last two entering and graduating classes at Amherst. If you scroll to the end of each document you can see the distribution of majors for the two most recent graduating classes.
As you can see, some of the ‘other’ majors were in the humanities, but there were Music double majors with Mathematics, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Economics, and Anthropology.
At the risk of beating the proverbial dead horse, the lack of any distribution or language requirement at Amherst provides the freedom to take the required pre-med courses as well as focusing on another totally unrelated discipline. Also, it’s been a long time since I applied to medical school (so I’m no expert), but my guess is that a student who did well in their pre-med science courses AND who had a passion for music would definitely stand out as an applicant.
@AsleepAtTheWheel “…my guess is that a student who did well in their pre-med science courses AND who had a passion for music would definitely stand out as an applicant.”
Perhaps, but double-majoring is not a strategy likely to improve chances for med school admission.
@CodyChesnutt you don’t have to double major to do pre-med and music, you are simply a music major taking the pre-med courses.
Almost every medical school in the country requires at least the following (per Amherst’s pre-med guide):
-a year of general chemistry (with lab)
-a year of organic chemistry (with lab)
-a year of general physics (with lab)
-a year of biology (with lab)
-a year of college English
-a year of “college mathematics”
An increasing number of U.S. medical schools now say they recommend biochemistry (usually non-lab) and/or a social science course.
That’s 12 courses (or 13 with biochem). At Amherst students will typically take 32 over 4 years.
That leaves 19-20 courses of music and anything else a student wants to take. Of course a student could pretty easily add a bio or chem major here, since there’s a lot of overlap with the pre-med reqs, but it’s not necessary.
@CottonTales might weigh in here, not sure what her pre-med D majored in.
@CodyChesnutt – I didn’t say that double-majoring per se would improve one’s chances of admission to medical school. The statement was more that an applicant who has more breadth than many other applicants might have an improved shot at getting in.
There are a lot of ways, many of them (like double majoring) of dubious value IMO, to finesse one’s portfolio as a medical school applicant. At the end of the day, what matter most are grades and MCAT scores, and a few other things that are important but probably less so (research, clinic experience, interview, recommendations)…
@CodyChesnutt - Which ones are of “dubious value,” in your opinion? I personally don’t know of anyone who tries to double major just to “finesse one’s portfolio.” Far from it, those who double major happen to really love two subject areas enough to pursue them with equal passion.
Of dubious value? Majoring in biochemistry or molecular biology because the student thinks medical schools will be impressed. Double majoring because the student thinks medical schools will be impressed. Mastering a Bartok violin concerto because the student thinks medical schools will be impressed. etc. etc. I am not opposed to a student double or triple majoring if she is following her passion, but as I already mentioned, I would not counsel any student to multi major as a strategy to improve chances for medical school admission - it won’t help and is likely to make it more difficult to reach the goals that matter, namely high GPA, excellent performance in pre med requisite courses, and high MCAT score. And I do personally know of plenty of weird strategies otherwise well meaning medical school aspirants have pursued or contemplated.
@CodyChesnutt Could you explain how majoring in biochem or molecular biology does not impress a medical school (or at least, boost the application)? Are you implying that a medical school is not impressed by a student double majoring, or doing a challenging major, and that it’d be better for the student to “slide by” per se and just take the easy classes to have a good GPA? GPA and MCAT’s surely matter a lot, but I don’t see why you feel that it is necessary to bash the students who decide to challenge themselves with a harder course load, whether to try to impress a medical school or otherwise.
@Economathematics “Could you explain how majoring in biochem or molecular biology does not impress a medical school (or at least, boost the application)?”
Here’s how: to repeat, they do not care what an applicant has majored in. With excellent grades in medical school prereq courses, high GPA, high MCAT score, great recommendations, and great interpersonal skills, a music major has as much chance of getting in to medical school as a science major or double science major.
I would never encourage a student to avoid challenge or “slide by” (side note: is that even possible at Amherst?) but to pursue whatever it is she is most passionate about. Great grades and performance come a lot easier if you’re doing what you love and not what you think someone else wants you to do.
I don’t know how many students still major in a science prior to attending medical school (these students used to be in the majority of applicants), but the number is probably still high as a lot of kids who aspire to medicine happen to like science. An added bonus for the science crowd is that major requirements overlap with med school prereq courses-every chemistry major takes a year of Gen Chem and a year of Organic , and every medical school requires those courses- which makes simultaneously fulfilling major course requirements and med school prereq coursework a little easier.
Exactly. Once you’ve done all the pre-med reqs you’re well on the way to completing a Bio, Chem, Biochem or Neuro major anyway, so many just do that if they like those subjects.
S1 and S2 both did double majors in a science and music at Vassar. S1 turned down a conservatory for Vassar and knew Vassar was for him five minutes after listening to a rehearsal of the Vassar orchestra. So please consider Vassar as another option. Hamilton also has a strong orchestra. Please see my other posts. Having only a few distribution requirements at Hamilton and Vassar and Amherst makes it ‘easier’ to double major. Please attend a concert or rehearsal in person to see where you feel you want to be. All including Williams are great schools but have very different vibes.
