average academics, julliard level violinist

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>hi all, i'm posting for my mom's friends son.</p>

<p>he's currently a junior at a small "top 10" private high school.
average gpa (B to B+ range) very little AP and honors classes
2030 SAT (will probably get it up to 2100+)
very average academics but he has been attending julliard for 7 years. </p>

<p>he doesn't want to go to a conservatory, but wants to major in music at a 4-year university, with a possible double major in math, chem, or business.</p>

<p>what are some colleges he can realistically get into?</p>

2

<p>If he’s been attending Juilliard for 7 years, he has a master’s degree, and no undergrad program will take him.</p>

<p>No, no, I know you meant Juilliard pre-college; I’m just being literal. I hope your friend’s mom is aware that Juilliard pre-college doesn’t guarantee conservatory admission. It is a great program, but one of many.</p>

<p>Look at the other thread on here, <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/984105-music-school-admissions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/984105-music-school-admissions.html&lt;/a&gt; - it is addressing similar concerns.</p>

<p>In the situation you write about, I might have him look at Cincinnati – Although CCM is a conservatory, and I don’t remember what their policy is on double degrees, the university itself is academically appropriate for what you’ve posted.</p>

3

<p>Maybe the double-degree program at IU? Jacobs school top-notch violin faculty. IU is rolling admissions (for the university, not the music conservatory) so the key is to apply early. Another school to look at would be the McDuffie strings program at Mercer University in Macon Georgia. They have a great (albeit very new) program for strings. Another bonus is that every student receives a full scholarship. To apply to McDuffie you must also apply to Mercer, which, like IU is a full university with not-terribly-competitive admissions standards.</p>

4

<p>That may be a difficult question to answer, because from what I can tell, what defines a music major varies. For example, from what I know there are music schools within a university where if you do a performance degree in music (as versus an academic music major) it is very similar to a typical conservatory i.e the audition is what matters in terms of getting in (though academics might influence, for example, scholarships and such). </p>

<p>On the other hand, there are conservatories, like Jacobs and the conservatory at Bard, where you apply to both the conservatory and the college (Rice Shepherd school is like that as well) where academics do matter. </p>

<p>If you were going to major in music at a place like Yale or Princeton, that don’t offer performance degrees, then the academics might be an issue (conventional wisdom is that some schools like these are trying to build up their musical performance program, in the orchestras and such, and might give an edge to an applicant who is a musician…can’t say how much of an edge, or if a b/b+ student would be eligible at those kind of places). </p>

<p>Besides what people offer on here, you also might want to check schools websites and college guides that list median SAT and GPA’s of their students (and remember, those are median; kids get into colleges all the time below the mean, if they offer something else, such as being a good musician). </p>

<p>I agree with binx, I would tell the mom that while Juilliard’s pre college is an excellent program that alone is not an automatic ticket to admission, either to a conservatory or a music school, nor is it necessarily an indication of how good the student is compared to the competition they may face at a given program. There are a lot of kids out there in other programs, or studying privately, who may be as good or even better then the best kids at Juilliard on that instrument…and it could be the kid may be good enough academically to get admitted, but musically doesn’t make the grade, and they need to be aware of that.</p>

5

<p>Another suggestion that doesn’t usually appear here. Your friend’s son might want to look at UW-Madison. There is currently a young woman studying here who legitimately IS a Juillard level violinist (she has won international competitions and had a Carnegie Hall debut at 15) who wants to be a doctor. She currently attends UW and studies with David Perry.</p>

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<p>thanks for the great suggestions! :)</p>

<p>one clear up - he doesn’t want a performance degree. he wants to continue playing in the orchestra and learning music but found it took too much time away from his studies, so he is happy with music theory degrees. </p>

<p>can you guys suggest colleges that are mainly academic? </p>

<p>thanks :)</p>

7

<p>Your friend’s son’s situation is actually very similar to what my D’s was. She is a violinist (though not Juilliard level) and her SAT score was 2070. So I will tell you what we did to find her school. </p>

<p>First we went to the college board website, and plugged in her scores, and a few other things that were important to her (such as availability of financial aid, types of majors, and location) to generate a list of schools that met basic criteria. </p>

<p>Then we started exploring school websites, checking out the music program for:
Types of music degrees (BA, BM, MusEd, minor, 2nd major, etc)
Type of orchestra (open to non-majors?)
Level of program - conservatory level? Currently in building mode? Somewhat desperate? One of the best pieces of advice I got was to read the president’s letter, look at current grants, and read the school press releases for mentions of music. This is a good clue as to whether or not music might be an edge at the school.</p>

<p>And we checked out other offerings my D was interested in. In her case, it was the number of languages offered. She wasn’t sure what she wanted; only that she wanted a choice.</p>

<p>We made a list of potential schools, focusing mostly on those where her SATs put her in the 50-75% range. Schools where her SAT was at the low end meant a tougher admit and no money, and schools where her SAT was much higher than average meant (probably) less academic stimulation, so we aimed for a balance.</p>

<p>In her case, her final list had some nice academic programs with good music options. I’ll list them in case they might provide a starting point for your friend.</p>

<ol>
<li> Emory. She was wait-listed here, probably due to being in-state with high school grades that seemed average. (They weren’t! She did her high school in Germany, so the grades didn’t match up to US standards.) She loved the violin teacher there, and double majoring is very easy. Academics are outstanding.</li>
<li> Furman. She would have gone here had they given her more money. She got a very nice violin scholarship, but nothing academically. Double majoring is also possible here. They do not offer minors.</li>
<li> St. Olaf. We were never able to visit, but she was in love with this school on paper. They take music seriously, and their academics are also great. Ultimately her decision not to attend came down to money. They did give her both violin and academic scholarships. She was not entering as a music major here, but the orchestra is open to the whole school.</li>
<li> Miami U of Ohio. This is where she is now (senior), thanks to generous music and academic scholarships. She will have a major in music, and minors in two languages (Chinese and German.) She loves her violin teacher; the music program itself is middle of the road. MU is most well known for it’s Business School. Double majors are possible; double degrees are a bit more challenging because of the different pre-reqs in the different schools, but it is possible.</li>
<li> Denison (Ohio). Great academics. D loved the violin teacher here and is sorry to not have been able to study with him. But the music program itself is very tiny. Actually the whole school is rather small - but high quality.</li>
<li> Allegheny ¶. This school loved my D, pursued her mightily, and offered her a nice scholarship. But their major/minor requirement requires you to study in different schools. Music and languages - the two areas my D wanted - are within the same school, so she could not pursue both.</li>
</ol>

<p>Other schools we looked at, that she decided against, include William and Mary (tough for an out-of-stater; mediocre orchestra), Denison (great academics - espeically science/pre med; mediocre orchestra; she didn’t click with violin teacher), Berry (GA - Not enough languages).</p>

<p>So there’s a start with the schools I’m familiar with.</p>

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<p>I think William and Mary would not have the level of music or even the major at the level Frodo is indicating, but it’s definitely worth looking at Vanderbilt and Northwestern (although they would be reaches) as both have strong music departments; I second musicprnt on Bard, Oberlin, etc. In addition to schools others have mentioned, I would strongly recommend Boston University, University of Rochester, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina which works hard to draw students in through its special arts initiatives. To this I would add that, as with any student looking for schools, other issues factor in (size, location, etc.) If your friend really wants to try for the Ivy League schools, it can’t hurt to apply (apart from the fees). I am adding half a grade point to the GPA because of the private school background, and if the SAT scores could come up a bit, this would put him in the running. I also feel I should say that even being at Juilliard pre-college for 7 years is no guarantee of acceptance to “regular” Juilliard; my son’s friend in the program who had been in pre-college for 9 years was not accepted into regular Juilliard. In order to be attractive to highly selective schools through achievement in one area despite lesser academic achievements, you really need to have close to celebrity status.</p>