<p>I think it is down to 3 schools Tufts Music and ?, Umass Amherst honors college BM in music Jazz bass and double major ?, Frost School of Music @ University of Miami for contemporary bass Music business and entertainment industry with a minor in song writing and minor in econ. Waiting on $ numbers from Frost, Umass is clearly cheepest option. He keeps going back and forth in his choice - the dollars from Frost will likely push it one way or the other. He is going to Tufts and Umass open house and will likely wait until after those to make his final decision.
While he really liked the the Music buisness program at Northeastern he feels Umiami is better and that the campus at Umiami is better. He liked Brandeis alot and felt VERY comfortable there but it seems like the options in the music department are limited and a school with no pep band kind of tells a story. </p>
<p>Have him sit in on a rehearsal of whatever type of ensemble he is interested in. My son sat in on the orchestra at Tufts and he formed a very clear impression that he would not have gotten from just gathering others’ opinions. </p>
<p>We went to Tufts Jumbo days on Friday. Difficult choice but I believe he saying no to Tufts. We took a mock class with the head of the department. We both liked him and he was very matter of fact regarding the music program. The end result is that he is crossing Tufts off. Taking classes at NEC while possible is not really a viable option if you want any sense of being apart of Tufts and not spending days away and commuting. Students at Tufts are at a very high playing ability but for the most part this is a fun (all be it serious for a few) extracurricular endevour and they are unlikely to learn how to get better. It also seemed like a Great school if you don’t yet have a strong musical focus.<br>
We were VERY impressed with the culture at Tufts - VERY accepting. The kids all have their own passions and they seem to all support one another. For anybody that wants high level music as part of their lives and another major at a perfect sized University, Check out Tufts.
It is down to 2 for my S. </p>