Beginning Senior Year... Thoughts on Colleges and Auditions

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi all, I am going to be a high school senior in the fall, and play viola. I know I want to definitely pursue music and computer science throughout college, and life.</p>

<p>The places I am definitely applying are Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Indiana University Bloomington. I was also considering Tufts + NEC, and perhaps Rice.</p>

<p>Because I want to do both computer science and music, I have to be accepted into the schools of music, and the schools of computer science (or equivalent). Except with Tufts and NEC, since they have a joint program, but I'd need to get accepted to both separately.</p>

<p>I feel like I'm in a good place. It's early June, I have begun work on audition material, and have around six months. I am confident that I can put in the work and play very well and be successful at my auditions.</p>

<p>I think my first choice school right now is Carnegie Mellon. But my conflict about CMU is that, they have a BSCA program where you can earn a degree in music and computer science, but you can't do music performance, only music composition or music technology. They also have a Music & Technology degree option where you can do music performance, but it is a tri-college effort where you would focus on music, computer science, and electrical engineering. I figure if I go for the Music & Tech option, I'll just get more knowledge, which is never a bad thing, and it'll just leave me with more career options. I definitely want to be able to use music and my technology skills to make a career. I guess I'm wondering, what are you guys' thoughts on my plan? Do you suggest any other places I should consider applying, that are strong in both computer science and music (for viola)?</p>

<p>Another question I have - Indiana's tuition is around $15,000 I believe, and Oberlin is around $41,000, and CMU is $46,000. I am pretty sure that is not the actual cost I would pay at those places; I feel like I can get scholarships and that I would at least qualify for some aid. But, being a violist, and also an Indian female, do you think that would help me at all?</p>

<p>(I know I just took into account tuition here, and other costs like room and board can be around $10,000. I was just primarily looking at the cost of the education.)</p>

2

<p>In addition to the schools you mention, you can also get a double degree at Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins University; the music degree can be music performance.</p>

3

<p>You might also consider Northwestern University and University of Michigan. NU I believe really, really encourages double majoring. When we visited it was hard to find a music student who WASN’T double majoring. At Rice it is only possible to double major if the studio teacher/department is supportive, and not all are. We know someone attending CMU and they report that often double majors drop back to a single major.
In other words, the universities all say you can double major, but some make it a lot easier than others!</p>

4

<p>I’d recommend looking at Bard Conservatory although you may not find the computer science department deep enough in its offerings. Certainly it won’t be like CMU or a large research university. However, there was a poster here @wmgan a number of years ago who got his double degree in Piano Performance and Computer Science and I think he was quite happy although he went on to get an advanced degree in Collaborative Piano rather than CS or math.</p>

5

<p>Both music performance and computer science are pretty intense majors with sequential coursework that begins in freshman year. You might want to think about double degree rather than double major. Here is a good essay to read on these types of degrees:
[Double</a> Degrees | Peabody Conservatory](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html]Double”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html)</p>

<p>The programs that you mention are actually double degree programs, or, at least, offer double degrees, but I wanted to make that distinction. In most cases, a double degree is 5 years.</p>

<p>Look at Brown’s BA in music for an example of a program that might satisfy both. Their undergrad music major has three strands, composition, ethnomusicology and technology. </p>

<p>But your emphasis on performance makes me think you might either want to do a double degree (say, a BS in computer science at Oberlin College and a BM in the Oberlin Conservatory, or a BS at Tufts and BM at NEC, etc.). Alternatively, you could do computer science at a college or university and study your instrument privately.</p>

<p>If you can do a double degree at the same campus or school, it can be a little less stressful. Transportation from Tufts to NEC can, for instance, take a little time. Schools like Oberlin and Bard have a “low wall” between college and conservatory. But if your find that a certain school has the kind of computer science program that inspires you, the extra hassle might be worth it as you make your way over to the music school. It helps to look at courses offered, course requirements, distribution requirements , how the double degree program works, and faculty to figure this out- which I am sure you are doing.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

6

<p>One thing to consider for Rice, you cannot apply to both majors. If you want a performance major you must apply and audition as a music major. There is no second application. If you do not get accepted, there is no fall back to another major. However, if you do not select a music major, you will not be in the music school as a performance major, but you can take classes in the music school for non-majors.</p>

7

<p>In what way are you interested in combining computer programming and music? Or did you mean that you just want to keep both in your life?</p>

<p>If you have experience and portfolio work in music technology, and you’re interesting in integrating programming skill with live and recorded/composed violin perf, you may wish to check out curriculum A of University of Michigan’s performing arts technology degree…the BMus stream, which has performance plus tech with LOTS of programming involved. Umich has a very strong CS program in both LSA and the college of engineering as well. Just a thought.
Best wishes in your search.</p>

<p>And please run some FAFSA calculations just so you have a sense of what, if any, financial aid might be available – and let that inform your application strategy. Despite your wonderful 33 ACT, I’m afraid at some of the more rigorous, competitive schools, those scores alone will not necessarily warrant scholarship, because the entire student body is performing in the top few percent of the nation.</p>

<p>So, out of state, UMich is as expensive as Carnegie Mellon (though CMU is known to be especially NET expensive, just so you know.) Meanwhile, if you WERE AID ELIGIBLE, private schools that meet need such as Northwestern, USC and Oberlin among others tend to offset their pricing with aid accordingly. So apply to a wide selection.</p>

8

<p>If costs is an issue and you are applying to NEC-Tufts you might as well apply to Harvard-NEC. Both are 5 year programs but with Tufts/NEC you get a BA and a BM. With Harvard you get an AB (which is just Harvard’s obnoxious version of a BA) and a Master’s in Music.<br>
Harvard is likely to give a better financial aide package.</p>

<p>I have overheard my boy’s talk and I gather Stanford has an interesting program in generative music and composition. </p>

<p>Also if you really like CMU and Pittsburgh you might want to just take a look at University of Pittsburgh. Apparently there are ways to cross register between the two and both are in the same location. I never would have known about this, except for the fact that one my children is at U of Pitt this summer doing research and sent us some pictures of the tallest Academic building in North America which is gorgeous. That got us looking at the University’s web page and I was amazed at what they offer for a very reasonable tuition. Apparently if you enter into the honors program you can get guaranteed admission into some graduate programs. The professor my son is working for is a leader in his field.</p>

9

<p>You might check out Case Western Reserve University. I believe they have a program in conjunction with the Cleveland Institute of Music and they are a well known STEM school. They typically are very good about academic scholarships and are typically less expensive than CMU. The Cleveland Orchestra is within the University area. Case and CMU are very similar. Both were Technology schools and Liberal arts schools that combined. Both are approximately the same size. Case does not have a music conservatory, however, given the goals I perceive you to have, I think it’s programs would achieve what your hoping to accomplish.</p>

10

<p>Case does have it’s own Music Major but students use that school’s faculty, not CIM’s and that is a big difference. It is quite possible to go the double-major route but to have the top teachers you enroll through CIM’s admissions and go the 5 year route, taking the academic major at Case. The layout of the campus makes this very easy since nothing is more than a 20 minute walk and shuttle busses circulate throughout the campus.
If you are at all considering a performance career as a violist, CIM’s viola faculty are some if the finest in the world.</p>