Belmont Univ (Nashville) -- any experience?

Parents Forum
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<p>Also important to note the degree you’ll be getting at belmont vs mtsu:</p>

<p>Belmont: Bachelor’s of Business Administration (About equal number of hours in Business courses and Music Business courses) Only AACSB accredited Music Business program in country. </p>

<p>MTSU: Bachelor’s of Science (Required minor, depending on program, in: Computer Science, Electro-Acoustics, Electronics, Entertainment Technology, Mass Comm. – any area, Music Industry, Theatrical Design, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Management, Marketing etc) Nation’s largest audio production school.</p>

<p>Pros and cons to each, I spent a lot of time looking at the differences in the degree requirements before making my choice. They are very different in feel as well.</p>

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<p>2011musicmajorma, my son is currently in the exact situation that your’s was (looking at both MTSU’s Recording Industry program and Belmont for Commercial Music or Ent. Industry). I’m wondering where your son ended up and if he is happy with his experience? Thanks in advance for any advice/insight you can share.</p>

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<p>suddzmom - our D is hoping all the stars align and she can go to Belmont this fall for MB. My understanding is that both programs are strong, but when we were talking to people who knew something about music business programs Belmont was mentioned more often than MTSU. However, MSTU is less expensive, and in a smaller town, but is still close to Nashville. A number of people who work at Belmont (not necessarily in MB) have degrees from MTSU. Our D is looking for a small school in a big city. That’s Belmont. MTSU is a big school in a smaller city/town. I think the only way to really compare them is to visit both. Our D knew immediately when she set her foot on Belmont’s campus, with the skyline of Nashville a short ways away that she wanted to go there. We recently visited MTSU and left earlier than we anticipated - just wasn’t for her.</p>

<p>I do know a couple of students who are at Belmont and they absolutely love it. Good luck!</p>

<p>** just re-read your post, so realize now that MB and what your son is looking at are slightly different…hope my post helps a bit, though :)</p>

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<p>I know several kids there majoring in various areas of music and they ALL love it. I know several others that really wanted to go there but in the end couldn’t afford to go. I don’t know anyone that has looked at the school that hasn’t loved it :D.</p>

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<p>I’m the OP-- orignally posted the query in Nov 2009. Well fast forward to today (Feb 2013) , and S-- who was seriously considering music business back then-- finally figured out his path…automotive technology! :)</p>

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<p>our2girls, thanks for your input! We have visited Belmont and my S loves it but I’m not sure we can swing it financially (he may need to go to a less expensive school for 2 years and then transfer). We are planning to visit MTSU in a few weeks along with App State. We live in VA so we’re trying to find the best school that fit his interests within driving distance.</p>

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<p>BfloGal - nice of you to come back to the thread! Automotive technology? Who knew, huh? Very glad your S figured out his path…hope he’s doing well. After all, that’s what we hope for our kids! :)</p>

<p>suddzmom - here is a link (hopefully) to the Academic Common Market for MTSU:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.mtsu.edu/admissn/pdf/ACM2012Fall.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mtsu.edu/admissn/pdf/ACM2012Fall.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Looks like Virginia residents can participate in the Recording Industry program and not have to pay OOS fees - that is a huge savings! I think there is a deadline, so be sure to ask. Our D was able to sit in on a class in the program at MTSU, so you may want to try and set that up as well. Good luck on your trip and let us know what you and your S think.</p>

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<p>My D is considering Belmont, we are from New England. Her major would be elementary education. I am very interested in hearing anyone’s thoughts and or experiences at Belmont.</p>

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<p>This is quite and old thread but…</p>

<p>We’ve been told Belmont is good if you are into music and a career in that area. However, otherwise, it cannot shine at all in Nashville because of Vanderbilt(which now is ranked very well and has a great rep) and Fisk (a small but respected historically black school there).</p>

<p>Not sure if the above is accurate…but a few people told us that information.</p>

<p>HSG</p>

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<p>^^ That is not accurate. Belmont is highly regarded in Nashville. Not everyone can go to Vanderbilt! Belmont has a strong business program and is well-regarded in many other fields, too (obviously music). It is a different type of school than Vanderbilt, but still has strong athletic teams, a good faculty and a beautiful campus. It is very close to the Vanderbilt campus. Fisk is not even discussed much in Nashville. Lipscombe and Middle Tennessee are the other noted universities.</p>

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<p>We visitied Belmont this summer with our son who is thinking of going into Music Business or Commercial Music. We were very impressed with all that Belmont has to offer. It is very close to the Vanderbilt campus and students seem to enjoy Division 1 Basketball, lots of locally produced music and a vibrant campus life. Nashville seems like a great city to be a college student.</p>

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<p>Berklee, USC Thornton, Northeastern, UMass Lowell, Syracuse, NYU, Hartt, Warner Pacific, Drexel…there are many others. Look up “Music Business” or “Music Industry,” also “Music Production”, Technology, Recording, Management, Performance Management… These are all different, so it depends on what your son wants.</p>

<p>He can Major in business and do music on the side. Interning and volunteering and working in the area of interest during undergrad years can really build skills. He can continue with music no matter what he majors in.</p>

<p>What kind of music does he want to be involved in?</p>

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<p>My son wants to stay in the east and he really likes the program at Belmont. He also likes the program at NYU but it is a long shot for him to be admitted there. His GPA is 3.3/4.8 and his ACT is 32. So far his list of schools is:</p>

<p>Belmont
U of Miami
NYU
FSU</p>

<p>He really likes the Belmont program for Commercial Music. He does not want to major in business and do music on the side.</p>

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<p>D1 graduated in May from Belmont, with a double major in English & French. She had a absolutely fabulous experience. Academically challenged, socially engaged, and emotionally fulfilled. She studied abroad, worked on and off campus, made great connections with her profs, and was recognized by the University for her achievements. She has a job in her field, starting next month. :)</p>

<p>Her roommate was a Music Performance major who made great industry connections- including getting to play at the Grammys in LA. Many of her friends were MB majors- it is by far the most popular major at Belmont. Other great programs include Nursing and Education. There is lots of community (Nashville and surrounding counties) support for these students.</p>

<p>The music scene in Nashville is super diverse, and Belmont is a name that gets high marks in the industry. That said, it’s an industry in transition now, with the internet and computer-based recording/engineering taking off. I think Belmont is ahead of the curve in this transition, for sure.</p>

<p>With that ACT, he may be in line for Scholarships- be sure to check the deadlines. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>We just dropped off our D at Belmont this weekend – she is a freshmen music business major and we are so excited for her. We are so impressed with Belmont, and all it and the city of Nashville have to offer her as a music business major. If I can answer anyone’s questions as a newbie parent feel free to ask…I’ll do the best I can.</p>

<p>Proudpatriot – go here to see the 2012 freshmen profile, including requirements for merit aid:</p>

<p>[Belmont</a> University :: 2011 Freshman Profile](<a href=“http://www.belmont.edu/prospectivestudents/freshmanprofile/]Belmont”>http://www.belmont.edu/prospectivestudents/freshmanprofile/)</p>

<p>Is your son’s gpa shown as unweighted/weighted, or is it 3.4 out of a possible 4.8? One thing I will caution you about is that when Belmont receives transcripts the gpa is recalculated by them based on a 4/3/2/1 scale. For example, at our D’s hs an A- was given a 3.66, unless it was an honors class, and then 0.5 points was added to the value. Belmont would count that as an A, and give it a 4.0. However, if one had a B + in an honors class, and it was therefore 3.33 +.5, resulting in a 3.83 point value, Belmont would record it as a B, worth 3 points. So, they unweight grades, and convert to a straight 4/3/2/1 scale. They do, however, consider course difficulty.</p>

<p>In order to be eligible for merit aid a student must meet 4 of 6 requirements. Our D’s school does not rank students, so she had to meet 4 of the remaining 5 requirements. That said, I know the 2013 freshmen profile was higher than the 2012, and it’s likely the 2014 profile will be higher than the 2012 was. In addition, about 1/3 of the students receive merit aid…FA may be additional based on FAFSA. Belmont is not inexpensive, however, their tuition is about $9,000 to 10,000 less than (I will say) somewhat similar schools that also have music business…Loyola University - New Orleans, University of Evansville (Indiana), Millikin (Illinois), and so on. We did not venture to Drexel, or NYU, or Berklee, etc. Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) was on her list, but Belmont was hands down her favorite, and we are proud to be Belmont parents. I’m not sure if “talent” scholarships require meeting the above, but I do know that scholarships can be earned from a talent perspective…music business is not one of these majors, as I understand it, but commercial music would be. Good luck in his decision!</p>

<p>Melbert – congrats to your daughter, especially with starting a job in her field :)</p>