Business and Music

College Search & Selection
1

My son is a sophomore in H.S. He attends a performing arts school in Manhattan. He is in the music studio and plays cello and guitar.

I am wondering which college/universities are best for a dual major: business and music. Or major/minor. He is a business- minded, academic student with a true passion for music.

Any advice and suggestions on how we should position him.

Thanks!!!

2

Look into the University of Rochester.

3

Depending on stats and geographic/other preferences…
Northwestern, USC, URochester, Case Western, U of Miami, U of Denver, U of Puget Sound.
(And possibly Rice if he wants a full conservatory BA or BMus with an available business minor, but there is neither a business major nor a music minor so the emphasis could not shift the other way. Hopkins also has a business minor but not a major, and Peabody does offer a minor.)
Public U’s with top reputations in both business and music include UMichigan, Indiana U, and Ohio State… but I’m not up to speed on the ease of combining programs at these schools.

4

Rice discourages dual majors.
I don’t know for certain but my gut feeling is that if allowed it would be extremely difficult to dual major through the Ross business school and the School of Music at UMich. Both great programs so worth looking into, just not sure how doable it is and whether it is even allowed. Same with Kelley at IU.
Will be worth looking at whether dual major with Econ and Music would work better.

5

^ I just looked at the Ross website (UM) and it is possible to pursue dual degrees in business through Ross and Music through the SMTD.

6

Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

7

Please read this incredibly valuable thread: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1948726-double-degree-dilemma-essay-written-by-david-lane-p1.html

I highly recommend the Music Major forum. Knowledgeable posters and lots of information. For one thing - your son will need to decide what direction in music he wishes to go - not just in terms of degrees, but for study. Is he interested in pursuing a performance degree in classical performance? Or is he looking for jazz or popular music? Does he want a performance degree at all, or more of an academic study of music? Or is he actually interested in studying the business side of the music industry? Many things for him to think about for the next year or two before settling on a college application list.

8

Thanks very much for all the advice. For UM (Ross) what do you mean by SMTD? Dual degree would be perfect. UM sound like it would be really great for him. Will keep an eye on it!:slight_smile:

9

SMTD is School of Music, Theater and Dance. Definitely read the link SpiritManager posted and be aware that double degrees almost always take 5 years since you need to complete the course requirements of two different schools within the university and there is often very little overlap in requirements.

10

@lorirad: If you haven’t already, one thing you can educate yourself about are the admissions factors and objective/statistical information that most (but not all) colleges and universities publish in their respective Common Data Sets. Different colleges and universities will emphasis or de-emphasize different things – academic GPA, standardized tests, course rigor, talent, extracurriculars, etc. – as factors in their respective admissions decisions. (Part C7 of the CDS shows this; Parts C9-12 give statistical information on matriculating students.)

Also, applying as an OOS student to a public university can be easier or more difficult depending on the particular school. For example, in last year’s application cycle the University of Michigan received about 60,000 applications from OOS students and admitted around 10,000 of them, for an overall OOS acceptance rate of approximately 16%. So there is always an element of expectation management involved with these schools.

11

Thanks SpiritManager! I read David Lane’s essays and they were very helpful. Your questions are great ones. Need to think about all that going forward but sounds like my son would probably do best at a liberal arts university with a strong music school. I’ll definitely check out the music major forum. Thanks so much!