<p>S has been accepted to CCM as a clarinet performance major this Fall and has been given a Cincinnatus Excellence scholarship for academic merit. The scholarship requires 30 hours of community service a year and includes an invitation to UC's Honor College. I'm wondering if anyone out there has any experience/advice regarding coordinating a music performance program with the expectations of honors classes? I'm concerned that the intensity of his degree plus the required hours of community service PLUS honors classes could be a problem. Advice?</p>
<p>Sorry no experience with CCM but we had this discussion in our house. S really wants to focus on music in college - it was incredibly difficult to achieve a high level musically and continue in all honor and AP courses throughout hs and currently feels really burned out. He specifically told me at the onset that he didn’t want to entertain any honors programs. His sister made the same decision 3 years ago and said it was the best decision she made (not music major) but it has allowed her to fully enjoy her university experience and develop her own interests. </p>
<p>I think it is important for your S to decide how he feels about this. If he is feeling like he wants to explore and develop musically - I say go for it. If he really loves the academic challenge and loves to keep really busy, then the honors program may be perfect. If he is somewhere in the middle, call the department and do more digging about the requirements. Maybe he can speak to a current music student that is in the program? Congrats!</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, Squiggles 1118. You say all the things I’ve been thinking. Son saw a friend’s posting on Facebook earlier this year. The friend was already in college and posted “So glad to be out of the Honors College!” The stress for him/her was too much. I am not so certain that the benefits of an honors program to a music performance major would outweigh the additional stresses laid on him when he is trying to find his place in a more challenging environment than high school!</p>
<p>The struggle between high arcing academics and serious music study in high school is a common one. There are some who can straddle that line, who can both perform music at a high level and achieve academically but it often is contradictory (it also depends on what part of music someone is in). A lot of serious music students homeschool because of that IME, because the hours of practice required just doesn’t sit well with going to school and then all the homework and such, and when you are talking taking multiple AP’s and so forth and trying to fit in many hours of practice as well it just doesn’t work all that well. Among the high level music students I have seen, when they choose to focus on the high level academics, to get into competitive schools academically, the music almost inevitably falls off, and for those concentrating on high level music they generally pull back from the academic load. </p>
<p>As far as being in an honors college, if someone is doing a BM degree it takes a lot of work, and while there are people who dual major as a BM student, it is extremely difficult sledding from what I know.</p>