Does anyone know of a school where you can do a double degree in music and business? Most of the schools I know of with strong double degree programs do not have business. Oberlin, Bard, Lawrence, and so on.
I also question the transferability of community college music classes to a BM program at a conservatory or school of music. Sometimes it is possible, sometimes not. I think you definitely need to check that out.
Your teacher can gauge your level. I have no idea about the 5th chair issue, but studying with a teacher for only 4 months gives me pause.
Donāt take on debt with a music degree. Period. Again, you can major in business or anything else and still progress with music via lessons and performance. Donāt take on debt for any of those majors either.
Majoring in music whether BA or BM means music history, theory, ear training/dictation, ethnomusicology, music technology, composition, not just performance. As your probably know.
The only financially feasible option for this student is to live at home while getting 60 credits at a commutable community college, and then transfer to UCB and continue to commute from home. Undergraduate Degree Program ā¢ Music
UCB has a music depāt, offers a BA in music. The idea would be to continue studying with the private teacher, get all the gen eds out of the way, along with the intro business/econ/fin classes at the community college, and between what credits they can earn while in high school, and next summer, fall, spring, and possibly summer '25, then transfer to UCB for entry fall '25. They could commute to UCB, do a double major in music (BA) and another field (business, econ, finance, whatever) over the next even 3 years, and they still would only have paid for college for 4 years, still be able to cover it all, what with the 27K they can hopefully borrow in federal loans, the 30 K the parents will provide, and what they can earn via part time employment, starting now.
Itās not their dream of a BM in music, but the only way that they can get that is if they were to receive a full tuition merit scholarship to a conservatory or school of music that offers a BM - and the likelihood of that is extremely low. With only 4 months of private instruction and a current level of 5th chair in the youth orchestra, theyāre unlikely to be able to win a full merit scholarship by audition, and although their academic achievement is very good, itās not going to win them a full merit scholarship at a conservatory/school of music.
Theyāre paying for their own applications. I presume that they would have to pay their own way to travel to in person auditions, too. Honestly, itās just wrong for people on this thread to be suggesting options which are so obviously out of reach financially for this young person.
ETA: I would say many posters on this thread (myself included) are offering suggestions/information to allow the OP to make his own decisions as to how best to approach his college search with limited resources. He seems very capable of prioritizing and it is his job to find the solution that works for him.
Vanderbilt has a business school but no business major for undergradsā¦I gather most people interested in business do the human and organizational development major (which is super popular), sometimes combined with economics, as the closest approximation. Thereās also the Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship, which is full tuition but doesnāt cover room and boardā¦and, of course, theyāre not easy to get.
Are credits for music classes/lessons at a community college accepted at the CSUās BM programs. I see that San Francisco State, Cal State LA and Cal State Sacramento have the BM and BA in music. As well as minors. I stopped looking there. If affordable a CA state U would be a great option. San Francisco would be closest to home?
I tend to think a BA in anything, including business or econ, with continued lessons and EC performance, might be the best path here, and that makes community college followed by a state U or UC easy with transfer credits.
I know kids who did a BA but still got into excellent grad schools for music.
I do wonder if the parents will end up being agreeable to paying more.
They were back in the day when my husband went to school. He used this route and paid his way through school. As an aside, it took him a few extra years because he would disappear and go out on a tour with various big bands for months at a time when an irresistible gig came up. This was before we metā¦but he has so many cool stories about that time.
Is the CSU BM school within commuting distance of his home in the Bay area? If not, then the cost of attendance at CSU Long Beach is 31,508/year, so he would need over 120K, and heās only getting 30K (if they give it to him at all), and if they allow him to borrow, his total budget is 57K. Any further loans they would have to cosign.
Of course he will make his own decision. But when we have a student come on here, we advise them to make both academic and FINANCIAL safeties. And for a BM, he also needs a music audition safety, with a full tuition merit scholarship. So far, the only financial safety that OP has is the compressed community college to UCB option, while living at home. Sure he can dream of anything he wants, but heās paying on his own the app fee for each of those dreams. And whatās he going to do with the likely outcome, which at best would be acceptance with a less than full tuition merit scholarship, or more likely, no merit money at all?
So far, he doesnāt have a financial safety, and he seems to think that if he gets in, that affordability is āless pressingā. Perhaps he has another source of money to tap that he hasnāt yet told us about, and if so, then his list is reasonable. But he hasnāt said that.
It is very common for kids to get caught up in the common mindset of some of their peers that they can apply anywhere they want, without considering the money issue. Thatās what OP is doing, even though as he relates it, the parents have sent a very clear message that the most they will cover is half the cost of CA public college tuition while living at home.
I feel as if you are pointedly ignoring the SJSU option, and Iām not sure whyā¦ but hopefully the OP will clarify which schools are commutable from their home.
Yes. I agree that CSULB would not be feasible given the OPs financial constraints.
I was referencing CSU San Jose and San Francisco which have BM Programs.
Apologies that I did not make it clear that only a commutable school makes sense.
Thanks again to everyone responding to this thread; Iāve spent a few days reconfiguring my college applications. Iāll still apply to Northwestern, IU, and Wisconsin as my top choices if scholarships or financial aid do pop up for whatever reason, but Iāve also added SJSU, SDSU, SFSU, CSULB, and CSUN to my list (in addition to UCs of course).
Iām still looking into some of the out-of-state options that some have suggested, although the cost concerns are definitely making me take a more realistic look at where I apply. (My parents arenāt willing to budge from their pre-set amount but have suggested theyāre open to covering some degree of cost of living.)
And thanks for all the words of support too! Iāll keep everyone updated on this journey.
McDuffie Center for Strings is feee. You really wonāt consider?
Northwestern viola studio is full of very accomplished students. If you search northwestern bienen chamber program on Facebook, you can see some of them playing chamber music. Good luck.
Unfortunately not. Iāve checked it out and it looks like a great school, but there is no chance my parents would fly me across the country for a single audition, and McDuffie doesnāt have nearly as much flexibility to accomodate that (they require in-person auditions).
Thatās unfortunate. Iām not a musician but using my former student (violist) as a reference point Iād think you have a much better chance getting in McDuffie than Northwestern. Does northwestern not require in person audition? They put much emphasis on demonstrated interest.
Itās unfortunate that schools wouldnāt allow an alternative way - zoom, video, etc because not everyone can afford to make that kind of investment.
If your parents will now help with cost of living, you should re-evaluate if Cal State Long Beach would be a viable option for you. They have a very good conservatory program.
I donāt know about other schools but McDuffie center invited my student and parent for a campus visit and paid hotel stay for three nights. Parent paid airfare. I think both parties showed sincerity.
