Class of 2027 Undergrad/Class of 2025 Grad: The Tours, the Auditions, the Journey

Congratulations! Your son sounds awesome. What are his majors/degrees? If you don’t mind sharing.

At Lawrence a particular teacher in cello held that view but he moved on! I’ve heard much better reports since.

Thank you! He is a violist. planning on getting a BA in statistics as well if time and energy allows.

That sounds very cool, and those are amazing schools.

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yes yes!! I see where I got confused!!! Thanks!

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Were you concerned that as a double degree major, it would seem like he cared more about music than math? I worried briefly about whether my music kid looked well-rounded, whatever that means :smiley: but that’s who they are and what they love. It shows dedication and passion. I’m with you.

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Our experience was that the college sides love double-degree students, but the conservatory sides either don’t care or dislike them. I think it helps your application on the college side and may hurt on the conservatory side, depending upon the professor.

That said, one of the best teachers my son has worked with got a non-music undergraduate degree and then got graduate performance degrees.

And Yo-Yo Ma left Juilliard to go to Harvard.

So I think one has to evaluate each situation and how it works for the individual student.

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Mine also like statistics. If he chooses the school that doesn’t offer a double-degree, quite likely a BM with a minor in Stats/Data Science.

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although I am not sure how one majors at Peabody and minors at JHU without first having to apply as double major.

I’m not sure that Yo-Yo Ma can really be used as an example for mere mortals. I overlapped with him in college for a couple of years (didn’t know him personally but went to as many of his performances on campus as I could) and he was renowned even then. Such an extraordinary musician - a true unicorn. But I agree that there are many paths that can work for a musician, including going to an academic college.

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Currently he indeed cares more about music, which is why his first priority is BMus. Back in December it was different, and nobody can say it won’t change later. Like @thumper1 said, stay flexible and open-minded. We make plans but when reality takes any unexpected turn we will ride along and try to make the best out of it :slightly_smiling_face:

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New voice here. My kid is down to his final decision for piano performance and struggling to choose a school. He was accepted to several conservatories (Rice, Jacobs, Oberlin, etc) but seems to be honing in on CIM and Eastman as the last two options. He has excellent aid at CIM and decent at Eastman (about a $15K gap between them), and we are talking with both schools about increasing the awards. He got into his first choice studio at both schools. Basically, it’s really hard to choose. Does anyone have a fact that might tip the scale in one direction or the other, or an idea of how to weigh pros and cons at this point? Thanks for any advice!

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@Medea1 I think you mean double degree, not double major :slight_smile: But you are right, apparently you can’t do music and something else without applying to a double degree.

These are the minors at Peabody:

“Undergraduate students may pursue a minor in the Business of Music, Historical Performance, Liberal Arts, Music Theory, Musicology, or Directed Studies. Minor study is generally coordinated by the Office of Academic Affairs in consultation with the department offering the minor. Students may apply for only one minor.”

Or JHU students can minor in music in addition to their major for BA/BS:

Peabody at Homewood | Peabody Institute (jhu.edu)

The Peabody at Homewood program oversees music classes and the music minor on the Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins University.

Here is the double degree:

The Peabody Conservatory and the Homewood schools of the Johns Hopkins University offer the opportunity for students who are advanced in both performing arts and academics to simultaneously pursue a Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the Whiting School of Engineering. Typically, the Double Degree program takes a minimum of five years to complete. Students who have begun their junior year of study are not eligible to enter the Double Degree Program nor may students transfer into the program midyear.

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That’s exactly what our family did for my daughter’s applications for film. The shared Google doc of essays and short answers wound up being 32 pages, not including screenplays or short stories she had to write from prompts. That’s why she only applied to three honors colleges, those that came with large scholarships and had good odds. She just could not write anymore. For four months, it was a factory in our house; my daughter wrote, my husband reviewed, and I uploaded everything into the applications. It worked for us though. She was accepted to 21 of 25 schools, with two waitlists and two rejections. And she received good merit from all the schools except for two out-of-state public colleges.

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And what happens if one is a double degree students and is overwhelmed and can’t handle both? Can they drop one? Or can they drop one down to a minor? I really need to start a spreadsheet with all the information.

At Peabody/JHU (or any double degree program) you can drop one.

At Peabody/JHU the only way to minor seems to be either within music, or a minor in music with another major. I don’t see a BM with the option to minor in something non-music. It is always good to ask, to double check but, that is how it is on the website.

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Wow, 25! Nice work on all her acceptances. :tada: Has she decided?

Six of the schools applied to were multiple colleges on one application, i.e., SUNYs and Cal States, both simple apps with no extra essays. We’ll be going down to the wire because we’ve asked for financial aid reviews at two schools but four still standing right now: Emerson, Chapman, UNCSA and Ithaca.

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Plot twist, my son just got a call from Colburn offering him a spot off the waitlist. He would be the only undergraduate in the oboe studio. :sweat_smile:

He has two weeks to decide.

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I can’t offer info on those choices but congratulations - such wonderful options!

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