<p>Hi Wesleyan community! I'm really have a tough time going through my college decision process. I have been admitted to Wesleyan (w00t!), BC, and the dual degree program at University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music, and would like your feedback on which school I should choose to attend. I'm planning to double major in music, with a concentration in classical double bass performance, and psychology.</p>
<p>I visited WesFest this past weekend and I am definitely impressed by the small, yet large, atmosphere at Wesleyan. Every student I saw on campus looks like somebody I could really get along with and it seemed like everyone is out to help each other. The psychology department also appealed to me, especially the wide range of research opportunities not found in bigger schools and the possibility of entering the 5 year BA/MA program. I know Wesleyan has world-renowned world music and experimental music studies, but I'm not sure if I will be given as much musical opportunity as a classical musician at Wesleyan compared to Rochester. Yet, Wesleyan offered me the most scholarship, and does appeal to me the most.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Rochester/Eastman seems very stressful. I live 6 hours away from Rochester (furthest school I applied to!), and dual degree seems really tough. However, Wesleyan is only 30 minutes from where my brother is attending grad school (Yale Divinity School). I feel like Rochester offers the best for my musical interests, but I'm not sure if I will have a great time spending hours homesick in practice rooms and libraries. </p>
<p>BC...not much I can say about BC. Still haven't visited yet, but I know BC has a great psychology department. Unfortunately, not much can be said about their music department. </p>
<p>Where should I choose? Any feedback would help :)</p>
<p>I think the fundamental question you should be asking yourself is this: What kind of musician are you? This is important because Eastman (a conservatory experience) and Wesleyan (a music culture experience) offer two very different paths of life for an aspiring musician.</p>
<p>I play electric and upright bass, and I am currently choosing between Wes, Rochester (not eastman) and Tufts. I have always known I wouldn’t want to be at a conservatory because I was never an elite orchestra kind of kid. The conservatory experience is rigorous and all encompassing. You breath, sleep and eat music. </p>
<p>The majority of my musical education has been from playing in about every show my school puts on, playing in the Jazz band, and playing in tons of my own bands. My musical education is an amalgamation of the culture I live in, the friends I have, and the shows I have worked on. Wesleyan is often regarded as the best “non-conservatory” music experience; not because it is any less rigorous, but because it is a fundamentally different approach. Of every school I visited, Wesleyan students created the most. They run their own theatre companies and sound crews or invite student bands to play somewhere almost every night. The people who come out of Wes don’t play in [Blahtown] Symphonic Orchestra, but write musicals or form a band or write scores. There is a creative energy that is strictly organic, and it is an environment I don’t think exists anywhere else.</p>
<p>That being said, if you want to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra or be a performing classical musician, I would strongly advise that you attend Eastman.</p>
<p>You would definitely be a big fish in a small pond at Wesleyan if you are a strong enough player to have been accepted to Eastman. </p>
<p>There’s no comparing the general level of playing at the two places, though there are some excellent string players, pianists, and a good orchestra conductor at Wesleyan. Unfortunately the numbers are small and the private teaching is inconsistent. My son had an excellent piano teacher at Wesleyan and got into top conservatories for graduate school. He had a wonderful partnership with a cello student at Wes, but she ended up taking lessons at Yale when she felt she couldn’t find the right teacher at Wesleyan. </p>
<p>My son started out as a philosophy major at Wes and took on music as a double major soon after getting involved in the program. He liked his theory and music history classes and was in great demand to play in ensembles, accompany the opera, eventually winning the concerto competition and getting a lot of performance experience. Not sure he would have been as successful in a larger program. He loved Wes and wouldn’t have traded the academic or musical experience for anything. But it’s not for everyone!</p>
<p>Starky gave you some great advice, above. Lots of good luck as you figure this out! You’ve got some great options ahead of you.</p>
<p>^^Skie - has it really been four years? Without dialing up the thread, I can recall the difficult choice you had between Wesleyan and another NESCAC college; it seemed to boil down to a perceived difference in practice space between the two schools. In retrospect, was that a valid concern? (And yes, I did pass on the suggestion to Pres. Roth that Wesleyan could use more above-ground space and the result was a new home for the Career Resources Center, instead. Oh well, I guess that means, I wouldn’t make a good university president. :()</p>
<p>Hi Johnwesley - yes, the four years sure did fly by. But they were wonderful, and we are deeply grateful to Wesleyan for the incredible education our son got there. He really learned out how think and how to write, he developed wonderful relationships with teachers and friends, and got a great launch toward a career in music (what that means of course remains to be seen).</p>
<p>He was never too thrilled about the practice rooms, but didn’t actually discover them until he had already enrolled. I think you have us mixed up with someone else, as Wes was the only NESCAC school he applied to. Since he didn’t start out as a music major, practice rooms weren’t a central concern in his decision - though I do remember the conversation about them on this board! </p>
<p>Always glad to read your posts and appreciate your support of a great school, president or not. ;)</p>
