I’m a rising hs senior looking for colleges that allow me to play bass at a decently high level without majoring. I definitely want to be in a jazz combo and possibly want to be in a symphony/ big band. The school should be in/near a big city, preferably in CT, MA or NY (so Boston/ NYC). I’m not sure what I want to study yet, but it will likely be math-related, so I want a medium or large school.
This is my list so far:
UMass Amherst
UConn
BU
NYU
University of Rochester (it’s on the far side)
Are there any schools that I should add to my list?
How about Temple? Philadelphia is closer to your target area than Rochester is. Boyer College of Music and Dance offers a very flexible music minor to non-major musicians, with both jazz and classical opportunities, and the university has a wide variety of math-related majors, from actuarial science in the business school to theoretical math, applied math, data science, etc. in the school of science and technology. It meets your “in/near a big city” criterion better than all your other schools except for BU and NYU, and it’s quite a bit less expensive than those two. Lots of musical opportunities in Philly, plus it isn’t that hard to take the train to NYC. Merit can make Temple quite affordable for strong OOS applicants.
WPI has a strong music program for a mid-sized STEM-focused school; quite a few students minor or double-major in music. It has an urban setting in Worcester, and you can also get to Boston on commuter rail in less than an hour.