I was accepted to a state school and may be attending depending on FA Package which I have yet to receive. I do not know what I want to major in since I’m interested in so many different things. I loved mathematics since I was in the first grade and I think I would really like majoring in Applied Mathematics but I also enjoy Physics, Chemistry and Biology which is why I chose Biomedical Engineering as my intended major which may change depending on my satisfaction with it. However, one thing I love more than all of these subjects is Piano Performance and Composition. My long term goal is to teach Music at a University but also go on to Medical School. I don’t want to keep Piano as just a hobby, I want to play Piano Concertos, I want to receive instruction from fine professors, I’d love to be locked in a practice room for 6 hours a day practicing from Bach to Beethoven to Ravel. I would also enjoy being locked in a lab doing cancer research, unfortunately I’m not sure if my time and discipline can hold up to do so many things.
When I visited the University students told me that the Biomedical Engineering major was too easy and many many students pick up another major with it. I was thinking Biomedical Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Piano Performance but that’s a lot of work, likely more than I can handle. I’d really like someone to give me advice.
TLDR: I want to be a professional pianist, I love math chemistry and biology, I also want to go on to Medical School. Any way I can go about doing this or am I forced to do the unthinkable and choose…
I can major in music and go on to Medical School, however that would be difficult. Maybe I can major in Biomedical Engineering, Applied Mathematics minor and study Piano Performance with all my free time? Do you need a bachelors in music to get a masters? What about those dual degree programs some schools have such as JHU with Peabody, Columbia with Juilliard, Harvard and NEC etc, I’m not academically qualified for these schools but perhaps a school less competitive with a program like this would suit me better.
I’m ultimately not interested in a piece of paper, I am simply interested in receiving the best instruction in all of the subjects I’m interested in. Though, to teach at a University for Piano you may need to be acclaimed and perhaps have a bachelors/masters degree, at least. I don’t know.
Making a name for yourself in the music world is very tough as you acknowledged. If you have a passion for any kind of science research field, I would go for that. It’s very fulfilling and meaningful. Music is a noble pursuit but is much more limited in terms of career prospects. Find the most realistic field that you are passionate for. It’s tough (but also a gift) when you have many interests, and eventually your list of choices has to be pared down. It would still be possible to find an outlet for your piano skills, but perhaps not as a major. Not to tamp down your dreams!
If you don’t mind considering a transfer, Carnegie Mellon University is known for having courses that combine the arts with science/math. I’ve come across a few cool classes, and if you begin to realize that your college doesn’t offer many classes you are interested, definitely consider CMU.
Everyone has to choose. And no way is Biomedical Engineering easy, no matter what school you attend. I remember from your past posts that you tend to overextend yourself and take a lot of risk, then crash. Pick one major and a minor, and start out on that path (I think Biomedical Eng major, Music minor). See how it goes.
First of all, I am extremely skeptical of any college student who says that a biomedical engineering major is so easy and they have all this free time. There seems to be this persistent idea that biomedical engineering is a joke compared to other engineering degrees. I’m not even sure if that’s true, but even if it was, engineering overall is a demanding and difficult field to major in. So is music performance, especially because of all the private lessons and practice time you have to put in to be good. At many universities double majoring in engineering and music performance is impossible, and at most of them it is very difficult.
As was stated above, you have to choose - you cannot both teach music at a university and also go to medical school. They are two distinct career paths. To teach music at a university, you need a terminal degree in music - a PhD, MFA, or DMA - plus lots of performing credits and an interest in/experiencing in looking at music as a scholar and researcher and not just as a performer. (There are some programs where being an excellent performer who performs regularly might be enough to net you a position). And music is such a competitive field, and academia so competitive in and of itself, that even the best candidates are often not finding jobs. Some people part-time teach a few lower-level music classes with an MM or MA in music and lots of experience, but not as a full-time professor.
As for medical school, that’s a specific path too - you need pre-med coursework in college, the four years of medical school, then residency training. When I was in graduate school I knew some people who had pursued short careers as professional musicians (classical) before going to graduate school - I was in a health professions students’ symphony orchestra made up of accomplished people who had some measure of success in music before they decided to leave and go to med/dental/nursing school. So you could possibly pursue a career as a concert pianist and switch to the other after a number of years. (But you can’t pursue a career as a college professor and then switch to medicine after some years - the intense level of work and the number of years of study required to become a music professor don’t really make it conducive to being competitive for med school later in life).
You can double major in applied math and music. Or you can major in BME or applied math and study music on the side as a serious hobby. Or you can major in music and minor in math and pursue the music career.
I was in your shoes. I LOVED piano. In high school, more than one music professor encouraged me to major in piano performance. In my case, I decided i would major in structural engineering but study piano seriously.
Ha! Even though school always came easy to me, engineering was TOUGH. I managed to play some, but there was no way I could have even practiced an hour a day consistently.
I think you will need to make some choices. I know, I know, it’s hard. When I was still in high school, my piano teacher published a book of her original compositions. Each of the pieces was written with one of her students in mind. The one she did for me was titled, “I Want to Have it All.” So I can feel your pain.
Go for Engineering with a music/Piano minor. Biomed Engineering is NOT easy. A music minor is not easy.
First semester, you’ll have precalculus or calculus, biology, intro to engineering, freshman English, and music. See how that goes and reassess at that point. You don’t have to decide right now.
You have several semesters before you make a definite choice. During your first year, you can branch out and see what you’d be best at.
BTW, engineering and med school don’t go well together, because engineering leads to jobs after college (except for biomed, which requires a master’s on top of it) thus GPA’s don’t matter as much as technical knowledge, and tend to be low. Med schools want to see high GPAs and don’t care whether you chose an engineering major.
Thank you for the support and advice. Since I made this post, I have filled my orientation form and changed my major to Mathematics long before the 2nd reply was posted.
It’s possible I will change it once more when I need to declare. I have decided to push for Medical School, juggling Biology/Chem/Phys/Math with Piano Performance would be self-torture. I will practice Piano whenever I can. I still don’t know what my major will be, likely it will be something related to the subjects I just mentioned or even Neuroscience. I also need to take account for leadership as I had a couple of clubs I was thinking about creating/joining including Orchestra (Clarinet).
Noted @MYOS1634 , I will make sure to account for that.
I can probably still teach piano after I complete residency, but definitely not at a University. Thanks again, CC.
I’m not sure when you think a busy doctor would have time to teach piano. You mean like in-home lessons for students or at like a small music school for K-12 or something? You might be able to volunteer or play in a community orchestra depending on what kind of doctor you are, but medicine can be one of those intense careers that doesn’t leave a lot of free time on the side for other pursuits.
Oh, okay. I’ll enjoy whatever free time I have left, then. Will need to spend time with my family on top of all that work, too.
But yeah that is what I meant, working locally and independently maybe 3 students a week.