<p>Hi all. My son is 17 and a self-taught guitarist. I have a musical background (violin, piano, sax, and other instruments) and received a music scholarship myself (many thousands of years ago), but my son is homeschooled and also wants to go a different direction, so I am way out of my league here!
We are looking mainly at Berklee, Belmont, and have added Five Towns as one of his friends who is also a successful recording musican went there. Problem: money. Frankly speaking, if he doesn't get a scholarship and/or lots of financial aid, he won't be going. Period. We are, to be quite blunt, at the poorest end of the poor. (That being said, I've done one of the "financial calculators" for one of MY personal favorite colleges for my daughter and our expected contribution is a whopping 16 bucks.)
Other problem is distance, for me. If he doesn't miraculously get the funds to go, I need to find a great contemporary program somewhere in the Southeast, preferably GA or KY.
BTW, his goal is to concentrate on both performance and recording. He loves to mix and master his own and other people's works. I would post a link to his soundclick page but if I'm reading it right, the rules say not to do that. He loves composing (mostly blues/jazz/rock), audio engineering, and performing. I appreciate any help ya'll can give me.</p>
<p>How are his academics? If he is a strong student, then his prospects will be better for aid. Many schools will give academic and talent scholarships as part of the overall package. Hopefully, he has very good SAT/ACT scores since many academic scholarships will be tied to them. Even with a low EFC many schools do not meet 100% need with or without loans. If you read through the Berklee thread, you’ll find they aren’t known for giving a lot of aid except when the student is exceptionally talented. Others will hopefully give some ideas once we know how his academics are.</p>
<p>Look into Bowling Green State University, Middle Tennessee State, Western North Carolina, University of South Carolina Upstate, Coastal Carolina, Columbia College in Chicago, Roosevelt University in Chicago, cast your search wide for anything that might match his interests. Having little in available funds will work in your favor as need will be great. Try finding schools that say they meet need. The Fin Aid path is a long and confusing one and you won’t know what you will get until you get an offer.</p>
<p>U of KY has a guitar program. He may wish to study classical for technique and so forth and work on jazz and popular styles independently. It is worth considering this approach as it would make him a much more versatile teacher and performer/recording artist and and make him a better player overall in the long run. Andy Summers of the Police majored in classical guitar.</p>
<p>Guitarist for the Punch Brothers went to Oberlin while bassist went to Curtis. For those who have not heard of the Punch Brothers, one of their tunes is on the Hunger Games soundtrack. Oberlin’s FA policy is to meet all of the demonstrated need of a student and to do it it with as merit and grant aid as possible.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I had thought about having him try for Curtis… will now add Oberlin and Middle Tennessee for sure. Violao, I went to UK and suggested it to him, so perhaps I should mention it again. Again, thanks, I’ll check all those mentioned above.
As for his academics, he’s always been straight A’s. Top of the top in all the standardized tests. We have only done practice SATs (yes, we’re behind the ball on that, yikes!) but it looks that he should get about 1500. I guess it’s time to dive into that fully, as I’ve put it off much longer than I should have.</p>
<p>Application deadlines for many music programs are December 1st with November 1st for early decision or early review. Time flies.</p>
<p>Shellybean - you do realize that the guitar program at Curtis is strictly classical guitar, yes? Not where I would think of sending a self-taught guitarist interested in blues, jazz & rock. With his great grades and test scores, though - you should check out the Popular Music Program at USC (in Southern California) - they offer up to full tuition for high academically achieving students, in addition to need based financial aid. Since he didn’t take the PSAT, I gather, the automatic National Merit Finalist scholarship is out of the running, but he could still qualify for their Trustee Full Tuition grant. Or he might not even need a merit grant - if your financial need was met fully enough.</p>
<p>Also look at St. Rose and Bard in NY. Search for colleges using music industry, recording arts, commercial music as your search terms and you will keep coming up with more schools. Ohio has CIM, CCM and Capitol University among many others.</p>
<p>Start saving up money now for the audition expenses. Some schools you may be able to submit tapes or do local auditions, but you probably will have to travel for auditions, and the hotels, meals, etc. add up.</p>
<p>Hi, thanks all. SpiritManager, yes, we go back and forth on Curtis. Son loves classical as well, but thinks it would “beat him up” – Because of my violin and piano, he’s grown up with Vivaldi, he just prefers Vai! lol. And I hate that we didn’t do the PSAT, we were just so focused on Berklee and knew he didn’t need SAT for them… well, we put all our eggs in one basket and I’m starting to regret that. Musictwins, I’ll look at St Rose and Bard and CCM as well. I checked into CCM a little already.
We were also looking at McNally and Full Sail but so many posts seem to be negative, especially regarding financial aid. A friend went to Full Sail, but they had money, so I don’t think it was a problem.
And we are saving and asking grandparents for travel/audition money. I would love to be able to go to some of these places and tour, but…
Which brings another question: I know Berklee offers Atlanta auditions and I think I’ve read some other places might as well, but are one’s chances of a great scholarship affected by where one auditions? I would scrape together and get him to Boston if it would increase his chances.</p>
<p>I think the Frost School at University of Miami has some kind of a contemporary music program as well. You have to submit a video first before they will invite you to audition. The school is really expensive, but I think it has a good endowment and might give generous need-based aid.</p>
<p>Hi – I wanted to say thanks for all the ideas and information. We have now expanded our list from Berklee only (lol) to : Berklee, Five Towns, Belmont, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of Denver Lamont School of Music, University of Colorado - Denver, Catawba College, Univ of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, and possibly Coastal Carolina.
That being said, if anyone has any personal experience with any of the above that might help whittle down our list it would be appreciated. Goodness knows, I truly thank you all for what you’ve contributed. I feel better having some other options for him.</p>
<p>Shelly, just a quick thought - I know it’s far away, but I think it’s comparatively inexpensive even for international students – Humber College in Toronto, Ontario – great contemporary program with excellent audio engineering courses as well. My friend’s son just graduated from there, so take a peek.</p>
<p>Also, since your son likes mastering, I did want to add my two cents that University of Miami Frost is very well regarded in its music engineering program.</p>
<p>Another possibility is the Indianna Bloomington Jacobs School of Music Recording Arts degree, a B.S., but lots of those students are contemporary/guitarists…just a thought. Nice little indie music scene there, and with his grades, I believe he’d be eligible for at least one of the automatic entrance scholarships. Their OOS rates aren’t bad compared to some places (eg. UMich, where my son attends 
)</p>
<p>shellybean,
The following is my own personal opinion. Others might disagree with me. I did not allow my son to apply to the New School. I know it is an amazing Jazz/music program, but I personally feel that the New School is not an appropriate college for an 18 year old who is not already fully comfortable and familiar with Manhattan. So if my child had been born and raised in Manhattan or Queens or Brooklyn, I might feel differently. Adjusting to living in New York is difficult even for adults For 18 year olds who also might be dealing with homesickness and loneliness it can be especially challenging. Schools like NYU are at least equipped and have programs to help 18 year olds adjust. The New School has for many years been a school for adults and only recently has gained a strong enough reputation that parents of HS students are having their kids apply. It’s buildings are scattered all over NYC and it does not really have a campus. Also if money keep in mind that just breathing in NYC is expensive. Money vanishes in that city so easily and it can be difficult living on a tight budget, especially if your classmates are kids who come from wealthy families who have bought them expensive apartments (as an investment).</p>
<p>I love NYC but I think it is a better place for somebody to go as a graduate student.</p>
<p>Thanks, kmcmom, I will check out the schools you mentioned. Electricbassmom mentioned Frost as well, so thanks to both of you. I hadn’t considered Miami because it’s even further south than we are and I was a little scared of the crime, etc. But some of the other places aren’t safe, either, so… I guess I shouldn’t worry about it! lol
StacJip – I know exactly what you’re saying. I have worried about him in NY or even in Boston. Both are sooooo far out of our “reality”. (Money, etc). We do have Five Towns in NY on our list, but it’s outside of NY in Long Island, so… not sure if that would be better or about the same?
This is all just really overwhelming and frustrating. I’d be ok if we either were swimming in money or didn’t live so isolated from the real world. BTW, tip of the day from me: don’t ever ever ever live or let your family live in southwest Georgia.
Thank you to everyone! You are all making the process so much better!</p>
<p>shellybean, I may be wrong, I think you still have some schools on your list that do not have a “contemporary guitar” department. In other words, where a self-taught non-jazz/non-classical guitarist (as in rock, blues, pop - anything that isn’t jazz or classical) would not only fail to find what they’re looking for, but where he simply doesn’t have the years of training required for admittance.</p>
<p>Even though it has “contemporary” in its name, for example, I do not believe the New School has such a program, although this is one where I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Be sure to check each school’s website (if you haven’t already). Often the audition requirements alone will tell you what you need to know.</p>
<p>And with your son’s academics, why would you not try for USC Thornton’s Popular Music program, where with the right academics, he could qualify for full tuition?</p>
<p>My own son went through this a few years ago, and is now entering his junior year at USC. He happens to be a jazz-trained guitarist who went in as a studio/jazz major, but has since switched to the Popular music major (the jazz training was extraordinary and got him into some great programs, but his heart has always been rock. It’s a fantastic program that encompasses all contemporary styles, and there is much info here, on youtube, on the USC site.</p>
<p>Others on your list that I KNOW do have what you want are Berklee and Belmont. Other than that, it’s tough for a blues/rock/pop guitarist to find what they’re looking for.</p>
<p>Other kids who love this kind of music often end up majoring in something else they enjoy, while playing in bands on the side. Good luck!</p>
<p>Look at Columbia College in Chicago, it definitely has a place for a self taught rock guitar player.</p>
<p>Thanks, musictwins. I think Columbia is one we’ve kept looking at and thinking maybe… We’ll take a closer look.
jazz/shreddermom, we probably do have some that are not quite “contemporary”, but we kept them on the list for now because they had a recording/audio engineering aspect, which is equal to performance and composition for S. And I probably should clarify that while he is self-taught, he knows far more than I ever did about theory, etc and I played violin and piano for over 20 years. And he is interested in jazz - most of his compositions have either an element of jazz or jazz fusion and some would, in my opinion, fall almost firmly into the jazz genre. But his main inspirations or style whatever is Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Gary Hoey, Eric Johnson. So unless it was strictly classical, I think jazz would be fine, in fact he would love it.
That being said, I looked further into Memphis last night and we may very well end up scrapping it this week. The others I’m still researching and he will be calling probably. I don’t think he would ever be happy majoring in anything else. This is his passion and he spends about 6 to 8 hours a day on some aspect of guitar, sometimes more. And he doesn’t really like the “band” on the side thing. He really wants to write, perform, and record/mix — both for himself and others. Don’t know if you’re familiar with Danny Jacob who does the Phineas and Ferb music, but S wants a career rather like his. Jacobs was once Sheena Easton’s guitarist and now he writes TV/Film music, etc.
I haven’t considered Thornton only because if Berklee is far away for us, Thornton is like to the moon! lol. I guess I could let him look at it again. We do have relatives in CA, but it wouldn’t be my go-to location.</p>
<p>Shelly, because your son is home schooled and you have no guidance counsellor, I’d like to make sure you’re informed a bit about the fiscal aspects of fit as well. With a close to zero EFC, USC is probably a FINANCIAL safety (though a very tough admit in terms of talent) because they are a private school that meets demonstrated need. You really want to give serious consideration to schools that meet need AND actually have a contemporary guitar and production program – it’s exceedingly rare.</p>
<p>Most out of state publics will not meet need. When the efc calculator says 16, that only means you’d receive a pell grant of about 5500 and regular subsidized stafford loans of 5500. So, 11,000 barely meets an instate tuition, and barely makes a dent on OOS tuition at top schools or privates, where the cost of attendance these days ranges from 50,000 to 60,000 a year.</p>
<p>So in your application strategy, you’ll want to apply to a local, in state university school of music, several “meet need” schools such as USC, and a handful of fiscal longshot schools because <em>sometimes</em> it works out and your kid is the one they want badly enough to package preferentially.</p>
<p>In all cases, you’ll be relying on the institution to offset costs with grant or merit, so for merit, you’ll want to apply to schools where your son is in the top quartile of students in terms of standardized tests and gpa, although sone schools will want to see curricular evidence re homeschooling to determine rigor (eg AP subject scores help verify this, for example.)</p>
<p>Now, having said all of that, there are two more “fit” programs that might be a financial longshot but might just end up fully funding a low efc student even though that would not be the norm for those schools.</p>
<p>University of Michigan school of music has an awesome music production program called performing arts technology that has a music engineering track, interactive production and multimedia track, and production/performance track. My son is a rising senior there, and like yours, is one part composer, one part production, one part performer etc. His traditional background was trumpet in classical and jazz, but he’s self taught on several instruments (guitar, keyboard, accordion, viola, etc.) which he uses in the production/composition of his work and sometimes in live settings. Some of his work is indie contemporary, and some is what he calls indie electronica written in classical minimalist form a lot of it sounds cinematic or new agey to me, but he’s Wiley about being defined.</p>
<p>Many of the students in his program work a lot with the jazz improv kids, and there’s a good deal of crossover. I didn’t initially mention this program because OOS COA this year is at 52,000. But I recently heard of an OOS student for whom the SOM gave full funding, so it’s “possible” but rare. Despite the expense, many top music students find that Michigan can sometimes compete package wise with other top music schools – but it really depends on the resources you have available, and they officially do not meet need for OOS students.</p>
<p>Another program that would be a great fit but a fiscal longshot is nyu’s tisch Clive Davis recording arts program. This program has a stream specifically for songwriters who want to produce their own music, which would be right up your son’s alley, by the sounds of it.</p>
<p>The handful of students we met during visits when my son was a senior had applied to: USC, Miami, U Michigan, Indiana Jacobs RA and NYU’s Clive Davis and Belmont. At the time, Northwestern also had a music tech program, but that dept is in flux right now. There are other schools, but for the students selected for interviews back then, these were the ones under consideration that had been invited for interview and that we happened to meet. We hadn’t run across student for berklee, but that’s likely Due to the differences in academic flavor.</p>
<p>During those tours, I recall one very talented guitarist who ended up at Jacobs RA and later gave me an email update that he was loving it. Another I believe matriculated to USC, and another to Miami and a 3rd to Belmont. Unfortunately, I did not stay in touch to learn of their experiences there.</p>
<p>Additional programs I didn’t know of at the time: CCM now has a similar program just
starting; UMass Lowell has an RA degree to which we didn’t apply, Hart has an eng program we weren’t familiar with at the time, as does Peabody. A few sound guys we know locally have said colorado u has a good eng program. McGill used to have an
awesome undergrad music tech program but now has made it masters only – the found students benefitted from further ug music study first.</p>
<p>I think others have mentioned other programs like middle tenessee, etc.</p>
<p>So I guess my advice is to cast a wide net, be up front with your son to have a financial safety, and reconsider having geography determine your application strategy – whether theyre a hundred or a thousand miles away truly makes little difference if they’re ready to immerse themselves in this field, they’re too busy for trips home anyway, and if they’ve received a good package, they’ll be able to make it home at Xmas regardless ;)</p>
<p>Best wishes in what I know first-hand to be a daunting search!</p>