How can I get that list?
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i’ll PM it !
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Hi! My junior is also looking into music production/music technology programs. I’d love to see your list!
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Sending!
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Hi, I know it has been a while since you posted, but I am wondering where your son ended up? My son is a senior this year, with very similar interests to your son’s. (And we are also in MA.)
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Hello! My son ended up at Belmont University and he is totally loving it so far! It’s awesome. Great music programs, awesome city, beautiful campus…I can’t say enough about the fantastic experience we’ve had with the school so far. I highly recommend checking it out. Some people hesitate when they see it’s a Christian university but my son isn’t religious and it hasn’t been a factor at all. He applied to many schools and others that were kind of in the running were Loyola New Orleans, Indiana University, UT Austin, St Olaf, University of North Texas, ASU…all had very solid contemporary music programs. But really, once he went to visit Nashville and saw Belmont that shot to the top of his list. I’m happy to answer any question you have about the process or the schools…I know it can seem very overwhelming!!!
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Maybe the religious part has not been a factor at Belmont for your son, but others should be aware of restrictive policies including prohibiting opposite sex visitors from staying in a dorm room after “visiting hours.” My son decided not to apply.
Yes, that is true. No opposite sex visitors in the dorms after 1 am on the weekends, although I’m not sure how much it’s enforced. He’s in a larger co-ed dorm so that hasn’t been an issue for him, but I would imagine if you were in one of the same sex dorms it might be an issue. It was definitely something he thought about before making his decision, one of the trade-offs involved.
Hi everyone. I’m new here. 
I really appreciate this thread and am taking notes.
My son is a high school senior and has just made his first round of early action applications. He plays 7 instruments, but is primarily a guitarist who approaches music with unstoppable joy. He is talented playing soul, Motown, funk, and Latin music.
I’m having trouble figuring out how to help him. His private teacher suggested that to find contemporary music, he could look for jazz programs, and that seems like good advice, but it means that my son is applying within a music genre that he is fascinated with but not steeped in. He will absolutely nail any audition playing a complex funk or Motown era song, while playing a required jazz standard is new to him.
He’s applied to some biggies first: University of North Texas, Miami Frost school and Berklee. He’s also applied to Loyola New Orleans. On his list, he has Columbia College Chicago, USC, and CUNY Queens. His dad and I are asking him to keep broadening his list, but like I said, I don’t know how to help him find more options, and he is overwhelmed.
I have my eye on Loyola as a place he’d be able to get involved in ensembles and a music scene. They give merit scholarships based on grades, so we know we’ll have support.
He has a Berklee audition in a few weeks, and I feel confident he’ll be invited to go there, but I don’t know how much scholarship funding he’ll be offered, and of course that school is super expensive.
Thanks for reading. Any advice (besides what’s already in this thread) is welcome.
My son applied to most of those schools (not Frost) and more. He was the same - plays mostly contemporary guitar (rock, funk…) but applied to both contemporary/commercial programs as well as jazz. Learning the jazz songs for auditions was not a big deal, although he was very nervous about it at first. Most auditions also gave him the chance to play a selection of his own as well, or send video. For him, in the end he narrowed it down to Belmont (commercial music), Loyola New Orleans and UT Austin (jazz). Hard decision but he went with Belmont. Loved the LOYNO program (very generous merit awards as well) and professors but thought the campus was too small and didn’t love the city. Loved UT because of the campus and the people he met, but didn’t necessarily want to major in jazz. So far he’s very happy at Belmont. Beautiful campus, fun music scene, great city, but of course not without some trade offs (happy to share that if interested). So far so good anyway, 3 months in. Other contenders were ASU (they have a new up and coming contemporary music major), Indiana (jazz) and Denver. We are from Boston and have done a lot of programs at Berklee so he didn’t apply there (also have heard they don’t give much in merit aid). Happy to share any other info that might be helpful to you as we just went through this last year.
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LoyNo and Indiana are on my sons list. As much as he would love to apply to the other top contemporary schools the money just wouldnt be there (he could get discounted tuition at the 2 on his list)
Thank you so much. This is so helpful. Before I came to these forums, I didn’t know about Belmont, and I am going to suggest it to him to look into tonight. It sounds great.
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My son wont do Belmont due to restrictions for instructors to be a certain religion.
I teach at a Jesuit yet Im not baptized. Its a balance.
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I am rooting for Loyno in part for that very reason. My kid would get academic scholarships or music/academic mix. I don’t know how selective the music program is, but he’s talented and has time to prepare for January. Will you be there 1/21?
Ah, I see, I just started looking into it, and they are very Christian focused on their site. We’re not a religious family, but that may not make a difference to the school experience, and I really don’t know anything about it yet. I also need to take a look at ASU. Several people have mentioned their program.
We will not be there 1/21. Our sons hs musical is Feb 17th so he would be in the height of rehearsals!
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Agreed, we definitely weren’t looking for a Christian college either, definitely something we had to think hard about. The religious aspect hasn’t been a factor, but it is a dry campus so that’s a trade off for my son. Not that he’s a big partier at all, but the experience is definitely a little different than if he had gone to UT or somewhere like that. He liked the music program enough that it was worth it for him, but definitely something to think about. it’s a trade off for sure (for him anyway). I do have to say that I really liked Loyola too, their program is great and they were so welcoming when we visited.
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Have you looked at CalArts? They have a good reputation with contemporary music.
New School is another possibility. @Beverly West that is a pretty good list I think!
Yes, my son would love to go to The New School! It’s high on his list, so I missed listing it. It’s another where the price is totally up in the air until we go through the admissions process.