<p>Hi, our son has been accepted to both the Keene State College Music Technology program (Keene NH) and the UMass Lowell Sound Recording program. They are different programs, but his goal is to mix music/audio engineering/programming when out of school. The facilities at UMass Lowell are much stronger, but the courseload is strict and doesn't allow for liberal arts classes, but has some physics/engineering/compsci built in. would commute to lowell, vs live at Keene. The Keene department is smaller and the music tech program is about 3 years old, but their music department is well established. It seems that at Keene he would be taking many more electives, which might expose him to more, and it is more in line with the small town feel at home. Any advice? Would be roughly the same cost, unless he lives at Lowell instead of commuting, which would be $10k more. Thanks.</p>
<p>My son is at UML in the SRT program. He loves it. They are really immersed in the technology. Also, there are some well-connected faculty members and that is something to be considered. I don’t know the Keene program so I won’t comment. I can tell you my son needs to get some liberal arts electives in and if he could do more sound recording stuff, he would prefer that. On the downside, and this is partially because he didn’t think of it earlier in the program, he might have a difficult time getting in more computer programming classes.</p>
<p>So the Lowell degree is a BM and the Keen State degree is a BA. The Lowell program is specialized and geared to a particular type of work. The Keene State one looks more like a general music major (with theory and aural training, piano, history and so on) and I am not sure if the technology is specifically in relation to composing or not. “Music technology” is used to refer to so many different things. It sounds like the Lowell program is more geared to what he wants to do. </p>
<p>Does he have other strong academic interests in the humanities, for instance, that he feels he will miss at Lowell? There must be some liberal arts requirements: I know when we look at Lowell with my son for computer science, they emphasized exploring other things as well, that those 4 years are your last chance to do that.</p>
<p>I would choose what he actually wants to do for college, rather than only for practical reasons of making a living, because there are several different ways to get there, and internships are available in a lot of different ways. The Lowell program has it all set up and I know kids succeed after they graduate- it sounds like a great program if a student wants to focus on sound recording. </p>
<p>Does he mind living at home? Does he want a residential experience? (Does he drive?)</p>
<p>I personally love the city of Lowell but I also love the Keene area so it is a tough choice!</p>
<p>Hi, Thanks for your replies. Actually, Keene is also a Bachelor’s of Music now for Music Technology. I appreciate the comments, very helpful - will update when he decides!</p>