<p>I know it may seem rediculous, but here me out. </p>
<li>Pro’s: Lawrence’s double degree program is a PERFECT fit for me the teacher is doing research in psychology and vocal performence and combining the two, which is exactly what I’m interested in. The two campuses are together and they make a huge effort to make it easy for students to work out the double degree. Lawrence is about 4,000 a year cheaper than Eastman for me (with merit scholarships and such.) It’s close to home, and starts later in the year so I would be able to spend more time with family. There would be a lot of performing oppertunities because it is all undergrad. </li>
</ol>
<p>Cons: </p>
<p>The teacher I met with was a little strange and while her methods worked, I don’t know personality wise if we’d be the best match. She seemed to talk at me instead of with me. It is not as prestigous, obviously. The other students wouldn’t be as good and didn’t seem as interesting as the ones at Eastman who I really felt a bond with. It is in a rural area that seemed a little conservative.</p>
<p>Eastman: </p>
<p>Pros:
It’s eastman. I really connected with the faculty and the students when I went there. I felt very comfertable. I love the history of the building. The U of R campus is really pretty and the research oppertunties would be great there.</p>
<p>Cons:
I would have to finagle my way into the DD program since I didn’t technically apply into it but the Adrian Dailey the dean of conservatory admissions said it wouldn’t be to hard I would just have to add in an extra course. The campuses are seperated. Rochester is a Ghetto scary town. The practice rooms are small. The double-degree isn’t as supported as it is at Lawrence. There wouldn’t be as many performence oppertunities for Undergrads at Eastman.</p>
<p>WOOOAA! Stop! First off, you are lumping things into categories that are going to limit your ability to see clearly. I live here, and while Rochester does have it’s dangerous areas, it is NOT a “scary ghetto town”. If that was the first thing to pop into your mind, you will have a rough time succeeding as a musician since you will have to spend time in places with a much higher crime rate than here! I worry that you are going to miss out on friendships with interesting people because you might categorize them too. You have listed two very different schools and they each have much to offer.
Eastman- yes, the practice rooms are small and the campuses are not connected, but the shuttle runs between them and classes are staggered so as to accommodate scheduling. Eastman is Eastman and it has been content to rest upon it’s reputation, which may begin to catch up with it soon.There are not as many performance opportunities available to undergrads there, so you are correct.
Contact the Registrar at the U of R, not Dr. Dailey, and then inquire to whom you need to speak on the River Campus. Admission to the DD is NOT a slam-dunk and you need to make sure everything is in order.There is paperwork involved and you needed to have been taking care of all that.
Re. Lawrence- might be the better choice for you location and $$-wise, and prestige is what you make of it. If that prof isn’t a perfect match, yet, why not try contacting her and setting a time to talk to see if you can come to a “meeting of the minds”. It sounds like the school makes the dual degree process easier on all concerned, which would make it easier on a new freshman too.
I’m going to really pick on you here and tell you to make use of spell-checker and a good grammar-checker when you contact any school since if you are expecting to enroll in a DD program, you are going to be held to high standards at either school. I know of at least one that can be used in conjunction with your browser so you can even utilize it when you post in threads like this.
Good luck!</p>
<p>My Daughter goes to Lawrence. My son was accepted to Lawrence and Eastman, and I’ve visited Eastman with him (double degree to both). Take a look at Ken Bozeman for a voice teacher at Lawrence.</p>
<p>I have concerns about the double degree program at Eastman/U Rochester. Mainly because of the distance between the campuses.</p>
<p>The conservatory music students at Lawrence are very good. The choir placed first at a national competition. The music teaching at Lawrence is also top notch, one of the most academically rigorous programs you will find. IMHO: Lawrence doesn’t have as big a name because it does not have a graduate program. While Eastman is still tops, it is primarily tops because of its grad school.</p>
<p>It sounds like Lawrence is perfect for you -----unless you really a determined to put a high level of effort into music performance. I would be very cautious about a double degree at UR/Eastman. You did not apply. Your costs are based on Eastman. UR is likely to cost more and when my D applied she would have paid the higher amount and lost any merit/need scholarships at the Eastman. A DD will be difficult to do. The distance between campuses is only a minor issue. The big issue is the dedication to music at Eastman. Most faculty members have little tolerance for students who are not totally committed.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend anyone. And I was actually born in Rochester so I know that it is a pretty town, specifically I meant that the part where Eastman was located looked a little shady. As a whole Rochester seemed like a nice place. And I usually do check my grammar, but I was not writing on my computer, because mine is broken and it was late at night. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your help it was very informative. I guess my perception of Eastman was a little skewed, it just seemed like a very intense but warm place. All of the faculty I talked to said the DD would be hard but they seemed supportive about it. I will definitely contact the river campus. I did start the application but I couldn’t locate all the nescessary forms and such. </p>
<p>Being born here and living here now are two vastly different things,son! Sorry I jumped down your throat, but you really need to think twice before you say something and most of the time, just don’t say it! Performers seem to be linked, somewhere, sometime you are going to run into someone you met,auditioned for, played with,etc in a completely different venue and you don’t want to be remembered for being the guy who offended so-and-so’s mom! No, the neighborhood around Eastman is not a good one- two blocks in any direction except down East Ave away from the city places you in some dangerous neighborhoods, which is something I have shared with others on here. It’s just HOW you say it… Now, you can try throwing yourself on the mercy of the admissions office at the River campus, but don’t have high hopes. Many, many others DID locate the needed forms and got things in on time- by this age, they expect you to be able to do the same. Perhaps, though, you could ask them if you could enter the DD program next year? I do know that my D was told that she could do that in the 2nd semester or even in her sophomore year,so it might work for you. A lot of talk during admissions time is just that, talk, meant to encourage students to chose one school over another. But, admitting what you didn’t do, and asking if you could have another shot might work out. OperaDad is a good resource since his info is current and he is quite right about Eastman retaining it’s position because of it’s Grad program. Undergrads spend time singing in one or more of the several required choruses- and that is also something to consider when choosing a school; you already brought up performance time, but some schools require choral work and others do not- it’s a preference for some and schools build their curriculum around their philosophy.
There is another thread on here about Lawrence- check it out:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/691840-vocal-performance-lawrence-university.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/691840-vocal-performance-lawrence-university.html</a></p>
<p>Just a small point while the subject of grammar is being introduced. “It’s” is a contraction for “it is”. The possessive is “its” (no apostrophe).</p>
<p>My son attended Eastman and graduated in 2006. The DD is very difficult at Eastman. He says that all of the people he knew who completed it ended up switching from a performance major to either theory or history because they just couldn’t do performance and something else. One caveat - son was not friends with VP majors so it might be different in VP where the kind and length of practicing is different from instrumentalists. I would say that if you have your heart set on the DD, Lawrence is the best option.</p>
<p>vasafaxa, we don’t know anything first hand about Eastman, so I’ll give that disclaimer right up front. But we do know a great tenor in the area who just graduated from Eastman recently and another in the Baltimore area who we’ve spoken to about it. They both said the double degree is quite difficult to do there, logistically. We called both Eastman and U of R admissions last fall to hear what they had to say, as my son was trying to decide whether or not to apply. The folks at both campuses did seem very supportive of his desire to complete both degrees - but they also said it is difficult to achieve because of the form of transportation involved (it’s been a while - is it a bus? it’s not exactly prompt, we were told), the distance between the campuses (5 miles?) and the weather during the winter months. I don’t know how important the double degree is to you, but I thought I’d throw this your way.</p>
<p>Good luck on your decision vasafaxa - I can’t add anything to the above discussion except to say both are excellent schools. Keep analyzing and adding to those pros and cons list and I bet the decision will be clear to you very soon. Make sure you share your decision with us!</p>
<p>Hi vasafaxa, D is at LU and working on a double major in vocal performance and music education but not the DD so I can’t speak to the strengths/weaknesses first-hand. However, there are many, many DD students there and the 5-year program is considered the norm. The conservatory and college interface is seamless (literally and figuratively) and there is tremendous support for the DD program in both areas of the institution – LU is committed to the program at every level. If you have specific questions about the conservatory, please PM me. Best of luck in your decision.</p>
<p>oldviola- I will no doubt continue to make that apostrophe error until they compose my obit! My laptop is on the blink so by the time I was “allowed” on the desk top, it was LATE, which is no excuse for poor grammar, but, one must try…! On the other hand, I am in possession of all of my degrees, and certifications,so I am not trying to make an impression upon an Admissions Office! My problem with a few, a very few, of the youngsters on here, is that, on occasion, some truly appalling spelling and grammar has been spotted. There can be no doubt that sort of thing can negatively impact a student’s chances at any school and since we all want these kids to succeed, better they face it now than wonder what small difference might have kept them out of the school of their choice. Thanks for the head’s up!</p>
<p>Ha - I’ll keep an eye out for that obit. You cannot imagine the jokes that fly around our house about what will be said about me…
Thanks to you and everyone else for sharing your journeys. We’re pretty isolated up here and I’ve found this site unbelievably helpful, insightful and informative. We are still grappling with the decision - much later for us because my daughter just heard from U of Toronto.</p>