Good music scene/music minor (violin)?

College Majors Music Major
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<p>My son URM with strong stats, rising senior, will major in math or physics but would possibly minor in music. If not minor, for sure he wants a college with a good music scene where kids can jam together, can go to great concerts, like to discuss music intelligently and certainly will have a symphony and opportunities for chamber music. Schools on his list currently:</p>

<p>Vanderbilt
Penn
Princeton
Harvey Mudd
Univ. of Texas, Dallas
Harvard
Davidson
WUSTL
UCSD</p>

<p>Possibly: Stanford, CMU, U of Rochester, U of Richmond</p>

<p>Not interested in MIT, Caltech, U of C</p>

<p>Any other colleges, small to medium in size, very strong in math and physics, that have good music scenes?</p>

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<p>Rice
Northwestern
Univ of Michigan</p>

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<p>St. Olafs! (the only school whose fight song is in 3/4) - strong in math, less so in physics.
Boston University</p>

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<p>I’ll check into St. Olafs. I’ve heard of it but have never looked into it. Thank-you!</p>

<p>The other colleges we know about but aren’t on the list for various reasons.</p>

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<p>Your list seems a little top-heavy in places – so it’s kind of hard to give any assistance without understanding the emphasis, risk level, mix logic of the list etc. Truthfully, the environment you’re describing usually occurs most readily at universities where there is a “school of music” and a decent-sized program to provide sufficiently robust ensemble opportunities.
Eg. obviously Rice (meets “small” criterion at least), NU, UMich (which is top 10 in peer assessed math grad programs) etc. foster that kind of environment.</p>

<p>Along those lines, U Rochester obviously has Eastman SOM; but the campuses are not especially geographically close, and most of the SOMs do not directly offer a minor (but offer courses and or ensemble experiences…some run the ba minors via their arts/lit/sci colleges.)</p>

<p>In terms of small LAC style, Oberlin, with its conservatory and liberal arts would offer both, but have no idea how Oberlin is for math/physics.</p>

<p>Is the pursuit of math/physics at any time likely to end up connected to engineering? (Eg Mudd). Such a variable might also influence recommendations.</p>

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<p>You could look into Johns Hopkins. They have a shuttle to the Peabody campus.</p>

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<p>kmcmom,</p>

<p>Good questions. My son has not mentioned engineering but with this kid, never say never. He really loves pure math and he’s been studying college level physics for 3 years but does seem to be leaning towards math. What he said he likes:</p>

<p>*Strong Christian support
*wants kids at college who love to learn
*good dorms (not sure what that means)
*music scene-people who care about music-seeing concerts, playing in a symphony or small groups (chamber, jazz, worship)
*either a very selective school or one with graduate classes in math and physics since he’s taking the hardest u/g physics class at the local state univ. right now
*interesting, engaging professors
*interesting class selection</p>

<p>Doesn’t want:
*impersonal
*too much partying, too much drinking
*too liberal
*overly hot or humid
*too large campus</p>

<p>Schools he didn’t like for whatever reason: U of C, Johns Hopkins (went there in 8th grade so maybe he’d reconsider)</p>

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<p>sbjdorlo, I am going to go out on a limb here and ask if he’s considered a dual degree or double majoring. Based on his U. level physics studied to date, I am going to bet that he will be happiest in a very top drawer math program. (Eg. is he operating at a 750-800 Math SAT/34-35 ACT???) I also suspect it might be handy to have a nearby top ranked engineering program available, because some types of engineering disciplines have some direct future appeal for strong STEM students. </p>

<p>But based on the criteria he describes for music-appreciative peers, I think he is most likely to FIND that kind of interaction at or near a very tippy-top music program eg - conservatory within a university (or the Ivy route, which even for tippy-top kids, is still a 1 in 10 proposition…) With the former, that phenom is a little bit at odds with the “small” end of the spectrum in many cases.</p>

<p>You may find you need to guide him a little on some of the things that may narrow his search too far considering the rather haphazard nature of admissions these days plus the recent phenomenon of record numbers of applications.</p>

<p>Eg. good dorms – really don’t matter – they’ll be in a different dorm or off campus in a year or two anyway – better to judge the resources and feel of the U’s location/college town/city. - Impersonal – that is student specific – any student can, with proactive measures “shrink” their experience. Many of the top math programs are at intensive research institutions that are by nature large (and can be weeding/impersonal at UG level unless one is proactive.) Also, I should note that diversity of course offerings often requires a larger student body to rationalize the cost of curricular delivery. </p>

<p>– Too much partying and drinking – this occurs on literally just about every campus and is truthfully entirely within the locus of control of the student. (Eg. my son attends a large Flagship with top school of music. No lack of frat parties and keggers despite the rigor. However, he doesn’t generally run with that crowd, preferring the company of straighter-edged musically and artistically inclined peers. BECAUSE the school is large, there is NEVER a shortage of things to do or groups to belong to. Eg. the performing arts schools hosts more than 450 recitals/performances each year. It is impossible to have nothing “cultural” to do.)</p>

<p>I also think you’ll find that most top academic/research institutions are in reality, pretty balanced in terms of conservative/liberal leanings. The flavor is usually more libertarian than either camp in terms of partisanship. Now, I know that <em>some</em> schools (including my son’s) have particular reputations for leaning a particular direction on the political spectrum. But I am not certain that is a criteria worth giving heavy weight to, and I don’t see a lot of consistency with respect to that in the initial list you posted, so suspect that is not a make-or-break consideration.</p>

<p>At any rate, best wishes in your search and if I run across anything that seems helpful I will send it your way. FWIW I do know a very savvy prof at Rice and am kind of surprised, given your criteria, that it’s not on your list or has been ruled out as an option. But I might be making a lot of assumptions about things based on individual knowledge as opposed to institutional knowledge ;)</p>

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<p>Thanks for the great input, kmcmom. Rice <em>would</em> be on there in a heartbeat but the location may just be too sweltering for my son. He has pretty bad allergies that kick up in hot, humid weather (or just hot weather). Today, it reached the high 80s here in So. Cal. and he was wiped out by all his sneezing even after taking several antihistamines. He really thinks he will prefer a cooler climate. When we visited Penn and Princeton, he thought the weather was great and it snowed on us in April. There’s no way <em>I’d</em> ever want to live in a cold climate but that’s me. :-)</p>

<p>I think the word I would look for that’s common among some of his choices is that, while they might all be liberal leaning socially and politically, they all have both a strong Christian support and a real respect for diversity of thought even if it’s antithetical to what one believes. Princeton and Penn seem to have this feel. Harvey Mudd seems to have this feel. I don’t know about Vanderbilt, Davidson, or Harvard. It’s hard when one doesn’t have friends, contacts or hasn’t stayed on a campus to get any feel for it.</p>

<p>He was considering a double or triple major when he had been considering Christian colleges but it will depend on where he ultimately goes as to whether he’ll double major.</p>

<p>I am sure some of the large state univ. have great music and research opportunities but he really does prefer smaller. He’s on the UCSD campus all the time and it feels too big to him. He’ll apply because it’s local but it’s not the best fit.</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

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<p>Your criteria are going to be very difficult to perfectly match, and you will probably need to ask your S to prioritize them. As far as weather, for year round temperate, stable climate it will likely be impossible to match San Diego. Except for those 3 muggy weeks in September, which are still nowhere near east-coast levels, it is pretty much 65-80 degrees all the time. And sad to say, but S may have other allergies that he never knew he had when he moves to a different neighborhood. Have you considered UC Santa Barbara? It is right on the beach. They have an outstanding Physics program and if memory serves, at least a couple of Nobel laureates. There is an active music scene. There are some local venues that attract big names because frankly, everyone wants to visit there, and the Music Academy of the West is close by for summer concerts. It has a very mellow atmosphere so I am sure all beliefs/faiths would be supported. When we visited last year, we had lunch at a great sandwich shop in Isla Vista and met an older couple who had been in business there for over 20 years. I asked what was the biggest change they had seen over the years, and they said that the students were much more studious now. For some reason the school still has a reputation of being the “party school” of the UC’s but it is a very unfair label for current times. Agree with what was said above that every school has a party scene anyway.</p>

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<p>UCSB has been on and off the list, mostly due to cost and possible party reputation but as you say, parties are everywhere. The CCS program at UCSB definitely is something to consider but while UCSD may be affordable due to being a commuter, I think UCSB will be out of reach though my son’s never looked into what kinds of scholarships might be available. We’ll give it another look. Thank-you!</p>

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<p>Yale and U of C should really be on his list. I realize that strong Christians are not a majority at either school, but I have heard that there are strong support systems available for serious Christians at Yale, and would be surprised to hear that they don’t exist at Chicago.</p>

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<p>Just an offbeat note – I was reading another thread on this board this a.m. I have no idea about the quality of math, physics or the music program, but do have a friend whose very talented son loved Wheaton.
OP may want to investigate.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1140725-wheaton.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1140725-wheaton.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>A very similar kid I know just chose [Lawrence</a> University](<a href=“http://www.lawrence.edu/]Lawrence”>http://www.lawrence.edu/)
Small school with a conservatory attached.
This kid is majoring in physics/flute.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the ideas. Wheaton is off the list because we can’t afford it (very little merit aid) and not sure it has enough of an offering but it’s been very tempting. Son visited U of C last year and felt it too impersonal but he recently said he’s sure he’d be ok there so we’ll revisit it. Yale hasn’t been on the list as I know so little except it seems particularly liberal leaning compared to Princeton or even Penn. I don’t know anything about it’s math, physics, music, or Christian support, though. I’ve never heard of Lawrence but also saw a post about it so we’ll look it up. Many thanks!</p>

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<p>I’ll second memake. Don’t write off Yale. My son’s current private teacher is a Yale grad and is a conservative Christian. He is always mentoring my son about maintaining Christian values in a secular world and congratulating him on good moral decisions. In addition, son’s teacher is a talented young musician and teacher.</p>

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<p>I doubt that Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale and U of C vary significantly in their ‘liberalness’, by which I mean the likelihood that most students and most professors will share a basically progressive mindset and politics, and be pretty condescending about the presumed naivete of committed Christians. </p>

<p>At the same time, the more intellectually vibrant a university is, the more responsive people are likely to be to a student who is serious about their faith and able to engage in analysis and dialogue about their faith with their peers. In that sense, the intellectual vibrancy of U of C, Yale, Princeton, Harvard and Penn (my ordering reflects my judgement, based on my experiences only) are all likely to contribute to the existence of satisfying (although perhaps small) support groups of like-minded Christians.</p>

<p>For math and physics, Harvard, Princeton and U of C can’t be beat (I don’t actually know enuf about Harvey Mudd, maybe them too).</p>

<p>For music, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, U of C are at the top from his list. </p>

<p>Given those lists, and given that it’s (still) much easier to get in to U of C than Y H and P, it would be a mistake not to apply. Given that the music scene at Yale is the best there is for the activities you list, it would be a mistake not to apply.</p>

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<p>Momofbassist and memake,</p>

<p>I shall share what you said with my son. Thank-you!</p>