Hello!
So this year’s application season has ended, I have decided to take a gap year. I am still uncertain of exactly what I want to do with my life, so I’m going to try to use this time to help me figure that out. I’m a classical pianist who intends hopes to major in piano performance-I’ve won many state and a few national/international competitions, and performed internationally/recorded for radio/tv.
So question is this: given that I love music and cant imagine living without it, I want to pursue a degree in it. Problem is that its not that easy to be pianist (though teacher isn’t to bad) in the modern era, so I want to have a bit of a back up in case all else fails- so I need a university with a good music school, hopefully a music school I can apply to directly.
Academically, schools I got into (not for music) for this year were USC, Boston College, Brandeis, UCSD, UCSB, etc. If all else fails, I’ll go to USC (thornton is awesome) but the cost is at this point prohibitive.
So far, my list of colleges with good music schools I can (more or less) apply to directly are:
UCLA (Hart school of music)
John Hopkins (peabody)
Northwestern (forget the name of the school)
Rice: (sheperd)
And obviously USC (cost is a big problem right now-I appealed and manipulated housing preferences but still to little).
Please add anything else you can come up with.
I know about the dual degree programs (harvard NEC, etc… but realisticly I doubt I’d get into harvard for something non musical, so I’d probably get into only NEC…and as I said I want a back up).
You mentioned that finances are a concern so it’s important to look at whether you will qualify for need based financila aid or if you are targeting merit. A lot of music programs give some merit awards but it differs on whether they are solely based on merit/talent or need informed. Generally for music school admissions it is advisable to cast a broad net because the merit scholarships can vary widely and are fairly unpredictable. Some schools will also award some merit scholarships based on strong academics.
Oberlin is a good recommendation. NYU is generally considered to be very expensive and stingy with financial aid/ scholarships.
Others to consider are UM (Michigan)- very strong piano department, Lawrence University that tends to give out fairly large merit awards ( definition of large may be subject to interpretation depending on how much you need and how much you can afford to pay so it’s important to talk to your parents and get a handle on that). Lawrence is similar to Oberlin with a music conservatory and they are very supportive of students who want to double major.
CIM- if you’re accepted to CIM you can take classes at CWRU and even double major/ get a dual degree if you want to go that route. Indiana U- very well known strong music department within a university, scholarships are possible and they tend to have a slightly lower starting price than some other schools such as USC for example. Also can possibly combine academic merit with music merit awards. ( Check their policies if interested because it has been a few years since my S applied there, info might be dated.)
Eastman URochester is another good suggestion.
Northwestern’s financial aid is primarily need based but they do give out some music scholarships based on merit.
Consider posting in the music majors forum where this will come to the attention of more posters with experience with music schools.
In addition,since you said that USC was prohibitive on cost and they meet full mead, that implies that you can’t pay your EFC. I would suggest looking at places that you may get merit. I would take a look at Lawrence University. It has a well known conservatory and solid academics (especially Physics). They also have a piano accompaniment fellowship that could help with cost. If you have a cost issue with USC, I think you are going to have the same issue with the other schools on your list.
Yes, check out Lawrence University and possibly Saint Olaf College. If finances were your issue this year, you should step back and be investigating strong music schools with good chances of merit. If you go over to the music major board you will find threads on this topic.
If you are considering stretching to go full-pay, then Rice would be a good choice, as their “sticker price” is $10-15K less than other top-tier privates.
Given the acceptances you have, I would think you should have a very good shot at merit from Rochester, which is every bit as strong (if not stronger) both academically and musically as USC. Also look at Vanderbilt - I believe their merit threshold is higher than Rochester’s but lower than Rice’s. As you say, Northwestern and JHU would be great choices, but unlikely to be any more financially advantageous than USC.
Lawrence would be an excellent safety where you’d almost certainly get academic merit in addition to the scholarship opportunities previously mentioned on the music side. Really terrific school with a freshman core program that brings the class together with a common reading list - the integration between the Conservatory and the LAC is unrivaled anywhere, with a high percentage of double-majors and widespread involvement of non-music-majors in music. (Location is really the only reason they’re not more prominent/competitive.) Also look at U of Miami / Frost as an excellent safety where you could expect merit.
Rice is a great school, very high level music school. However, they are known to discourage double majors outside of the school of music so if you are looking to study something else in addition to music Rice may not be the best choice.
That is true about double-majoring at Rice. But the music BA still has the same academic foundation as any other major at Rice, and adding a minor in a non-music subject is realistic. A full-on double major would definitely be easier at a school like Lawrence, though.
@gardenstategal Yep Tufts/NEC is one I’ve been considering for sure. @momofsenior1 It seems I forgot to list Eastman as well- I am also considering it. I was unaware that it was part of Uroch however.
@cellomom2 true. though out of all private schools USC gave me the least money (and others were also need based). Thanks for pointing to U michigan. Will look into that. Not sure about the Piano faculty at St. Lawrence…will check it out though. In addition, there is another small factor that I hope to consider…I love to surf, and rice would not be particularly helpful with that, so I’d say that rice was more of an if I absolutely need to choice, however wierd that sounds.
@happymomof1 The places that were most affordable was Brandeis (I was a dean scholar) UCSD 8,000 with room and board. I will try to post it in the music forum. In terms of cost, though my EFC is 1,800, my family could probably handle a net cost of 15,000 a year (with room and board).
Let me put my question differently… what Strong Ivy tier universities that have strong music schools give out good merit scholarships? And, preferably aren’t to far from either the east or west coast (there are waves on the east coast).
List so far:
Frost/ U miami
ST Lawerence
Maybe Northwestern
USC (but only to graduate studies, at least in Piano Performance-I know that from a professor friend who teaches in Thornton).
Does anyone know if UCLA gives out music merit aid (though that probably wouldn’t be necessary given I qualify for in state tuiton). Only problem is the piano faculty there isn’t to great.
The above posts have been referring to Lawrence University in Appleton WI which is an LAC with a music conservatory like Oberlin, not St. Lawrence. Certainly is not going to fit your surfing requirement but is strong music program in a school with good academics that gives a fair amount of merit scholarships and is supportive of students pursuing music and a second major.
NEC/Tufts is a 5yr dual BA program. Tufts students not enrolled in the program can cross enroll at NEC, and NEC students not in the program can cross enroll at Tufts.
NEC/Harvard is a 5yr BA + MA in music program. Enrollment is limited to around 5-6 students and there is no cross enrollment for students not involved in the program.
Music can be a great way to make Computer Science more interesting/relevant. Steinway is a sponsor of a Music Engineering Minor (available to all Liberal Arts students) at Tufts. This can open up more career options.
@Mastadon Thank you so much for the information! Its making Tufts NEC quite appealing! (I love NEC) Harvard NEC sounds more like a dream than something that can be a reality…but who knows?