Great experience with music department

In the past few months, I have applied to over 20 schools and originally, applying to Carolina was basically an after-thought. However, last week I was admitted OOS and last Friday I had a great experience that moved UNC to one of my top choices.

I submitted a music audition Friday morning and within three hours, a music professor for my instrument reached out to me via email and asked me to give him a call. We had a great conversation in which he was very complimentary of my playing and said I would make a great addition to their music program. He also said he would recommend me to the scholarship committee for a full ride music scholarship, which would be a dream. The professor that called me was one of the reasons I decided to apply, is super talented, and seems like a great guy to study with.

I’ve reached out to several Music professors at other institutions. Some have completely ignored my emails. Those that have responded have for the most part been very nice but seem uninterested in having me as a student. I even took several lessons with a professor to show my dedication to his program but he still didn’t seem to want me.

Having a professor reach out to me from a University with such a great reputation made me really happy and I actually feel wanted for once. Now, I think there’s a very strong chance I’ll attend chapel hill. A little bit of attention and tlc can go a long way. Now I just need to hope I am chosen as a finalist for the full ride Music scholarship.

Anyone else had great experiences with someone in the UNC music department?

My daughter took Intro to Jazz as a GenEd course (she is not a music major). She loved the professor (although I don’t know who it was), and she loved the class.

Beyond that, I can’t help you.

My D18 auditioned back in November with the music department. We liked what we saw there. She has been admitted EA and was offered Honors.

@piranhavator , my son auditioned for Kenan a few weeks ago. He really enjoyed the day there and would love to study music at UNC if it all worked out. Long odds but what a great scholarship for the lucky few! I am curious if any others receive significant music scholarships or OOS tuition waivers besides the 4 Kenan winners. The UNC music website only mentions some $1000-$2000 scholarships. Would be great if those smaller scholarships also included an OOS tuition waiver, as they do at UT-Austin. Good luck and let us know how you fare.

@piranhavator It sounds like you’re going to be an amazing addition to any university you attend - musically and academically. My son is very happy with the music department at UNC, though he’s not a music major, and this is why I’m posting. My son would have liked to double major in music and one of the sciences but opted not to because UNC requires you to graduate in eight semesters. He couldn’t figure out a way to squeeze all of the coursework he’d need for both degrees into just eight semesters, so he’s just taking lessons and playing in the orchestra. It makes me a little sad for him, honestly, but he felt like he had to choose. UNC is fantastic and the people in the music department are lovely, but if you’re still hoping for a double major, please discuss this with someone at UNC. Maybe they make exceptions for people with a particular skill set like yours. I don’t want to discourage you at all from choosing UNC (we’d love to have you), but I wanted to make sure you knew about this rule before your make your decision. As I said, they may make an exception for some people, but it’s something you should look into.

My D18 auditioned with the department back in November, and attended an info session with the department, as well as corresponded with one of the professors. She was told in all of those ways that a double major was quite possible.

@heidekraut @katespeare yes, the professors I have talked with said I could easily do a double major or a dual degree if I want to work a little harder. I’m visiting Carolina this weekend for Kenan Finalist Auditions and I’m sure I’ll love it!

My son was also told at an info session that it would be possible to do a double major.

My point is that it simply *isn’t * realistic in all instances and that @piranhavator should talk to the folks at UNC who would actually know. For all their good intentions, those people aren’t necessarily the people in the music department. For example, my son’s major requires 74 hours specific to that major and a B.Mus. 63 hours. Add in the Gen Ed requirements and I challenge any student to squeeze that all into 8 semesters. Oh, and my son also wanted to have a life outside of the library and practice room.

I looked at some of @piranhavator 's previous posts and it’s clear that s/he is driven, but I think it’s important to understand what an actual course schedule would look like if s/he wants to do a similar degree combination (or if someone reads this thread in the future looking for information.) Would s/he mind taking 18 hours each semester? Is summer school an option? If the goal is a dual major of a B.Mus. and a BA in something like History (30 hours for the major requirements), that would seem reasonable. But degree program requirements vary so widely that any student considering a double major should take a good hard look at how this would actually work in practice. Again, why would one expect a music professor to know what the requirements are for, say, a biology degree–unless s/he just happens to know another student who’s gone that exact route.

As I said in my first post, I’m not trying to discourage @piranhavator from coming to UNC. Come on over! But know what you’re getting into before you do. Talk to a professor in the other department you’re thinking about studying in. They might not be so quick to say you could easily get a double major. Or they might say, “sure, no problem.” It depends on the major.

You can petition UNC for an extra semester to finish your degree. Previously the rule was that if you did this, you wouldn’t graduate with a dual major even if you had completed all the requirements for both. Harsh, wasn’t it? Thankfully this year they’ve changed that rule and it no longer applies. (You can read about the eight-semester policy on the [UNC website](Additional Semester Appeal - UNC Advising), btw.) Maybe these extra semesters are granted as a matter of course, maybe not. The info on the website would indicate not, but this might just be tough talk. Still, I think it’s important for students (especially those who have such lofty goals) to know this rule exists so they can ask the appropriate questions of the people whose job it is to know the answers and not of the professors who are hoping to welcome them into their department. Let me be clear, I have no doubt that the people in the music department are answering your questions to the best of their knowledge, but I don’t think it’s wise to assume they know everything that will be expected of you when you’re working outside of their department.

@piranhavator , I hope this provides some clarification. I also hope that the semester limit won’t end up being a hindrance in your case and that you’ll ultimately choose UNC because it’s a great school we’d love to have you. If you do, I hope I’ll get to see you perform next year. I live just up the road from UNC and go to many of the student performances. Best of luck to you, whatever you choose.

@heidekraut I completely agree that a dual degree would take a lot of work and have wondered whether it could be possible. However, I think I can get through it as I have lots of AP credit and am willing to work summers. One musi. professor there actually told me that only getting a degree in music would lead to a “spartan” life.

@piranhavator I hope you’re enjoying your time at Carolina and that your audition went well.

Regarding what said music professor told you, I want add that while my son and I were visiting colleges, we talked to many music professors (and also to professional musicians) who told us everything from “only study music if you cannot imagine doing anything else” to “I had a very successful corporate career which I gave up to return to music.” This last guy had an incredible story. Obviously a go-getter, really smart and let’s face it, there will have been some luck involved, his music degree took him to a high-level job for a big company in Singapore (making bank, btw). Eventually, he went back to grad school for music; now he conducts a university orchestra and couldn’t be happier. His career progression is NOT typical, but it can happen. And just this morning I read an article in the WSJ (I’d link it but I’m sure it’s behind a paywall) titled “If You Want Your Child to Succeed, Don’t Sell Liberal Arts Short”. Random mom here must agree.

You seem to be someone who enjoys hard work and challenging yourself. That character trait alone is going to get you far in life. So if you’re hell-bent on getting a double major or a dual degree, by all means, go for it! And you’ve probably heard this before, but it bears repeating, I think: going to college will expose you to other ideas and fields of study you might not have ever considered for yourself. An important part of the college experience is taking the time to explore some of some of these new things, but as the young’uns say these days, “You do you.” Just keep in mind that if your schedule is packed to the gills with mandatory classes, that kind of exploration will be tough to do.

Here’s another thing to investigate further. You mentioned getting a “dual degree”. I’m 99% certain that while UNC will allow you to “double major” as an undergraduate, you won’t be able to graduate with “dual degrees”. You can get dual bachelor’s and master’s degrees through several different programs (law, business, communications and others.) Some schools will confer dual undergraduate degrees; UNC will not. You should, of course, confirm this (but don’t ask someone in the music department!) seeing as I’m just some random mom giving out advice on CC. I hope you’ll look back four years from now at an amazing period in your life in which nothing happened the way you thought it would.

@heidekraut thank you so much for the advice. I’m having a great time at UNC and it seems like a wonderful place to study whether or not I can get a dual degree. Double major is fine as I don’t absolutely need to the dual degree.