<p>My Daughter is a gifted vocalist and a very bright individual. Of her own volition she decided to hedge her bet and double major in Vocal Performance and Pre-Law. She applied to Oberlin but didn't get in to the conservatory. She has however been accepted and offered really meaningful scholarships to a number of schools. The consideration set comes down to Loyola, New Orleans, Baldwin Wallace, Westminster Choir College and Puget Sound. There are certainly advantage and disadvantages to each of these schools. We're looking for advice on key criteria in making the final decision.</p>
<p>Well Loyola has two advantages, the presence of a good law school and the Frohnmeyers (two very good voice teachers).</p>
<p>LouisJ, welcome and congrats on your d’s acceptances. I may not be much help for vocal programs, but can point you in a few directions.</p>
<p>First, have your d read this [Peabody</a> Institute - Conservatory Admissions: The Double Degree Dilemma](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/doubledegree]Peabody”>Double Degree | Peabody Institute) if she hasn’t already.
It may help her sort things out.</p>
<p>Similar angst from a Hopkins/Peabody dual admit student last year <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/690519-so-confused.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/690519-so-confused.html</a></p>
<p>Besides the strength of the vocal teachers and her feel for the music program, ease of shifting gears should she decide to drop one of the two pursuits? Will the music program work if she wants to concentrate solely on performance, will she lose an academic or talent scholarship if she drops a major? Will the academics be right if she wants to drop vp? What are her options for lessons and participation if she drops a vp major and still wants to participate recreationally?</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ve heard a bad word about Westminster here or anywhere else.
From prior Master lists, theantidiva is a vp major at Westminster. Click on her name in the post here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/theantidiva-254054.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/theantidiva-254054.html</a>, and a drop down menu appears. You may want to ask program specific questions in an email. (rather than a private message, as her last activity was in July).</p>
<p>The poster rudysmom son is a music therapy (cell0) major at Loyola. Try a private message, from the link here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/rudysmom-108807.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/rudysmom-108807.html</a></p>
<p>There’s not much detail in past threads about Puget Sound.</p>
<p>LouisJ, as a first time poster you may not be aware, but there’s a Master Acceptance thread here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a.html</a>. If you specify the degree type(s) and program(s), we’d be happy to add your daughter to the list.</p>
<p>LouisJ: also, I know several friends who are currently in law school now but majored in music (in one form or the other) as an undergrad. As long as the LSAT scores are there when the time comes, there’s certainly no reason to major in pre-law. Law schools and business schools really are not so picky when it comes to undergrad majors or course choices–unlike med school.</p>
<p>My son is also looking at Puget Sound. One advantage of the “hedge” there is that they can keep their music scholarship even if they are not a music major. Also, doing a BA rather than a BM gives more flexibility in scheduling classes for other interests.</p>
<p>I myself have been considering double majoring in pre-law along with performance. It just wouldn’t have worked out in time for me. It makes more sense to take my electives at the law school next door, and to possibly think about law school in the future.</p>
<p>I realize this does not actually address LouisJ’s question, and I’m not entirely certain what a “pre-law” major consists of (my undergrad was in business), but as suggested by Windcloudultra, there are no undergraduate prerequisites for admission to law school. Good grades and good LSATs are all you need. Other than superior writing skills, there is little, if anything, that you could gain from any undergraduate major that will help you succeed in law school. My personal advice would be to keep the undergraduate major as low-stress as possible (not that a music major is likely to be low-stress, but the addition of a second set of degree requirements would surely make it worse). You don’t want to be nearing burn-out when you enter law school. It takes a lot of energy to survive those three years.</p>
<p>I am a headhunter for lawyers. Don’t waste your time with a pre-law major - even if you find one. Not only will it not help with law school admissions, but it can hurt. Law schools are not impressed by pre-law undergrad work and often look down upon it. There is no reason to double major for law school admissions. A music degree is just fine. You do have to have a great GPA and LSAT scores and a double major can interfere with that. Advanced theory, music history and vocal lit are not walks in the park. You won’t learn anything in pre-law classes to help with the LSAT. If you want to hedge the bet because there might be a change of heart about majoring in music, then Westminster makes no sense. If you want to focus on music, it’s a great choice. </p>
<p>There is a correlation between the SAT and the LSAT. If you did really well on the SAT, they you have a better chance of doing well on the LSAT. Taking pre-law classes will not help remediate that score.</p>
<p>My older son double majored in psychology and legal studies - not because he was determined to go to law school - but because the study of law through a liberal arts perspective really interested him - as well as the conjunction of psychology and legal issues. I didn’t feel that he was wasting his time studying the history, philosophy and implementation of law.</p>
<p>SpiritManager - that’s a different issue. My answer is narrowly directed to someone who might think that taking pre-law classes will help with law school admissions. It won’t and it might hurt. I have nothing against taking anything that interests you.</p>
<p>I second Cartera45’s comment on Westminster. One of the reasons my daughter is choosing WCC is BECAUSE she doesn’t have to take a lot of extra liberal arts courses and can focus on music pretty much entirely. Yes, you can take classes at Rider, and if you have a 3.8 after your Sophomore year, Princeton Univ, but when you look at the required course list - When would you have the time?
Coincidentally, my older brother, who wanted to go to Westminster, but didn’t, received his Law Degree from Puget sound.</p>
<p>Sorry to chime in so late, but I just saw this… I strongly agree with Cartera45. A pre-law major is not a good idea. A major in something that teaches good critical thinking and writing skills is much more helpful. I was actually a French Literature major with a German Lit minor. I wrote 14 papers a semester, so by the end of college, writing was second nature. That really helped both in law school and in the early years of practice when I wrote a lot of motions and briefs. H was a philosophy major which was a great major for law school because it combined both the critical thinking and the writing requirements. Good luck.</p>
<p>I have a dear friend whose daughter is a VP major (junior) at UPS, and has found incredible support and education there. She has had the opportunity to perform at high levels both at UPS and the greater Seattle area and, after starring in the UPS musical last month, the Dean of the music school personally called her into his office to talk about her future. She has had a great, well-rounded experience there.</p>