So my son’s voice teacher threw out 5 major reaches she thinks he should still try for. I mean, they are insane and his grades aren’t there and likely wouldn’t get remotely close to what we could pay.
Indiana U/Jacobs
U of Cinncinati/CCM
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
U of Colorado-Boulder
Northwestern/Bienen
If your son is applying as a music applied major for those conservatory programs…his grades don’t need to meet the same threshold as for students applying to those universities.
The important thing will be the strength of his audition relative to others auditioning on his voice part. That audition will be the biggest key ingredient.
It’s awesome that your son’s voice teacher has so much confidence in your son’s voice that she’s recommending the top music programs in the country! I think that IU hits a lot of the things you said your son was interested in. It’s not a cutthroat environment and the music students are very down to earth (at least the undergrads). There are TONS of other majors, including one in Game Design where one of the focal areas is sound (talk about an interesting alternative for someone who’s into music and games…). IU also has an excellent education program. There are several state parks nearby as well as some lakes to get some time in nature. It’s a great college town, lots of enthusiasm for sports, and there are hundreds of musical performances every year. It’s a great place.
I agree with you on all of that except Northwestern. They weigh the academic piece and the audition equally and have high academic standards for admission.
San Francisco Conservatory could be expensive. There are plenty of other West Coast options.
Has the teacher mentioned Oberlin? They definitely weigh the audition over grades and (optional) scores. And I hear they are decent with merit money and need based assistance. Or Lawrence? It all depends on what type of environment your son is looking for. The list from the teacher is very diverse- from big school campuses with conservatory-type programs to a liberal arts school to a stand alone conservatory. Your head is probably spinning! Probably best to talk to your son about what type of program and college environment he wants to be in as a way to decide where to apply.
Thanks. Lawrence is on her list as well (but that one was already on ours).
I think she was trying to throw out different options.
I emailed her about some other schools as well.
Im glad she has confidence in him as well. I love my kid but am realistic with his talent. He tells me she says he is coachable and improves quickly which is a bonus I guess.
Coachable and improves quickly are two of the hottest commodities! Don’t sell him short-- it’s a big deal to faculty that students are teachable and moldable.
Has he tried any of the competitions like YoungArts? That can really give him a sense of where he stands among his peers. Also there are several summer intensives with various college faculty that would also give him a good idea of where he stands and what to work on.
a question to ask at each school - do undergraduate have opportunity to perform? If your son ultimately wants to perform stage be aware many of those school do NOT allow undergraduates performance experience. My daughter most like will look at most of those schools but for graduate program. She is in a conservatory now that is only undergraduate so getting lots of stage experience. Does he want a conservatory experience or something more like UC or IU. also something to keep in mind.
If he is not absolutely 110% sure about music, I’d be nervous about a freestanding conservatory like SF. So many kids get in and change their minds. I just don’t know how credit transfer would work.
Possibly wanting to switch has SF off the list (along with price).
But I think letting him look into Indiana U, or U of Boulder wouldnt hurt him.
He has not tried any national competitions. He was asked to qualify for State Honors Choir. However, football practice controls his summer and the week they give them off of football is the week of our schools mandatory marching band camp.
So it hasnt been easy finding a summer intensive that works with his schedule.
Gotcha. These kids are busy! None of what I suggested is obligatory at all-- it’s just to give you a sense beyond what the teacher has been telling you. We did an “artistic assessment” with ArtsBridge which was really helpful in assessing the repertoire choices his teacher was making for him. It wasn’t cheap, but it also gave him the confidence to know he was on the right path and some things to work on.
Best of luck-- it’s a long, often confusing road! But this forum and the members are really knowledgeable and helpful!
In talking to him recently, he does feel pulled to do something with music for a major. He is not a STEM or health kid and doesn’t seem to be very interested in business itself. What holds him back is money to support himself.
His voice teacher feels he could get into performance or even opera if he wanted. He was thinking maybe music ed with a performance minor (is that even possible?)
Re music education, he says he is a likeable guy and has enjoyed teaching ski lessons this winter. He has much respect for his high school music teachers and wouldnt mind that as a job.
Sorry to repeat myself, and plenty of kids go into music education to make a living, but it really is okay to do performance, as a BM, or even a BA in music. Music grads can enter other fields, go to law school, do grad school in other areas, or go on in performance. Again, sorry to repeat myself. It just seems like the drive to do music ed is mostly financial, even if he has liked teaching skiing, and also that music ed may even limit his options if he doesnt truly want to do it. You know him best!
For a young person who wants to stay in music but feels insecure about the future financially, and that is very understandable, there are other options within music as well. There are different terms at different schools but among them are music industry, music business, music production, music technology, studio technology or studio composition, recording technology, audio arts etc. etc. Many of these include some performance.
I used to recommend the website for Columbia College Chicago because it clarifies some of the terminology. They have recently changed the website but it still provides a good list of courses in the various fields. I have a list of schools for music production/technology if he is interested.
I can PM a list of schools in some of these areas.
Some colleges will allow you to double major in music ed and performance. Sometimes it takes an extra semester, sometimes it doesn’t. Not sure if you are getting that much more with it, it’s something my son needs to investigate more himself as he has applied to a couple schools that offer it and he is quite interested.
I think just having an option to perform in a college choir could work for him as well.
That will be a requirement with the music education major. (Edited to say: if he is doing music ed / choral.)
Just to throw another curveball into it all, he scored a 35 on the ACT. (A 36 in science).
He is strongly pulled to music. Not music theater (although hes done it for 7 years). Perhaps performance or education. He is also interested a bit in the business or industry side of music.
Totally 180 from music but also an interest of his is esports.
He also loves football. He could likely play D2 or D3. Hes now playing rugby as well.
Music majors need to be very careful NOT to injure their hands. Sports are not often happening for music majors. Just about every instrument involves hands. So if he wanted to do flute…it would be mighty risky to play football. Even vocal…get hit in the lips with a ball or person…and he won’t be feeling comfortable.
Also the time commitment for being on a college sports team could very well be in conflict with rehearsals for ensembles.
It sounds like he would be well served at a college where he could pursue his love of music while perhaps studying something else. While Yale doesn’t offer a BM for students, there are tons of performance opportunities. Ditto Harvard.
What about Lawrence where he could easily double major?