<p>Oberlin and Cornell University for music composition? Can they even compete with Rice or Princeton?</p>
<p>Well, they're pretty different programs. As you probably know, the Rice and Oberlin degrees are Bachelors and (at Rice) Masters and Doctorate of Music, as distinct from the BA/MFA/Ph.D at Cornell and Princeton.
Oberlin's composition faculty is stuck in the past, in my opinion, and is not well regarded by many composers, but it remains an extremely prestigious program. The overall musical education at Princeton pales compared to what Oberlin's Conservatory can offer. I don't know about Cornell for composition; I know only that it's strong in musicology and very weak in performance.
Rice is probably the best on the list.</p>
<p>Any of the composition majors on this board care to comment?</p>
<p>I honestly don't know too much about any of those schools. My impression of both Princeton and Oberlin is that they are very conservative schools. Princeton, from what I hear, is still a haven for serialism (of all things), and my impression of Oberlin is that it never really got over 60's and 70's experimentalism. (Someone I know once refered to it as the Jackson Pollack School of Composition.) As for Rice, I really don't have any direct experience with their comp program, but I know some people who almost went there (ending up at Yale instead). It seems to be a good program, and the rest of the school of music is extremely strong.</p>
<p>Oberlin has a BA in music, too, I know that much.</p>