Is college right for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

<p>As a transfer student I am at a crossroads.
I am finishing up the fall semester, and preparing for my last semester.
I just applied to my choice UCs, and am in the process of applying to scholarships.
I actually like school, overall I’m interested in learning and I really like my field, anthropology.</p>

<p>However, I keep feeling that going to college is, in a way, killing my real dream of being a musician. Maybe this isn’t the right place to ask this because any career in entertainment is typically seen as an unrealistic goal, but its been my goal since I was a child.</p>

<p>Due to a long list of complications and the complete lack of peer and familial support and lack of resources (financial and otherwise); I was never able to get singing lessons (which go at min. $75 an hour where I live), though I was always active in choirs. </p>

<p>However, I eventually came to realize that my lack of natural talent needed to be aided by a private instructor, which is still currently out of my reach because any spare money I have goes to school (college isn’t cheap!).</p>

<p>I don’t know what to do. I’m not naturally gifted and while I love school I love music more, its been a passion I’ve had throughout my life but I feel my time is running out.</p>

2

<p>First of all you, can totally be a musician if you want to in your spare time. There are plenty of college students who pick up an instrument during their time in school (guitar is an easy one that comes to mind). If you want to sing, then sing. You can get into songwriting even. However, there’s a huge difference between doing all this as a hobby and professionally. The odds of ever becoming a famous artist are slim to none even for those who have dedicated their lives to that ambition. </p>

<p>You don’t necessarily need to have a voice coach to sing better. There are a lot of student groups in college where you can learn to sing or improve your singing. However, if you are not naturally talented (as you’ve mentioned) and have no serious musical training, it’s just not going to happen…becoming a huge popstar or something like that, I mean. At this stage, it’s just too late for that. I mean, I could be wrong, people pick up talents later in life all the time, but you should not throw away the opportunity to go to college for a hypothetical career-path that doesn’t really exist for you. </p>

<p>There are plenty of reasons NOT to go to college. It’s not for everyone. It’s expensive and degrees may not be worth what they cost anymore. BUT, simply having ambitions to become a “musician” is not a great reason to throw away your college dreams.</p>

3

<p>Hey @oceanpartier, thanks for your honest feedback. I really appreciate it!</p>

<p>Though I do find it odd when I tell people I want to be in music they assume I want fame, to be part of mainstream music, and to be a “huge popstar” but that has never been my ambition. I would love to simply have some form of small scale success that allows me to live off of being a musician. And when I say live I mean live, not living in excess with a large home and several vehicles. </p>

<p>I’ve actually been writing lyrics for years now and haven’t ever let up on that, there has even been times when I’ve had instrumental accompaniment come with the lyrics but because I can’t really play an instrument I’ve never been able to fully realize the entire songwriting process. </p>

<p>Well, I’ve been in college voice groups before and when I approached my instructor he was honest with me and said that the work he does with a group is nothing in comparison to what a private vocal coach can help me with. I actually asked him if he could help me with my voice, but he said nothing more than what the extent of the class covered because he is always busy (he teaches all the vocal courses, some music theory, and a choir in the community). </p>

<p>Well, the last portion of your statement is also a factor in my hesitance to attend college, because, as much as I love anthropology, the degree isn’t directly correlated with any field, making it relatively useless to employers unless I go to grad school. </p>

<p>But alas, you are correct, college, in a way, has now become a goal in life. Not necessarily for the job prospects, or the degree itself, but to take the time to really delve into a field that I love and want to dedicate my time learning about; is that a huge waste of time and money? Perhaps. But compromising on my musical dreams so much growing up has continued to give me grief until this day, and I don’t want to leave the field I love behind for the sake of “practicality.” Maybe I’ll regret that one day, but from my short lived experience I think I’d regret giving up on it more.</p>

4

<p>Ah, my bad! I must have mistook your intentions. In that case, you may want to look into a trade school with a music program (like for sound engineering or something), where you can get more exposure to the business. That way, you have something to fall back on while still dabbling in your musical interests. I’m not sure if such programs would completely rectify a lack of music theory though…they may be more focused on the technical aspects of music (like the recording process). You’ll have to spend money to go to a UC anyway, might as well spend it on something you are passionate about. </p>

<p>The kind of success you are looking for, which is becoming financially self-supporting off of music I’m assuming, is still very hypothetical. Even famous singers only get a tiny cut of the revenue from their songs…their fortune mainly comes from other means (concerts, advertising campaigns, ect). Realistically, you won’t be making a living off of what you make as an ammeture musician. You should definitely continue to create and write, as a hobby…but it’s really hard to create something of marketable quality when the theory/experience just isn’t there. </p>

<p>I mean, this is not a definitive no in anyway…for all I know you could be a compositional genius who’s music can earn you a living…it just isn’t very realistic. To create a song that you can actually sell with a meaningful level of success also requires thousands of dollars to be invested into recording equipment, instruments, software, ect. Without a job or the support of your family, this is not possible. By making music as a hobby, you are still able to express your creativity and passion…if your love is for the craft then this should enough right? Not earning a living off of music won’t make you any less of a musician. You don’t have to leave music behind. There’s PLENTY of time in college to explore non-academic interests, and you can even take electives on music. </p>

<p>Regardless of whether Anthropology is a useless major or not (I personally wouldn’t know), having a bachelor’s degree, and one from a UC, already makes you more employable compared to many of those (not all) with only HS diplomas. Even if you don’t end up loving Anthro. enough to pursue it in graduate school, you will still learn a lot both in and outside of the classroom during your time in college. You will meet a lot of people and who knows, one of them may be a connection to the music industry. I guess I’ve also struggled with similar issues myself from time to time, but I’ve realized that it’s probably unwise to gamble on talent, or rather passion alone. The notion of “doing what you love” is wonderful when also realistic, but a bit too romanticized in our society. I don’t know if this is a good answer or anything, but I hope it was helpful.</p>

5

<p>@oceanpartier</p>

<p>You know, that was actually something I looked into for a while, but the more I pondered it the more I came to the honest conclusion that shelling out a ton of money to go to a music university (where it is most likely to have well developed programs in the courses you are speaking of) I would simply be better off spending that time and money trying to make connections, which is 90% of what really matters in the music business. And I am actually very fond of Anthropology, I really do like my field - it does not reside within the same strata as music but it is something I am incredibly fond of.</p>

<p>While you are fully correct that many successful musicians make very little money with the exception of things concerts and merch; to my knowledge, a potent reason for that is that a big cut of, lets say record sales, goes to the label, management, etc… essentially the bureaucratic system within the music business. Not saying that I would, by any means, be rolling in the dough as an independent artist, but it is a little bit of a different vantage point to take.</p>

<p>I agree, it is very difficult to go through all the channels needed to ultimately have some form of feasible success without the necessary experience and exposure to music. It’s something I have to tell myself constantly. As corny as it sounds, its like a battle between whatever logic I have in me, and all of the passion and love and hope and heart I have. It’s a conversation I’ve been having with myself since I was in grade 4, which seems insane, because I was so young, but at that age I began to see I wasn’t good enough. When I approached my parents about it they brushed it off, and did so when I would continue to ask about it. I didn’t really get it until I was old enough to put the pieces together that they didn’t think I was good enough and didn’t want to help me get any better, they thought my dream to be a musician was a passing fancy but I wish I could have communicated with them that it wasn’t then and it isn’t now. </p>

<p>From a logical place, I know that you are correct, that if I really loved music I wouldn’t need a career in it and that just doing it as a hobby would be enough; but emotionally it doesn’t “fit.” For me having a job that I love, am passionate about, get fulfillment from, experiment with creativity, and just genuinely enjoy has been something which I’ve desired since I was young. Maybe it was seeing my parents be miserable with jobs they were stuck at, and I knew I never wanted that. Which I guess is ironic because I’m almost setting myself up for that, but, for me, music is the only thing which fits that bill. I’ve tried to talk myself out of it and into something else, but I can’t see myself doing anything else. I literally can not envision it, and when I’ve tried, or when I’ve even dabbled in different things, its miserable. And its a hopeless type of misery that I don’t want to have to feel every day as a reality. </p>

<p>I don’t regret my time in college at all, not for a second. It can be stressful, and something I have my moments where I wonder “what am I doing” and “why am I working so hard to end up somewhere I don’t want to be;” but my intellectual experiences have truly done a lot for me and, in my opinion, have changed me drastically, but for the better. </p>

<p>As far as meeting people goes my “extreme” introversion coupled with my slight skepticism of people makes it hard for me to meet and connect with others, but I really hope that my university experience helps me open up a bit more.</p>

<p>I’m sorry :frowning: I don’t know what your love or passion is, but if your struggling with anything remotely similar to how I’m feeling, its not easy. For me, its been a great cause of sadness that I can not measure with words or actions. It can make you question everything, for me, my very purpose for existence - if the one thing I feel that I’ve genuinely always wanted to have is something that might not be mine to have. It worse when you feel that you yourself is what took away any potential you might have had. </p>

<p>I agree with you that the romance of pursuing what one loves is incredibly, and unrealistically, sensationalized in our society; but if you really love whatever it is that you spoke about before, I hope you never truly let it go. I fight a lot with myself about this, because its a light I wish I could put out sometimes, but then I come to see that that light is the only light I have and I need to fight for it.</p>