<p>Hello, I am currently a music major in my sophomore year of college. Unfortunately, I am unable to graduate in the amount of time I would like to (4-4.5 years) at my current school. However, I have a full scholarship to this college. I am not sure if I should change my major to use my scholarship or transfer so I can increase my chances of getting the job in music I've always dreamed of. If I were to continue with music at my current school, I wouldn't be able to graduate until I've put in 5.5 years plus I would need to do a 2 year Master's Degree after that. I just feel this is a ridiculous amount of time to spend in college. If I changed my major at the bachelor's level, I would still do a Master's in Music. </p>
<p>What do you want to do with music in the future? If you’re a performance major, the odds of getting into a good grad school these days without an undergrad degree in music are slim and none. Many schools are actually list a BM as a requirement for application now.
Why are you unable to graduate in the usual amount of time and wouldn’t you lose more time if you decided at this point in time to transfer? It’s too late to apply to another school for NEXT fall, so you would have to take a semester off and try to start again in January, and thus would be behind again. I don’t know of any school that would allow you to just come in as a senior and graduate with only a year in residence, so have you looked into all of this?</p>
<p>In addition, the reason people are usually in a hurry to graduate is the phenomenal cost of going to school. If you have a full scholarship, relax and enjoy your studies!</p>
<p>What exactly is the job in music that you have always dreamed of? Are you considering these changes because you have another strong interest, or just to graduate earlier?</p>
<p>I actually disagree with Mezzo’sMom that you have no chance of getting into an MM program with a BA in a different subject. It depends on your instrument, your training, and your ability. I know quite a few students who are currently in BA programs auditioning for MM degrees in music, and students who are in MM programs or have graduated from them who did not attend conservatories. But they are excellently trained and they studied throughout college.</p>
<p>I think the real question here is what do you mean by “making it in music”? Why will it be shorter to graduate if you switched majors (or schools)? Were you double majoring/dual degree, or are you doing a BM? You don’t and shouldn’t give specific things about yourself, like what school you go to, but it would help if you gave more detail. One of the biggies is, if you are in a BM degree, why will it take longer than the timeframe you want? Far as I know, those programs unless they have dual major degree requirements like Bard, are 4 year programs normally…is it the program you are in is too difficult? Is it you feel their requirements are crazy and will take too long? </p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>“I am studying towards a BM degree on Cello at a school of music within a university. What I am looking at right now is with all the requirements, it will prob take me 4 more years to graduate. My goal is graduate and get into an MM program, and then attempt a career in classical music. I was thinking that maybe if I transferred to a different major, but keep working on lessons/practiciing, it wouldn’t take as long a time”. This is obviously an example, not your story, but it give the idea of what would make it easier for people to help you. </p>
<p>One thing that stands out that is huge, and that is you have a full scholarship. As is said time and again on here, it is wise to minimize if not eliminate student loan debt coming out of school, and to have a full scholarship is a blessing in many ways. Obviously, if you feel the program you are in is not training you well, the teachers on your instrument aren’t good, the ensembles and such are not good, etc, then that may be reason to try another school (though if you plan of switching majors, like from music to economics or something, but keep up with music, that would tell me the teaching isn’t that bad). A negative of switching majors is that in many schools (I obviously can’t speak for your school), if you are not a music major the kinds of things you are allowed to do is limited, with ensembles and chamber and so forth, so you might be depriving yourself of that, plus you also will probably lose training in theory and ear training that is generally required. </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that music is a game of years, many years, and while I understand the eagerness to graduate and get out there, you have to realize that music is very different in many ways than other endeavors. For the most part, you don’t study music, maybe get an MM, and then come out, from a ‘top’ school or ‘lesser school’, with your 4.0 average or whatever, apply to jobs, and you get that great job. It generally takes years to develop a career, while there are always some kids coming out of music school who get major artists management (if a soloist), or audition for and get a job in a top notch orchestra, they are outliers, most will spend a lot of the next years out of school trying to build a career, and put together a living. A teacher of my son’s,when they graduated 30 years ago ,got out of conservatory and landed a job with a pretty high level orchestra right away and they are still there, but that today is really, really rare, more so than then. So the extra year or whatever is not going to put you back behind other kids who graduate a year earlier all that much in the scheme of things. It isn’t like let’s say computer science, where there is a gold rush on at the present time let’s say, and kids want to get out because getting a job is relatively easy right now but may not be in a year, but this is a different world in music</p>
<p>Okay, as to getting an MM with a BA degree or a BS or something, what MM says is probably a good rule of thumb, but it is possible to get into grad programs with a BA. That said, there is a caveat, a big one, for kids I have seen do that, where they go to college, get the BA degree, study music privately, and then get the MM. When I see these kids, they generally at the time they went to college were already accomplished, and had background in theory and such, were playing at a high level, so doing what they did worked out. My S went to a prep program where the level of playing and training was quite high, and kids there often went to top academic schools like Ivies and their level, and some of them did just what you want to do, they got a degree in something else, studied privately, then went to grad school for an MM…but the key thing is they went into college already ahead of the curve musically, so they could do what they did, and be prepared for grad school. With everything in music, there is always the codicil “it depends” on almost everything, and this is an example. In your situation, hazarding a guess, it might make it a lot more difficult to get into a grad program if you don’t have a BM…</p>
<p>There is an expression that I think defines some of your situation. Are you thinking about getting a BA in something else as a fallback to music? Are you struggling with music, feel like you aren’t getting anywhere and are looking for an alternative in case music doesn’t work out? The expression is if you can see yourself doing something else, it may be better to do that…I know it sounds harsh, but if you are getting disillusioned with music, sensing that you aren’t as good as the other students, are struggling where you don’t think you should,it could be a sign that music as a profession won’t be for you. It is quite normal for music students to question themselves, to struggle at times, to see other kids who are so high level and think “I have no chance”, but if you are truly struggling, it could be time to decide that music may not be your calling as a vocation (you always can keep taking lessons and such, and always be able to play as an amateur or semi pro). </p>
<p>With what little I know of your situation, I would tell you to stay where you are and whether you keep doing the BM, or do another degree and study music with that, keeping up with lessons and practicing, stay put if you have a full ride scholarship. Whatever you choose within the school, coming out without debt is huge, it frees you up when you get out in your choices, you can apply to MM programs and see what happens, if it does’t work out, you can try working in another field without struggling paying off student debt. Among other things, transfer students rarely do well with financial aid and such IME.</p>
<p>In terms of when you get out and get a job or make a career, it will be based mostly on how well you play. You don’t get into an orchestra by submitting a resume and they say “oh, they have a BM from X school, MM from Y program, they have a 4.0, let’s interview them”, it will be based on your playing, through auditions, and networking with other musicians so in the end, what really gets you into music is a vocation is how well trained you are, disciplined you are, not what degrees you have, other than having gone through whatever program gives you certain training that leads to that end.</p>
<p>I do know schools that will allow you to spend just one year in residence, and you could even enter with an entirely new major and be able to finish. But you have a full scholarship where you are and 5.5 years is not that long really. </p>
<p>Orchestra jobs are not the only option for music graduates. But at this point, we don’t even know if you are a performance student. Or if you are in a conservatory or university.</p>
<p>If there is something else you want to study, and some other career direction you are interested in, then by all means change majors, transfer (as long as the courses you have taken are counted) or whatever you want to do. But if you are committed to music and your current school offers good training, I would stay where you are.</p>
<p>There are a lot of jobs in music, I used orchestra as an example, not be all and end all. My point was once you walk out the door, no matter what kind of job you are looking for in music, for the most part it rely on how well you play, how well you work with others and so forth. Where you went to school can influence things in that for example, the networking links that come out of going there, contact with other students. and so forth can influence things, and having Program, Y (let’s say Curtis) on your resume if you applied for a teaching job or hang out your own shingle to teach might mean something, but for performance jobs in the end it is how well you play, whatever that is. </p>
<p>Yes, OP’s post is very vague–we don’t know whether she is a singer or instrumentalist or even what “the job in music I’ve always dreamed of” is. I’m also puzzled as to why she would take 5.5 years to graduate unless there are some extenuating circumstances or she is double majoring. I hope that she will come back online and give us some more information so that we can give her more relevant advice pertaining to her specific circumstances.</p>
<p>Too much info unknown here! And I have a job in music without a degree of any kind. </p>