Jazz musician looking for liberal arts school?

My son is a serious jazz saxophone player who spent the summer at Berklee on a scholarship, but is now thinking he’d like a liberal arts school with a music major rather than a conservatory setting. His current gpa is 3.5. Question: will his strength as a musician help him over the hump for admission for schools that might be above his reach otherwise? Should he bother with places like Northwestern, Oberlin, Michigan etc? Where else could/should he apply?

Lawrence, St. Olaf.

U Rochester has the esteemed Eastman School of Music. It might be a slight reach academically, but they are test-flexible, so he can submit whatever test scores he feels best showcase his strengths.

What are his test scores?

No tests yet, he’s a rising junior.

Wesleyan has one of the finest small college music programs in the country, unusual for its range. Right now, it sounds like it would be a reach for your son. But, worth keeping in mind.

@akapiratequeen I would recommend that you take a look at the Music Major forum here at CC and perhaps post there for suggestions. There is at least one regular poster there whose S is a jazz saxophonist at Berklee now who went through this process a couple years ago. There are a number of different ways to study music. In particular, see the Double Degree Dilemma essay pinned in that forum: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1948726-double-degree-dilemma-essay-written-by-david-lane-p1.html

I think that essay might help clarify what type of environment your son wants, and whether he wants a Bachelor of Music or a Bachelor of Arts in Music, which have very different curriculums and admissions processes. Note that being a music major at music schools like Northwestern, Michigan, etc. is similar to a conservatory atmosphere and curriculum, they just are part of a larger university and have access to the university resources as well.

FYI Michigan has minimum academic stats and average accepted student stats posted somewhere on the School of Music, Theatre and Dance web site and yes, the academic standards there are significantly lower than for general admissions, however getting admitted musically is extremely competitive. Northwestern cuts some slack to musicians but generally still wants applicants who are top 10% of their class with rigorous schedules, etc. Note that Northwestern is one of the only top music schools that offers little or no merit money to undergrads, just (generous) need based aid.

Some music schools at universities, like Eastman at U of Rochester and Peabody at Johns Hopkins, have their own admissions process and are 100% responsible for the admissions decisions, and the academic standards and admissions process and financial aid processes are different. As noted earlier, Eastman is test optional, too. Other schools require that both the music school and university accept you, and depending on how much sway the music school has over admissions the standards may or may not be as high as for regular admissions. Overall, though, most music schools just want to be sure a student can handle the academic classes at that college or university.

My son is a classical saxophonist, but for jazz you might also look at U of Miami/Frost School of Music, U of North Texas (a top jazz program), and maybe Indiana. As far as smaller liberal arts schools, Oberlin and Lawrence might be good to look at. Feel free to pm me if you want to talk saxophone or music admissions.

Thank you so much! Really helpful. I will post on music majors and get back to you with questions. Great to know re: Northwestern. Where does your son go?

PS Based on this article, I think he would want a BM.

Did I thank you? THANK YOU!

@akapiratequeen You’re welcome! my son will be a freshman at Eastman this fall. He applied test optional, by the way (good student, but spent his time on audition prep rather than test prep). Message me any time.

Also take a look at Ithaca College - very strong music program, also test optional. I don’t know much about the jazz studies program or faculty, but worth a look.

If a B.A. in music might be OK, look into Kenyon. For students interested in performance, Kenyon’s expectations for that major seem pretty high.

Odd, I just posted this on another thread. Here it is, cut & pasted.

"One does not necessarily need to go the conservatory route to study and engage in music at Oberlin:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1351640-musical-studies-major-at-oberlin.html
http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical_studies/
http://blogs.oberlin.edu/community/music_theater_arts/music_opportuni.shtml
http://stories.oberlin.edu/2/music-conservatory/mariko-meyer-11.shtml

"
Of course it is also possible to do a dual major with the conservatory.
Their jazz program seems to be pretty good.
http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/departments/jazz-studies/info.dot

You won’t see this from many people, and frankly the school doesn’t rank particularly high outside of a few majors (Jazz & Nursing are very strong) but William Paterson University in NJ has a fantastic jazz program. One of the finest young jazz musicians I’ve known is attending next year (he was accepted to many high ranking programs in the US). It’s definitely worth a look…easy access to NYC and gigging opportunities are a benefit. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is in permanent residence there as well.

Saxmom, Eastman is high on his list! What did your son like about it? And how is their jazz program?

And we know WPU! Great program but he wants to go a bit further from home

@akapiratequeen I will confess I know absolutely nothing about the jazz sax program at Eastman yet, just the classical side!

The main things that attracted S to Eastman were:

  1. he wanted a smaller conservatory environment - U of Rochester is there if you want it, but honestly he has little interest in subjects outside of music
  2. he really enjoyed his summer program experience there and the prof and grad students
  3. for years he has watched (and loved) the sax studio’s performances and the variety of repertoire on their Youtube channel
  4. unlike some other top music schools that have a reputation for being very cutthroat and competitive, Eastman seems to be a more supportive place where everyone works incredibly hard but they are all excited to be there together, immersed in music. The classical sax studio took all auditioning students out for pizza on audition day, answered questions, and talked about their experiences with the program. Everyone was really nice and down to earth, and they seem to be a close knit group - it left S with a very positive impression. None of the other schools did anything like that, and only one other school offered any interaction at all with current students.
  5. Eastman typically has multiple finalists in the major sax competitions and their saxophonists also do very well at other solo and chamber music competitions. For example, at the most recent NASA conference, I think all but one of the finalists in the college classical solo competition were current or former Eastman students, and the winner was an Eastman student. They are obviously doing something right!
  6. He can double major in performance and Music Ed there in 4.5 years, and their Forte program offers that final semester of student teaching tuition free.

Thank you! No. 6 is especially good to know.