<p>I am not writing to flog a horse or criticize the list, but I do have a few comments. </p>
<p>Mamenyu, I was interested in something you wrote: “just about every college does have some kind of music program, and to look at their websites, they are quite proud of them. That doesn’t mean that someone who wants to be a performer or future grad student in music should go just anywhere…in that sense, the list can be unhelpful.” </p>
<p>I agree that prospective music majors who are serious about wanting to be professional performers and/or go on to graduate school in music should learn a lot about the music programs before deciding where to apply. It takes a lot of research and travel in many cases to understand the nuances of different schools and programs, etc. And the student needs to learn these things in time to be able to learn the audition repertoire in time, and in some cases prepare a prescreening dvd or cd months earlier than the dates of actual auditions. And of course they need to be at a level of training to be competitive for admission. </p>
<p>But when I looked at that list, I was reminded that the majority of students majoring in music in this country are not attending the schools most often recommended for those intending to go into graduate school in music studies or have a career as a performer. </p>
<p>I have noticed that when high school students post here to ask for college suggestions, there is generally a flurry of responses that focus on the most competitive conservatories and music schools before there is information on the student’s level of musical training. This seems to happen even when the schools the student has listed as being under consideration are mostly of the unknown/not-well-known category. </p>
<p>So while it is true that students who want to have careers as performers or music scholars should probably consider a much smaller list of schools, I think it would be a good idea to remember that the majority of students who major in music attend programs that are not competitive and probably do not have the resources/opportunities of the higher ranked music schools. I also think it is important that a student’s aspirations and level of training/experience be considered before suggestions of schools are made. </p>
<p>For example, if a student writes about being interested in majoring in music at a school in California, which must have dozens of schools with music departments, I don’t think it is helpful to suggest Colburn without more information. This is no different than if I said my child wanted to major in Economics, History, etc, and someone responded with “what about Harvard?” Of course no one would do that without finding out about my child’s academic background, scores, etc. I think that among those who post on this site frequently, many have family members with serious music backgrounds, contributing to a bias toward mentioning top schools. But I also think that some people who are serious about music may have a reluctance to recommend an undistinguished/unknown program even if the student is not competitive for a higher-tier music program. Some people might question the choice of majoring in music in such cases. </p>
<p>It is important for prospective music students to know about the differences in the programs in terms of their career goals and their level of training/music talent/potential as well as other factors. But “the list” is a reminder to me that for better or worse, there are a lot of college students majoring in music in schools other than the ones typically mentioned on this site and even ones mentioned in those “guide books” to about performing arts majors. The way it would be “for worse” is if the student attending a very weak program had a false impression about their potential for a music career. Most people who major in music do not go on to graduate study in music or careers as musicians, so for those people it may not matter so much.</p>