<p>My daughter is a cello player but is not sure yet if she wants to major in music. She definitely wants to have opportunities to play classical music with the school orchestra as well as more contemporary music in a small ensemble, too. She is a very hard worker, but gets stressed if the environment feels too competitive. She plays on the ultimate frisbee team and loves the inclusive, high energy group of kids. I am guessing her GPA will be 3.9 in all accelerated classes and her ACT scores will be somewhere between 25-28 ( she has ADD, and standardized testing is tough for her). It's my first time posting anything, so we shall see how this goes! Thanks.</p>
<p>Many LACs have school orchestras. Could you give us a little more information…geographic preference, for example?</p>
<p>We live in the Midwest, and she would be open to staying in the midwest, going anywhere between midwest and the east coast or california, but wants to avoid the PNW because of the rain. The south and the southwest are not really on her radar, for no particular reason. She goes to a very urban public school, and loves going to museums and to live concerts ( indie rock and jazz), so the idea of a big city sounds great but she needs to get to know her professor to do well in school. thanks for your interest!</p>
<p>Beloit, here in the lovely midwest, St. Olaf, which has incredible music for non majors. These two are small towns, but major cities are not far away. </p>
<p>Kalamazoo is another, and there are many others as well.</p>
<p>St. Olaf, Lawrence and Kalamazoo came to mind immediately.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds a lot like mine. She loves her cello but doesn’t want to be a music major. Augustana in Rock Island has one of the finest cello professor/teacher in the country - Janina Ehrlich. Her father was a very famous concert cellist in Chicago and she rivals him. School is rigorous and demanding for our honors kid. The whole orchestra is extremely supportive and D joined the music fraternity. The campus is beautiful and the financial aid great if that is a concern for you. Lots of merit. The Christmas concert is incredible as Lutherans do Christmas so well. Between the bands, orchestras and choirs there were over 650 students on stage. Sold out performances as well in their very large hall.
St. Olaf is not a conservatory but is as competitive as one. Turned my daughter off completely. If you are not a major lessons by a professor are not a given. You had to audition and if not up to snuff you could take lessons from a senior student.</p>
<p>What major is she looking at? Business connections are outstanding and many automatic admits to vet, grad schools and medical schools.</p>
<p>Lawrence does have a music conservatory and such is ultra competitive. Kalamazoo not the same caliber as any of the Lutheran schools. I’m not Lutheran but they do music well. Luther in Decorah, Iowa has a great music program for nonmajors as well. Beautiful campus and really well respected science programs. Health professions do lots of interns at the mayo clinic as Decorah is not all that far from Rochester (about an hour).</p>
<p>Thank you! Looks like we are on the right track…we are seeing Beloit and Lawrence pretty soon, but had not considered some of the others, so that is helpful. We are also probably going to look at Ithaca, Clark, Goucher, Skidmore and Wooster. I can look at other threads about schools but would be interested in anyone’s recent experiences, especially as they pertain to music.</p>
<p>@iadorking My daughter is not sure of her major, which makes it tricky. She says interior design, but I think that is code for " stylish, creative, visual learner that isn’t sure about a career path". That is why we are casting a wide net and going for LACs so she has time to figure it out.</p>
<p>Skidmore is an excellent choice. They have a scholarship there by audition which is very generous. You might want to inquire about that. They have an excellent orchestra program, open to all majors.</p>
<p>check Connecticut College as well.</p>
<p>Ithaca has a conservatory…not sure what they have for non-majors.</p>
<p>University of Rochester has good student ensembles.</p>
<p>So does Case Western.</p>
<p>Depauw has a music school that has opportunities for non-majors. It is a small LAC in the Midwest.</p>
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<p>Not sure if you are talking about music opportunities or academic caliber. I mentioned Kalamazoo because I know several kids who attend and play with the Kalamazoo symphony ( [Over</a> 90 Years of Extraordinary Musical Experiences and Educational Programs | Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO)](<a href=“http://www.kalamazoosymphony.com%5DOver”>http://www.kalamazoosymphony.com)) as well as campus groups while in school there. I don’t “push” colleges, but I thought your comment required some elaboration since two of us threw the college “out there” for consideration:</p>
<p>Here’s the bio for the dept. chair (strings) which is pretty impressive:</p>
<p>[Music</a> Department: Andrew Koehler. Kalamazoo College](<a href=“Music Department – | Kalamazoo College”>Music Department – | Kalamazoo College)</p>
<p>Also the state university has opportunities for music participation and the Kalamazoo College Bach Festival is quite well known. Academically it’s probably pretty similar in academic profile to St. Olaf and Beloit. I think all three are ranked very, very closely and probably attract similar kids.</p>
<p>You said that she is not sure she wants to major in music, not that she does not want to major in music, right? Regardless, the music major forum can be a good resource for her.</p>
<p>Schools with conservatories, like Oberlin, Lawrence, Ithaca, Bard, Rochester, may not have opportunities for non-majors or even for BA music majors that are as good as opportunities for BM music majors. They vary in this, but it is an issue to look into. In other words, if she is not going to go to the conservatory part of these colleges, but wants to play, she might even want to avoid them.</p>
<p>Here is a good essay on ways to deal with music, in terms of types of degrees:
[Double</a> Degrees | Peabody Conservatory](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html]Double”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html)</p>
<p>Study of music at LAC’s may or may not include performance, though extracurricular music is always available, as are private lessons (sometimes funded, sometimes not). Music majors study theory, history, composition, ethnomusicology and so on. Every department is a little different, so pay attention to websites. Websites may also have info on extracurricular music, though at some schools those are not even through the music department.</p>
<p>I agree with these: Clark (great music dept.), Goucher, Skidmore and Wooster. You could add countless other LAC’s really. Wesleyan is strong on world music, Tufts has a great new music building, Vassar is good, and Bennington (Vermont, but it has a field work term in the winter when all students live and work elsewhere) and Sarah Lawrence have interesting programs. I mean, I could go on and on. There is a book entitled “Creative Colleges” that lists all the schools with good music programs, by state.</p>
<p>If she has ADD that affects scores, then she should get accommodations from the College Board. Does she have accommodations at school? A 504 plan? You might also want to consider schools that have environments supportive of kids with ADD.</p>
<p>Alternatively, many really great schools are test optional: [SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest). Many want scores for merit scholarships, but otherwise, not providing scores does not seem to affect admissions.</p>
<p>If she is on the fence about majoring in music, I highly recommend covering all options with applications, even schools with conservatories. A lot can happen before spring of senior year and she can make her final decision on April 30.</p>
<p>Compmom, University of Rochester has ensembles for its students. They are not the ensembles from Eastman where the conservatory is located.</p>
<p>DD used to sing in a choir that toured internationally, and quite a few of the girls she sang with went on to attend conservatories and/or major in music. DD has never wanted to major in music but she wanted to continue to sing. When we visited colleges, she always sat in on a choir rehearsal. She is picky to the extreme about conductors. She concluded that if she attended a school with a conservatory, she would probably never get to sing in the top choir(s) because she is a soprano. She ended up attending a LAC that is a good match for her in most ways, but the conductor is better than most of the singers so she is now a big fish in a little pond. She received a music scholarship after sending in a tape, so she must always sing in choir. For her freshman year she sang in two, and this year she sings in the top choir that rehearses four time per week plus she started an a cappella group. Will she become a better singer in college? I doubt it, although her poor sight singing is bound to get better with practice. The repertoire is not nearly as challenging as the new music she used to sing, and she gets frustrated and annoyed with the poor singers. Is this okay? IMHO it is fine as long as she doesn’t ruin her voice and/or pick up bad habits. YMMV. </p>
<p>Be sure your daughter applies for a music merit scholarship. My DD IMHO is not a strong enough singer to be a music major but she got one anyway.</p>
<p>DD is an urban girl who attended a diverse public HS. Most LACs are in rural areas. Hers is in a suburb so she can hop on a train to the city. The adjustment has been tough, since leaving requires a lot of planning and minding the clock to be back by the last train.</p>
<p>Smith. There are performance courses, excellent cello faculty, large orchestra, lots of smaller ensembles, five-college music opportunities, orchestra goes on foreign tour annually, SAT optional</p>
<p>As a general rule, the non-music-major who enjoys playing (or singing) in ensembles is often better off in a college that does NOT have a conservatory. Students like this are welcomed in the college’s orchestras, bands, or choirs because the ensembles need them, and they don’t have to compete with professional-level musicians.</p>
<p>You might want to look at larger colleges that might have smaller schools for various areas. This also might help since she hasn’t decided on a major. My oldest is at Boston University, and was thrilled to find out that she could play her trumpet–they have auditions for placement, but everyone is accepted. She also takes dance classes that are specifically for non-dance majors–there are performances and everything. My daughter’s an education major, but her EC’s are really important to her. She’s also at a large university, but in the smallest school–3800 incoming freshmen, but her school only had 58. So, it is possible, with some digging, to find the school that really fits the student.</p>
<p>P.S. I have a cellist, too! She’s only 10 now, but I know we’ll face a similar dilemma down the line. She’s a math and science nerd, but strings are hugely important to her.</p>
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<p>I wonder if all of the schools being mentioned here meet this concern of OP.</p>
<p>To go in a wholly different direction, how about a Big State U? If your daughter were in an honors program, it would feel smaller. I suggest BSU because it may be so big it has both a music major and non music major orchestra, plus opportunities to join chamber music groups. My non music major son has found strings opportunities at a BSU.</p>