The OP has written that they are applying to both BM (audition) and BA (supplement) schools and will decide later (and also double degree is a possibility).
If not doing a BM, then they need to check with Northwestern about access to Beinen teachers and opportunities OR teachers and opportunities outside of Bienen, for non-BM students. Sometimes the schools known to be “good for music” are not the best choice for BA students, and sometimes they are.
This exactly! Looking at the music ECs, if I’m guessing correctly, the OP appears to be a high level musician.
My recommendation is if you decide to pursue an audition based music performance degree, to work with your private teacher on developing a list of schools. If you have a knowledgeable teacher or other mentors in music, they will be best able to give advice as to how your level matches with those potentially accepted.
This does not mean that you can’t also apply to non audition programs, just advising that your teacher assist with the audition ones.
Oh thank you!!! I didn’t know how to
I’m honestly really worried mostly about my sophomore GPA 
. I wanted some advice on what to do about that/how to explain it on my common app. And, of course, how my application is looking so far. I’m definitely preferring musicology/music history, but if that is not offered, I would do music performance program. But most schools I listed have music history/ethnomusicology/musicology programs. I’ll definitely look into Northwestern and Rice!
To be honest, I have a Northwestern LOR because of music camps I’ve met them through. My only issue is that I’m not sure if I have interest in Northwestern
Your counselor should be able to explain the issue with your grades in their letter. If there was a significant medical issue they will explain it. You are a great candidate and you should meet with your counselor to make sure they are addressing it completely.
i PM’ed you awhile ago.
If you live where I think you do there is a music college fair at manhattan school of music on October 15 that includes a talk on applying to music programs that you may find very helpful
If Rutgers was your only option, would you happy to enroll and attend for four years? If not, you need different safeties.
Do you mean that you have no cost constraints (family is able and willing to pay $90k+ per year for four years) or that your budget is $0/year?
From a “regular” (non-music) admissions perspective, everything on your list is a reach except for Rutgers and U. of Illinois. A school that would fall somewhere between those state schools and the rest of your list, admissions-wise, is U. of Rochester, though in terms of music admissions, I expect it’s amongst the most challenging (music experts to confirm). Also, I would have thought that Indiana University would have been preferred over UIUC based off your music interests.
Most colleges that ask for two teacher LOCs prefer to have one from a STEM teacher and one from a humanities teacher, but you should confirm at each school that you’re applying to.
If you let people know more about what you want from your college experience, they may be able to provide suggestions of which schools on your list might be better (or worse) fits, or other schools that you may want to consider.
Wow thank you!
Ok I’ll definitely find more safeties!
I have no cost restraints.
For my college experience, to be honest I’m fine anywhere! I know that seems like a strange answer, but I truly will be fine in any living conditions. I’m pretty flexible and I accustom to any area. I definitely think that the college rankings are most important to me, as shallow as it sounds it’s true. Even if a lower ranked college provided a better music program than a higher ranked one, I’d go to the one with the higher ranking.
Why?
What ranking are you referring to? For instance, the Eastman School of Music (Rochester) and the Jacobs School of Music (IU) are world-renowned.
If you’re referring to U.S. News and World Report, that organization just released their newest rankings about a week ago, and they changed their methodology significantly. There were schools that moved up or down by 10, 20, 30, or 40+ spots. Those colleges didn’t change what they were doing from the day before (or the year before), but their ranking did change, because the methodology changed. So would your college preference change because a school that was ranked #20 is now #50 or a school that was #80 is now #40?
This is a list of schools you might want to investigate that I think could be better fits for you. I pulled some of the schools from your own list as well, and have sorted this list based on my very fallible guesses as to what your chances for admission might be based on your overall profile. For schools that require an audition, these categorizations are meaningless.
Additionally, if your school is as strong as it appears, make sure to have conversations with your school counselor about your chances at these schools in comparison with your peers applying this year as well as past record of admissions results.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Likely (60-79%)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
ETA Loyola N.O.
@AustenNut I don’t believe this student wants a BM. In fact, some schools might be good to avoid because they do have a BM program. Most of the schools on your list have a BM degree. There are exceptions of course.
Oh, I thought that OP was undecided and was intending to apply to BM programs as well. I yield to the experts (like you).
I’m confused, too. I thought the OP was considering BM Performance as well.
Did this change? Maybe I missed it.
@AustenNut and @anotheroboemom sorry, sometimes info from PM’s gets mixed up with info on the public forum, something I try to be careful about!
Sending you a private message. Look for the green circle in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Your match schools are all reach schools.
UNC oos is an 8% acceptance rate including oos recruited athletes. Not including those athletes the acceptance rate is under 4%.
You should apply to any school you really like and can afford just make sure you have a good mix to safety, target and reach schools.