<p>Renee,</p>
<p>First of all, don't stress yourself out on this just yet. You have time to work things out. Right now, the best things you can do are to keep working on the violin and get the best grades you can. By doing those two things, you will keep open as many doors as possible.</p>
<p>An undergrad degree may or may not have a lot of influence on what you do later in life. I know doctors, lawyers and mathematicians, for example, who have performance degrees from conservtories. On the other hand, I know professional musicians with degrees in engineering, chemistry, and even some with no degree at all.</p>
<p>My own family is full of musicians who have all seemed to approach things from a different direction. I was a singer from a young age and, while my parents were supportive in getting me lessons, they were also very happy when I applied to colleges in Engineering. While at college, I spent more time in the music building than in the Engineering library and eventually performed a full solo recital sponsored by the music department. While I still earn a living from engineering and usually enjoy what I do at work, I sing with a local opera company and a very good community chorus.</p>
<p>While in high school, my wife studied with the principal flutist of the Met Opera orchestra. He urged her to apply to places like Juilliard and Curtis, but she did not like the idea of going to school in a city. She wound up with a music ed degree from a small college with a good music program. After trying to make it as a freelance musician and by giving flute lessons through a local music store, she decided that she did not want that life. She went back to school and learned about computers and now works for a large insurance company. She still teaches flute at a local college and plays two or three paying gigs a month with some local professional ensembles.</p>
<p>Our daughter discovered the double bass in eighth grade after being an indifferent violin student for several years. She is now at Oberlin Conservatory with hopes of eventually establishing an orchestral career. She is in a double major program as well, with the second major still waffling back and forth between math and physics. Like you, she loves music and can't imagine herself in any other field. She takes the other classes because she likes them, not because she thinks they will provide her with a backup plan in case the music doesn't work out.</p>
<p>My son has only been playing the guitar for a couple of years, but he has gotten pretty good at it in that time. He has no idea at all of what he wants to do with his life and has shown very little interest in college planning even though he is about to start his junior year of high school. I have no idea of what he will wind up doing, but I think he will do just fine for himself if we can get him through the next few years.</p>
<p>We on this forum tend to obsess over college in general and a small number of highly selective colleges in particular. Please don't let our ramblings convince you that getting into a specific school or program is a definition of success, or even a necessary path for success. A lot of the jobs that will be available when you enter the workforce have not yet been invented.</p>
<p>Keep up the hard work on the violin and learn all you can in high school. Take the advice of the other posters here - get the best teacher you can, read the Peabody articles, play and listen to a lot of music that you love.</p>