<p>Jamimom- thanks so much for sharing your son's experiences with/thoughts about Northwestern. Would your son have applied as a Vocal Performance major, or theater major? Has he made a choice yet as to where he'll be attending next year? Thanks again for the reflection, it's great two hear two divergent views about one school- helps to get some perspective.
Dani</p>
<p>"Look at them all openly because you might be going to ANY school on your list, not necessarily your most favorite."</p>
<p>Well said, although I think the most important aspect of choosing a school is whether or not that student will be happy in a particular place. Sometimes the excitement of being accepted into a BFA program is diminished when a student isn't happy with the school, so you have to look at every aspect. I know several students who gave up their dreams of BFA programs because they were rejected from the BFA program at their dream schools, but accepted into BA's or BM's. It depends on the student and what that student wants. Of course, to some BFA wannabes, nothing will stop them from attaining their goals of a BFA.</p>
<p>S would have auditioned as a vocal performance major at NW. It was one of two non MT vocal programs that he wanted to do. The audition requirement was very rigorous--they wanted 4 classical selection ready in at least 3 languages with examples of pieces given for difficulty level. Although he the pieces in his repertoire, preparing for them would have been a stretch as he was extremely busy once January was here. He withdrew his app and did not do either of the classical auditions. He also applied as a drama/acting/theatre major to a number of programs, along with MT schools and schools that were non audition. He did undergo a number of changes in his perspectives as he went through the audition processes and was able to more carefully look at the schools. He had looked at a number of them as a junior, but that second visit often gave him different perspectives. Some kids are "MT or bust"; others change their mind about that as they examine other issues about a college and what they want to study.</p>
<p>I also want to make clear that I am not refuting Theatremom's post and remarks about NW. They may be more to the point than what my son, who was 17 at the time of his visits, noticed. I do not think he was always right in his judgements and feelings, and they did change during the process. But Northwestern is a fine school that does offer theatre, music and MT, unlike most of the schools of its calibre. And for someone with strong classical voice, it offers a bit of leeway in academics for admissions; for someone with strong stats and good resume who does not want to audition, it offers the theatre school. It is an option worth investigating, but you may well find that the quality is not there. Do look for that situation, particularly given the points that Theatremom raised. </p>
<p>Another possibility that S examined but did not pursue is the vocal performance program at UMich. It is is not as terribly competitive stats wise to get in as MT, and there is some overlap of resources. One of the mom's on this forum has a D who is going that route and she has written a post on that option with more specific info. THere is also the theatre/acting option as well. You can apply to multiple options at UMich if going there trumps having to get into the MT program or other choices you may have. Be sure to get the limitations on what is available to non MT program and what is not if you are considering such options at any schools. Some schools are more stingy than others in sharing resources with other departments. However, the limitations may not be ornerous to your student once the day is done and the choices are on the table.</p>
<p>When my daughter was trying to decide between her top two schools...one with a VP major and the other with a MT major...she sought advice from some of her mentors. The advice that seemed to help her the most came from her acting teacher of several years. She said that D's happiness in life and success in her career was not going to come from the DEGREE she achieved. Having a degree in MT or VP did not necessarily afford her happiness and success. What would give her happiness (in terms of a collegiate experience) would be 1. living in a place that she felt comfortable and nurtured....2. studying the things she loves...3. working with friends and teachers who shared common intellectual ground. Just because she would graduate with a MT degree....or a VP degree did not mean she would get from point A (now) to point B (her goals of performing). For SOME kids, not all, but SOME...getting stuck on having to have the MT degree...is a stumbling block in making their decision. My D made her decision by opening her mind to the question of where she could best develop her skills in an environment which brought her happiness. She chose the U of Michigan VP degree. She couldn't be more excited.</p>
<p>I hope that makes SOME sense...I'm paraphrasing her teacher, but I thought it was valuable advice for my D...maybe not for your kids...but it worked for mine. She was also able to factor in that the generous scholarship she was offered from Michigan extends for five years (not four, as all the other scholarships from other schools)...so if she needs additional time to get classes and training she needs, she does have the additional time to do so.</p>
<p>musicalthtrmom - It sounds like your daughter is very wise, and I'm so happy to hear she is so excited about her choice. Sounds wonderful!</p>
<p>Jamimom - Is your son going to Yale? I think I saw that on the acceptance list, but maybe not on the decision list. Congrat's on that! He sounds very smart.</p>
<p>Jamimom,</p>
<p>Just for the record, I never felt that you were trying to "refute" my family's observations about MT possibilities at NW. The wonderful thing about this forum is that we get to read so many different takes on the same school, program, choice, whatever. In the end, the wise readers of this forum hopefully will add what they read here to the rest of the information they gather about the college programs that meet the range of their individual wants, needs, abilities and dreams. Diversity of opinion leads us to ask the questions that are critically necessary to decision making. We should all, once again, thank the creators and sustainers of this forum for providing a place where interchanges like this can take place. We are all in their debt.</p>
<p>Well said, theatermom!</p>
<p>What a great post! Your dd sounds like she had a very wise mentor and one who could show your dd that everybody is an individual and needs to decide what is best for THEM. The BFA is wonderful. No doubt about it. But not for everybody. I think it's very easy to get caught up with the "trends" without really looking at what is best for the individual. Best wishes to your dd.</p>
<p>"Diversity of opinion leads us to ask the questions that are critically necessary to decision making. We should all, once again, thank the creators and sustainers of this forum for providing a place where interchanges like this can take place. We are all in their debt."</p>
<p>I agree, but think it's vitally important that we take the opinions we share and ultimately decide what is in the best interest for OUR student. It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of particular programs when there is so much emphasis put on that particular program. The people on these and other forums are wonderful in terms of providing information, but it's important to not make our decisions based on what might be best for the kids we read about. The kids represented on this forum are a small percentage of the kids out there.</p>
<p>Starmom,</p>
<p>I also said,</p>
<p>"In the end, the wise readers of this forum hopefully will add what they read here to the rest of the information they gather about the college programs that meet the range of their individual wants, needs, abilities and dreams."</p>
<p>But thanks for restating that important point. This forum is just one of many sources for information and support.</p>
<p>Musicalthtrmom, thanks for chiming in. I found your post about the VP program at U Michigan most informative. And it is a rare bird who gets money from UMich, so congratulations to your D for the award. </p>
<p>I wanted to be clear to everyone that I did not personally visit NW or research VP possibilities at UMich, but that these are some other opportunities for some kids to consider. Some of the "off road" possibilities are not so easy to find especially if you are focused on a specific path, and some may fit your student's desires more.</p>
<p>Thanks jamimom for the kind words...(I enjoy your choice of words too..."chiming in" and "rare bird!") D knows she is extremely fortunate to have the award she has been given. It really turned her head. Truly made her look at how U of M apparently "valued" her in this process. Had she not been given the sizeable award, I really believe she would have signed elsewhere. Perhaps this is further evidence for the theory much repeated here and elsewhere that students end up where they are supposed to be. We certainly feel blessed at the outcome D has experienced. For her, it is sooooo clearly the right path. What an adventure lies ahead!</p>
<p>I am a high school Junior, currently in that decision-making dilemma; I have to decide between being a voice major or a poli sci/ maybe business major. I'd love to have the freedom of double-majoring, but it's not that simple. Music is a major that requires a lot of time, effort, and dedication. Almost all the faculties of music (at various universities) that I have visited w/ my parents have said that double-majoring is either possible, although they HIGHLY don't recommend it, or impossible to do. While minoring in music would seem like the option in this case, it is just not a good solution if your kid wants to have a career in music. A couple of schools DO have programs that allow music majors to combine their major with another, such as business, so they could later go work in the music business as a back up in case things don't work out. I am not sure what schools offer this, but if you find out, please post the schools' names, thank you.</p>
<p>Emgirl88, if you are talking about a BM in vocal performance, you are quite right that it is very difficult to to combine with another major. Double degree programs are few and far between, and many students who choose that path often drop the second major because of the workload. For more perspective on this, do a search for "music majors"; there are about two threads co-existing on CC that address some of the ins and outs of double degree programs. Off the top of my head, the schools most frequently mentioned with double degree programs are Lawrence University (WI), Oberlin (OH), Bard (NY), Eastman/Rochester, and JHU/Peabody. There are others, but the grey cells are failing me at the moment. Most double degree programs are five year programs, but I know that Lawrence, at least, takes this into account with their financial aid packages.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, you are talking about a true double major (two BAs), it's something that you'll have to evaluate based on your own work ethic and desire to pursue music. My daughter, who originally was considering double degree programs, is now looking for schools where she can do a double major: BA in music with a vocal performance emphasis and a BA in either political science or public policy. She doesn't necessarily want to pursue a performance career, but music is too much a part of who she is to just walk away from it. So she's leaving her options open...and who knows what will happen once she's actually going to college! To develop her college list, we've been starting by looking for schools that have a high percentage of students with double majors; that seems to us to be a good indicator that the school will work with the students to make it happen. Then she digs deeply into the music programs. She looks at the courses available, and if there is a strong component of theory, aural and sight training, private lessons, and performance opportunities, the school tends to stay on her list. There have been a number of schools that she has eliminated because the BA in music leans toward music history and/or appreciation rather than performance. She also considers whether a school requires an audition for their BA program (a plus in her mind), although one of her [current] favorites (Brandeis) does not have an audition for acceptance into the program; they do, however, have an audition option sophomore year(?...need to double check this) for students seeking a performance emphasis.</p>
<p>Shenandoah University is another school you might want to look at; they have a program that appears to be unique. They offer a BM in music "with another emphasis" (forgive me, it's called something like that but I can't remember their exact wording). At any rate, it's a BM plus 24 credit hours in another area of study...a little more than a minor in the secondary area but not as many credit hours as a second major. </p>
<p>Hope this helps...</p>
<p>emgirl88 - You might want to consider Northwestern and Indiana University, although we talked to the theatre dept's rather than the music dept's. On this very thread you will find more about Northwestern. Indiana's theatre dept. offers a BA and almost encourages double majors or minors. I know that the music dept. is an audition program - not sure if BM or BFA, so you would have to check with them on double major possibilities. Michigan might also be one to consider, but I'm sure it would be difficult there. I think glouka (sp?) has a daughter double majoring there.</p>
<p>thank you very much, mezzomom and ericsmom, the info really helped!</p>
<p>musicalthtrmom -</p>
<p>I know your D is a VP major at UMich. Has singing always been her first love? and - I know the requirements for the two depts must be different (my d is a junior - so I am still wading thorough the 'discovery' phase.) and how did she decided to go for VP at U Mich instead of MT? My husband graduated with a degree in VP (from Hofstra - a hundred years ago...) and he has been quite a successful actor as opposed to primarily a singer. </p>
<p>So - I certainly concur that there are many roads to goals.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>janenw</p>
<p>janenw...
My D will start her freshman year at Michigan as a VP major in September. She graduates from hs this month... </p>
<p>My D auditioned for VP and MT at Michigan but was accepted for VP only. She was deciding between a MT acceptance at Oklahoma City and a VP acceptance at Michigan when it came down to her final choice. </p>
<p>Has singing always been her first love? Hmmm....She has been dancing since 4, playing piano since 11, choirs in school and voice lessons since 14, acting lessons since 16. I used to say she was a dancer who sings. Dancing got her roles. Then her voice took off after studying with a superb teacher. Now I would say she is a singer who dances and acts. Her voice is her gift. But music has been her comfort in life. (I could always tell when something upset her at school, she would come home, drop her books and head straight for the piano. After playing, she would be consoled.) She will continue to take as much dance and acting as she can within the voice degree at Michigan. She may decide to do some dance or acting intensives over the summer breaks (4 months each summer). She will get as much performance experience as she can at Michigan and over the summers. Can't wait to see what the four years brings!</p>
<p>How did she decide to go for VP at Michigan instead of MT? She wasn't choosing from the two degrees at the same university, but different degrees at different universities (hope that makes sense!). It was a veeeeery difficult decision for her. After she was offered substantial scholarship at UM, we made a last minute visit and she explored the VP curriculum further. Spending the day in Ann Arbor again (this was the third visit) just made her realize how she felt about living there in the city and within the student body. The scholarship truly made her feel valued there. (Though she had scholarship from OCU as well.) We helped her make a long laundry list of priorities in choosing between the two schools (curriculum, faculty, dorms, proximity to home, etc) and she ranked them and scored the two schools. UM came out markedly higher. But she knew that wasn't the only way to make this decision. She spoke with her mentors...and took a good week to decide. We didn't really talk about it with her...we wanted her to own the decision. (Boy, was it hard to NOT influence her during that week!) I guess it worked because her choral teacher recently told me that D told her that she had come to the decision on her own, that we had never told her what we wanted her to do and we hadn't influenced her in either direction. (Now I'm sure she could sense our feelings, but I'm grateful she feels she made the decision on her own...that is what we wanted.)Hope that information helps.</p>
<p>Ghoukla has a D at UM who is VP but who was accepted for VP and MT. Perhaps she would have different insight for you.</p>
<p>I think Musicalthrmom's story is important in that it shows an example of what the choice might come down to being. It is wonderfull to have to choose between two ideals but when you are talking about performing arts, it seems to me that many kids have to choose among some tough choices when it comes to the actual school, curriculum, program, location, cost. The choice may well become the acting option at Emerson with a nice merit award vs the MT program at Shenandoah or the vocal performance at Northwestern or a theatre/music option at Goucher with a goodly amount of aid, for example, when ideally you are looking for an MT program with some merit money in a convenient location at a school known for other than a few specialized programs.</p>