<p>Hi everyone, I just have a few questions. So currently, I am looking for a school where I can do a double major in Music Education and Math, Science, or Engineering. I am only a sophomore currently but so far, I have a 3.9 unweighted GPA and I am number 2 in my class. For music, I made All State and Regions as a freshman and a sophomore. Now, I'm looking for a school that is strong academically and musically. Schools I've looked at so far:
U Mich
Williams
Oberlin/Oberlin Conservatory
John Hopkins/Peabody Conservatory
Bard College
Tufts
Columbia University
If it makes a difference, I am primarily an alto saxophone player.
Please tell me if these colleges sound good and are there are any suggestions to what other colleges I can pursue?</p>
<p>Music tends to be a relatively heavy major, as are all engineering majors. Most science majors are also fairly heavy, though math is often not. By “heavy”, I mean lots of course requirements which can make it difficult to fit both majors into a typical eight semester schedule. Music performance courses and lab courses in engineering and science are also time consuming, so overloading your course schedule may be more difficult than with some other majors (although math tends to have no or few lab courses).</p>
<p>Music and math is probably the most feasable combination, especially if you are able to complete the entire lower division math curriculum while still in high school (this means college freshman calculus or calculus BC as a high school junior, followed by multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations as a high school senior). However, if you are that advanced in math, you likely want a school with a strong graduate math department, since students that advanced in math are likely to want to take graduate level courses as undergraduates, or exhaust the offerings at small or undergraduate-only math departments.</p>
<p>Your motivation for such a double major?</p>
<p>UCBA is correct but still check out the music majors forum. There has been plenty of discussion on double majors.
A couple of questions. As an alto sax player are you looking for a jazz major? Classical music? Since All State does not figure into the high competitive level of some of the schools you have chosen, do you have a pretty good fix on where you are in the talent pool? Your private teacher may have insight into this.
BTW UCLA is another school you might want to consider if you are confident in your audition abilities. I know more than one really good jazz musicians who double majored in Physics and Music there…but it did take five years. However with the likes of Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock on the faculty, the music admit may be your toughest hurdle.
I also think that you might find that schools such as MIT and Cal Tech have students and faculty who have organized genuinely good ensembles on campus. They frequently have ties to local universities for private lessons and musical support. You don’t have to stop playing just because you are not majoring in music. Just an idea.</p>