Music major/minor rankings anyone?

<p>On my previous post I did not add that Steven Hartke is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.</p>

<p>I am sorry I did´n reply soon, I got lost in the colleggeconfidential sea and did´n know how to track my post. I am very thankful for your reply. My daughter was accepted in almost all the schools she applied, and now she is deciding between McGill, Lawrence and DePauw. Certainly, McGill scares her a lot, she feels there won´t be personalized attention, even not from her piano teacher. Lawrence certainly has an excelent music program, and offered a good financial aid package. We don´t know much about Depauw but they offered a full tuition scholarship. Furman also offered a very big aid, but It seems it`s more difficult to do the double degree program.
Regarding to your suggestion about Bard, they accepted her, but with no financial aid.</p>

<p>I would really appreciate your opinion, and the other member´s opinion, in this state of things. Thank you</p>

<p>(Sorry if my English is not so good).</p>

<p>Thanks a lot POTO Mom for your reply. I didn´t see it until now. It will be very useful now that my daughter has been accepted in Furman. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Pianistdad,</p>

<p>I have added your daughters acceptances at our master list at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a-52.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a-52.html&lt;/a&gt; but I had to guess at some information for some of the programs that you mentioned. Please let me know if any of the following guesses are incorrect:</p>

<p>1) She was accepted for the BA in music (piano) and economics at Furman
2) She was accepted into a double degree program with a BM in piano performance and a BA in economics at Bard, DePauw and Lawrence
3) She was accepted into a BM piano performance program at McGill. Their web site says that she cannot enroll in both programs right now, but advises those interested in two degrees to first matriculate as a music major and then she may be eligible to register in a separate BA program in economics at a later date.
4) These are all of her acceptances to a school where she would be a music major of some sort.</p>

<p>Your daughter has some excellent choices (and your English is very good: much more comprehensible than some teenagers’ English!). She also has a nice variety of choices.</p>

<p>Has your daughter met and had a lesson with her potential piano teachers? I think that how she feels about her piano teacher should be a big factor. There are good piano faculty at McGill, DePauw and Lawrence. Some students that are uncertain as to where to attend do April visits during which they have a lesson with each potential teacher. I have a hunch that your daughter might be overseas and this might not be possible.</p>

<p>You are right that at McGill the classes would on average be much much larger than those at DePauw or Lawrence, especially in first year. Your daughter is likely to get more individual academic attention at DePauw and Lawrence than she would at McGill. It is still rare in Canada for professors of first year classes to get to know student names; the atmosphere is quite a bit less personal in Canadian universities than in US liberal arts colleges. Of course, you usually pay for the personal attention, but if your daughter has a full tuition scholarship to DePauw, then she doesn’t have to pay! </p>

<p>I think that the personalized attention from the piano teacher could happen at any of the three schools and will depend more on the particular piano teacher’s personality than on the school. My son has been most impressed with the genuineness, skill, and interest of the McGill violin faculty (and it is the largest school of music that he applied to). He has a couple of friends that studies piano at McGill who think very highly of their piano teachers. One got to play for Lang Lang in Montreal this winter (that sort of opportunity is much less likely to occur at DePauw or even at Lawrence, although both do have some wonderful opportunities). </p>

<p>For some students the location of the campus is important. DePauw, as I mentioned earlier, is in a very rural setting in a small town. Student life revolves around the college. Lawrence is in a city of about 70 000 people. McGill is in the heart of a large vibrant multicultural city. McGill, on the other hand, does not have the sort of tight-knit student community or school spirit that American liberal arts colleges like DePauw and Lawrence have. </p>

<p>If getting lost in a large institution is a concern of your daughter’s, then I would lean towards either DePauw or Lawrence rather than McGill. They are both reputable schools. I believe that your daughter wanted to major in economics, so you should check out each school’s reputation in that regard.</p>

<p>Pianistdad,</p>

<p>after reading your last entry in this thread at a time of day when I am likely to be a little more awake, I find myself less clear than I was about the Bard admission. Can you confirm for that one in particular that your daughter was accepted by both the college and the conservatory? I know a couple of students in the college but not the conservatory who are still very active in music there, so perhaps it would be a better guess on my part to assume an admission to the college only until you clarify things.</p>

<p>Bassdad: the following is the complete list:
Bard: accepted only BA but if financial situation is justified
Lawrence: BM/BA
Depauw : BM/BA
Furman : BM (performance)
Wheaton IL: accepted BM but if financial situation is justified
Wheaton Mass: BA
Manhattanville: BM/BA
Gettysburg: no answer
McGill: BA accepted BM pending</p>

<p>Thank You</p>

<p>Pianistdad, if I understand the clarification you posted for BassDad, the music decisions for both Shulich and Bard Con are still pending. I have deleted them from the Master. When you get them, let us know and we’ll add them back.</p>

<p>I’m assuming that if d is not accepted to Bard Con, her path will be BA economics, not BA music. </p>

<p>Is the Wheaton IL: a BA economics or a BA music?</p>

<p>I amended the Furman to reflect BM piano perf, no second discipline in economics.
I added Manhattanville as BM perf & BA economics.
I added Wheaton IL as a BM perf</p>

<p>Let us know about Gettysburg when you hear.</p>

<p>The changes are reflected here
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064533494-post777.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064533494-post777.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you have amendments or aditions, you can post your reply directly to the master list thread, and either BassDad or I will add them.</p>

<p>We try to keep the listing accurate, but do not list acceptances for BA non music degrees only.</p>

<p>Wheathon is BM in performance. Sorry but, I would like to know more about the master list you are doing. What is it about?</p>

<p>Pianistdad, there are two sets of Masters, one for acceptances, and one for final decisions. Direct links are here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064490656-post5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064490656-post5.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The first was started for the '07 admissions cycle by Singersmom07, and we have maintained them ever since.</p>

<p>They are very similar to what you will find throughout CC. The music theater forum maintains one <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/820681-mt-acceptances-hs-class-2010-college-name.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/820681-mt-acceptances-hs-class-2010-college-name.html&lt;/a&gt;, the college admissions forum has one as well.</p>

<p>Our list details reported acceptances from a poster, be they a student or student’s parent. We will also add an acceptance if we note it in another thread.</p>

<p>We have chosen to list acceptances for music major pursuit only, be it a BA, BM, BFA variant. Audition or non audition program has no bearing as long as the major discipline is music.</p>

<p>The list serves a number of purposes. It is a celebration of the students’ successes.</p>

<p>It is a research tool for parents/students trying to get a handle on the breath of program availabity, and also is a specific tool to find experiences from persons accepted (or matriculated) at a specific school.</p>

<p>Utilizing the info on the master, one can search the forum for prior posts by a specific usrer name, or threads concerning a degree path, or “where should I look at for violin”.</p>

<p>Participation is by no means mandatory, and if one does not wish to be added, all that is necessary is to contact myself or BassDad. Most here see the names of the list as a cause of celebration. I have two requests from specific posters not to be included. Bassdad could have requests as well.</p>

<p>Nothing additional will be added unless you agree (and I can remove what is there) if that is your wish.</p>

<p>Hope the history makes it a bit clearer.</p>

<p>You can see the list for yourself at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a-52.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a-52.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is a listing of all of the music major acceptances for as many schools and CC users as we can get. It is a very helpful tool for those who want to research schools and perhaps ask questions of others who have been accepted by a school or who have chosen to attend a school. We have been keeping lists like this one for about four years, so feel free to examine this year’s list and previous year’s lists if you have specific questions about the schools where your daughter has been accepted. You can then use the private message (PM) feature to communicate directly with students or parents of students who are at those schools. There is no guarantee that they will answer, but many people who have been helped by the information here on CC repay the favor by answering these kinds of questions.</p>

<p>EDIT: crossposted with violadad</p>

<p>PianistDad, My d is a BM freshman at Lawrence this year and is very happy. Please feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. I can tell you that it seems to be a good choice for doing a double degree, as many students do it.</p>

<p>ViolaDad and BassDad: Thanks a lot for your reply and clarification.
I’ve been reading your posts since mi daughter started her application process and they have been very useful for me. As an international student parent, it’s very helpful for me to count on people like you guys. Many times I’ve felt so desperate: though my daughter attends to an American school, American education system is somehow a mystery for me, and I don’t know much about American colleges either. Furman or Lawrence? Depauw or Wheaton? Or McGill? Sometimes I feel sick of this. Next week we will be travelling to US and Canada to see the universities, I hope everything gets clearer. Thanks for listening (reading) to me.</p>

<p>Thank you Violindad. Just another answer: do you think it’s a good idea to put Furman out of the colleges to visit list? Next week D and I will go to visit Lawrence, Depauw and McGill. The problem with Furman is that I’ve heard it’s very difficult to accomplish a double degree, they don’t offer it in a structured way and students have to jump from one class to another. But is it’s music school as good as Lawrence?</p>

<p>Astermom: thanks for your reply. What where her other choises and why did she decide for Lawrence?</p>

<p>It turned out she wanted three things: 1) the best music school she could get into; 2) strong academics, even though she did not want to do a double degree; 3) a small, friendly campus. When the results were in, Lawrence was the school that met all three. U Maryland felt too big; Hartt, Ithaca and Crane lacked the academics; Connecticut College lacked the music. Lawrence has been as promised on all fronts.</p>

<p>Pianistdad: The most important thing in choosing a music school is the fit with a particular teacher, so it is good that you are visiting each of the schools. If you have not already arranged sample piano lessons at each school, then I would highly recommend trying to do so immediately. Most music school websites will have email addresses for each of their teachers. If you can’t find an email address for a teacher, then try calling the music schools and asking about how to contact a teacher for a sample lesson. </p>

<p>I always think that considering more options is better, so if you have the time and resources to get to Furman, then it is probably a good idea. If you can’t arrange a sample piano lesson there, then a visit might be of limited value if you already have reservations about how doable a double degree is there. If you do go to Furman be certain to ask the piano teacher(s) how they feel about the double degree. They might have valuable insight or opinions as to how well it could work.</p>

<p>Sorry, I can’t directly answer your question as to whether Furman’s music school is as good as Lawrence’s. It certainly is a solid school of music but ultimately what counts is whether it is a good music school for your daughter and that depends heavily on the relationship with the individual piano teacher.</p>

<p>Pianistdad, some threads to the schools you cite in your post “Tired”:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/847334-depauw-school-music-acceptance-rate-scholarships.html?highlight=Depauw[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/847334-depauw-school-music-acceptance-rate-scholarships.html?highlight=Depauw&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/705006-depauw-butler-cant-decide.html?highlight=Depauw[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/705006-depauw-butler-cant-decide.html?highlight=Depauw&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/149115-depauw-university-good-school-music-major.html?highlight=Depauw[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/149115-depauw-university-good-school-music-major.html?highlight=Depauw&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There is very little on either Wheaton College, other than passing mentions
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/775035-christian-school-oboe-eng-horn-performance.html?highlight=Wheaton[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/775035-christian-school-oboe-eng-horn-performance.html?highlight=Wheaton&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1059875461-post407.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1059875461-post407.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/2886753-post9.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/2886753-post9.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/150706-wheaton-conservatory.html?highlight=Wheaton[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/150706-wheaton-conservatory.html?highlight=Wheaton&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/700032-eastman-vs-lawrence.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/700032-eastman-vs-lawrence.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/682870-vocal-performance-northwestern-vanderbilt-lawrence-u-miami.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/682870-vocal-performance-northwestern-vanderbilt-lawrence-u-miami.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/691840-vocal-performance-lawrence-university.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/691840-vocal-performance-lawrence-university.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/677173-jazz-program-lawrence.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/677173-jazz-program-lawrence.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/458694-lawrence-university-conservatory-temple-university-i-need-advice-please.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/458694-lawrence-university-conservatory-temple-university-i-need-advice-please.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/261580-vp-lawrence-university.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/261580-vp-lawrence-university.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/172774-its-lawrence-her-final-answer.html?highlight=lawrence[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/172774-its-lawrence-her-final-answer.html?highlight=lawrence&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Furman
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064520966-post17.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064520966-post17.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/476603-info-about-furman-voice-program.html?highlight=furman[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/476603-info-about-furman-voice-program.html?highlight=furman&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I am pretty confident you realize McGill is a Canadian, not US institution.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/823463-feedback-about-mcgill.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/823463-feedback-about-mcgill.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/794600-mcgill-university-schulich-school-music.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/794600-mcgill-university-schulich-school-music.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/736501-mcgill-usc-bu.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/736501-mcgill-usc-bu.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/689159-mcgill-boulder-flute-performance.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/689159-mcgill-boulder-flute-performance.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/670610-mcgill-admissions.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/670610-mcgill-admissions.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/656212-mcgill-admissions-school-music-help.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/656212-mcgill-admissions-school-music-help.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/466311-schulich-school-music-mcgill-university.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/466311-schulich-school-music-mcgill-university.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/323403-mcgill-schulich-music-school.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/323403-mcgill-schulich-music-school.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/395384-mcgill-schulich-school-music.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/395384-mcgill-schulich-school-music.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/300060-mcgill-voice-performance.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/300060-mcgill-voice-performance.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/289491-mcgill-double-degree.html?highlight=McGill[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/289491-mcgill-double-degree.html?highlight=McGill&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There may also be specific information here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558178-music-school-visits.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558178-music-school-visits.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>An afterthought: it has been said that the three most effortless programs for combining high level music and an academic path are Lawrence, Bard and Oberlin.</p>

<p>This does not say that the same cannot be achieved elsewhere. </p>

<p>At a number of institutions that tout a dual path, often the individual philosophy of the instrumental instructor may present the major stumbling block.</p>

<p>“At a number of institutions that tout a dual path, often the individual philosophy of the instrumental instructor may present the major stumbling block.”</p>

<p>Remember that this can be true even at schools where there is otherwise a lot of support for the dual degree program. When talking to teachers or at sample lessons, it is important to find out how the teacher feels about the student working toward the other degree.</p>