music school to university transfer

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I have been attending a major conservatory for the past two years on scholarship and I am now interested in attending a regular university. I would like to major in another field, such as English, but continue to take lessons. I feel that having a broader range of knowledge will help me become a better musician.</p>

<p>My stats...
Huge public high school in a southern state
4.0 UW, 4.9 W
Graduated in 3 years
Took AP Music Theory (Freshman), Calculus BC (Soph), US History (Soph), Bio (Soph), Physics (Soph), World History (Junior), English Lit (Junior)
However, I only took the Calc and US History exams - got 5s on both.
All honors classes.
My ECs were mostly music related (youth orchestra, all-state, music festivals, etc.) but also swim team, Beta Club.
English Award
National Merit Finalist
SAT: 800V, 660M
From college...
3.7 GPA freshman year (took theory, music history, eartraining, humanities, chamber music, orchestra, etc.)
This semester should be similar - I'm taking music history, piano, orchestra, chamber music, and Advanced French.
Next semester I will be taking three classes (in addition to my music classes) at a nearby university - psychology, English, and ordinary differential equations.</p>

<p>Basically, I have found that I need more intellectual stimulation than a conservatory provides. I enjoy playing my instrument more when I am constantly thinking about areas outside of music.</p>

<p>I am interested in schools that are in a major city (Philadelphia, New York, LA, Boston, etc.) because of better access to a teacher. I am currently investigating, with the help of a longtime teacher, which teachers would be the best for me. I don't want to go to a school that is too small. I would like the school to have a sizeable population of serious musicians.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of your help!</p>

2

<p>My daughter is at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and loves it. She is in the orchestra and it is of high quality plus she gets access to the Philadelphia Orchestra and all the free concerts at Curtis. If you are a music major or minor and play well you can get free lessons subsidized by Penn. Ths Cassatt String Quartet is in residency at Penn this year. Penn is investing a lot in their performing arts programs and the neighborhood around Penn is much better than it was several years ago and continues to improve rapidly. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>How about either Oberlin or University of Rochester. Both schools have strong academic programs and great programs in music.</p>

4

<p>You didn't say what size of university you are looking for or what size town/city you would like. UPenn is a good thought as are University of Michigan, Indiana U, Northwestern and Rice...all great universities with strong music programs.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your responses! I have thought about UPenn, but one concern I had was its reputation as the most "pre-professional" of the Ivys. Saintofme, what is your daughter's major?
I would like a school with more than 2000 or so students, and preferrably not just undergraduates. I have been thinking about UMich and some other Big 10 schools as well. One of my major problems is that I don't know what caliber of school would be a reach, match, etc. since I only applied to conservatories as a freshman. Since I want to major in a field other than music, would my musical accomplishments be a hook?</p>

6

<p>My D is just a freshman and had to declare a music major to get the free lessons. She is thinking about double majoring in French. Unsure about career goals at this point but she definitely isn't pre-med and I can't seem to convince her to take an economics course :-) One advantage of Penn considering your remarks is that all the grad schools are on the same campus. Perhaps poster FrecklyBeckly, who is a freshman at UMich and a musical person as well, can provide some information for you on that school.</p>

7

<p>I'm going to throw out someplace you may consider strange but take a look at their website:Arizona State U.D found them when she was looking for a music school in a large U setting (urban).They were listed on top 25 music school lists so she took a look.She was a flute performance major at the time,also a NMF.She wanted the diversity of a large school (was turned off by the all music kids conservatory atmosphere).The NMF gave her a scholarship (full).She clicked with the flute studio teacher at the time..since changed but the new one is better than the old one!.She slowly changed her major from performance to musicology and had a wonderful experience there.Lived in the Honors College complex.Wrote a senior honors thesis with grad faculty mentors,that she had to defend and was great practice for grad school interviews..Very collegial faculty.The setting and facilities can't be beat(practice rooms with windows!!palm trees,fountains).Sorry,you didnt say what your instrument was.D also minored in Women's Studies,was involved in lots of organizations.Her original roommate was an Engineering major who played cello and took lessons and played in ensembles.There's room for non majors too.D stayed in the flute studio after changing to the musicology major.She had a great outcome-shes now in a fully funded Phd program(first year) in Musicology.If you want better info,contact Dr Karen Bryan at the Schoolof Music.She's the assistant Dean and does alot of advising.She would be really helpful.</p>

8

<p>I am puzzled by some of your comments and concerns. You want to transfer, but you want to do this partly because you will enjoy music more if it is not your sole focus. You also want to be in a major city with access to a good music teacher and you want to be in an environment with serious musicians. </p>

<p>I can tell you that if you are in a "major" conservatory and transfer outside of the conservatory environment, you may be VERY disappointed with the level of music. What some people consider to be schools with strong music programs may not match your expectations. You obviously enjoy music. If you have a good music experience and mesh with your teachers, I would be cautious about leaving. It appears that next semester you have an opportunity to take 3 serious academic courses. I would suggest that you wait to see how this works out. Is there a possbility that you can do a double major in your current situation?</p>

9

<p>I think that I understand where you are coming from.....I know of a couple of Julliard students who feel that they are going brain dead. They love their music but have felt the need to branch out and find some intellectual stimulation. </p>

<p>My daughter is a junior at Columbia and while there are many pre-professional types there are also plenty of artsy people. She is a "recreational" pianist that has continued to study music even though she is not majoring in it. I agree with edad that after being in a conservatory environment the level of music offered outside of that world probably won't be the same but many fine instructors reside in NYC so like some other Columbia students, you could continue to study privately and go to Columbia College. It is a large university (with a relatively small undergrad program) and I am sure that you would find many serious musicians there. One of my daughter's friends from high school is now a Julliard student taking two or three courses each semester at Columbia. There is a formal program between the two schools but I don't know if she part of that or is just taking some courses at Columbia College to enhance her conservatory experience. I can't comment on the level of the performance groups at Columbia but I would certainly explore the possibilities.</p>

10

<p>Again, thanks for the suggestions. I will certainly check out Columbia. Even though I can take a few other classes next semester, it is a major logistical challenge. I think that I would really benefit from being around a wider range of people.</p>

11

<p>Emma:</p>

<p>A few schools to consider in the Boston area are BU, Tufts and Harvard.</p>

12

<p>Case offers a joint program with the Cleveland Institute of Music. Your academic classes would be at Case, but your music would be at CIT with members of the Cleveland Symphony. ALso, Severence Hall, home of the Cleveland Symphony, is right on the campus of Case (University Circle). Might be something to consider. </p>

<p>I know what you mean about academic stimulation, though. My son felt that even though he loves music, he didn't want to be with people who lived and breathed only music their every waking moment. Also, planning for a job in performance is risky at best. He now studies two academic majors, as well as instrumental and theory lessons. It has been a good choice for him.</p>

13

<p>My daughter wanted a situation where she could study at a conservatory and also take some serious math and physics courses. Like you, she did not want to do music 24/7 for the next four years. She wound up at Oberlin and is quite happy there, but they are 99% undergrad and are not in a city so your mileage may vary. Other schools and combinations she considered were Curtis/Penn, BU, NEC/Tufts, CIM/Case Western, Carnegie Mellon, Peabody/Hopkins and Rice.</p>

<p>I do not recall seeing you mention which orchestral instrument you play. If it happens to be double bass, my daughter may have some valuable insights concerning some of the teachers at the places where she auditioned. If interested, send me a private message and I will give you her email address.</p>

<p>Your academic credentials are outstanding, even by CC standards, so I wouldn't worry on that score. A strong instrumental aptitude can be a hook in some situations, but it depends very heavily on what instruments the school currently needs in its orchestra and the quality of music students already in their programs.</p>

14

<p>My D is a junior at Rice. She is a vocal performance major. She chose Rice, which has a conservatory-level music school (Shepherd) over several of the top conservatories. She also wanted strong academics. Take a look at Rice. You would be able to continue your music at a fairly high level and have great academics as well.</p>

15

<p>Have you considered Northwestern, which has a five year program where you get two BA's: one in liberal arts and one in music from their conservatory? I think it might be a good match: strong academics, strong muisc program, near Chicago. Even if you want to do a four year program, it still is worth checking out.</p>

16

<p>Actually, the great thing about Northwestern's program (U Mich also has it, as do several other schools) is that you graduate with a BA/S and a BM (or other music degree, depending on your specialty).</p>

17

<p>Yes, you are correct. I knew a double BA didn't look right but I couldn't remember what degree the music school gave. Thanks for the friendly amendment.</p>

18

<p>Lots of options here, depending on your instrument. . .Vanderbilt, Case, Michigan, Northwestern, USC, University of Minnesota, BU, Oberlin, Johns Hopkins, Washington University</p>

19

<p>the "major logistical challenge" is why D originally chose a music school located ON a University campus. While you've gotten some excellent reccommendations here,be careful when you look at what their logistics are for double major,location of classes,etc.The Johns Hopkins/Peabody combo ,for example is not for the fainthearted.Northwestern could work if you are willing to put up with the level of their facilities.Oberlin is great if you are agreeable to the location/size of the college.Wash U does NOT have a performance degree offering but offers lessons and ensembles..easy for non majors to get spots b/c theres no competition from majors...though the quality may not be up to your standards (D is a grad student there now).Take a look at Indiana,it could work well for you.The idea of Rice is great but I hear its terribly hard to transfer into their music school.Come to think of it..that could be a major consideration for you if the double major is what you want..how hard is it to transfer into your instruments studio?</p>

20

<p>I'm actually a lot more interested in a single major in English or something similar (maybe psychology?), combined with private lessons and ensemble opportunities. One question - to be considered a transfer student, I have to have the equivalent of a year of classes. By the end of this year, my non-music classes will be 2 semesters of humanities (western literature plus writing, basically), one semester of French, and the three classes I will be taking next semester. If I were to major in something besides music, would any theory/music history classes transfer as electives? (Or even as a minor?)
Thanks for all of your help!</p>