Music Schools/Conservatories within Universities

S19 wants a music school or conservatory within a larger college…not a music major, but a BM where you live and study with a range of students and can actually take a course now and then in the larger school. Oberlin comes to mind (though he wants to double major in performance/education), also Northwestern and Ithaca— where else? Peabody and Eastman seem removed from the main campus.

Saint Olaf, Lawrence University

In terms of desired institutional profile, minus the education component though, your S is pretty much a clone of my D. In that category she applied to Oberlin, Northwestern, Rice, UMichigan, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, and Eastman/URochester.

Other programs that fit that profile to varying degrees that didn’t make the cut for various reasons- Hartt/UHartford, Indiana/Jacobs, Temple, UMaryland, UCLA, SMU, CCM/UCincinnati.

My D wanted to take more than “a course now and then” outside the music school, but really, any BM program at a university will have that, none of them are 100% music.

Hope that helps.

Thank you! @MusakParent, he was interested in St Olaf but it appears to lack diversity (we’re Jewish) to the point where he felt a bit uncomfortable. @NYCMusicDad, didn’t know about BU! Thanks!

Oberlin, Bard, Lawrence, Ithaca, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, Eastman get mentioned a lot…for double degrees as well. Many state universities have BM programs too. There are many options. Maybe College of Wooster, and Puget Sound. (have to run or I would check)

FYI from what I have been able to gatherer our my son, most Eastman students rarely take advantage of the classes at the other campus (double degree candidates excepted) and tend to favor the more limited humanities offerings housed at Eastman. The bus rides and such take time out of a busy schedule and music students are always pressed for time. Double majors are even more limited on time. The Peabody prof told us he always encourages students to take advantage of the offerings at JHU but they don’t often do so. So yeah, you are correct that is something to seriously consider.

Michigan should definitely be on the list, and Indiana (already mentioned). I know you said your son doesn’t want hot weather, otherwise Miami/Frost should be on the list, especially for a jazz musician.

DePauw and U of North Texas both have Hillel groups on campus- also a consideration for our D, who would miss Passover Seders quite a bit

USC, Michigan, Indiana, NYU… there are many.

Stetson has a music program that is well-respected (sends students to Yale school of music for grad school on a regular basis) and the new president is Jewish. The university overall may not have the reputation of some of the others mentioned here, but it may be worth a look, if nothing else, then perhaps as a safety.

USC has a very active Hillel and flexible courses for BMs – you can minor, double major, etc.

Look across the border at McGill and the University of Toronto.

Here’s a list in alphabetical order of places with good jazz programs - I think OP’s son is a jazz musician. Many have already been mentioned in this thread and I’m sure there are others I’m missing, but figured I’d try to put them in one place. Also a few joint programs with music schools that have good jazz programs. (Places like BU, Rice and Vanderbilt have wonderful music schools but I don’t think they have jazz programs - someone can correct me if I’m wrong about that.)

Eastman/Rochester
Hartt/Hartford
Indiana/Jacobs
Ithaca
Loyola (New Orleans)
McGill
Miami/Frost
Michigan
New School
Northwestern/Bienen
NYU/Steinhardt
Oberlin
SUNY Purchase
University of North Texas
USC/Thornton
Western Michigan
William Paterson

Joint programs (very hard to get into):
Columbia/Juilliard
Harvard/Berklee
Harvard/NEC
Tufts/NEC

McGill Jazz:
http://www.mcgill.ca/music/programs/bmus/faculty-program-jazz
Current tuition for international students is about US$17,000.

CIM/Case Western, 4+1 program. The campus set-up makes it very easy to get around and the school(s) are very diverse.
https://www.cim.edu/academic-programs/cwru

Has anyone checked out the music school at University of Wisconsin?

@akapiratequeen We visited UW-Madison a month ago. This is high on my list because it’s affordable for us as is and my son REALLY likes the campus and town set up. It’s a nice cross of academic and big, fun campus and I think my kid could find some geeky friends there. My kid is preferring more urban schools and larger schools. We did a private tour of the music school and had a sample lesson and the music school was super friendly and welcoming! I actually had 3 teachers get back to us offering time for a sample lesson. Everyone knew everyone in the halls so it seems like the school of music is a tight knit group. Exciting news is they are constructing a new music building as I type. I think it opens later this year?

https://news.wisc.edu/people-taking-note-of-music-hall-construction/

The music programs are a little more rigid than some of the options we’re looking at that might be better for my kid’s multi interested self, but I think he could make it work.

Are you in the upper Midwest? We are in Minnesota so we get tuition reciprocity at Madison.

Thanks, @MusakParent ! I’m pretty far from you, in New Jersey, so no reciprocity that I know of. Most of the schools we’ve looked at are in the northeast. But my son actually doesn’t want to go to New York City (he’s spent a lot of time there) and is showing a preference for less urban settings. He likes cold weather, so nothing south of DC, and he doesn’t want to go to the west coast. UW-Madison has all the programs he wants, and it seems a little less intense/competitive than U Michigan (though I might be wrong there), so we thought it might be worth a look. There’s no way we’d pay OOS tuition, so he’d have to get scholarships…not sure how generous they are. If you know of anywhere else that might work for a geeky musical east coaster, I’d love to hear about them!

I’ve been afraid to look at Michigan because of finances though I do know a few local kids that go/went there that I suspect must have gotten a decent deal to select it. I think my kid would probably like Michigan too. But when we can get instate on Madison it’s hard to think it would be worth it to go through the whole process there.

I have a friend from Wisconsin who committed to Michigan for this fall with almost a full ride for classical percussion, so they must be giving out really good talent scholarships to out of state students.

So here are a couple thoughts on Madison. I have never looked closely at their music school but feel it has similarities to UMN-TC (MN) where it is not a selective program but has some decent teachers and opportunities. With a good fit for a teacher, you could get a lot of attention and get the growth you are looking for…at a good price. I know UMN-TC does send some kids off to good grad programs and has local winners in competitions. Still it is no power house in music but select students do well there. The most important aspect at these schools is to check if a particular teacher has had some success sending kids to well-known grad programs.

I don’t know if it would be a wise move to pay OOS for Madison’s music dept, to be honest. It may make sense if you are going to Madison for other educational aspects (and of course the beer - no one parties like Madison). Also it’s music dept may not have the funds to bring down the tuition. This is why some public schools end up less competitive than some selective music schools…they simply don’t have the funds. But you would need to inquire to be sure.

However due to reciprocity with MN, it would be smart to look at Madison as an in-state tuition option for @MusakParent and consider having it in your back pocket … using it for a first sample lesson, a first audition etc, you never know if it could be a nice option.

The one down side you need to consider (which could matter or not to your kid) is the fish bowl effect. At many of the selective schools, there will be a higher talent level overall, including brilliant. There will be great resources as well. The knowledge and resources will be deeper and the speed of learning higher. BUT some kids are pretty self-contained and focused…so with a good teacher they can grow anywhere. Still if students are looking at grad school, I would be sure to supplement this type of school with summer programs so they can see what the competition and expectations are in other programs to be sure they are keeping up with peers.

Finally, I would not exclude a reach or two financially if it’s a good fit. With an in-state safety and maybe a few generous schools, you can definitely dream a little and see if you get lucky!