Hi all- I’m interested to know people’s experiences with different music schools and whether their kids’ AP credits and Tanglewood credits were accepted. The credits my D has could potentially save a lot of tuition money, which would factor into our decision. Please share any information and thank you!
Many schools will take AP credits and CLEP exams, I believe. These can be helpful in covering gen eds. Often for the major, schools want you to take classes at their school.
I have questions regarding the music curriculum to maybe investigate:
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If the curriculum is sequential, with certain foundational courses leading to the next set of courses, is it possible to save time at the school (and money) by having gen ed credits transferred? In other words is it possible to replace the gen ed spot in a semester’s courses with required music classes, so as to accelerate, or are the music classes sequential so that you have to take them in a certain order with prerequ’s?
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An argument can be made to take the full music curriculum at any particular school, since they vary. Some students who test out of intro theory, for instance, still choose to take it at their school so as to get the foundation for that particular curriculum. Is getting AP credit or BU Tanglewood credit helpful in moving through the curriculum or is it better to slow it down and follow the sequence the school offers?
There are other things to think about, like moving through the 4 years with a social and musical cohort, the growth (and connections) that can happen over the full 4 years and so on.
For many of us, money is a determining factor so I ask these questions in that context. Meaning, is it better to choose a school that is affordable for the full 4 years, or go with the most selective but expensive option and use credits to shorten the time and reduce the expense. I have no idea!!
To add to the comments above:
1.) It does depend on the school so you will need to check each school of interest.
2.) As noted above, check the class sequences required as well, particularly for music theory and literature.
3.) You should also check ensemble and jury requirements as well.
My D’s school accepted all her AP credits which knocked out some requirements like English and History. AP Music Theory credits went to Arts and Language requirements but would not be accepted by the music school for Theory requirements. Instead a placement test (pass/fail) was necessary to enter Theory. If passed, your choices were regular theory or honors theory. If you did not pass, you had to take rudimentary theory for no credit. Then you began the Theory sequence first semester of your second year as Theory 1 was not offered in the second semester. AND many music classes would count towards Arts and Language requirements so she had a plethora of those credits. So it’s not just having a lot of credits…they need to be the RIGHT credits to graduate.
I would suggest looking for the semester by semester sequences for music majors at target schools as well the ensemble requirements (usually included but not always). My D had a plan Freshman year that would include, maybe, a minor. That went out the window Sophomore year when she got a role in an opera and was told to drop her schedule to as few credits as possible to remain a full time student. The role required extra coachings and diction work (at no credit…but that was OK). So unexpected opportunities can arise that throw the best laid plans out the window.
My D was a part-time student her final semester (slightly less expensive). She had a friend or two graduate a semester early but then they had to work to get their final recitals in the first semester of Senior year and assure that all ensemble requirements were done. My D wanted to stay the full 4 years for the music experiences and continued teacher support. She was a VP major. For other concentrations, the continual support may or may not matter…for VP it would be a bonus. So that’s another consideration.
Lots to think about…good luck!