<p>I'm a junior in high school and I'm hoping to pursue both music (cello) and medicine in the future. Any tips on where to think about applying and what to major in?</p>
<p>Current college ideas:<br>
Northwestern
Stanford
Columbia / Juilliard
Case Western / CIM
UMich
Johns Hopkins / Peabody</p>
<p>I ultimately want to go to medical school, so majoring in Chemistry or some other science at college seems reasonable.</p>
<p>Is it possible to double major?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Think about if your passion for music translates as a double major, or if it's an activity. Just as athletes use their sport as their balance with their schoolwork, perhaps your music is the same way? Division 3 athletes fall into this category. Perhaps also if you want to major in a science as a precursor to medical school, that you look for schools with good music programs where performing is open to non-majors. That way the music can be an interest and a balance for you. I know of a pre-law student at Lafayette who chose that school so he could perform in plays and musical events.<br>
Mostly, pick a school where you are comfortable with the environment so you thrive. All of the schools you list are good choices. You might also want to consider Cornell, since their acceptance rate for medical school is very high. Good luck!</p>
<p>URochester is a very obvious and necessary addition to that list.</p>
<p>Premed, Sciences, and Music...that sounds like JHU to me. JHU has a 93% acceptance rate into medical school, one of the top 3 premed advising offices in the nation, and the Peabody Music Conservatory rivals that of Curtis, Julliard, Eastman, Oberlin, NEMC, etc...</p>
<p>I would recommend that you major in something other than Chemistry. If you can rock the premed requirements as a non science major such as a music major, then you will certain impress some folks at admissions into medical schools. It is hard to find students these days that have a rich diverse set of skills to be able to do sciences and music at the same time you know. That is what medical schools want rather than a rudimentary set of overused chem, bio premed students. They see those types of students all the time...</p>
<p>You should also look at Rice.</p>
<p>I disagree Phead-- I think you can be competitive with either type of major but the rigor of many physical sciences and the tremendous gap between the number of MSTPs needed in this country and the number currently in training has led some schools to turn back towards wanting people with a far stronger background in the sciences in many cases.</p>
<p>So many people are aware of the "do History + premed classes to be different!" thing that I think at this point there is little advantage or disadvantage to any particular course of study, and if anything, an advantage for people actively engaged in research and science scholarship.</p>
<p>I read a statistic from the AMCAS that said that biology and chemistry majors had the least succesful acceptance rates into medical schools while BME's and non science majors had a higher success rate into medical schools. That is why I singled chemistry out. I also said majoring in music could be a good idea because I know of this girl who was taking massive amounts of credit both at Hopkins and at Peabody and she got accepted into Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Hopkins, Brown med... :D</p>
<p>Modest Melody is actually right. It is a common myth among premeds that in order to standout for medical school admissions, taking a non science major would give you an extra lift since medical schools want diversity and ability to talk and communicate with patients. It is not necessarily true.</p>
<p>In the end, you will realize that medical schools do not care what your major is (unless it is like an engineering major). They want to see how you do on the MCAT's and how you do in your premed course reqs because these are really good indicators on how you will do in medical school.</p>
<p>I think you will find trying to double major in music and sciences will be very difficult at most of these schools -- at least if you want to graduate in four years, that is.</p>
<p>Us chem majors, we think too much for med school.</p>
<p>What, it's true. That's what all of my chem/biochem majoring friends who go to med school say about it once they get there;). But that's a different discussion.</p>
<p>I should have added URochester / Eastman to this list.. Sorry I forgot!</p>
<p>But as for majoring in music and taking the premed requirements, is there enough time to do that? It seems as though people doing one or the other are already having a tough time and trying to do both would just end up as mediocre accomplishment in both.</p>
<p>As for the Peabody / JHU idea, I was considering that for a long time until I heard you had to pay both tuitions if you want to attend both schools?! I dont have that kind of money!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the help!</p>
<p>Shayna, You should take a look at Williams. Excellent sciences, excellent music. Dual majors are common. Strong track record for getting graduates into medical school. Lots of performance opportunities.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon University
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Rice University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Rochester</p>
<p>Shayna, there are valid points made by numerous posters. First, I suggest you read the link from Peabody here Peabody</a> Institute - Conservatory Admissions: The Double Degree Dilemma. It reinforces and clarifies some of the issues njcentconf addressed.</p>
<p>My son is a conservatory trained performing professional musician who opted out of a combined (music discipline) dual degree very late in the game. I will not pretend to offer advice concerning a premed path, as there are posters far more qualified than I to do so.</p>
<p>Music encompasses many directions and disciplines, and there is a major difference in approaches if your goal is an advanced avocational pursuit versus a performance track career path. </p>
<p>You need to identify and clarify your direction, and consider just where music fits in to your scheme of things in the long run. If you are contemplating a performance career, and have hopes of an orchestral chair, you have a long hard row to hoe. You need accurate, professional assessment of your skill level, talent, training and potential. There are numerous music options that may offer a high level of involvement, and a less rigorous path than a conservatory or conservatory level performance track.</p>
<p>UMich (Ann Arbor), Northwestern, Hopkins/Peabody, Rochester/Eastman. CW/CIM, Rice and Juilliard are conservatory level programs among the best in the country, and all are extremely competitive audition driven admits. Academic stats matter to varying degrees at each institution, and more so in a double degree program. Without knowing a bit more of your musical background, I would not venture a guess as to your competitiveness at any or all of these.</p>
<p>Quite simply, Stanford, Williams are not at the forefront of performance track choices. This is not said to denigrate their programs, as they serve many very well for specific musical pursuits. There are vast differences between BA and BM music tracks which you need to investigate and consider.</p>
<p>The Columbia/Juilliard program looks good on paper, as does the Harvard/NEC and Tufts/NEC cross programs. The reality is that the admit rates for these are low, normally less than a dozen in any year, and the attrition rate is high. The Eastman/Rochester as well as the Tufts/NEC programs have been said to be a logistical nightmare for some because of the travel/distance issues.</p>
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But as for majoring in music and taking the premed requirements, is there enough time to do that? It seems as though people doing one or the other are already having a tough time and trying to do both would just end up as mediocre accomplishment in both.
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</p>
<p>A performance track BM is a time and credit intense degree program, as are most programs involving the applied sciences. You will find conflicts with labs, ensemble and ipo time slots and commitments. It is rarely if ever a four year path; it can range from 4 1/2 to 6 years depending on the individual and institution. Consider the financial aspects of added time.</p>
<p>Many of these points are discussed in depth in numerous threads within CC's music major forum. If nothing else, please read <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html</a> for an overview in selecting and choosing a school for undergrad music pursuits.</p>
<p>For certain individuals, anything is possible. Neither path is for the undedicated or unmotivated. Think carefully, and identify your drive and passion, and your long term goals. Trying to combine both may not be the best course of action.</p>
<p>Curtis lets you take 2 classes a semester at Penn</p>
<p>ShaynaSkim, you may want to look at University of Rochester by itself, without going to Eastman as well. Rochester has a music major itself (non-audition) and Rochester students can take private lessons with Eastman graduate students. Additionally, they can take classes at Eastman without being Eastman students. Going that route makes it possible to graduate in 4 years; a Rochester/Eastman degree takes 5. I know several students who do not intend to make music their career who are following this route and they are very happy with it.</p>
<p>Violadad's insight is the key here. You can double major in Chem + a B.A. in Music (general music, not music performance) most anywhere, but most of the recommendations on this thread are for conservatory-level B.Mus. music performance programs that will require nearly 100 academic credit hours each, leaving no room for anything else but core courses. Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music is very unusual in that it encourages and helps facilitate double majors. I believe that Bard's new Music program does the same. It's not logistically easy, and most places it's just not realistic.</p>
<p>Taking gadad's comments a bit further, there are programs like Vanderbilt/Blair and Oberlin College/Conservatory that are highly supportive of double degree pursuits.</p>
<p>One of the stumbling blocks of a double major or dual degree pursuit (particularly one involving a performance path) is that while an institution may support it on paper, it may be difficult to achieve through scheduling, overload fees, or in some cases lack of support or outright displeasure from a student's primary instructor or department. The key here is doing your homework.</p>
<p>Audition based admits bring the need for additional understanding of the processes and nuances involved. The threads I linked to earlier are great starting points. Expect little or no help from a hs gc in being able to assess your musical talent, let alone have much idea as to suggest where to look for performance or academic music pursuits.</p>
<p>The Bard Conservatory program is fairly new. I believe they graduate their first class this year. They also REQUIRE that performance majors obtain a second, non-music academic degree, and as such is a mandatory five year program, and is designed that way. A Bard music admissions representative (poster name N8Ma) periodically posts to the music major forum. You can search for specific posts there or initiate contact via PM. The program has some exceptional faculty, as do most of the programs mentioned.</p>
<p>The trick is finding the one that meets your specific needs. Again, without a bit more detail, naming schools is a shotgun rather than a targeted approach.</p>
<p>Yes on all accounts. You didn't pick a single bad school.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon and U of R come to mind.</p>
<p>Oh, and Oberlin.</p>
<p>What Violadad said..... A performance major and sciences is not a viable option. In fact, I don't think Rice lets you do it. </p>
<p>My son in law was a music major (not BM, but BA) at a university, took his pre-med courses and actually won the freshman physics prize. He attended an excellent medical school and is now a resident at a top program.</p>