Need Help With College List! I want to continue music...but as a non-major

College Majors Music Major
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You don’t want to major in music, so you won’t apply to conservatories or music schools (including Thornton, above). It is mainly BM programs at those schools that have auditions and, often, prescreens.

Colleges with BA programs in music, minors in music, or opportunities in music without majoring or minoring in it at all, will usually not have any auditions for admission. Applicants can sometimes submit an arts supplement for music with the Common App. Once on campus, there will most likely be auditions in order to join orchestra, glee club, ensembles and other organizations for music performance.

Again, the real thing to check out is whether opportunities for music activities are more limited for BA students, whether majoring in music or not, at a school that also has a BM program in a conservatory or music school.

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Thank you for all of the info! I will try contacting the schools to see how the opportunities are like for non-majors.

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For what its worth @mimmiloveartsy65 you might want to consider Stanford. Academically I think your stats put you in the mix and your violin provide a unique perspective which Stanford values highly. I’m a Stanford alum but to be honest I don’t know a whole lot about the music school. What I can say is that the university has made a concerted effort to expand our presence and offerings in the Arts and have recently started a Stanford Arts initiative including new state of the art facilities.

Academically Stanford’s reputation is well known and we’ve got a fantastic international relations programs. I’m dating myself, but I went to school with Cory Booker US Senator from New Jersey and he was a double major International Relations and Public Policy.

I was an athlete at Stanford but I know we’ve got a well respected orchestra that included music majors and non-music majors. There’s instruction to be had and performance opportunities on campus and in the Bay Area. While there are lots of required courses for freshman and sophomores, electives of any kind are encouraged and I’m sure they’d be happy to structure a program that meets your academic and music pursuits.

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It’s important to clarify that Stanford does not have a music school. It has a music department.

Music schools usually offer a BM and involve auditions. Music departments usually offer BA’s and do not have auditions: it is more of an academic major in many cases, with extracurricular performance (which may involve auditions once on campus). These are sweeping generalizations so yes, check websites.

Stanford’s website says “The Department of Music welcomes all students to participate in the Department’s offerings regardless of their major.”

Furthermore, they invite a supplement (portfolio) but it is optional and does not involve auditions:

The Arts Portfolio in Music
Students with extraordinary talent in music composition, conducting or performance may supplement their Stanford application with an Arts Portfolio. The Arts Portfolio is entirely optional and will be reviewed at the discretion of the Office of Undergraduate Admission and the arts faculty. Students who submit an Arts Portfolio are not required to major in the arts at Stanford. Similarly, students who do not submit an Arts Portfolio may still study or participate in the arts at Stanford.

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Oops went back to close the Stanford page and saw this in small print under the above:
“For information about preparing an Arts Portfolio in Music, visit our department’s Arts Portfolio FAQ page. In many performance areas, we are able to offer a live audition, if desired. (The two types of audition are given equal weight, but please choose one.) For detailed requirements for recorded or live auditions, find the appropriate link below.”

These “auditions” are considered part of the music supplement to the Common Application. They are supplementary (in a conservatory or music school they are central). The live auditions aren’t given more weight than recorded ones. The supplement/portfolio also includes a music resume and letter of recommendation from a music teacher. You need a Common App ID to submit an audition request.

Every school is different! Again these are optional…and you don’t have to be a music major at all.

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@mimmiloveartsy65,
Have you considered University of Rochester? It should be a match school for you. Located in a medium sized city in upstate New York. Eastman School of Music is affliated with UR, a top-notch music conservatory. Very easy to take lessons at Eastman, and perform with the many music groups on campus at UR. UR is a strong academic university with many international students.

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U. of Rochester has a music department that is separate from Eastman. Lessons offered to U. of Rochester students are usually with grad students. http://www.sas.rochester.edu/mur/faq.html Teachers are generally busy with Eastman performance students, with some exceptions.

If you are interested in it, look carefully at whether the presence of Eastman on campus is a pro or a con.

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Thank you for all of your new suggestions. I am looking into them right now.

I have a new question: What are some public schools in big cities with good music departments?

I have heard of…
University of Michigan
University of Miami

Anything else???

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Also, would I have to be in the double degree program to benefit from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music if I went to Oberlin College? Or would I still be able to take lessons and do chamber music at the conservatory, even if I did not do the double degree?

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@mimmiloveartsy65 U of Miami is a private university with the Frost School of Music i.e. a music school vs. music department.

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You might want to read this about Oberlin Musical Studies, which also allows for a double major (as opposed to double degree) http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical_studies/index.dot

If you want to major in something other than music, I would actually call or email Oberlin and ask them who teaches students in the college and what level of participation you might have in ensembles and orchestra versus conservatory students.

Many state schools have BM programs, in music schools, so check out what a BA student in the general university program would have access to musically.

You seem drawn to schools with performance programs. Are you sure that is not what you want? Again, don’t assume the presence of a conservatory or music school means a better experience for a student who is not attending that part of the university or college. But check it out.

My mistake with Stanford above shows how you really have to read the fine print on websites !!!

Your original list looks great. If you want to apply to those with music schools, I am sure you will have some opportunities, but look into it with some depth. Tufts has a school of diplomacy and has a great reputation for international relations, and the music dept. is excellent. http://fletcher.tufts.edu/

The others- Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCSD are all good choices for all of your interests. Top schools obviously.

For schools with safer selectivity, the possibilities are many, depending on your preference for size, location and “vibe.”