<p>Well, since they offered me a pretty significant amount of money, I'm going to visit in the upcoming weeks. If anyone who has visited or is enrolled could help me answer a few questions, I'd appreciate it.</p>
<p>-What's the campus like?
-Is the music school competitive or laid back?
-Are the practice rooms decent (specifically the pianos)?
-How much work do you do on an average day?
-Is it possible to reapply for the dual degree program (I was rejected this year...)? What's the likelihood of getting in?</p>
<p>If you scan the '08 and ‘09 Master final decision threads, there were three who indicated matriculation at Northwestern: obssessivecollege’s d, Linnlew’s d and neumes’ d. They are are vocal performance, and one is in a dual degree pursuit. (Check the masters, make sure I picked up the cirrect name spelling.)</p>
<p>Do a search for posts by username for each, and see what comments have been made.</p>
<p>It might well be worth pm’s as well. They may be able to put you in touch with current piano students.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the campus, in May (this was unrelated to music or any application - just taking my kid there to visit a friend) - it was quite lovely, right on Lake Michigan, with little beach; very attractive buildings and trees and flowers - kind of stoney-brick buildings. The area is affluent, with nice homes and there is a small commercial area as well. I understand that it is very cold in the winter, especially with winds coming off the lake, but when I was there, I thought it was very appealing, just as a campus. Chicago is also quite a nice city, with lots of interesting architecture, good food - much of it ethnic (there are big Greek, Polish, Italian, Jewish, African-American communities), great art museum, etc.</p>
<p>A similar situation leads me to believe it is possible you could contact music admissions and ask if it would be possible for a current student (in your instrument/studio, naturally) to pls contact you to discuss some questions you have, that you would like to hear the perspective of a current student. I believe this would work, to get some info.</p>
<p>crazypianist, you will have to contact the school or read through the pdf of their student handbook to see if you can re-apply (their website is not the best, but they are actively working on a new one, having asked for input a few months back;
you’ll find a link to the handbook here at the bottom of the page: [Student</a> Handbooks, Current Students, Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.music.northwestern.edu/currentstudents/studenthandbooks.html]Student”>http://www.music.northwestern.edu/currentstudents/studenthandbooks.html)). Calling would be the best way to find out the facts. It’s possible to change schools at NU, so I would imagine it might be possible. But you should go to the source. On that same page, look for “Degrees” right above “Student Handbooks” and you can read about the various degree programs–there seem to be several routes to a music degree.</p>
<p>My son is a VP major, so I can’t answer about the pianos. As a vocalist, he does not practice the hours of instrumentalists, and is filling that time with demanding electives. I think double majors work all the time and double degree people (5 years) work even more. Quite a few people he knows dropped their second degree and are sticking with one. It’s an intense school academically but he thinks students are for the most part really friendly and accommmodating. The energy is palpable–there are multiple plays/productions/music events going on ALL the time. Several a night. A lot of student-generated and run programs. LOTS. Lots of creativity. There seems to be quite a bit of camaraderie and he’s become friends with grad students. I wouldn’t say laidback, but not cut-throat at all. His friends are theater/communication kids/WCAS (liberal arts) and music kids. He lives off campus–lots of non-Greek kids do that and find plenty of friends to party with. Perhaps too many…</p>
<p>Music facilities–I think you can look online at the various buildings. Several quite nice halls to perform in (Pick-Staiger, Lutkin, Cahn, more?). Check out Pick-Staiger’s video collection here: [Davee</a> Online Streaming Video Library](<a href=“Pickstaiger”>Pickstaiger). They have plans for a new, fabulous music building right on the lake–there’s a parking lot there now–but I’m guessing it’ll take a while to build, what with the recession. My son really likes MAB, the main classroom building (it’s got a lot of character!), although it’s mostly for vocalists, I think. Regenstein is for instruments? Hmm. Should check that out, as I don’t know.</p>
<p>The campus itself is really fantastic–it’s big and some parts are just gorgeous. I can’t get enough of that lake (and the view of Chicago’s skyline from the Lakefill) and I keep encouraging son to get up before daybreak (or stay up all night) and head to the lake to watch the amazing sunrises and see the birds. Just astonishing. The town of Evanston is nice, too, with lots of reasonably priced eateries and two train lines to Chicago.</p>