Also, I took off Ithaca off of my list. It’s a great school, but New York is expansive.
@MARIMBAgirl - You do understand you must first get an undergrad degree before you can apply for a Masters, yes?
You don’t need to learn all those languages for undergrad 
Do you mean Ithaca College is expensive or living in New York is expensive because while IC may be an expensive school it is 4 hours from NYC and the cost of living in Ithaca itself it not that bad. Ithaca is very safe, beautiful, academic and cultural for a town of its size.
Maybe you did mean expansive, not expensive when talking IC. If so, the Ithaca College campus is very contained and not large.
NY city is expensive, NY state is not, generally, and Ithaca is in upstate NY. It seems as if you could really use some in-person advice, perhaps with your mother along. Do you have a teacher or counselor who could help you?
Now I know that I need a undergrad degree before a master’s. Thank you for the information. I did mean that New York is expansive, but I most have confused the city with the state. I am home-schooled so I do not have neither a teacher or counseller.
MARIMBAGirl - homeschooled or not - you need both a teacher and a counselor.
For schooling my mom teaches me, and I do have music teachers. Sorry for not making that clear, but I do not have a counselor.
MARIMBAgirl, you need more help that you have right now. You are lacking the most basic information on applying to schools, such as the fact that you need to do undergrad before grad work. Is there a music teacher you work with who can help advise you? Does your mother speak English? I am sure she is a wonderful parent but it would seem you need information from someone else to guide your choices. And perhaps some of her anxieties come from homeschooling you and not being able to picture you away from home. It is fine to go to school nearer to home if that is what is comfortable, so just make sure you get some outside advice on where to apply for your best education.
As a former homeschooler whose four kids were admitted to all kinds of schools that would be considered extremely competitive and earn respect from those on this form (i.e., I’m establishing my cred), I’m bothered by the turn this discussion has taken. A lot of parents are reticent to send their children clear across the country; that doesn’t necessarily mean they have anxiety disorders. Two of my daughters looked seriously at schools in LA and, while I would not have prevented them from going I also was very relieved they stayed on the East coast because I knew we’d rare see them due to the expense of travel. It’s not a great idea to throw around diagnoses based on a few lines of description in an online forum. @Marimbagirl answered frankly that her mother was worried about Boston–I think it’s understandable that a person from a small town or rural environment would be anxious about their child moving to a large city 3000 miles away. Another issue is expense. Even when you receive a full scholarship, travel back and forth is a huge financial burden. Her mother may change her mind–that may have been an offhand remark, or simply her gut reaction to an idea that is new to her–but I think we need to respect her feelings rather than badger her daughter about them.
Many conservatory students come from a homeschooled background – it’s just not that unusual. Unless you attend a performing arts school like Interlochen, you’re unlikely to have a high school counselor who understands the particular needs of a prospective music major. So it really is up to the student, and their parents, if the parents are supportive, to do the footwork of a counselor. I think Marimagirl’s remark about languages meant that she realized she would have only a limited time between now, high school, and a Master’s program to learn them and she imagines she should get started with a plan.
People here have jumped right to recommending conservatories. I’m not sure this student is even of the conservatory level with percussion being her major instrument. She has spoken of playing mallets but has not said anything about snare drum, timpani or drum set. To even be considered for a conservatory she needs at the very least mallets, snare drum and timpani at a pretty advanced level. She may be a better fit for a state program. I’m speaking from the prospective of a parent with a child in a conservatory percussion program myself. It takes a lot of work with professional level teachers to prepare them to even be ready for the audition process in the area of percussion. I wish this student luck.
Glass harmonica, I also homeschooled at times. I was careful to say that it is reasonable to stay close to home. of course it is. But the reasons given for the anxieties are what concerned me. If the mom just said “I want you close to home” that would be fine. But there were reasons given to argue with several choices (such ass the Boston bombing) and it seemed the parent was limiting choices in a way that the student may not have wanted, for reasons that sounded a little weak. That is not to day there aren’t good reasons; they are just not being articulated.
This is a student who just realized that undergrad study is needed before grad study. The conducting program at CSUN is a grad program. Spirit Manager clarified with the student that you cannot do a master’s right out of high school.
I think more help is needed than this online forum, and since the student does not have access to help in a school, perhaps a music teacher could help or a private counselor could be hired.
MARIMBAgirl, good luck. As I said earlier, going to school close to home is very reasonable for many reasons. Your mom and you should talk frankly about this. You came on here with ideas about going to Boston and other locales that have been shot down by your mom. She may be coming up with reasons that sound irrational but aren’t her real reason. Maybe she just wants you close!
I hope you get some good advice and wish you all the best as you decide where to apply. California has lots of good options.
@MARIMBAgirl, you probably already know this but Berklee’s website states that they are “the only institution in the world that offers specialized study in the marimba at the undergraduate level”. And it looks like Nancy Zeltsman teaches there too. As a percussionist myself, I think it would be good for you to become a well rounded percussionist (and snare drum is so fun!). The good news is, many percussionists are weaker on the mallet instruments, so you’d stand out.
My mother speaks fluent English, Spanish, and knows the basic of French. And once again, she does not have an anxiety problem. I do believe, like glassharmonica states, more of the idea of me moving across country and the expensive of traveling back and forth. Also, I think that she used the Boston terriost attack in hope that I might change my mind. @compmom - I think you are correct that my mom just wants me close. @bigdjp - I am an advance marimbist, an average timpanist, and okay when it comes to the snare.
Marimbagirl, My best advice to you is find a great teacher. A professional symphony player as they are used to performing at a high level or a college professor who has been able to get students into the programs you are interested in auditioning for. These are the types of teachers the kids are working with in high school to get them into the top programs. Get your snare drum and timpani up to a good level. The Delecluse material is standard undergrad audition material for snare and timpani. Make sure your 4 mallet technique is good. Read, read, read everything you can. It makes things easier in the long run if you’re a good reader. Good luck. Give a shout if you need advice!!!
Okay, thank you bigdjp!
@MARIMBAgirl- I just sent you a PM…
@MARIMBAgirl , You are in good hands with Mezzo’sMama! I think in the end, home schooled or not, you need to be sure that you are getting good guidance from your private percussion instructors. All of your questions about college need to be directed toward them. If they don’t have opinions, you really need to find someone who does if you are serious about studying music. Also, I believe Colburn (if it’s close by) has a precollege program. That’s more important than your youth orchestra because it offers (or should) far more solo performing opportunities. My children both went (go) to the NYC precolleges and have had so many performing opportunities that they had no choice but to learn how to manage performance anxiety. Actually, I don’t think performance anxiety was really ever an issue due to the high volume of performances/circumstances that were (are) continually thrown at them. In the end, lots of performances or not, PREPARATION is directly related to nerves. Sorry that this thread sort of got on your mom a bit. Mom’s do know what’s best and kids tend to subconsciously misrepresent moms’ (and dads’) intentions. You are smart to check here. There are a LOT of knowledgeable and experienced parents here who have gone through the college shopping/auditioning ringer. I’m dragging my S (also a Sophomore) out to Colburn next month for a lesson so I’ll let you know what I learn about the place though truth be told, I know all I need to know: rocking Orchestra, rocking Teacher (by reputation - we shall see), and most importantly - FREE! p.s. Mom will get over the “bad neighborhood” thing if you are going into music. Gravity will simply do its thing!
@ dgs650-
I don’t know whether it was written wrong, but saying Moms do know what is best is not great advice. I don’t disagree that we may be getting a distorted view of what Dad and Mom actually said, but I can also tell you that Mom’s (and Dad’s) aren’t always right, and that includes every parents out there. A parent who tells a kid “you have no chance of making it in music, you aren’t good enough, so study accounting and make good money” is saying so based on their perceptions, not reality necessarily. The parent who tells their musically inclined kid to go to the local state school, because it is closer to home, might be doing so, not because the local program is good, but rather to keep their kid close to home because they have preconceived notions of what colleges are like, and in the process, with all the good intentions in the world, could mess up the kids chances of actually making it…and to be honest, few parents really understand music or the world of music instruction, most tend to come to understanding as time goes on, and many of them have misconceptions that if the students took their advice, would end up off the rails more than likely. It is why it is so important that kids get information from people who know because heart in the right place or not, mom’s (and Dad’s) don’t always know what the right thing is.
One other note, Colburn in many ways is a fantastic school, but like any school there are plusses and minuses. Yes, it is full free ride, but for example if the percussion teacher there isn’t a good fit for your daughter, then though you are not spending money on tuition and room and board, you could be setting the student up for failure going there. Colburn is also a small school, and that brings both plusses and minuses and so forth. A lot of very talented students get into Colburn but choose not to go there, and it isn’t because it isn’t a great music school, it is because they felt it didn’t fit their needs.