I don’t hear much about the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University on this forum and I was wondering about that. I am trying to learn how people feel about their experience with Peabody. Was it a top choice? Did you choose it or not and why? What did you like/dislike? Aren’t there a lot of non-music courses required? How is the environment? Any students, parents, friends that can share any insight? THANKS!!
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There are threads on here about peabody going back in time, you should do a search for them, it probably will be informative. With Peabody, it is the kind of place that seems to be to generate attitudes that either love it or hate it, fwiw. With Peabody, you can do a dual degree with Johns Hopkins, but from what I know it isn’t easy.
It is in Baltimore and the area is not that great around it, but that is true of some really great schools like Yale or University of Chicago, too, so it may not be an issue.
From looking at it with my son (and keep in mind this is simply my opinion), there are some really good teachers there, and there are some top flight students there, but on the whole my impression is that the student body has a wider range of ability there then some of the other conservatories (ie the difference between the top and bottom is wider, and the average level is lower). It can come down to the teacher, there are some great teachers there, and it may depend on the area, too, vocal may be very different than brass or strings (those are hypotheticals, to give you what to look for). The other thing that would be helpful would be what you are interested in, are you an instrumentalist and which one, or if vocal, what are you ?
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Hello - I thought I may as well comment on this post since I just paid my deposit for Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University last night. Disclaimer: I am not a student at the school (yet) but have been on many visits, went through the audition process, and befriended many current undergraduate students to gain as much knowledge as possible to make an educated decision as to where I want to go to college. I just finished the college process and did 12 auditions at both universities and conservatories with the hope to take some academic classes and maybe minor but not double major. I auditioned for instrumental performance. After going through this process I am comfortable sayinf=g that I know a lot of information about Peabody I’ll try to provide as much insight as possible.
Was it a top choice? - It was a top choice for me. I was looking for a conservatory environment (I attended Interlochen’s 6 week summer program (intensive) and found that that was a good learning space for me). When I began to choose schools to audition at, the first thing I looked at were the teachers and the teacher at Peabody was one of my favorites to work with and I thought that my learning style matched her teaching style. Aside from the teacher, I really liked the school. It is one building - in terms of building size it seemed a bit bigger than Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music and a little smaller than Eastman - which wasn’t really a problem for me. I also loved the area around it. It was about a 20 minute walk to the Baltimore’s inner harbor which is where all of Baltimore’s attractions are. The surrounding area of the actual school is Baltimore’s Mount Vernon area which is a really charming area with a lot of great restaurants. Once you get out of the Mount Vernon area it begins to get a little slummy and safety may be a concern. But, during orientation, everyone is required go through a safety course and from what students have told me, as long as one does not go out alone in a bad area, it is not a problem.
Did you choose it or not and why? - As I mentioned above, I did choose it. A huge factor was that I was given a full-tuition scholarship and was accepted into my first choice studio, but I think I would still attend even if I had only received financial aid. I was accepted into a lot of other really great music schools that a lot of people probably would have chosen over Peabody but I felt that I fit in most with the students and I loooved the teacher (and the full scholarship just happened to be a huge plus). The Thursday Noon Series is also really cool unless you have to sit through a Tibetan throat singing concert. ( http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/events/thursdaynoon.html).
What did you like/dislike? - While looking into the school I disliked that the conservatory was far away from the Homewood campus. But during my visits I met a lot of people who took classes on the Homewood campus multiple times a week and some even joined greek life at the Homewood campus. While I don’t think everyone is fully integrated onto the Homewood campus, it is certainly doable to take classes or join clubs (it’s a ten minute shuttle ride away http://ts.jhu.edu/Shuttles/Shuttle_Schedules/Homewood_JHMI_Shuttle_Schedule.pdf).
Aren’t there a lot of non-music courses required? - It seems that there are four general ed core classes plus elective requirements. (http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/academicaffairs/bm/orchestral.pdf)
How is the environment? - The administration as well as my future teacher made a huge point to say what a supportive and collaborative atmosphere the school had and I didn’t really get that feeling at other musics school I heard about/auditioned at. Obviously there is competition (it is a top music school after all) but I don’t think it is as cut throat as other places.
Dual Degree - Even if you don’t end up doing a double degree, this (http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html) is worth a read. It mentions that they rarely accept more than 10-12 students in the DD program and about 5 actually enroll. I know one person who completed the double degree in vocal and some type of engineering and I know another person who started in and then decided to just pursue music.
I’m not sure what major you are looking for (instrument, voice, comp, ed, etc.) but I think really all the programs except maybe education are particularly strong and it is definitely a school worth considering to spend four very important years. Hopefully this provided a little more insight into the school and feel free to PM me (idk if you can even do that on college confidential, I just made an account today) if you have any more questions about Pbdy, auditions, music, life, love, etc.
[Edit 1: added sentence about people I know who did DD program]
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wow that is a large wall of text-- sorry about that
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^i thought it was a very thorough and comprehensive response! Don’t apologize for being helpful 
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Thanks for your insight Aufstehen. Just started looking at music schools for my daughter, and she has a few years to go, but Peabody is currently at the top of our list and I have not seen much feedback on it. Please give us an update once you’ve experienced a little time there as a student to let us know if it met your expectations and what you like about being there.
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Your daughter should visit if she hasn’t. Students there are remarkably friendly. They will talk to you, they will talk to her, so you guys will come away with a clear impression of the fit. The place has its own kind of magic that works on some and not on others. The students I’ve known who go or have gone there all seem remarkably happy with the place.
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My daughter is at Peabody. For her, it was her top choice school. Like aufstehen, she auditioned and was acceptede at a number of schools others would have picked over Peabody, and with scholarships. The teacher at Peabody was her #1 choice. That, along with liking Baltimore and having a scholarship, made Peabody her overwhelming favorite.
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