<p>Hi everyone. I am a sophomore in high school and I have a few questions about college in general. All of which deal with a major in music.
I want to major in Music Performance (piano). I know that all music majors have a lot of units to complete in order to get their degree. In addition to a degree in Music Performance, I intend on taking on the premedical route. My questions are as follows:
-Would I be able to get my degree and complete all of the pre-med courses in four years?
-Are there any colleges you know of that have flexible scheduling for this type of situation?</p>
<p>If you have anything else to add please share!</p>
<p>Do piano performance majors have the same “ensemble” requirements as other instrumentalists? If so, often these ensembles meet at the same time as some of the lab courses you will need to take. If not, why not? </p>
<p>Some schools are very accommodating of students pursuing other fields of study when pursuing music performance…others not so accommodating.</p>
<p>What about Oberlin? If you’re thinking about a double major with music as one, you can do this there. You would have to be accepted by the conservatory and the college…and typically this takes at least one additional semester…but it can be done.</p>
<p>I remember one poster last year, theragingsoprano, who was pre-med/voice. She went the dual degree route. Of course, I hear piano performance majors practice 4 to 6 hours per day, vs voice performance 1-2 hours (not including languages, music study etc. etc.). Still, it’s doable for a brilliant, motivated, talented, focused individual. If you have a passion for both piano and medicine, go for it! Good luck to you, and breathe! We need well-rounded physicians…</p>
<p>Maybe Johns Hopkins/Peabody, Northwestern, Lawrence…, more difficult but not impossible: Eastman/U of R, Tufts/NEC…</p>
<p>You might start by investigating the schools you are interested in for pre-med, then check their piano offerings. If you are certain that you need to be finished in 4 years, then you’ll want a fair number of AP credits, and/or look at a BA in music, as mentioned before, or perhaps even just a minor–USC comes to mind, they seem to offer minors even in performance.</p>
<p>Seeing what piano students go through in performance, and knowing what pre-med entails, I wonder how easy it would be to do both, especially in 4 years. Pre med is not a major per se, but it has requirements (usually 1 year chem +lab,1 year organic chem+lab, at least 1 year bio+lab, and some have requirements for another science like physics+lab (depends on the program and such). Those courses are time consuming, because you not only have lecture and lab time, they usually have lab lectures and recitation for the main course…all of which are time consuming and could interfere with the stuff needed for BM…and that is on top of practicing. </p>
<p>Probably the best bet would be to do some research on what pre med requires, and also on what a BM in piano requires in terms of coursework. Pre med programs don’t require a specific major (in fact, there is some CW out there that says it may be better to major in something n non traditional like music, to stand out when applying to med school), so other then the requirements for the program, the BM degree should be fine. The real question isn’t it is it possible (it probably is) but whether given your desires and visions of yourself, are you willing to put yourself through that, is your desire to do music and potentially go into medicine worth the effort and sacrifice that is going to entail? Only you can answer that one.</p>
<p>With all due respect to the original poster, this is a teensy bit insane insofar as expecting it to fit inside of four years, or for that matter, really wanting to fit it inside four years – but otherwise achievable if you’re at the right place, can juggle a schedule, are accustomed to back-breaking rigor and are willing to do at least an additional year (or more). However, many posters might not appreciate the distinction of what it takes to do well in this kind of “two roads” adventure – if combining with performance, you really are taking two roads simultaneously (just like engineering) and there’s not a lot of economy of scale for your effort. A performance degree is a “PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL” with an associated number of required courses and a professional level of training in order to be accredited as a BMUS – and there is the expectation of your immersion in your discipline. Classes and rehearsals fill the day. A pre-med curriculum is preparing one for yet another “PROFESSIONAL” school with a particular path of study and the need to achieve very high grades in very complex subjects to be considered ideal for med school acceptance. It is truly for the brave and hearty student to combine these paths, as each will compete for time and attention. Kinda like having two wives ;)</p>
<p>But the advice dispensed at places such as University of Michigan, where this scenario is theoretically possible and where the rigor is a popular choice for premed, is that acquiring a dual degree will take at least 5 years, sometimes 6, depending upon the care with which you manage your schedule. That is their rule of thumb for an engineering degree plus music performance, so I suspect the same would hold true for premed. If the OPs APs are all 5s, he or she could shave some time off that schedule to eliminate some of the prereqs. The U. Mich School of Music is a popular choice for many students who are also interested in engineering and premed because of the academic opportunities available at such a large and well-regarded school. At the same time, the structure and caliber of their SOM programs precludes any fantasy that a music degree is somehow chock full of soft electives that won’t entirely consume a schedule. It will.</p>
<p>Are you 100% certain you want a degree in piano? There are plenty of ways to pursue high-level piano instruction and performance opportunities without actually earning a BM in the instrument. This is one advantage you have relative to others that need to play in orchestras or sing in choruses to complete their musical training. (Chamber music will be more flexible than established, fixed ensemble meeting times). </p>
<p>There are many places that will offer you a pre-med track as a piano performance major: as mentioned above, Michigan and USC come immediately to mind. But finishing in 4 years would be the rare exception, rather than the rule. (You’d most likely need a full IB diploma, or 5+ 5s on AP tests, plus summer school). </p>
<p>The first thing to do is to see exactly what is required for pre-med. This will vary from med school to med school as some require more advanced and varied classes than others. Then make sure you meet the pre-requisite requirements leaving high schools so you can go right in to the pre-med requirements. I think it would likely be easier to coordinate at a university with a music school rather than try to do it in a conservatory/university environment. Target one of two of these and see what their AP rules are. They vary from school to school. If you are able to test out of some of the requirements and take summer school classes, you may be able to pull it off.</p>
<p>Another option, while it would take 5 years, is to complete the performance degree and follow with a year in a “post-bac” program designed specifically to provide the requirements for admission to med school to those whose undergraduate education did not include those. Bryn Mawr college has one such program, and includes a “consort” arrangement with a number of medical schools, allowing the student to apply and be conditionally accepted to med school while still in the early stages of the post-bac program.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the specifics, but I DO know that it’s doable. You’d be amazed at how many doctors out there studied music as an undergrad (as a double major). It’s a lot of work I’m sure, but it’s certainly done all the time. I know two people that instantly come to mind at my school who are doing this.</p>
<p>I think the key question here isn’t if it is doable (I have known music performance majors who went on to be doctors) but if it is doable in the timeframe the original poster talked about. Doing a performance degree, now that I can see what that entails, along with the requirements for pre med, would be very difficult in 4 years. I am sure if someone went to school over the summers, that would help (assuming the person wasn’t doing summer music festivals and such), it could help make it easier to do in 4 years. </p>
<p>Most of the MD’s I know who studied music did what someone else suggested, they went in effect “post grad” and took the courses they didn’t do that were needed for their MD. That actually is quite common with people who studied other things in college, lot of people decide to go for their MD, especially adults who have been working for a bit, and they take the courses they would need to apply to med school. </p>
<p>As others have said, it also is up to what the person is looking to do. Are they looking to study piano because they love it, while primarily focusing on being an MD as a career? If so, then maybe a performance degree isn’t the way to go, as someone else suggested, perhaps studying piano privately would suffice. Are they thinking that they would love to go into music professionally, but want a backup in case that doesn’t work (i.e get the undergrad degree in performance with pre med, see if music seems to be working, and then if not go to med school)…in that case, a performance degree might make sense. </p>
<p>And keep in mind that if someone is going pre med, they need to keep their grades near or at the top of the heap, and all the practice time and such for the performance degree may make that harder then it looks on paper.</p>
<p>I was accepted into dental school with only a music degree in cello performance. All you have to do is take the minimum required courses for med school: Biology, Chemistry, Organic, Physics with the labs and of course take the MCAT. YOu have to keep a good GPA (higher than 3.5) and get involved with premed activities. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO A DOUBLE MAJOR!!! </p>
<p>The admissions committee from the dental schools I interviewed in actually loved how different I was from all the other “typical” applicants. They loved that I played cello and that I played in the symphony and stuff. </p>
<p>I have 2 friends that did the double major thing and said that they should have done what I did. They said it was too much work doing the double major. The thing is, you DON’T need a biology/chemistry/physics/micro/biochem degree to get into med school. You can get into med school with ANY degree.</p>
<p>That is true, pre med is not a major, it is a pre professional program. I still think, given the requirements of a performance degree, and the various courses required for med school, it would be difficult to do in 4 years. That said, it is always better to hear from someone who has done it. It also depends on the music program as well, and how flexible the school is.</p>