"Here is my understanding/concerns for each school. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Stanford: I did a trial lesson with a music professor and was told that there are not enough faculty so taking private lessons won’t be likely. The music facility is also quite dated. I heard that professors are more focused on graduate students/work. I grew up in Silicon Valley so I’m a bit tired of start-up culture."
My son (Princeton '22) was a music major and on pre-med track, so I’m more familiar with Princeton’s music programs and resources than Stanford’s. If you either major in Music or in a music certificate program, your private lessons with a performance faculty will be fully subsidized by the university. If you’re not a Music major or in a music certificate program but do participate in an ensemble group, then the university subsidize 50% of the lesson fees. If you’re receiving a FA (most students do), then the financial aid offers the remaining 50% of the fees, i.e., 100% subsidized. My son was a member of the Princeton University Orchestra (PUO) all four years, and he had no issues securing private lessons with a faculty. I haven’t heard of anyone being turned away from a studio due to a lack of faculty or space for private lessons. Because there are many students with pre-college Juilliard background, some students choose to continue their private lessons in NYC, and such fees are also subsidized by the university, i.e., private lessons don’t have to be with a university faculty.
If you’re interested in participating in the orchestra (Princeton has two), the upper-level orchestra, PUO, tours Europe every other year, and all costs are fully funded by the university. Other ensemble groups also tour domestically and internationally, as well, again fully funded. As a member of one of the a capella groups and another ensemble group, my son toured both domestically and internationally. These tours take place during the winter break or spring break, so you do not miss classes. Another music resource that Princeton offers is a joint-degree program with the Royal College of Music in London. It’s a flexible program where you can either study for a semester at the conservatory or complete an accelerated Masters Degree upon graduating from Princeton.
Just a few years ago, Princeton built the new, state-of-the art Lewis Center for the Arts complex, which serves as the home of PUO among other arts programs. When you visit the campus for the Preview Day, be sure to stop by the complex. Along with a couple dozen sound proofed practice rooms, each equipped with a Steinway piano, in the complex, there are music rooms in residential colleges, as well.
“Princeton: Heard that there is grade deflation and the academic environment is overly competitive whereas Stanford is more collaborative. Also, elitist given that it’s an Ivy.”
Ever since Princeton has done away with the grade deflation in 2014, the average GPA has been inching up close to its peers. Whether at Princeton or Stanford, you’ll have to work hard to earn good grades, not any harder at one or the other. My son wasn’t an academic star in high school, but he did fine even for pre-med required courses. His academic experience at Princeton was very much collaborative and cutthroat is a foreign concept on campus, at least in his experience. Being “elitist” is an outsider’s perception based on false reputation; you’d never feel it as a student.
When we visited the campus – our first time, too – on Preview Day, my son made his decision then and there. It was love at first sight. It’s a beautiful campus with a long and distinct tradition and where even the word “campus” first originated from. Good luck with your decision making; it’s a happy choice that, ultimately, cannot go wrong whichever direction it takes you.