Others can answer this better than I, but my understanding is that in general when there is a conservatory at a school the students in that program will have first access to the music professors and ensembles. There often is not much overlap between the conservatory and the college and they can be in totally different locations. A high level musician who wants to continue music in college but not at a conservatory level (which is generally where almost all of their classwork is music related with one or two general ed classes a semester) will not have much access at these kind of schools. Oberlin is an exception since they have a specific program for these musicians. So although my son may be competitive for a school like Rice, Northwestern, Michigan or Vanderbilt these are not in contention for these reasons.
Thanks! I know someone with a similar profile as your child (they were majoring in a STEM field but wanted to continue their instrument). They chose Rochester because of Eastman. They graduated more than 10 years ago and I donāt know if they considered or ran into the issues you mentioned.
They may have done a dual degree, where you major in both music in eastman and something else at the main school, or a double major, really hard and have to be very focused.
The other difference is the degrees: BM at conservatory and BA at LAC, usually, though some LAC;s have conservatories of course!
A BM is 2/3-3/4 music classes and a BA is 1/4-1/3 music classes. Some even do a BA in something else and continue lessons and performance as an EC, often for credit.
Then there is double degree, double major, major/minor.
anyone have thoughts about schools where he would get scholarships both for talent or academics? My S21 got a nice package from Muhlenberg and this one has higher grades. We have a pretty complete list of reaches now but I donāt know of any lower level LACs to have him look at.
Shenandoah might be worth a look as a sure thing school.
St Olaf stacks academic and talent scholarships (including for music), but the total wonāt exceed 50% of the COA (at least that was the case in 2019-20).
I guess we really do have to make a trip to Minnesota!
You wanted cold and rural, so yes! 
As I mentioned before, Kenyon also gives music scholarships ($15K), but Iām not sure if they stack them with the academic ones. My daughter took 3 music classes just this past semester and was very happy with them. They require even non-majors to do jury, so itās pretty serious.
I keep seeing the names of St. Olaf and Luther popping up for music, and both are cold, rural, and likely to provide generous merit aid to your son. Iāve also seen Lafayette (PA ), College of the Holy Cross (MA), and Dickinson (PA ) mentioned as having strong music programs. If interested in a BM, then Shenandoah (VA), Baldwin-Wallace (OH), Ithaca (NY), and Lawrence (WI) should also be given a close look for the chances of significant merit aid.
Thank you! Hadnāt thought of Holy Cross for him, may be interesting.
Clark is near Holy Cross and has an interesting BA music program. We loved Clark (one of the Colleges that Change Lives) and they do give merit aid.
We just started to look at Hamilton, do you know anything about their music program in particular? Otherwise may tick a bunch of boxes.
Hamiltonās music department and orchestra offer variety through cooperative productions with other Hamilton departments and arts companies in the surrounding community. It might be expected that a student on your sonās level would be offered the opportunity to perform as a concerto soloist there. In terms of history, an alumna of the program received a Pulitzer in music (for composition). Hamiltonās especially flexible curriculum would allow your son to pursue extensive music courses along with a major in any of the humanities and arts, natural sciences and math, or social sciences.
sounds perfect! Thank you!
Donāt know if I should start a new thread but starting with an update here. He LOVED Williams and is a little overinvested. Ended the year with a 3.95 GPA UW/4.5 W (all A/A-) and has a 1530 SAT at one sitting (770 Math, 760 English). Wants only LAC due to small class size and interested in within 4 hours of NYC area. Thinking Hamilton and Wesleyan for other reaches, Holy Cross and Skidmore for Match/low reach. Any other thoughts?
Williams to great for music! I think fair to say strongest department for tradition/classical music of all the highly selective LACs. They even state on admissions info they care if you are a musician. How great is that?! Music is featured at all big campus events.
Thanks, he is way over invested and I am hopeful it will help him. Just looking for other options that he can get behind!!
def set up a trial lesson and meet with director of department there.
I would encourage him to look at Haverford. They just opened an incredible new recital hall attached to their music building. While I donāt think they have the robust music offerings of Williams, they do offer quite a good selection, plus itās easy for students to get to Philadelphia for concerts and lessons. My roommate took lessons with a member of the Philadelphia orchestra back in the day. https://www.haverford.edu/music
A New Home for Music | Haverblog
