<p>My neice has decided she wants to major in either Engineering or one of the sciences instead of music, although she wants a school where she can participate in marching band and orchestra as well. She's top 10 out of over 700 students, mostly honors and AP courses, very high SAT, and very gifted in music. She's being actively recruited by top schools and conservatories. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on a good school for a major that would also allow her to particpate in a good music program without majoring or minoring in music?</p>
<p>The availability of music programs is not much of a filter of which colleges to explore. Most colleges will have student orchestras, marching bands, and other performance groups as well as technique classes as extracurricular activities. The most competitive in terms of admissions will have a number of conservatory quality students in these groups who are not majoring in music, but want to continue performing. I suggest that your niece develops a more complete set of criteria to screen out schools and then look at the music offerings of those that remain.</p>
<p>If you do a google search, there are lots of sites that allow you to enter parameters for colleges. That way you can start to narrow down your choices.</p>
<p>There are univs that allow non-major students to participate in ensembles and orchestras. </p>
<p>Does your niece have any other needs? How much will her parents spend each year? </p>
<p>If she needs need-based aid, will she qualify for the amount that she needs based on parents’ income and assets? (Plus, most schools don’t “meet need,” so that’s another consideration.) </p>
<p>You mention very high test scores. How high are they? (high is subjective.)</p>
<p>You mention “marching band.” That suggests a desire for a school with a big Div I football team. Is that correct?</p>
<p>She sounds like me. I want to go to Baylor, which has science and engineering, but also be able to continue to play music. My dad says no, so, I am not sure if my choice is a good one. I already visited the school and they said I could do both.</p>
<p>Agree with cltdad. Focus on the other search criteria to narrow down choices first, then check into the music offerings. As a highly-qualified female applying for engineering she may get some good merit scholarships especially at STEM-focused schools where there is a gender imbalance. And even those often have good music options. Even small engineering schools may have enough of a music program to keep her happy.</p>
<p>I’m with undecided2014 and BeanTownGirl, you need to narrow your search. From what I’ve seen, there’s a really high overlap between engineering students and musically inclined students, so it’s incredibly common at a lot of schools for engineers to also participate in some ensemble, band, orchestra, etc. I’d say a majority of schools that offer engineering have engineering students deeply involved in music related extracurriculars (although at some schools it may be easier than others simply because some schools will have larger work loads). </p>
<p>That being said, one school that comes to mind for me is Carnegie Mellon. It has a top-notch engineering school (CIT) but also really great music programs. They seem to be looking for engineering students that excel in artistic endeavors like music.</p>