<p>I am applying to colleges this year and would like to study music but I don't want to narrow my undergrad studies to just percussion. I am interested in taking between 25% and 75% music courses depending on the type of program. If the music studies were more diverse I would be interested in more music involvement. I am also interested in dual degree programs.
I scored 27 on my ACT and I graduated with a 3.9 weighted GPA. Would like to retake ACT or take SAT.
Any information or comments will be appreciated!</p>
<p>Here are most of the QUALITIES I am LOOKING FOR (roughly in order of importance):</p>
<p>-strong music program specifically percussion
-strong academics and a driven student body
-flexibility / variety in course requirements
-low student to faculty ratio
-jazz (jazz percussion)
-electronic music
-music composition
-good visual arts program if possible
study abroad if possible</p>
<p>These are the types of PROGRAMS I would be interested in:</p>
<p>-liberal arts degree with lots of music opportunity
-general music degree (strong general music programs??)
-student designed major
-musicology (if I could get involved in performance also)
-arts administration
-dual degree program
-partner schools</p>
<p>Some of the SCHOOLS I am looking into:</p>
<p>Bard (Dual degree looks perfect)
Oberlin (dual)
St. Olaf (liberal arts)
Univ of Southern Cal (unsure-musicology?)
Univ of Rochester
Univ of Illinois
Univ of Hartford (gen music?)
Lawrence Univ (gen music?)
Rice Univ
Bowling Green Univ (musicology?)
Colorado College
Belmont
Vanderbilt
Bennington
Bates
Columbia College in Chicago</p>
<p>Bard does look like a good choice for you. @Margun’s son is a percussionist in the Double Degree program in the Conservatory. You could PM her, although she won’t be able to respond to you until you have more posts. @Kalina’s son is about to start at Bard College with an interest in jazz percussion. Bard has everything you’re looking for except arts administration. However, note that they only accept 1-3 percussionists to the conservatory program per year.</p>
<p>Oberlin also looks like a good fit, but your ACT score might be more of a problem there. (Bard is score optional.)</p>
<p>Bard, Oberlin and Lawrence came to mind and you already have them on your excellent list. Funny, I was also going to mention Bennington and you have that too. </p>
<p>Hampshire, Sarah Lawrence?</p>
<p>There are many schools that will meet your needs. Looking at websites, course requirements, distribution requirements, faculty bios etc. will help. Again, you have a pretty good list!</p>
<p>What other factors might help your choices? City, rural, suburban? Large, small? Vibe? What part of the country to you prefer, if any?</p>
<p>For liberal arts colleges, check out Loren Pope’s books, “Colleges that Change Lives” and “Beyond the Ivies.” There is also a website for the former. As an example, another CC user recently looked into College of Wooster’s music, which I knew nothing about. That is on the CLTCL list. Clark U. has a good music dept. and is also on there.</p>
<p>If you are not pleased with your SAT or ACT, there is a list of test-optional schools online- actually, many lists. Bennington is on there, for one.</p>
<p>Randomly, there is a composer I really like (Eric Guinevan) who is also a percussionist. He went to Indiana Jacobs and now studies/teaches at USC.</p>
<p>Just a minor correction about PM’ing before one has posted much. I think those of us who’ve been on here for awhile can PM anyone - even newcomers - but they can’t PM us. So if someone sends a new poster a private message - they won’t be able to reply…</p>
<p>Belmont is not known for their percussion program (S auditioned there and gave it a thumbs down) and your ACT probably won’t make their cut. S had a 32 ACT and a 3.4 GPA and they wouldn’t give him a definite yes. DePaul’s musicologist is a jazz drummer (Dana Hall) FYI</p>
<p>Hartt has a solid percussion program both classical and jazz plus some arts administration programs. It is attached to the University of Hartford, which has a good art program.</p>
<p>With your current stats, you could be in line for academic merit money. (They only give academic or music merit, but if you were in a general music curriculum rather than a performance degree, I believe you would qualify for the academic merit.)</p>
<p>If you are in NY or near NY, put Potsdam’s Crane School of Music on your list. Strong percussion dept (see posts from percussiondad whose daughter just graduated) and great Jazz minor. Very strong visual arts dept and the music business major/minor is doing well with placements. You would be eligible for academic as well as music dept scholarships. OOS COA is about 26-27k before scholarships. In addition, you can also double major in something else from the liberal arts college if you want.
The music school students are a very motivated group academically. They have one of the highest average GPA’s on campus and an 86% retention rate.</p>
<p>What kind of percussion is your passion. There are different strengths at different schools…some more keyboard focused, others more snare, others on set. Just curious.</p>