<p>I'm a current junior (almost a rising senior) and I am trying to limit my college list, like many others. One thing that is particularly important to me is MUSIC. </p>
<p>What colleges have the best music scenes, either on or around campus? I can imagine some big city schools do, but what about others (and those too. I'm just gathering info.)</p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>(I have a 2240 SAT/33 ACT, but currently will look at whatever range school.)</p>
<p>Oberlin. 10 char</p>
<p>URochester has alott of students interested in Music. Eastman SOM is a bus ride away and many students take advantage of free lessons there. While the music department UR itself isn’t the biggest department, many students take electives there and from what I’ve heard they are all pretty interesting.</p>
<p>The Music scene at UR is definitely a driving factor for students to attend and a noticeable part of campus culture. A typical U of R student is someone who might study Econ or Optics or ChemE but still makes time to take lessons at Eastman/perform in a UR musical group/play in a band/or simply jam with friends.</p>
<p>There is even the new Audio and Music Engineering major which is designed specifically for students with a combined passion for music and engineering: <a href=“http://www.ece.rochester.edu/assets/pdf/AME_CurrGuide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ece.rochester.edu/assets/pdf/AME_CurrGuide.pdf</a></p>
<p>It would probably be a low match for you.</p>
<p>Also check out lawrence as it (like oberlin) has a conservatory on campus and lots of students interested in music. It would be a safety for you.</p>
<p>I’ve heard University of Washington does, as does University of Georgia. </p>
<p>Guys, I don’t think he/she is asking about music programs…</p>
<p>Austin is the music capital of the country. Go to UT</p>
<p>EliKresses, I recognized that in my comment:</p>
<p>Schools with conservatories on campus/associated with the university (UR/lawrence/oberlin) all have pretty big music scenes on campus. At all of those schools many students (even those not studying music) attend because the conservatory provides advantages for interested non-conservatory students and the existence of the conservatory a sign of a pretty active musical culture. I can say from first hand experience that while most students at UR are not Eastman students, most students at UR are big into music.</p>
<p>At a place like UT/UGA/UW, I’m sure the city itself would have an awesome music scene but since the schools are so big/diverse, I’m not sure the interest would be as widespread across campus (though I’m sure there’d be a niche).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! And I live in Seattle (near UW) and would agree that the music scene is more out of campus. But that’s appreciable too, it’s definitely better than nothing! Any other ideas?</p>
<p>Wesleyan. [MGMT</a> | Bio, Pictures, Videos | Rolling Stone](<a href=“http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/mgmt]MGMT”>MGMT)</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities are both practically adjacent to Music Row in Nashville. Belmont has a music industry major. Not just country music going on in the city. If you like country music, of course, that would be the place.</p>
<p>USC and UCLA…on and off campus. After all …it’s LA. Classical, pop, rock, country, world, funk, R and B, jazz, folk, opera, you name it…it is all here.</p>
<p>I think the University of KS (Lawrence, KS) is well known for it’s thriving music scene. My daughter will likely attend Michigan State University which has an interesting program in the Residential College of Arts and Humanities - which is very music/fine arts oriented. [Residential</a> College in the Arts and Humanities](<a href=“Residential College in the Arts and Humanities | Michigan State University”>http://rcah.msu.edu/)</p>
<p>UT Austin</p>
<p>Rest.</p>
<p>UNC is not in a big city but has a great music scene.</p>
<p>Grinnell College.</p>
<p>check out [Grinnell</a> Concerts |](<a href=“http://grinnellconcerts.com/]Grinnell”>http://grinnellconcerts.com/) </p>
<p>“Grinnell has a long history of bringing great music out to the middle of Iowa. From a young Bruce Springsteen in the ’70s to the little unknown band The Smashing Pumpkins in the ’90s, Grinnell has strived to showcase the cutting edge of popular music and beyond.”</p>
<p>As a parent, the names listed on the spring 2013 calendar mean nothing to me, but they probably would to you!</p>
<p>Rhodes in Memphis is easy to get to Beal Street and all the Blues.</p>
<p>I second University of Washington. The Seattle music scene is just as hopping as it was when we were the home of grunge, but now the music is better and more diverse. Macklemore is from here!</p>
<p>Tulane? I always imagined Tulane to be a college for a jazz lover…</p>
<p>Emory has a fairly popular facebook group for people interested in getting to concerts. Since Atlanta is the biggest city in the Southeast, quite a few artists make sure that they come down there when they’re on a national tour.</p>
<p>Hi poulsonl!</p>
<p>I’m a recent high school graduate, so it wasn’t too long ago that I was in your exact position! I too was a moderately high-achieving student who really wanted a school with a strong music culture on campus, though I didn’t necessarily want to attend a conservatory (although I did tour the Eastman School at the University of Rochester, which was lovely). Anyway, I did a LOT of research on the subject, and thought I’d share some of my thoughts.</p>
<p>I’ll start with my somewhat biased pitch for what I found to be the best combination of academics and music/art: Yale. I don’t think I need to explain to you that Yale is an academic powerhouse. You can really do anything you put your mind to there. One of Yale’s graduate/professional schools is the Yale School of Music, which is a world-renowned conservatory (now with free tuition) that attracts some of the best musicians around the world. While the YSM is for graduate students, its presence really enriches the entire campus. As an undergraduate at Yale, you would be eligible (depending on your skill level with your instrument) to study music with YSM professors, and even to be a part of some of the musical ensembles. Yale College (the undergraduate part of Yale) itself has an astounding number of opportunities. Yale as more a capella groups than any other university (and the first collegiate a capella group in the United States, the Whiffenpoofs!). Yale has several orchestras, many dance troupes, different academic institutes for the studies of different types of music (sacred, baroque, etc.). Music is really an integral part of the culture at Yale, and I really think you should pay its campus a visit if you get the chance.</p>
<p>(In fact, Yale’s admissions video is even musical! Check it out: [That's</a> Why I Chose Yale - YouTube](<a href=“That's Why I Chose Yale - YouTube”>That's Why I Chose Yale - YouTube) )</p>
<p>All that being said, I think you’ll find similar opportunities to the ones I described above at many colleges throughout the US. Carnegie Mellon University, Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University, Rice University, University of Michigan, and the University of Southern California are all top research universities with really strong music programs. I especially recommend checking out Blair at Vanderbilt, Bienen at Northwestern, and Thornton at USC. If you want to be in a big city with all of the musical opportunities that accompany living in urban areas, perhaps you could look at NYU. Its musical department isn’t as well-known as some of the others, but you do get the benefit of being in New York. Also, Nashville (Vanderbilt), Chicago (Northwestern), and Los Angeles (USC) have really vibrant arts scenes.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for smaller schools/liberal arts colleges, I would definitely recommend checking out University of Rochester, Oberlin College, and Lawrence University. I know less about these schools because I ended up not applying to them, but they are very well-regarded as far as music goes.</p>
<p>I hope all of this helps! I have lots more to share, so if you’d like to hear more of my ramblings, just send me a private message and I’d love to chat!</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is in walking distance to a ton of venues — Exit/In is two blocks from campus and has a ton of indie bands. NYU also has lots of great venues nearby (Irving Plaza, Mercury Lounge, etc.)</p>