<p>And regarding that list in particular, if you’re interested, it does seem more grad school focused, so that’s part of the problem for a school like Vanderbilt. Leaving alone the actual ordering of the schools listed (bizarre, to say the least), on a strictly factual basis, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Hartt, Florida State, Kansas, Colorado, Miami, SUNY-Stony Brook (grad school focused, only offers BA not even a BM, and grad students do the undergrad teaching), and Illinois may all be fine programs, but in terms of selectivity, they are FAR, FAR less selective than the others on the list, and far less selective than Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, and other schools left off entirely, such as Bard Conservatory and Colburn and others that really should be there. I’m not knocking these schools. I love absolutely everything about UT Austin, but its selectivity at the undergrad level is simply not comparable to the major conservatories on the list – or, for that matter, to Colburn, Bard, and – yes – Vanderbilt. This is also true of Peabody, which is on the list, but accepts roughly 30% of applicants. I say these things based partly on personal and general knowledge of how classical students are thinking at the moment, but also on published acceptance rates and the rigor of auditions.</p>
<p>^^^OK. So Vanderbilt isn’t top twenty. I got it. :-)</p>
<p>Austin is such an amazingly cool place, especially from a music standpoint, and cheap as Barrons says, but UT-Austin (great place) is probably MUCH larger than the OP is looking for. Out-of-state admission can be pretty tough, too.</p>
<p>Oy!!! Now, you’re just yanking my chain for giggles. I only mentioned top-30 because your silly list did. Now, musicians are as stupid as other students – meaning they aren’t immune to the whole “prestige” thing, and they’d probably gravitate toward a recognized list (even if it was stupid, as stupid as the one you found), just the way kids do to the USNWR lists – paying lip service to their stupidity but then doing the “yeah, but” thing and using it anyway…but there isn’t one for musicians, just somewhat vague and shifting “tiers”…they change based on instrument, where faculty goes, etc. Some live up to their name and rep year in and out, some seem to be getting by on rep alone, and some are on their way up – and Vandy’s Blair, always respected, is rapidly gaining recognition where it counts. They’re doing it the way Vanderbilt is doing it, by spending money on faculty and students and raising the admissions bar as high as it can go. It’s a great place to study music. I’m talked out. </p>
<p>And my apologies to the OP.</p>
<p>Sorry Stringpop. It’s kind of boring around here tonight. ;-)</p>
<p>Yeah, I think I’m feeling it too…hence, my lengthy off-topic and repetitive posts…</p>
<p>Haha well reading all that was interesting… Especially since this thread wasn’t about “music schools” to begin with. But whatever, it’s funny.</p>
<p>LA has a VERY great music scene. Into Jazz? UCLA has wonderful traditions in jazz and does a number of jazz concerts annually. They also do their own jazz/reggae festival. Outside of UCLA, Playboy does their own annual jazz festival, and K-jazz, a radio station run out of CSULB, talks about a number of small, and large, jazz venues throughout Los Angeles. </p>
<p>Into classical? We have the LA Phil. performing here. They practice in the Hollywood bowl during the summer, which is free to the public since it’s considered a park in Los Angeles. I’m sure there’s a number of other classical events that go on throughout the city, but i’m not really aware of them since i don’t really listen to K-USC.</p>
<p>I’ve mentioned these two genres without going into the plethora of other concerts that go on annually throughout the city. You can check out smaller bands like The Ditty Bops in a small gigs in Santa Monica, to anything like Fleet Foxes or Rage Against The Machine in concert. This isn’t even mentioning large, annual music festivals like Coachella.</p>
<p>So yes, LA has a great music scene. A lot of big artists come from both LA and New York, so both of those places are going to have a lot of great music scenes. I do agree that you are a bit held back here if you don’t have a car however.</p>
<p>Other cities you might consider looking into are New Orleans which has a fantastic music scene. The schools you might look into are LSU and Tulane.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your music search!</p>
<p>“Is there a sorority devoted to music? Since I’m a girl, haha.”</p>
<p>Eclectic is a co-ed frat. (:</p>
<p>A lot depends on what you are ‘in to’ also - For jazz or instrumental stuff, I’m not sure you could beat Berklee in Boston or University of North Texas in Denton, TX.</p>
<p>UNT music department has graduated a who’s who of working musicians and you can’t spit without hitting a performance on campus…let alone all of the places in nearby Dallas.</p>
<p>What kind of music?</p>
<p>Brown has the most a capella groups per capita of any school in the country, and Lupo’s is a very popular concert venue downtown ([Lupo’s</a> Heartbreak Hotel | Music Venue in Providence, RI](<a href=“http://lupos.com%5DLupo’s”>http://lupos.com)) but by being in a smaller city, it’s much easier/cheaper to get tickets than in other places. Additionally, WBRU is an amazing college radio station with lots of opportunities for people to cover/be involved in the music world ([95.5</a> WBRU](<a href=“http://www.wbru.com%5D95.5”>http://www.wbru.com)).</p>
<p>I <em>think</em> I answered this before, but for type: I really do like all kinds of music, but I mostly listen to indie/alternative rock/pop, so that’s what I’d mainly be interested in. But of course, anything is good.</p>
<p>well then Lupos and WBRU are definitely up your alley</p>
<p>Macalester in St. Paul, MN. The area indie music scene is a lot like Seattle’s. You can cover your walls with Adam Turman concert posters.</p>
<p>You playing Slackfest?</p>
<p>Northwestern is just North of Chicago which obviously has one of the best music scenes around, and the music school itself is also great. A lot of love for musical theater/a capella groups, and members from OK Go and Arcade Fire were wildcats.</p>
<p>A school and its city’s music scene was also very important to me when I was applying to colleges, and I don’t think anyone has mentioned this school yet, but from what I hear U Mich-Ann Arbor has a really cool indie music vibe. I also second U Wash-Seattle, aka Hipsterville, USA (I hate to admit it, but legal trees was also a major pull to Washington for me lol).</p>
<p>Does anyone have any idea how Swarthmore or Georgetown are for music? These are two schools I’ve been looking at and I just wonder how that aspect is at them. Thanks.</p>
<p>Swarthmore receives pretty good grades for its classical music ensembles and recitals. I think most students would admit that for anything else they head Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Head <em>for</em> Philadelphia</p>
<p>I would also suggest schools in Portland, or Chicago.
Also Evergreen State is in Olympia, Washington which is the home to K Records & Kill Rock Stars.</p>