Should I transfer?

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I am currently a freshman in an undergraduate program. After 2 months of being in my current school, I realized that the level of musicians here do not match my expectations. To put it in a better way, the atmosphere and environment here does not feel serious and competitive enough for me. Lately, I have been thinking of transferring to another school, however, I have already made many new friends and I am in a very dedicated chamber group. Just the thought of transferring scares me, because I do not know if it will be worth it to give up the things I started here, and if it will be benefit me in the long run. </p>

<p>I would really appreciate all of your help, please kindly advice!</p>

2

<p>I am not going to be a great help but here goes: If you weren’t talking music major, then I would say stick it out and enjoy your experience. I don’t know how the undergrad experience plays into the grad school acceptance for a music major so I can’t give advice based on your major/degree. In general though, to get better at anything it helps to be surrounded by the best (came from an old hockey coach my son had). Hopefully you will get advice from people who have been down this road.</p>

3

<p>Thats a tough question.</p>

<p>Is there something in particular that is disapointing you? Like very specific?</p>

<p>I can understand that if you don’t feel challenged by your peers that you would be disapointed, but there can also be some advantages to being “top dog” at a college. You could try to make up your disappointiment with your peers ability by taking pride in your own ability and becoming that “top dog”. Sometimes you have to look for different ways to keep up your motivation.</p>

<p>I would think that as long as the teaching staff is top notch that you should be able to make things work where you are at. Think about your senior year, the school is getting requests for referals, who do you think is going to get the referals? The mediocre musician, or you, the top dog?</p>

<p>Also, you could look for higher level performance opportunities off campus. A few top students at my sons college play in a small semi-professional municiple orchistra that is located in the same town, not only does it provide them with exposure to professional level musicians, it puts some cash in their pockets. Some sympany orchistra’s also offer unpaid internships where one unpaid intern for each instrument plays side by side with the professionals for the entire season. For someone who wants to be a performer, I can’t think of a better experiance - and think about how it would look on your resume to have played in a professional ensemble prior to graduating college!</p>

<p>But again, I do understand your concern. My son was accepted at 4 colleges, one of the colleges offered him what was essentially a full ride (several scholarships), but he turned it down because he was afraid that he would end up spending all of his time teaching other students, rather than learning from or being challenged by other students.</p>

4

<p>S was thinking the same thing as you are about 2 weeks ago. He has since decided against transferring since his music classes would not transfer and he does really like his program, it’s just the location of his school that he’s frustrated with. He knows he will be going somewhere else for his Master’s so he realizes he needs to stick where he’s at (especially since he got scholarships)</p>

5

<p>Transferring as a music major is not as easy as other majors if you want to keep on the same graduating pace. Many of your music classes won’t transfer for full credit, including music theory, and you’ll have to re-establish your network at the new place as well. Since you have already missed January start dates, the earliest you’ll get in is next fall, so that means you could lose up to a full year of possible transfer credits. hawkrn is on the right track … do well here and think about where you would want to go to get your Masters.</p>

6

<p>I will toss in a caveat among the other advice the OP has received. Being a big fish in a little pond does no good if the pond isn’t one others are interested in. If yesyesmusic is not feeling challenged at all and the faculty and classes are not up to expectations then by all means, don’t be afraid to transfer. NOW is the time to do it; if you lose any credits, they will will be less than if you decided to make the move a year from now, and you may be surprised at what does qualify. Keep us posted and good luck.</p>

7

<p>I think you should share your concerns with your studio teacher and get his/her take on the level of musicianship in relation to your own. As you develop over the course of this year your teacher can advise you on the fit and may be in a position to offer additional challenge. Make sure to approach this conversation in a positive way with eagerness and passion, without slamming other students or the school. if you do transfer you will need a recommendation from your studio teacher. Your enthusiasm and professionalism will go a long way.</p>

8

<p>I don’t think being top dog works for some kids, as it can be boring and stifling. Some musicians absolutely must have others to strive towards, to collaborate with, etc. The peer group is really important, although more important for certain instruments and genres.</p>

<p>We know a couple of students who transferred right after freshman year for these reasons. Most lost a few credits but were infinitely happier at the new school.</p>

<p>Good luck. It isn’t easy making a change!</p>

9

<p>Thank you for all of your input! Snowflake, I definitely agree with you on the slower graduating pace. That is one of my concerns. However, also agreeing with what mezzo’smama said, I am the type of person who is easily influenced by my surroundings, and because of the lack of competition here, I find myself to be less motivated than I was in high school…I know it is partly my fault for not pushing myself enough, but part of it is also because of the environment here. So…would it be worth it to leave everything I started here and transfer to a more competitive school and start fresh?</p>

10

<p>YESYESMUSIC: my D transferred after her Freshman year due to extraneous circumstances. The only downside was that even though all her credits transferred, she was unable to apply the music theory classes towards her new schools particular theory sequence. This is pretty typical. She ended up adding one extra semester. That extra semester gave her additional time to work hard to save money and prepare for her grad school auditions.
I agree with Allmusic that your peer group is really important. Being top dog is great, but only if you had to work very, very hard to get there. Top dogs in non competitive schools frequently go into shock when they apply to grad school or compete in the real world. Ultimately only you can answer your question as to whether or not a more competitive school would benefit you.</p>

11

<p>I can understand where you are coming from with this, my S (who is still in high school) ran into this one, before getting into a high level music program he was in some decent programs where the level of student wasn’t particularly high, and after getting into his current program he saw a big difference in how he progressed, having so many talented students at and varying levels above him made a big difference (and we have direct comparison, he has had the same teacher before and after…). </p>

<p>As others have pointed out, there are negatives to transferring, and you should only think of it IMO if you really think being at your current place is just not going to inspire you enough. Besides the loss of credits and other things, there also is the financial issue, I seem to recall that with transfer students schools often are not very generous with aid, and especially if you are shooting for a program at a higher level music program they generally are expensive (others on here can probably tell you the reality of transfers and aid at music schools, I know there have been threads about it on here, you may want to search). As others have pointed out, you don’t want to go into a situation where you have a load of debt coming out of music school, especially if you plan on going to grad school.</p>

<p>The other question about transferring (to help with offering suggestions) is why did you go to the current program? Did you audition originally and get into programs of higher caliber but decided to go where you are now for other reasons? Or was it you went to where you were because it was the best of the programs you auditioned for? I am asking that because are you sure that your abilities are such that you would be able to get into a higher level program? Given the way music programs are, even though you are playing at a higher level then other students at the current program , you could well not be at the level of better music programs…if you auditioned at higher level programs and got in (hence my question) that answers the question of your potential. If not, you may want to either ask your current teacher (if you feel comfortable) or find an outside teacher with knowledge to evaluate your skills, to see if you have a realistic shot of getting into a better school. </p>

<p>I see a couple of paths here:</p>

<p>-Many music students these days get a grad degree before ‘going out there’ and you may want to consider that (if you already haven’t). The question here shifts from “I need to find a high level program to stimulate me” to “can the program I am in give me enough to audition and get into a top notch program in grad school”…if your intent is to go to grad school, then this takes some of the burden off of needing to be perfect out of undergrad (in terms of going out and making a living). If you feel, perhaps using some of the solutions others have given you to get more challenges, that you could advance enough to get into a good grad program, then you could potentially stay and then find you challenge in grad school…especially if transferring would mean taking on debt load, this might be a good alternative for you. </p>

<p>This is especially true if you determine that your skills may not be up to getting into a higher level program in UG, you could spend your time their focusing on grad school audition and ‘move up’ there</p>

<p>-If you really feel like the program is choking you, then a transfer may be warranted, because an unsuitable program could end up frustrating a student and really leave them in a lurch. The key here is going to be about determining your level and finding a program that will challenge you and also is a realistic admit. As a ridiculous hypothetical (and that is all it is), if you are a on the flute at a medium level, respected program and are thinking of a Curtis, NEC, Juilliard, etc, as a transfer (assuming they take transfers, again this is a hypothetical example), given that those places often accept as few as 1 flutist a year (that could be grad and undergrad combined!), it may not be realistic…(I realize that is an out there example, but I think it illustrates the point). </p>

<p>As a currently going out of business store used to say, an educated consumer was their best customer, and the same holds true here, you need to figure out where you are and what options are realistically open to you before going through the process. Having a realistic goal in mind and assessment of where you are is going ultimately to shape how you deal with this situation and figure out the path to the future:)</p>

12

<p>Should you decide to stay at the current school, one approach might be to make sure you apply to (and hopefully attend) high level competitive summer programs, so you do get that top shelf peer group at least part of the year.</p>

13

<p>If you decide to transfer and do lose some music credits, it’s possible to make up time by taking anything under the “gen ed” umbrella during the summer at a school while you’re at home. That frees up time to take the needed music courses during the regular year.</p>

14

<p>yesyesmusic … it sounds like you’re concerned about your motivation eventually causing you to lose your edge, and that is a concern.<br>

  1. Talk to your current private instructor as LSGMom suggested.
  2. If there is not a clear path to challenge you more or kick up your motivation, then figure out what it takes to transfer and start to get that in motion. You may not be able to start until next Fall, but you still have to have applications in pretty soon to hit that.
  3. If you have to re-start a music sequence, like Music Theory, you may be able to start in the summer with that specific class part time. If you do lose one semester but you come out much stronger in the end, and more competitive for what’s next, then you’re still ahead.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

15

<p>musicprnt, to answer your question about my level. yes, i do believe i can get into a higher level institute. i actually got into the school last year where i will apply to this year as a transfer (if i end up transferring). i just couldn’t attend the school last year because of various other reasons. </p>

<p>musicamusica, i am wondering if your D had any problem leaving her already-settled-in life at her old school? did she adapt well in her new school?</p>

16

<p>yesyes–
D is quick to adapt and make friends. The move was the best thing she could have done.But her specific situation was unique. I will PM you.</p>

17

<p>Thank you everyone for your advice. Though I am still trying to come up with a decision…</p>

18

<p>Yesyes, be sure to discuss the financial ramifications with your folks first to ensure it’s viable to transfer at that you are comfortable with the added debt you may incur, if that’s an issue. Then follow your heart. I do believe that people often lean/benefit as much from their peers as their profs at school, so I would be inclined to support such a move, but it’s not always that straightforward.
Eg in one area of my son’s discipline, he is exceptionally strong comparatively – so he benefits his peers. In another aspect, he has some peers that are way ahead of him, and they benefit him enormously. That is a good balance. Be sure to look around you at your school, to notice whether you’re miles ahead of everyone, or whether you are only evaluating your peers in a very narrow sense that happens to be your strength. Because there is much benefit to giving and leading, if you can find equally valuable influence from others on their own terms to “nurture” yourself.</p>

<p>Also, take the opportunity to visit what you feel to be the stronger school, and sit in on the classes, and evaluate fit first hand. You now know what you’re looking for, so make sure it’s there ;)</p>

<p>Best wishes in a tough decision. I agree the time to transfer, if you’re going to, is now!</p>