<p>Searching for a college for a student with a perfect GPA all AP/Honor/Adv classes top 1% at really competitive HS and really high test scores and wants to be a contemporary singer/song writer. The more competitive colleges academically have a classical bent. Berklee and Belmont, while great, leave no room for "plan B". Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Belmont does offer other degrees besides music-related and is more of a traditional college than say Berklee. You might want to look at USC which has a popular music program all at a great university.</p>
<p>There is information about contemporary music majors here on the music majors forum [Music</a> Major - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/]Music”>Music Major - College Confidential Forums). If you can’t find what you are looking for post the questions there. There is a good mix of classical and contemporary posters with great variety of backgrounds.</p>
<p>How much interest does she have in academics?</p>
<p>There is always the option of going to a college, majoring in music or in something else, and working on the singing and songwriting on the side.</p>
<p>There are also double degree programs such as Oberlin and Bard. Tufts and Harvard have double degree programs with New England Conservatory, which include classical and jazz studies, not sure about contemporary.</p>
<p>Also look at schools that allow a lot of interdisciplinary or independent work. I know songwriters who have loved Bennington and Sarah Lawrence, for instance. Maybe Vassar. Check Brown out too-?</p>
<p>There is a book entitled “Creative Colleges” available online that lists schools for music, with info on many, which might be helpful to look at.</p>
<p>Otherwise, people on the music forum have mentioned Berklee, Belmont and USC Thornton for kids with this musical interest, maybe NYU.</p>
<p>why don’t you check the bios of musicians that your S/D admires and see where they went to college? I’ll bet most of them didn’t go to music schools at all…I would look at some liberal arts colleges that are known for fostering a creative environment in all respects and have good music departments where the students can establish close relationships with professors. I would think a good creative writing department as well.</p>
<p>Here’s an article on Grinnell musician alumni, for example: [Anything</a> but Bored to Death - News | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/bored_to_death]Anything”>http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/bored_to_death)</p>
<p>Lin Manuel Miranda wrote “In the Heights” while at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Fountains of Wayne was founded by two students who met at Williams College.</p>
<p>These are just examples I know of… (I know not all these examples are singer-songwriters, but they are creative musicians who found support and inspiration at an LAC)…</p>
<p>If your S/D doesn’t listen to it already, I recommend the radio station WFUV – it’s based in NYC, but you can stream them online at wfuv.org. They showcase singer /songwriters alot.</p>
<p>Some intersections of academic and singer-songwriter cred:</p>
<p>Brown: Duncan Sheik, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Erin McKeown, Damian Kulash, 1/3 of Yeasayer</p>
<p>Harvard: Rivers Cuomo, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Morello, Amy Klein</p>
<p>Penn: Rob Hyman and Eric Bazillian, 2/3 of Yeasayer, Dead Milkmen, John Legend</p>
<p>Columbia: All of Vampire Weekend</p>
<p>Oberlin: Josh Ritter, Karen O</p>
<p>Wesleyan: MGMT, Dar Williams, Das Racist, Boy Crisis</p>
<p>University of Virginia: Stephen Malkmus, David Berman, James McNew</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence: Rhett Miller, Win Butler</p>
<p>Smith: Merrill Garbus</p>
<p>Adding to the list: </p>
<p>Bard: Steely Dan, Beastie Boys</p>
<p>I agree that her options are wide open with no need to limit them. But if she must have a major in singing/songwriting along with an academic environment then USC’s Popular Music Program is the way to go and it sounds like she’ll qualify for the 1/2 tuition Presidential Scholarship and probably be considered for the full tuition Trustee’s scholarship.</p>
<p>There are many musicians and composers who went to Harvard. Many of them did not major in music:</p>
<p>[List</a> of Harvard University people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“List of Harvard University people - Wikipedia”>List of Harvard University people - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Wow, that list makes a poor case for Harvard in the singer-songwriter department. Although it’s interesting to know that Pink Martini has a Harvard frontman. I’ll bet a little research could produce a bunch more.</p>
<p>USC has a great music program PLUS its in LA- the recording capital of the US PLUS they offer over 150+ full tuition scholarships to tip top students 350 +NMF’s received AUTOMATIC half tuition scholarships this year]
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1112/uscScholarships1213.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1112/uscScholarships1213.pdf</a>
PLUS it has a wealth of “Plan B” programs if your son decides to major in another area[ he can Minor in Music as well]</p>
<p>whats not to like?
JUST MAKE SURE she completes part 1 of her application by Oct 15 AND submits her COMPLETE application before the DEC 1 deadline, in order to be eligible for a full Tuition scholarship [ interviews at USC in Feb/March are also required]
She can still apply SCEA to any colleges she wants to as well.</p>