Strong Music Program?

<p>I applied as early action in engineering and also received $20,000 music scholarship. If I go to Furman, I'm thinking of doing double program. Does anyone know about it's music department?</p>

<p>Furman has an outstanding music department but I am confused why you would be asking about their music program if you received a $20,000 music scholarship. Was that from Furman? If it was, I would think you would be well aware of their exceptional program. Also Furman does not have an Engineering major, it is a Pre Engineering program in conjunction with several other colleges like Clemson. Music is a demanding major at Furman but I know of a few double music majors.</p>

<p>Yeah, it might be a little weird. At first, I wanted to apply Furman’s 3+2 engineering program. But I’ve been interested in instrument performing for really a long time. So I just tried. Actually it was really a huge surprise even for me when I was informed about that award from Furman. I do want to major in music, but I cannot give up sciences as well, will it be a hard work combing them or just impossible for actual situation? If you know some people involved in double program, in addition to music, what the other subject do they usually major in? Thanks a lot.</p>

<p>First off, congratulations! You must be an exceptionally talented musician to get such a generous scholarship offer from Furman. The students that I know that are double majors are mostly combining Music with one of the Humanities majors or a foreign language. I will ask my DD, a current Furman sophomore to ask around for you. In the meantime, hopefully a current student or parent of a Music major will chime in to offer more assistance.</p>

<p>Thank you so much. That would be really nice!</p>

<p>Offersplease, my daughter did music with a psychology/neuroscience major/concentration but not at Furman. She also completed the pre-med requirements at her liberal arts college. Her school had no general education requirements which probably helped her juggle all of this. Her only regret is that she did not get to do much course exploration in other interest areas (such as literature, women’s studies, political science). She graduates this May and will be doing a post-bac research assistanceship before going on to grad or med school. She’s spending this summer at Brevard indulging in her second love-the violin. So yes, it can be done. With engineering it might be tough but who knows, maybe no harder than all of the Ochem and other sciences of a pre-med</p>

<p>Furman has an excellent regional reputation for its music program and is one of the better ones in the southeast for a small college. The graduates go on to do impressive things. Hopefully my son will be as well rewarded as you were! Congratulations on your award and good luck in your decisioning.</p>

<p>hornet</p>

<p>For your daughter, though she missed experiences of some parts of college courses, she must enjoy the time and efforts spent on both Neuroscience and violin. And proud of the achievements she got from these two areas after the heavy work she completed, right? She is really a model to me. </p>

<p>And one more question, when your daughter pursues double program, does she need to practice the violin for hours a day? If it’s true, will that push a big stress on her science study? </p>

<p>Your post does makes me think a lot. Thanks so much!</p>

<p>offersplease,
My daughter’s practice during college was not as intense as it was in high school and she spent her summers working in NSF internships. Her violin went with her to the internships, and, at one she had the good fortune of playing with another intern who was a pianist (he was pre-med at Brown). They had a lot of fun. The pianist had attended a performing arts high school. BTW- there seem to be quite a few bright musicians that go to med school.</p>

<p>My daughter spent her first summer at home taking the physics and English literature pre-med requirements. Her sophomore year was rough-she took music theory (harder than it sounds), organic chemistry, genetics and a neuroscience course that year. Once the pre-meds were out of the way, she began to have more of a life.</p>

<p>Engineering is demanding. My husband is an electrical engineer and he spent hours working out various models and in the labs.</p>

<p>As to Furman, my understanding is if you are after the BM there is a four hour per day practice expectation, half of that if you are doing the BA in music (which was my daughter’s route-her school did not have the BM option). Here is the link to Furman’s four year plan for their various music degrees [Current</a> and Accepted Student Info](<a href=“Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC”>Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC) I suggest that you take the option there that fits with your needs and draw out a plan with the engineering option. Here’s the link to that: <a href=“Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC”>Furman University | Top Private Liberal Arts University in Greenville, SC;

<p>My understanding is that if you accept a music scholarship, you will be expected to play in their groups (depending on the college’s need). My son really “earned” his music scholarship at the college he is now attending and, at times, wished he did not have so many group obligations. That could present a problem for you. Check with the music department about what they would expect you to do for your scholarship.</p>

<p>I think once you have drawn out your five-year plan and, perhaps have gotten information from engineering students about the course load, you can make a good decision. The type of engineering will dictate how your time would play out. For example, chemical engineering is much more demanding than civil engineering.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>My DD spoke with some of the music majors in her sorority and some other friends that are music majors. Most of them are not double majoring because of the practice required in music for both classes and performances. Science would be especially hard, particularly Chemistry and Biology, because there are a lot of required labs. I just don’t know if there would be enough time in the day for you. The word from her one Music major friend was that a double major with a science would be a “suicide mission”. </p>

<p>Remember, this is just a few current students opinions. I would ask someone at Furman in the Music department for their advice. Good luck to you!</p>

<p>hornet & BobbyCT</p>

<p>I have a much clear idea about the double program now. Now I am thinking that the double major in A Science and BA might also be a good idea. I’ll still have the opportunity to play the piano (though not that professional within BM) and I can leave more free space for other interests or my science study. Or maybe I can try double major with BM for one year to see if I can really make it through and then consider more later. </p>

<p>Thank you again for your and your daughters’ help</p>

<p>BobbyCT, sorry this message is really late in relation to your post! Could I know how the voice program at Furman is like or what things there are to know about the music department? The voice faculty seems quite sizeable, so I was wondering if I could find out more about it!</p>

<p>Parent of twin 2012 GU grads ( each had friends who were music majors-one in voice). It is my understanding that the voice program is at the conservatory level at Furman. Very demanding and tons of opportunities to travel across the US and abroad. There is also a music based study away program, I believe. FWIW, with your love of science and engineering, you might take a look at Georgia Tech’s graduate program in music. One track is devoted to architects/engineers who design spaces for music performance and recording. That might be a way to integrate your love of both areas. Congrats on your generous merit offer!</p>

<p>Georgiatwins: Thank you so much! Will definitely read up more about Furman!</p>