<p>This year I'll be a Senior in high school & I'm trying to make decisions about where to apply. I'd like to major in Music Ed., although a double major in Performance or Jazz Studies could be an option. I play woodwinds, have made All County for the past 3 yrs., All State for the past 2, & have been nominated for All Eastern. My grades are average, I have an overall GPA of 3.25(result of my Freshman year). It is higher now. I am not in search of a stand-alone conservatory, but a conservatory within a university would be nice. I also play a sport. One last thing, my parents are getting older, and I'd like to be relatively close to them (reachable by car within, say, 5 hours or so). Financial aid is also a concern. Any suggestions for me in the VA, NC, DC, MD, PA or NY area? In the next few weeks I have scheduled visits at Univ. of North Carolina (Greensboro), Shenandoah, and Towson.</p>
<p>What about Peabody, part of Hopkins. Then again, it is pretty separate. I would look into it though.</p>
<p>How about Penn State? They have a good music Ed program, and the music school itself is pretty tight knit (it’s within the huge main campus though so it’s not like you would be isolated). They also give decent financial aid from what I hear</p>
<p>Welcome. You don’t specify an instrument, and teacher selection is critical for a performance major. There is much already here on music ed. Try the search methodologies I detail here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html</a>, there’s in excess of 5 pages of titled threads alone. Also, a few dealing with NY, PA, mid-Atlantic options. </p>
<p>You can also search by school name, but I suggest the “music ed”, “music education” searches first.</p>
<p>Peabody may not be the most cost effective option for music ed, and you may wish to read this as well [Peabody</a> Institute - Conservatory Admissions: The Double Degree Dilemma](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/doubledegree]Peabody”>Double Degree | Peabody Institute).</p>
<p>Combining an ed and performance pursuit combines to time and credit intensive disciplines, and these are often designed as five year programs. You mention a sport… highly unlikely, if not impossible on a competitive team level, and may well be frowned upon in many programs. You may be hard pressed to find time for a serious recreational pursuit. A few threads on this topic as well exist.</p>
<p>Do a bit of reading as to what’s here already. More than happy to answer questions, pull links if you need them.</p>
<p>A 3.25 GPA may put Penn State out of reach. East Carolina University has a great music school is reasonably priced and within your gpa range. Also SUNY Potsdam(Crane)and SUNY Fredonia have excellent programs.</p>
<p>Some smaller and less well know programs may be good. For VA, Christopher Newport University in VA has been an up and coming school and has a music ed program. Virginia Tech and James Madison University have had some pretty high score and and grade requirements recently. Students have to be admitted to the university in addition to auditioning into the music school. Mary Washington University also has a program but I do not know much about it. </p>
<p>You don’t say what state you are in currently, but it may be better to go to school in your state system if finances are an issue.</p>
<p>Music and sports = Ithaca College!</p>
<p>Yes, 3.25 is my overall GPA, due to my getting lower grades in my Freshman year. Now it is more in the 3.7-3.85 range, and that’s with doing a ton of extracurricular activities. I’m guessing that won’t matter, though. I’ve been in the Honor Society for past year & done multiple sports, jazz band, etc. though.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mention the instruments. I play bass clarinet in concert band & All States, Bb- since I’m preparing for auditions & tenor sax in jazz band. I’ll search the threads, thanks.</p>
<p>I guess that may sound kind of strange about wanting to be near my parents, but it’s a cultural thing–without getting specific.</p>
<p>After researching elsewhere online I’ve decided to skip the visit to UNCG. It doesn’t sound like a good fit for me, although I’ve heard those in their music program are generally happy with their experience there.
So, I’m thinking Towson, Shenandoah, UMCP. I’m almost next door to UMCP. I’ve taken 2 summer jazz workshops with Chris Vadala, who is on the faculty there.</p>
<p>I’m surprised violadad didn’t ask you what state you are from, because that can be an important factor – as he rightfully (usually) points out, it is usually much more cost efficient to pursue a music ed degree in your home state – plus the curriculum would hew more closely to your state’s specs.
So, what state do you live in?</p>
<p>I live in Maryland.</p>
<p>D will be entering freshman year at Florida State as a MusEd (clarinet) major, but we live in NJ, so we explored the mid-atlantic region first, including the schools you mentioned. We started with a lengthy list of schools which she presented to her private clarinet teacher. The teacher gave UMCP a “plus sign,” but crossed Towson off the list, muttering “absolutely not,” without explanation. She provided no annotation for Shenandoah or UNCG, but we visited both. </p>
<p>The Shendoah visit was last October for “Shadow a Conservatory Student Day.” Everyone was very nice, but D eliminated it after sitting in on a conducting class. Several students arrived 10 minutes late to class, and the teacher didn’t bat an eye, which bothered D. One of the late arrivals then said he didn’t feel like getting up in front of the class and conducting because it was a Friday. After the teacher pleaded and cajoled, she finally got the young man to conduct. He half-heartedly conducted to the floor, again explaining that he doesn’t do that on Fridays. D would have thrown him out of the class on his butt, and couldn’t understand why the teacher didn’t. Maybe the teacher was avoiding a confrontation in front of a couple of HS kids, but D mentally removed the school from consideration right then and there.</p>
<p>The UNCG visit was extremely positive. She met first with clarinet prof Anthony Taylor and they connected right away. One of Taylor’s current students recently won first place (I think) in a clarinet competition at this year’s Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, which is apparently a nice honor in the clarinet world. However, UNCG, as D found out after applying, requires 4 years of HS math. (D dropped senior math for a Band Director job-shadow.)</p>
<p>UMCP is a great school. It is in-state for you – which can be a good route to go for Music ED and Chris Vadala is wonderful! </p>
<p>Not sure what the GPA requirements are for UMCP…</p>
<p>I would advise DMVreeds to investigate Towson a but more before crossing it off the list. I had heard that it had a good music program?</p>
<p>But if you know, culturally, that you are going to (want to) be near your parents – who also presumably live in MD – that would point toward looking at the MD state schools. </p>
<p>Other options would be out-of-state schools whose tuition could compete favorably with your in-state rates. One that jumps to mind is Appalachian State in Boone, NC.</p>
<p>Duquesne University in Pittsburgh has a very good music ed program. It is pricey, but they give a lot in scholarship money.</p>
<p>I’ve never really seen mention of Frostburg for Music Ed. majors. I know it’s smaller, but for those with a clarinet as a major instrument, it might be worth considering since the clarinet instructor has degrees from both Oberlin and Eastman. Wouldn’t the curriculum be the same as offered at Towson, since it is a U of MD system school?</p>
<p>Check out Indiana University Pennsylvania and West Chester University. Great schools that many attend from our area for Music Ed.</p>
<p>My daughter attends Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. It is a relatively small school, but offers a Marching Band (around 200 kids!), Jazz, Orchestra, concert bands, many Chorus choices. She is going for MusicEd and plays the French Horn. She is a Junior this year. We could not be more pleased with the school and the opportunities she has been given there. For example, many of their groups tour with all expenses paid. They have a Horn club that attends a Convention every year. She has been asked on numerous occasions to participate in other students Junior or Senior recitals. I can’t help thinking that at a bigger school, she would not have been afforded these opportunities. Depending on where you are in Maryland, it is about 4 hours away.</p>