<p>I would not consider Crane (or even Fredonia) a safety as they are very competitive in terms of auditions. Most of the kids he will be auditioning against will also be all county/ all state caliber.</p>
<p>As for academics, I would not discount any audition-based program because of his GPA. A 90+ unweighted will get him in anywhere if his audition is strong enough. What are his SAT’s/ ACT’s like? If those scores approach 1200/ 28+, again he will probably be ok academically.</p>
<p>I’ve gone through the process with both an art major and a music major. Auditions/ portfolios are key as long as your academics pass a certain threshold (which his will with a low 90’s gpa.)</p>
<p>No ACT yet (taking in Sept). He has taken SAT once and 2 part was 1320. He’s retaking in Sept too.
He told me today he’s not going to try out at Fredonia. His school had a student teacher from there and based on what that individual shared about the program, his music teachers are not impressed with where the program is for band at the moment. Crane has just lost it’s sax professor to Arizona State, so as far as sax goes, it’s a risky bet. It’s a safety from a financial aspect, and I truly believe he would not have a problem getting in there. His school and private teachers are confident he will audition very well, which is nice. But he is hard on himself and is practicing hard, so I know he won’t be complacent.
Love the suggestions…thanks!!!</p>
<p>…and UNT is back on the map!!! Since he realized that if the audition goes well there is a chance they will offer in state tuition!!!
I can’t keep up with him!!! It’s quite a roller coater ride!!
I so appreciate all the help and will look into those other colleges</p>
<p>Many schools offer reduced or in-state tuition PLUS scholarships to qualified OOS students. My son got into both FSU and U of S Carolina, which is where he will be attending as a music major. We couldn’t have afforded it without the tuition reduction and scholarship.</p>
<p>It all comes down to the audition - but if you’re smart, you should set up a meeting/lesson with the prof long before the audition, they all do these and the feedback is invaluable.</p>
<p>NYsaxmom-I can’t speak to the sax situation. I can say that Crane is a very popular choice for music ed students from our area. My son knows quite a few musicians there and they are all really enjoying the experience. A few years ago, my son (who will be a college freshman next year) explored music ed. We noticed a wide variety of course requirements between schools, so it is important to compare. I recall comparing Crane and Temple. It is probably a function of which state you are studying in and where you will get certified.</p>
<p>College of Saint Rose in Albany is another popular choice for Music Ed majors locally, though I don’t think they have a BM-performance degree. The Sax professor conducts the youth jazz ensemble my son participated in. He has taught many of the professional saxophonists in our area.</p>
<p>Also, the Jazz scene at Crane is very vibrant. Bret Zvachek, the lead Jazz prof, is great and if you check the Jazz arrangements from your son’s school Jazz ensemble, you’ll probably see his name listed most of the time. It is very exciting for music teachers to know and learn from one of the leading Jazz arrangers for schools. Son is not a jazz minor but still played in 3 Jazz groups last semester, 2 clubs and one small group for credit. They even took their instruments out to play on the roof for fun. They are always putting together gigs and will even play in their free time in the Crane Commons(cafeteria). A spur of the moment jam session with Mr. Zvackek on audition day at Crane is one of the reasons son chose to attend Crane.</p>
<p>Thank you all again. Great information. Thank you momofbassist for the bio of the new guy at Crane. And Stone magic do you know any other colleges other than those you’ve mentioned that give in state tuition to OOS kids (or close to it). After all a mjor factor will end up being cost
This should be an interesting year</p>
<p>I don’t know them all but I suspect there are threads on here. One key point, don’t reject an OOS public university going by their posted general tuition rates - call the music school and talk to the music admissions director (or sports or honors college) and ask what they can do for talented students. I have found them to be very open and helpful.</p>
<p>Just adding on about U of South Carolina, their average SAT (two part) is about 1200, a 1320 will almost likely get your son an academic scholarship in addition to a music scholarship and marching band scholarship and out of state tuition renumeratin. That could all add up to a good chunk of change (more than half the cost of tuition/room/meal plan).</p>
<p>If he could bring up his SAT and if he has really good grades, he might could even get into the Honors College at SC - which is the #1 ranked Honors college program in the country. </p>
<p>Someone was mentioning an interest in music and business, the Moore School of Businesses at S Carolina is also highly rated, the international business program has been ranked in the top three ib programs by US News and World Report for something like 25 consecutive years, and is ranked in the top five in the world by virtually every rating system.</p>
<p>Amen to vocalists! I am looking into vocal performance as a major. Westminster Choir College has an AWESOME vocal dept and has internationally known choirs(it has been this way for a long time; my grandparents are alums of this college and the quality has remained the same since they’ve been there). From what I’ve heard, St. Olaf is sorta like Westminster but on the other side of the country. I also happen to know that Temple University(warning: a very big campus in northern Philly) and Ithaca College have a great vocal depts as well. I am also looking into Boston Conservatory, Boston University College of Fine Arts, Vassar, West Chester University, and possibly Swathmore and TCNJ. Any comments on whether these are good choices for vocalists?</p>
<p>NYsaxmom, I am on this forum for my D who wants to be a vocal performance/music ed major…however, I was a sax music ed major at Florida State, and the sax prof there is GREAT. He is really wonderful and has produced many outstanding saxophonists. They also have a great music ed department. When I went there, I got a scholarship, so that I was able to pay in-state tuition (I was from Georgia), which was very helpful. I’m from Michigan now, and I’ve noticed that in-state tuition at FSU is MUCH cheaper than in-state at any Michigan schools, so I’m encouraging my D to audition. Of course, she’s a soprano, and they’re a dime a dozen, so she probably won’t get that kind of scholarship, but you never know, right? It’s worth a try!</p>
<p>Looking for advice on other schools to consider. D is planning on vocal performance, and likes the idea of LAC experience. Has visited Eastman/U of R, Carnegie Mellon, Potsdam, Gettsyburg, Baldwin Wallace, Syracuse and NYU. Also planning on Oberlin visit. Interested in Peabody. Want to stay roughly NY/PA/eastern OH. She is top 5%, SAT 2000 and ACT 30. Thanks! First post if you couldn’t tell…</p>
<p>Like your daughter, my son is interested in vocal performance in a LAC environment. Here are some thoughts based on talking with some teachers and my own research.</p>
<p>There are conservatories like Peabody, Oberlin, and Gettysburg that claim to provide LAC experience but you have to look carefully at the degree requirements and how much time is left to take LA courses. From what I’ve seen they rarely leave time for much more than the three languages (French, German, Italian) and a few “music and culture” classes that are “kind of” history courses. </p>
<p>For places that offer a BM in vocal performance but are not conservatories, look carefully at the vocal faculty. Are they adjunct or tenure-track? Do they have professional experience beyond a local setting? And if your student is interested in classical vocal performance, does the college or university stage at least one opera per year? I’m thinking that is a benchmark for the quality of students in the program. </p>
<p>Another consideration is whether the music department has a graduate program. If so, many of the juicy opera roles would go to the graduate students, not undergrads. I’ve heard Eastman avoids this problem by staging two versions of the operas for undergrad and grad students. I don’t know if this occurs at other big schools or universities.</p>
<p>Using these criteria, we’ve tried looking for a smaller liberal arts college/university with these requirements leaving room for LA classes. There are not many. Furman in SC, Lawrence in WI, Baldwin-Wallace in Ohio look reasonable. Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove PA has a LAC curriculum but their vocal faculty does not look that strong. </p>
<p>The bigger universities that we’ve reviewed so far looking good for LAC but have graduate programs are Northwestern, James Madison University, SUNY Purchase, Univ. of Michigan, McGill University. Others that we want to review include Indiana University and U of Maryland.</p>
<p>Anyone else have thoughts about either my lists or my decision process, please chime in.</p>
<p>If one is only a BM student in the conservatory, I disagree that Oberlin claims a “LAC experience” from an academnic standpoint. The LAC experience comes from the fact that other than that conservatory only students take at least 75% of the their courses in the conservatory, they are otherwise intergrated into the Oberlin college experience as far as dorms, dining halls and such go. The dual degree program BM/BA is 5 years and even at that is not easy.</p>
<p>Wondering if anybody knows much about the music program at Manhattanville. My daughter is an All State soprano and would like to be a music teacher. We are also looking into Fredonia and Oberlin and a few others but all of them are quite far. Manattanville is somewhat close to home and It would be nice to be able to see her perform.</p>
<p>StoneMagic, can you tell me how your son is getting on with his choice of USC over FSU. My son is a HS senior and looking seriously at both. He liked the FSU campus but did not like the USC campus. Have not met the faculty yet so that will help things slide in one direction or another, but we would like to know your experience. Also, any difference in classes with music ed major versus performance major at USC?</p>