Transfer student - Choral Music Education

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I'm a 22 year old student who spent the last few years at an Ivy League school in NJ (you know the one), studying music. However, my academic performance was not very good, and I ended up withdrawing from school a few times due to depression and not liking the school very much. As many of you probably know, the Ivy League schools don't have Music Ed programs, so I was set on doing a Music major with a teaching certificate that would prepare me to teach secondary school in NJ.</p>

<p>I am now interested in transferring to another university to finish a Bachelor's in music education. My main concerns are (1) quality of the program, (2) cost, and (3) convenience for transfer students. I recently talked to a music professor at UMD-College Park who informed me that transfer students regularly get screwed regarding credits, and at his school I might have to start over as a freshman (the horror!). I have 2.5 years (80+ credits), so you can imagine I just want to get this college thing over with.</p>

<p>The schools I'm considering right now are TCNJ (top choice), Rutgers (top), Montclair State, Rowan, and Temple. I'm in NJ so the public in-state tuition helps, but I'm willing to look out-of-state if there is a great program and it is somewhat affordable (I already have loans).</p>

<p>My college GPA is not very good, it's a 2.6 but my school is well-regarded and known for being tough (grade deflation) and my music GPA is higher, around a 3.0. I am interested in doing Choral Music Ed (vocal), with a goal of teaching middle/high school choir as a first job. Does anyone have any suggestions for schools that would fit my criteria?
Thank you so much in advance!</p>

2

<p>How about Westminster Choir College?</p>

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<p>Westminster is pretty pricey - over $50,000. How about in SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Fredonia in NY - both great Music Ed. programs. Also West Chester State in PA.</p>

4

<p>WCC does give good financial aid, but one has to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 to be considered. And their Music Ed program is extremely rigorous, and I’m sure that there would be a major loss of credits at this point for the OP. </p>

5

<p>My D is heading off to Temple in the fall for Music Ed. Temple seems pretty generous with accepting AP credits, so perhaps many of your GE’s would transfer. However, the Music Ed curriculum is jam-packed from semester 1 onward, so unless you are bringing in lots of music theory, music history & piano experience, you would have a tough time doing it in fewer than three years I think. We have heard fabulous things about the program director!</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the replies. I have added WCC to the list; apparently they do give scholarships to transfers and the location is good; of course, the program is pretty reputable so it might be a good option.</p>

<p>I’m visiting TCNJ tomorrow; I’ll probably ask them what my chances are as a transfer and how I’d fare in terms of getting credit. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>

<p>With some input from others, I’ve expanded my list to include Rutgers, TCNJ, Rowan, Montclair, Temple, SUNY Fredonia, and WCC.</p>

<p>Now onto working on classical song rep for my fall auditions!</p>