<p>Whoa, I don’t see how we can over the OP any opinions whatsoever until we have some more information. There are literally hundreds of schools in that geographic area which have music departments and which claim to offer degrees in performance. Not to mention the fact that NY is a big place so ruling it out on the basis of being “too crowded” is not wise- I am assuming that the OP means NYC,though. CT is very crowded,especially in the Eastern regions and Boston is a major city- densely populated- with problems similar to NYC.
OP- Please tell us what your instrument is, or voice type, how long you have been studying and what you hope to do with a performance degree. Schools and their programs can vary widely even though they may offer the same degree.It seems clear that you are not looking at any of the major conservatories, but you should be aware that many other schools also require auditions and the application dates are fast approaching. Are you a senior in HS? If so, please know that you are quite a bit behind at this point in the year if you are just beginning to look at colleges. Do you truly mean “university” in that you prefer a large school with a lot of liberal arts courses? Would you consider a smaller, liberal arts college with a music program? I assume you have a private teacher with whom you study- what advice does she/he give you? Have you had your talent evaluated by professional musicians or music teachers? I ask that because there is a vast difference between being a competative candidate at a place like Boston Conservatory or the University of Southern Maine. Please give us something to go on so that we can offer advice which could better help you. You should also search through past threads in this Forum as there is a lot of good information which has already been posted.</p>