I was wondering if anyone knew of some relatively top-tier universities that had strong music programs (preferably in a medium or large cities) and a fun but not overbearing social scene? I’m not looking for anything Ivy League level, but some prestige would be a perk. Also, having an actual green leafy campus would be a plus! Thanks for your help 
I might check out Vanderbilt and Rice. Both have good music programs (Blair & Shepard), beautiful campuses (I absolutely love Rice’s), and a friendly, fun atmosphere. Rice is almost in the middle of Houston, but it’s in a great neighborhood (the Museum District) with lots of places to eat and shop. Campus is also very green, has lots of shade, and plenty of places to hang out outside. I don’t know as much about Vanderbilt, but my friend seems to love it there!
I second vanderbilt
USC, U Michigan, UCLA, U Rochester, Northwestern, McGill
You might want to let people know this:
Many of those schools will be reaches
UT-Austin is another place you can look into.
McGill in Montreal. Top music school, vibrant music scene in both English and French, somewhat green, leafy campus in the middle of downtown.
Tulane in New Orleans and University of Texas at Austin would both have vibrant music scenes.
Oberlin has a world class conservatory so I would imagine they’d have dozens of concerts. The town isn’t all too exciting, though.
I second University of Texas at Austin and add University of Washington in Seattle.
Your entire message has “VANDERBILT” written all over it.
Indiana U.
You’ll need to improve your ACT for Vanderbilt.
Wesleyan.
Are you planning to major in music? If you don’t plan to major in music but want to participate in ensembles, then universities with excellent music schools/conservatories like many previously mentioned (e.g. Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana, U of Rochester, Oberlin, Vanderbilt) might not be the best choice as spots in the top ensembles are often reserved for music majors, and lessons will probably be with grad students vs. profs. Check the music school/dept. web sites at target colleges and see what opportunities are open to non-majors. You might also check out some of the threads in the Music Major forum about music for non-majors http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/
If you do plan to major in music, are you looking for an auditioned Bachelor of Music program (performance focused) or do you prefer a BA program (usually more of an academic/liberal arts music major)? If you are a senior, note that the deadline for most good auditioned BM programs is 12/1, and many require prescreen recordings for voice.
Chances are low for Rice due to the ACT being below the middle 50%. UT Austin is extremely competitive for out-of-state applicants, with only 10% of the class coming from out-of-state.
Thank you all for these amazing suggestions. I was turned off by Vandy because of the intense participation in Greek life, and Rice is a pretty big reach for me. I’ll definitely take a look at UT Austin and IU.
if you’re just talking about a town with a good music scene as opposed to an actual degree then look at Georgia (although I have no knowledge if UGa has a great music degree or not). If you cant get into UT-Austin, then look at St. Edwards in Austin.
If you’re looking for a degree in music as well as a great local music scene then you need to look seriously at Belmont University in Nashville.