Making my way back to CC for the first time in years, for a younger DS, and for old time’s sake, thought I would check out the music major forum. I remember the stress of trying to decide what my dd should do, where she should apply, did she have enough of a composition background, etc. Some of what I read on here really made me fear she would never measure up well enough to be able to do what she loved to do - compose music.
So, a bit of a background - DD played several instruments, with viola as her primary, and then composed her first “real” piece during her sophomore year of high school (MUCH later than many others I had read about!). I came here looking for summer programs where we could afford to send her. We ended up sending her to a weeklong program at CIM, where she came away feeling like she was not a “real” composer, although the composer running the program had nothing but praise. It threw her off though, and she wasnt sure what to do. But, she kept composing, and her hs honors orchestra (one of the top hs orchestras in the country) played a piece she composed during her Junior year. She was then certain that was her path. So it was not until the summer after her Junior year in hs that we got her a few composition lessons at CCM. And I do mean " a few". She continued to compose on her own and wrote another piece that was picked up by her hs orchestra, and then, yet another piece got played by a local community orchestra. She also managed to get a couple of commissions. All of this, without much real composition training. She started out manually entering scores on Finale, until we finally bought her Sibelius during her Junior year.
She had a huge list of schools she wanted to apply to - the one thing she was certain of was that she didn’t want a stand alone conservatory, where music students were in different dorms, etc.- she wanted a full college experience. The college list was long, but her enthusiasm for applying waned as time went on. She ended up with acceptances in Composition to Frost (U of Miami) with a very large scholarship, acceptance to Belmont (with a music scholarship, not nearly as large as Frost’s), acceptance to the College of Wooster in Theory and Composition ( also a very nice scholarship), and had the academic acceptance to IU, but not the acceptance to Jacobs. She knew that would have been a long shot with her background. I really thought she would choose Frost bc of the reputation and bc she also liked the Composition prof. She surprised us all and chose Wooster instead! The composition professor there promised her the world, and has pretty much delivered on it.
She just completed her second year and could not be any happier and has discovered musical passions she had no idea that she would have (Theory! This is humorous to us, as she was the fourth grader who regularly fought with us over doing her theory work for her piano lessons!) and has learned SO much. Composition classmates in the years ahead of her have had acceptances to places like Berklee and Peabody grad programs, with money included in their offers. In a recent composers contest, dd placed ahead of students older than she is, and enrolled in more “prestigious” programs. She is one of only two composition students in her year, and the personal attention she has received is beyond anything we could ever ask. Through Wooster, she has gotten to meet an Oscar winning film scorer and made connections we never dreamed of.
All of this is my long-winded way of saying to parents and students who are stressing about applications and auditions, there is no ONE right program that will make your child successful. And don’t underestimate your student - DD works really hard, which certainly contributes to her success. But, someone on this forum years ago gave me the idea to look at liberal arts colleges instead of just conservatories, and I am so glad she did or I would have never thought to look somewhere like Wooster. Don’t underestimate the benefit of personal attention by an accomplished composer, which students may not always receive at larger programs. A big name program is not always the best for everyone. Others on here made me think that DD did not have enough “background” to major in composition, and while it is too soon to know what the future holds, I really feel confident that she will do just fine.
It is so nice of you to come back and tell us about your daughter’s experience at College of Wooster, one of the Colleges that Change Lives schools 
So glad that Wooster ended up being so helpful in her development as a composer and theory student, and that its composition program gives lots of personalized attention. Hope you come back after she graduates so we can hear what she ends up doing!
A great post and thanks for the update! I agree that LACs with strong music programs should always be considered as options. The personal attention and breadth of interests ( exposure to not just music) are so important in the development of musicians, They give the musician perspective yet still allow for a strong focus if desired and several students I know continued on to the attend graduate school for music.