What are the best schools for Music & Math double majors???

College Search & Selection
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I really want to double major in music and math in college, and I want to go to a city that has a lively music scene. Some of my stats are listed below just for an idea of the kind of school I could get into:

Weighted GPA: 4.61
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
SAT: 2200 (800M, 680CR, 720W)

APs (12): Calc BC, US History, Statistics, Physics I, Physics II, Government, Macroeconomics, Psychology, English, European History, Computer Science, Multivariable Calculus

ECs:
Mock Trials (4 years)
Model United Nations (3 years)
Jazz Choir (2 years)
Honors Choir (2 years)
Varsity Lacrosse (1 year)
Varsity Track (3 years)
Newspaper writer (2 years)
NHS (2 years)

Awards:
4 Outstanding Attorney awards in Mock Trial
3 Superior Delegation awards in Model UN
probably some other stuff, idk

Leadership Positions in Clubs:
(by the way mock trial and model un at my school are both around 100 people)
Junior year - Mock Trial Secretary
Senior year - Mock Trial Vice President, Model UN Secretary, probably something in Newspaper

Also I play guitar, drums, bass, ukulele, piano, and harmonica.

Please let me know your thoughts, thanks!

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First, you are close to having the stats to contemplate the elite schools. Study CR and re-take either the SAT or the ACT IMHO- I would try to have (M + CR) > 1500 only because you have the time. Probably unnecessary caution.

Look at joint programs. I don’t know them all, but I believe both Harvard and Tufts have joint programs with New England Conservatory of Music, and that Columbia and Juilliard have a joint program. These are apparently EXTREMELY competitive, but worth using as a starting point!

I am assuming your stats are projections to the end of senior year, next year, and that you are currently a Junior.

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Thanks! and you’re right; I am a junior.

4

Oberlin, Ithaca College

5

St Lawrence University and Indiana University, depending on where you live and what your financial considerations are.

6

I’ve heard lots of nice stuff about Brown’s music department. It often pops up on top music schools lists. I’m sure their math department is great as well though of course it will be a reach no matter the grades and ECs.

7

1480 CR+M is no score to sniff at, but you should definitely retake it and see if you can get higher. Financially, do you know what your family can handle?

8

Willams has terrific math and music (and double majors are common) but it’s about as far away from city life as you can get. Maybe look at Wesleyan, Chicago.

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St. Olaf, and you will get merit money too. Check out the number of PHD’s produced, and you will see St. Olaf near the top of the list for LAC’s. World-renowned music program.

Williams and Brown will not give merit money.

So finances are a very important piece to this puzzle. Need FA? Need/want Merit?

10

Williams and Yale are obvious choices.
St Olaf is excellent for both math and music, and would likely offer merit scholarships (demonstrate interest).

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You might post your question in the music majors forum as double majors come up frequently there. You can also search for prior threads on the topic.

Musically, are you looking for performance, composition, education,…? At many schools you apply separately for the music major and certain degrees (like a BM in music performance) require an audition. You must be accepted to both majors.

If you are conservatory level, there are more options like Rochester/Eastman, JHU/Peabody and Case/CIM. Northwestern, Michigan and CMU are also known for dual degrees in which one is music. The music programs at all of these have competitive admissions. There are also schools where music does not require an audition, such as WUStL. These are in addition to the programs noted above in other replies.

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I’ve heard really great things about Williams for both math and music.

13

Below are universities with top 10 Music schools, top 20 Mathematics departments and located in, or close to, large enough cities to have a good music scene.

Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Rice University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

14

“If you are conservatory level, there are more options like Rochester/Eastman, JHU/Peabody and Case/CIM. Northwestern, Michigan and CMU are also known for dual degrees in which one is music.”

Michigan is also at a conservatory level for music.

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@rjkofnovi‌ - No argument here. My daughter is a dual-degree student at Michigan. I was simply distinguishing from those universities with (or partnered with) separate conservatories, but was perhaps a bit clunky in my wording. There are quite a few universities with formidable music departments with highly competitive admission processes.

What’s unclear to me is whether the OP is looking for this level of program.

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I know a student who is double majoring in Math and Jazz Piano Performance at U. of Rochester/Eastman School of Music. He has stats comparable to yours and looked at a lot of great schools, was accepted at Columbia, Ithaca, and Oberlin, but chose Rochester. I don’t know about the overall “music scene” in the city of Rochester, but we visited RIT with our D and liked the city very much.

If you intend to major in music you will have to pick an instrument that is your strongest and be prepared to audition on it. That could determine which school is right for you as some have better faculty on a given instrument than others. Check some of the threads here in the Music Major forum for some suggestions.

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