What to do?

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi</p>

<p>I'm a rising junior at a conservatory. When I was 14 or so, my teacher and I decided that I would get a BM, then a MM, then try out for Civic or New World, do summer festivals and competitions, and ultimately maybe be one of the lucky few who get a job, or build a private studio and freelance.
However, these days, I don't really think that is what I want, and I feel very bored outside of my private lessons. I very much dislike my theory, history, and ear training courses, and feel like I'm not particularly inspired or stimulated in this environment. In fact, I would say that being here makes me quite unhappy. I have absolutely no idea of what I want to do. I can't afford to go to state school to do a BA there, but I don't know any school that takes in senior transfers and also give them scholarship money (I would need full-tuition, and do not feel comfortable taking loans as my parents just finished paying loans after 15 years of excessive debt, and we are still renting our apartment). My HS stats were 2400, 3.9, top 5%. I have mostly A's at conservatory. My school doesn't compute GPAs, but if it did, I would have a 3.6. Do you have any suggestion, please?</p>

<p>Also, if there is any HS student reading this, if you think that you sort of want to go to music school but would also be excited going to college, or have some double major idea, just go to college. If you choose music school and are too poor to pay for another undergrad degree or courses later, you will be trapped. If you choose college and realize that you really want to do music, get a great private teacher, practice a lot, do summer programs and competitions.</p>

2

<p>Have you considered transferring to a school of music within a university? There would probably be merit money, in addition to financial aid which could quite possibly be in the form of grants and not loans, and you might be able to start in January, rather than wait until senior year. Then you could take some more academic classes, and perhaps even change from a BM to a BA in which case you’d be required to take more academic classes in different areas, or maybe even go for that double degree. I don’t think you’re stuck. Start exploring the possibilities right now.</p>

3

<p>Colin, I am not 100% sure where you are. Are you going to be a junior or a senior?</p>

4

<p>I’m going to be a junior, which is why if I started a transfer application now, it would be to transfer my senior year.
Thank you, I hadn’t thought of transferring to a music school within a university.</p>

5

<p>Maybe a gap year would help you find some clarity about the path you want to take. Frankly, transferring for your senior year would end up being a waste of time and money - you’d probably lose music credits and would end up taking longer to graduate.</p>

6

<p>Thank you, Colin. If you waited until your senior year and spent the junior year at the conservatory, I would probably tell you to suck it up and finish at the conservatory. Another alternative is to take a year off while you try to figure out what you want to do. It may mean you find whatever job (or two) you can for that year and save up a few bucks. During that time, you may be able to get your clear and find a direction. And depending on where you see yourself going, you may get some classes at a community college. For example, if you think computer science might be a good plan, you can start taking programming classes. If you like writing, take a writing class or two.</p>

<p>You seem to be open to going to a university with a music school. That tells me you still have an interest in music. You will need to pay close attention to the transfer policies. You may find that you might still need to take some classes that you dislike. If this does sound like a plan, find a couple universities in your state with decent music schools in your state and get on the phone or visit and get as much information as you can as soon as possible. (I wouldn’t tell them about what you dislike about the conservatory but approach it more from a point of view that you prefer what a non-conservatory has to offer.)</p>

7

<p>Colin:</p>

<p>I say finish where you are. What matters most in this world is that you have A bachelors degree. Doesn’t matter what its in, just that you have one. Its basically become the 1st step of the American caste system. In India you are born into a caste, in the U.S. you buy your way into one - or get lucky a la Bill Gates.</p>

<p>After you have your degree, then explore other life options. You could go to: law school, medical school, business school, massage school, real estate school, culinary school, or many others. You could work in sales, retail management, project management, event planning, or arts management. BUT if you have no degree at all, most of those doors are locked. The good nes is that for graduate school, you will no longer rely on your parents income for student loan qualification. You will also qualify for a much larger amount: The entire cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, and board). After school is done, the amount you owe is not a big deal because your loans will qualify for Income Based Repayment ( [Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp) ).</p>

<p>You are hardly the first student to feel this way. But at this point, stay the course, get through theory (I’d guess 1% of the students actually like theory or feel that its useful) and then come up with other career goals and plans.</p>

<p>Deciding not to pursue music does not make you a failure, it only means that you were smart enough to know what makes you happy and courageous enough to walk away from what you told everyone you were going to do and start a new life/career path. If you had massive scholarships for undergrad (which it sounds like you did) think of those scholarships as a paycheck. Instead of paying $20,000 a year for a general bachelor’s degree, your schooling was paid for by your instrument and doing some things you liked to do. That is a way better deal than most undergraduates get.</p>

<p>VT</p>

8

<p>Thanks.
@geo and stradmom: The only thing that is stopping me from just taking time-off to volunteer or work and take classes, is that I don’t have a good enough instrument. I was given one that enables me to take auditions and do competitions, but if I took time-off, I would have to give it back. This would mean that I wouldn’t be able to audition for anything. It’s also possible, and even likely that they would give it to another student who shows more commitment while I’m away.</p>

<p>I still do like music, in fact I love my lessons, but I very much dislike all that’s around them. At this point, I would most likely be happy to attend any school that allows me to take non-music related classes, and would gladly take music theory, history, etc… if that meant that I could also take econ, math, philosophy, etc… I suspect these music classes could actually be very enjoyable (the way they used to be in HS) if they were balanced with liberal arts classes. I just feel like I have music indigestion. Everyday is 4-5 hours of practice, 3-4 of music class and homework, 1-2 of chamber or orchestra, plus listening to excerpts and studying orchestral scores, then having to hear other people practicing when I’m not doing all of this is lots and lots and lots of music with very limited opportunities to ever get away from it. The flame is dimming.</p>

<p>@VoiceTeacher: You’re right, I should be more grateful, I’m sorry if I come off as entitled. Do you have any suggestions about finding something I like to do or a grad program I’d like to enter, without being in a university and taking all sort of classes? I did look into med and law school, talked to a few people, did some shadowing. However, after this experience, I feel very cautious about starting any degree or engaging in any career path I’m not 100% I would love. Since I started playing music when I was very young, I’m also not sure that I could be happy not doing it, even though I’m also so frustrated by it.</p>

9

<p>Colin - I don’t know if this is an option, but if you contacted a few of the comparable university music schools where BM is offered in your instrument to see if they were interested in (immediate) transfer you <em>could</em> possibly still fit in a 5-year dual degree – if you are at a top conservatory, I would expect/hope your theory, history etc. courses WOULD transfer to peer institutions. In some cases, if you couldn’t fit the reqs of a dual degree, you might be able to change your major to a bachelor of musical arts with cohort study (available at my son’s school.)</p>

<p>My son attends University of Michigan’s SOM and it IS possible to do two degrees simultaneously – though not without burning some midnight oil :wink: I should also note that cost-wise, I’m not necessarily recommending Mich as suitable (it can be expensive out of state…but then again, sometimes can be quite generous with talent awards.)</p>

<p>At the same time, Voice Teacher is correct in that you’re on track to have an undergrad degree for what sounds like free if you stick it out, and you could then apply to some kind of academic master program or take some time to find what excites you vocationally.</p>

<p>I should also note that a friend of mine who went the perf masters route certainly experienced full YEARS where he questioned his path, was frustrated, was sick of it, even suffered a repetitive injury and had to retrain on technique etc. And he got through those years; teaches at a U. now and performs widely. So you may also wish to consider that you may change again the way you feel about your craft – for the better ;)</p>

<p>Best wishes on your journey, wherever it leads!</p>

10

<p>Colin082 Bard College Conservatory does admit transfer students, for both fall and spring semesters. You would have to fulfill all the requirements for the second degree, so I don’t know how long it would take you - but for top applicants they can be very generous with merit awards and the academics are fantastic. What is your instrument? There have been a few new professors added for next year - like Jeffrey Kahane on piano. [Bard</a> College Conservatory of Music | Undergraduate | Transfer Applicants](<a href=“http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/transfer/]Bard”>http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/transfer/)</p>

11

<p>To be honest, I think your situation is shared by a lot of students who for a variety of reasons are ‘locked into’ a course of study (for example, once you declare a major in college after sophomore year, it can be very difficult to switch majors, mostly because it would be likely you would need to do summer school and/or extend the time in school, which would prob be a lot of extra $$$ in tuition). Lot of people gut through, get a degree in something they find they hate, and then go on to do other things (Michael Crichton, the author, graduated from Harvard Med after discovering a year or so in that he hated medicine…), people get degrees in things they ended up hating because of parental pressure, the need to get a degree in something ‘worthwhile’, etc. Given your financial situation, I suspect as a transfer you would find that money would be a limiting factor, especially if you tried transferring to a state program as an out of state resident (grapevine reports I have is state schools, because of budget crunches, are not as good with aid as they used to be, YMMV).</p>

<p>Transferring to a program like Bard or a music school within a university might work, but with merit aid a lot is going to depend on how good you are on your instrument. If you are on an instrument that the school needs because relatively few go into it (violas for whatever reason always seem to be needed) it could be you could get a good package;but if you are on something like violin or piano, where the level of competition and playing is so high, it may be difficult to get a good merit aid package unless you are the second coming of Heifetz. </p>

<p>Given your situation I tend to agree with others, you may want to think about gutting it through and finishing your degree at the conservatory. Kids who have gone to conservatory go on to do many things, grad school in other disciplines, or get jobs that turn into careers. </p>

<p>One thought I have for you, have you thought of doing learning on your own to make up for the single focus of the conservatory program? MIT and other schools have put courses online for free, I don’t know all the details but from what I have heard some of the courses are pretty interesting to work through, maybe that could help alleviate the boredom you are talking about?</p>

12

<p>My D now has an MM and BM from two different conservatories. As an undergrad, she took a Bio 2 course at a local university through a consortium agreement and as a grad student, she took a language course at an Ivy League school, also through some sort of cross registration agreement. I’d suggest that you look to see what is possible to take a class outside of the music environment, in an area that interests you. She needed to be persistent to get permission to do this, but it helped give her a break from the intense music atmosphere.</p>

13

<p>Some students choose college over conservatory and also have regrets! They miss being able to focus more on music. It’s a hard choice to make at 18.</p>

<p>If you do look at other schools (like Bard), make sure that your theory and history etc. are transferable, because every school seems to do them a little differently.</p>

<p>Can you see if you can transfer as a junior somewhere? Transferring as a first semester junior is doable. Some schools will take up to 75 credits (half way through junior year), others won’t. It is very hard to transfer in your senior year. You could look into a January transfer, or wait until fall 2013 and take classes in liberal arts or whatever interests you, in the meantime, to test out what you want to do.</p>

14

<p>Remember, too, that the end of sophomore year is a particularly discouraging time. You no longer have the excitement of just starting out, and there seems to be an uphill climb to the finish line. Students in all disciplines seem to have at least a little burnout at this stage in the game, so be sure to put your current dissatisfaction into context.</p>

15

<p>Thanks. I realize now that I may have been overly dramatic. I am given a chance to graduate debt-free from a conservatory that paid for both my tuition and my instrument. Even though the situation is not perfect, I think I could try to do more research about careers that could satisfy me more and then work to afford classes that would enable me to apply to law, grad or med school. Instead of transferring, I think I will see if it may be possible to finish most of my ear training, theory and history requirements next year, work a lot and save during school breaks, and see if it may be possible to enroll somewhere and take liberal arts classes as non-degree or 2nd bachelor, while I finish the few requirements I have to take my senior year (after this upcoming year, side from lessons, orchestra and chamber, it looks like I would need have to take one 3-credit class each semester to complete a BM). If I realize I like music more than these liberal arts classes I take as a senior, I would still have the option to go for a MM and would this time choose a more nurturing environment. Thank you, everything looks a bit brighter now. </p>

<p>However, I sincerely hope that if any HS student is reading this, they will now better than to go the BM road without fully understanding what it is, especially if they enjoyed HS classes. The only thing that really matters to me in all this are my getting quality lessons, and nobody needs a BM to get an orchestra job or to get in to NWS or to do master’s. A conservatory environment can be very cold and single-minded. I feel like my approach to music performance and practice is now very dry, over-analytic, and almost clinical, which despite making my playing more accurate, is not necessarily desirable. Conservatory teaches you how to play number of specific excerpts as precisely as possible in any circumstance, in the cookie-cutter way that a competent professional orchestral player would, not to “express your feelings”, “improve your sense of creativity”, or “grasp the philosophical importance of the arts in the world”. LAC do these things.</p>

16

<p>Colin: </p>

<p>I didn’t think you came off as entitled and I don’t blame you at all for not thinking about how lucky you are - I didn’t either at your age when I had a big scholarship. Its hard sometimes to see what we do have when all that seems to be pointed out is what we don’t have (which is kind of the MO at a conservatory).</p>

<p>I think you should consider finishing your degree then take some time off to experience life. I had no choice but to work 30+ hours a week during the school year and 80+ hours a week in the summer. I often contemplated leaving music because I worked so hard and received little to no financial pay-off. </p>

<p>Over a 14 year span I was assistant manager of landscaping for a small town parks and rec department, ran a dinner theatre company, ran a semi-professional theatre company, was a business/marketing consultant for a recording studio, led a re-branding effort for the downtown business district in one of the towns I lived in, worked security at rock concerts, ran security cameras and internal investigations at Target, worked as an undercover security guard at Wal-Mart, assistant stage managed for the Radio City Rockettes, worked on the production team for an air show, worked in retail, ran my own landscaping business, unloaded stock from semi-trucks for minimum wage with a masters degree, was a substitute teacher (public and Catholic), taught adjunct, taught private lessons, and wrote a business plan, secured a private dance studio space, and ran my own performing arts conservatory AND of sang over 30 roles with around 15 different companies securing my union card while also realizing I didn’t want a singing career. I had no choice but to have 2-5 jobs at once, so I did a lot of things in those 14 years. </p>

<p>I learned A WHOLE LOT in the process. Here are few highlights that have stuck with me:</p>

<p>-Landscaping is a blast, but it wears your body down and that’s not the life I want
-Retail can pay off big at the top, but corporate ladders, khaki’s, and polos aren’t for me
-The FBI seems really cool on paper, but having a knife pulled on you and then having someone try to stab you with it is really scary and definitely not the career for me
-Teaching is hard work and good public school teachers are under-appreciated - not the career for me
-Everything in this world is a business and those skills can apply to all fields as long as you take the time to learn about the needs of the client and the benefits of the product
-Professional performing is amazing, but its too much time on the road, and its not for me
-I can do anything I put my mind to. Didn’t always believe that, but all those jobs made me realize hard work and determination makes all the difference. If I were to lose my job tomorrow, I know how to survive - that takes away a lot of the fear in life.</p>

<p>MOST importantly, I learned that just because my perfect career path didn’t exist, it did not mean I couldn’t make it exist. I looked around at all the people I met over those 14 years and realized most of them did not have a college degree in what they ended up doing. Those who were happy and successful committed themselves to their work, whatever it was, and made something happen. When roadblocks popped up, they didn’t keep ramming themselves into the roadblock expecting it to eventually move. They instead strategized, innovated, and overcame the obstacles in their way.</p>

<p>Go out into the world, try 20 different jobs that appeal to you. Find what you do like and what you don’t like. Then if you start to envision some crazy career path that seems absolutely impossible - give it a shot. When I first told my graduate school professors that I wanted to teach rock singers, they thought I was nuts. My friends laughed and everyone said it wouldn’t work - well it did. I have more open doors right now than I ever have had in my life. If I would have listened to everyone who told me not to follow my heart, I would have still been working in retail, landscaping, or security.</p>

<p>Get that piece of paper - you’re so close - and then set your heart free for a few years to try it all. Only then will you truly understand where your heart lies.</p>

<p>Best of luck. </p>

<p>VT</p>

17

<p>VT-
I like your attitude! The idea of being locked into a career, that college of any kind is some sort of job training environment only, is one of the biggest myths out there, along with the idea that if you don’t go to an ivy league school you are doomed to mediocrity or something…part of life is finding out what you want to do. My degree is in computer science and I ended up in software testing, which is related, but most of my knowledge and skills are a lot more business focused, most of which I learned on the job, I prob have a graduate level knowledge of financial markets by now, which I didn’t study in college, and I got my first job looking through a listing of ‘miscellaneous’ jobs posted at my college…ya never know:).</p>

<p>Colin, while I appreciate your critique of conservatory education and in many ways it shares my view of what they are or are not doing right, but I would be careful about thinking an LAC is this panacea of ‘open expression’ and so forth, take it from me, it isn’t, a lot of UG education these days is similarly single minded (the pre professional programs especially, where knowledge often isn’t valued unless it is towards the goal of getting an A in a class to keep the GPA up, or business education), and quite frankly there is a lot of slog in UG education as well as some more enlightening moments. I had classes, both for my major and to meet requirements, that I absolutely dreaded, taught by bored grad students who thought of us simply as a requirement they had to get through, or in some cases pompous a** professors looking to get their ego stroked…yep, there were some highlights, too, but don’t think in its own way it can’t/won’t be as tedious:)</p>

18

<p>If you have finished your sophomore year in good standing, you could be over the hump with general theory and music history classes. From here on, you should have more choices, for instance which periods or music or genres to study more in depth. You may find your courses to be more relevant to your performance instrument. Perhaps you can find a way to take more liberal arts course through your conservatory or an exchange program. Having an undergraduate degree is basic. You can augment what you are required to study with exploratory courses in other areas. It may not be so easy to transfer because there are limitations on how scholarship money can be given, so that, for instance, Conservatory A is not poaching tenors or French horn players from Conservatory B. </p>

<p>One young friend spent a year at conservatory, then transferred to a university BA program in a social science, is now in doctoral program in that field, but the music background has opened many doors. Another did simultaneous BM and BA, a graduate degree, and is now a college professor. There are many paths. Good luck to you.</p>

19

<p>Thank you very much for your answers. Your advice is incredibly valuable. I better save this discussion somewhere on my computer. I think that I will simply graduate from my current school, finishing most of my requirements as a junior so that I have as much time as possible in my senior year to work, intern, and volunteer while taking liberal arts classes. There are indeed a few electives available, but to be honest, I didn’t feel so interested by any of then.</p>

<p>It’s interesting to see how in the end there is no perfect college experience LAC or conservatory, no perfect career, and no perfect way to get there, while I always took it for granted that even though random unhappy things might happen, at least hard-working and self-motivated people would always find balance through their well-earned perfectly satisfying jobs.</p>

20

<p>Colin082 - I think you may be giving up too quickly on the idea of transferring. It’s very common for non-conservatory students to transfer in their junior year. You still have two full years to go - that’s a lot of time. I think you should at least investigate what your options are. You can even apply to another program and later decide not to attend - but you will have options.</p>