Hi,
I’m a rising senior trying to narrow down my number of schools that I’ll be applying to starting in a couple weeks. I want to work in the music industry on the non-musician side of things, as a tour or artist manager, music director at a radio station, music journalist, etc. I don’t want to hone in on one specific job yet, as the opportunities are pretty much endless and most music industry jobs coincide in some way. With this said, I want a major that’s not very specific so I can switch from job to job if I want. I have a 3.16 GPA, 1130 SAT (I’ll be retaking for sure) and have yet to take the ACT, but I’m hoping to do fairly well as friends with the same academic strengths as me say it was a lot easier than the SAT. I live in CA, and my EI is 3,659. I’m looking at either business or communications since they’re pretty broad, is this a good idea? Even then, I have no idea which schools are good for those majors without being super impacted (so I can actually get in. lol) I live in NorCal so I’m mainly looking at NorCal schools with the exception of UNR (SFSU is front runner as it’s about 2 hours from home and a good music market, but I have no idea how the business and communications departments are). If anyone could point me in the right direction I’d appreciate it a lot!
Maybe try Business Management, or Marketing. Santa Clara, UNR, or CSUEB?
I have heard that business programs at SFSU are strong – and also the program in broadcasting. Also, I think there is a bit of a scene there in terms of performances, etc. with opportunities for networking in the music business. Tip on SFSU — if you want to live on campus, apply for housing as soon as it opens in November and just go through the process. Their housing is a bit different than other universities, and everything moves early.
CSULB and/or SDSU for reaches. My friend said she had trouble getting upper level classes at SFSU but she was doing information technology I think.
Santa Clara is unlikely. UNR will probably take you but, you’ll be a little short of their top WUE award, making them kind of expensive. It is a good school and has a respected Biz program, so it is worth a look.
In NorCal, with an EI of 3659, SJSU, Sac Sonoma, Monterrey, East Bay and Humboldt are all worth a tour and an ap - Chico would probably wait list you (another 40+SAT points would put you in a better position there)
Good luck
How’s this for an idea:
Find a number of people who hold some of your dream jobs. Email them, explaining your question.
You may be surprised to find that some of them are happy to give you the kind of advice you’re looking for.
Something similar has worked for my 17 and 19 year olds.