<p>I just recently got accepted to Berklee, Belmont, and Umiami for MuE...I have visited all of them, but I still don't know which would be best for me in the long run. Which one has the best music scene, MuE program, professors? </p>
<p>I hope to continue playing saxophone too</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Umiami</p>
<p>The consensus is that the top schools in this discipline are the ones that will present the industry internships and contacts as part of the integrated program, not an afterthought. The three you name are among what many call the best for both the program, the internships, and the networking. The other major factor many will cite is cost. Entry level jobs do not pay “well” in comparison to many disciplines.</p>
<p>While I have no expertise in this field, I can give you some background, mostly general and not program specific.</p>
<p>Berklee is Berklee. It has held a unique niche as “The” place for contemporary, rock, “new”, popular genres, but it also is a wonderful place for jazz, and has more classically trained students than one might imagine. It is huge, and it has been said that to a degree you have to carve your own path so as not to get lost. Boston is expensive, and you will be surrounded by musicians 24/7, which many do not at all see as a bad thing.</p>
<p>Berklee is probably the, if not one of the two most costly on the list, and tend to be a bit tight-fisted for talent aide, for the “average” admit.</p>
<p>Everything I have heard about Belmont’s program is positive. It has been called one, if not the best, in the country for this type of program. Nashville, is an amazing city musically and it seems that internships and contacts are the keys to future success in this field. The internships and hands-on of Belmont’s program are said to be major plusses, and the contacts in the industry are what many have called a big draw to the program. Nashville is not “all country” if that’s his concern, but a hot bed of music across all genres.</p>
<p>The downside to Belmont may be it has a religious affiliation, which turns some off, but in general my understanding it is extremely low key, and seems not to be a concern for even the non-religious that attend. </p>
<p>UMiami is a strong program, and Frost in general may have more of a footing in classical training than the other two. It is also the most highly selective academically. </p>
<p>Consider your cost after scholarships and grants. Loans will have to be repaid, so do not take on large student dept.</p>
<p>Look deeply at the internship and networking opportunities at each.</p>
<p>Look at the degree requirements for each and see if they meet with your needs as you see them. Some of these specialties have multiple options or concentrations.</p>
<p>If you choose down the road, both UMiami and have Belmont have strong academic non-music options, which you cannot get at Berklee.</p>
<p>How much background reading have you done on CC regards either program? I’m more than happy to pull past thread links for you on both programs, but if you’ve already done that I won’t. </p>
<p>Look for past posts by kmcrindle, SteveM. as I believe both have addressed this type of program. You can also search for past threads, posts. Search for posts by henrob as well for Belmont. There is much here on both Berklee and Miami/Frost, but not a trendous amount on the music engineering program details. There are some useful search tips here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html</a>.</p>
<p>You have excellent options. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Added: there is a thread here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/787110-music-industry-program-major-minor-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/787110-music-industry-program-major-minor-help.html</a> and while it is more of a “what to look for” in an initial school search there may be some info there that may help you decide.</p>
<p>Also, BassDad has added your acceptances to the list here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/817953-master-list-acceptances-fall-2010-a.html</a>. If you could clarify the specific discipline and degree typeat each, it would be helpful. Belmont has a few options, and both a BA and BS variant, UMiami has both a BS or BM path, abd Berklee, while a BM seems to have a couple of variations.</p>
<p>“If you choose down the road,”</p>
<p>should read as “should you choose to change disciplines down the road”.</p>
<p>Hi there. I’ll save you searching my comments, since they’re not “engineering only” focused." Frost would be a very nice choice, btw, but I will also tell you a little more about Belmont.</p>
<p>My son was looking for a hybrid type of program comprised of electronic composition, engineering/recording and multi-media performance/scoring, so he ended up choosing University of Michigan, which turned out to be a perfect fit for him. Had he elected straight engineering, I think Frost, then Belmont would have been contenders, in that order (in his case…he is into very different genres and didn’t really want to work in Nashville). I do know of a talented undergrad from one (unnamed ; )) institution who has very happily transferred to Belmont. I do also have an associate with a studio in Nashville. My feeling is that if you can see yourself engineering in Nashville, with the styles and genres of heavily produced music that come out of Nashville, you simply cannot beat Belmont for opportunities – whether you create them (which you have to do in this business) or whether Belmont creates them for you. I also feel that while there is fierce competition there, you won’t beat Nashville for gigging or picking up live/reinforcement work. I was fortunate enough to have a relative who used to play the Grand Ole Oprey. I took my son there once and said: Can you see yourself working this tech? If you haven’t gone – you should go 
I also have an associate who is both a sound engineer, prof, and studio owner who is happy to counsel his own music students who demonstrate an interest in professional engineering to attend Belmont. His studio has been in operation for decades and is the best studio in our area. I would trust his counsel completely.
That said, there is also much to love about Frost – but I do not have as much info in the way of personal recommendations/industry insight, except to say that while son investigated the program and was impressed by it, in the end he chose a different set of schools to apply to based on a) the distance he was comfortable being from home (he also did not apply to USC for this reason) and b) the hybrid nature of his intent. I do know that many of the students who interviewed at Michigan for his program while he was interviewing (which took a total of 16, 4 in each curriculum) had also applied and interviewed at Frost in the engineering curriculum.</p>
<p>In his case, he was not interested in Berkley strictly because he wanted an academically rigorous environment, which totally benefited him because he received an excellent academic scholarship plus a smaller music scholarship.</p>
<p>Where did you a) meet students with similar interests; b) feel most at home and c) feel like you made a connection with faculty? Did you have a lesson on sax at all? Truly, you’ve gained admission to top drawer programs and you’ll do well in any. It’s really down to personal fit. Good luck with your decision, and congratulations!</p>