Thinking about College

Ok so I know I'm not the only one out there thinking about college. I'm fairly sure I want to go into Music Theory and Composition but although that does bring down the number of choices quite a bit it only opens up a whole new world. :hmmm:

So if any of you are in the same spot as me and want to give me anything you've found and say why you are considering it and possibly a source (website) I can go and look at it that would be wonderful! And anyone who is in school right now I would Love you if you would share what school you attend and why you choose it and also a source. Thanks so much in advance!

Oh, and I'm thinking I mostly want to stay in the U.S. but international is cool too. Thanks!!! And good luck to everyone else out there like me! :thumbsup:

I am actually going to college this coming fall, and going to double major in computer sciences and music composition. I'm going to Western Michigan University, they have a really good music program over there.

What made it stick out to you?

I chose McGill University. It's technically an international school, because it's in Quebec. It's ranked 20th best University in the world. I chose it because it has a great conservatory-quality music school, but also is ranked 10th in the world for math and science which I also plan to study. Additional perks: May cost you even less than attending an in-state public school, even if you are paying the international rate. One of the best value schools in the world. It's in an awesome city, (even though it's in Quebec, it is an english-speaking school so you don't have to speak french). Dorms are generally nice and larger than average, and you can live off-campus even your first year if you choose. (I personally am living in a 12-bedroom house that is part of the school residence with 16 other people). It's kind of a party school as well.

If you want to apply for composition, you will still be required to audition on an instrument in addition to sending in scores, and they have relatively high standards for your performance ability because you will be required to continue studying that instrument for three of the four years. I am a pianist, and I was accepted to the composition program despite the fact that I don't think I am quite as skilled as those who applied for a piano performance degree, so the standards are slightly more lax.

I was also accepted into Carnegie Mellon for composition. Prestige and skill wise, I'd say it's fairly comparable to McGill. You may find it to be a good choice, but it is an extremely expensive school. Upwards of 50,000 dollars of year for tuition. Even with lots of need based scholarship (I received some) it will still be a bank-breaker. So if you are very wealthy, it may be a good choice. May only other complaint is that I was not very happy with the audition process; while they DON'T require you to audition on an instrument, you are required to send in some scores. If you make it past the screening round (about 100 applicants in my year, 20 make it to the interview stage) you have to fly out to the school and interview with the composition faculty for about 15 minutes. I found this to be a terrible waste time and two very expensive plane tickets, because it was a single 15 minute audition and they didn't really ask me any useful questions. In fact, it didn't seem like they had really reviewed my scores before the interview. Your experience may be different, obviously.

And then there is University of Colorado at Boulder, which I chose not to go to because it was less prestigious than my other choices and much closer to home (noooo!!!). However, my sister attends that school and they have a great music department including a great composition department. Of the three schools to which I applied, the CU Boulder composition department was the most friendly and impressive. I definitely think that of the three schools, one gets the most actively engaged composition experience from CU. You will get lots of opportunities to have your works performed and the staff is brilliant. Also; party school, and Boulder is an amazing place to live.

Hope this helps. Any three of these schools would be great to look into for composition. The reason I only applied to three schools is that I was looking for schools that specifically had great math AND music schools. So know that all three of these schools also have very good math and science schools. I'm heading off to McGill next month! Let me know if you want to know any more about these three schools, especially McGill.

Edit: I didn't provide links to the websites, because unless you are looking for something specific, I don't think the websites will really give you any quality information on whether or not you should apply there. It's just an advertisement for the school, really. What I used to narrow down my choices more than anything was the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2008. With a guidebook, you can really compare things like ratings, acceptance rates, etc. I used it mostly to see what the strong programs at each school were. But talking to people is also a pretty good way.

Well for starts it's located in a fairly famous city of Kalamazoo, there's lots of stuff to do. As of education and music, it is highly competitive to get into the school of music. But if you get in you get some of the highest education available in the music, composition, pretty much anything music related. They also have many music festivals held in Kalamazoo in which a lot of famous musicians come from around the world. It's not a huge campus like Michigan State, but it's average sized. It's close to where I live so naturally it's a good choice for me. Sorry that I just sprayed out information, hoped this helped - here's a link to the school of music page of Western.

Western Michigan School of Music

LittleLady - I suggest focusing your search to schools that specialize in, or have a teacher who is especially well known for the type of composition you are interested in. A person who wants to go into Film Scoring and have works submitted often into film festivals and such may prefer a completely different school (perhaps the alma mater and or teacher/student of John Williams for example) to he who wants to compose choral literature primarily. And there are all sorts of other options, where a specific teacher at a specific college will be the best person to study under, even if the music school isn't primarily your first choice. Yes, you want to be a well rounded composer, but when it comes down to it, there may be a doctor somewhere who is the outright best choice for the job of making you into exactly the composer you want to be. My advice is to decide which sort of composing you really want to focus on and then let that be the guide in your search to find a really good teacher.

a word of advice, don't study music! Maybe do a music minor? Pick a major that you can find a job with. Like accounting, but if you don't mind being unemployed go right ahead. Don't waste the 4-8 best years of your life on music.

a word of advice, don't study music! Maybe do a music minor? Pick a major that you can find a job with. Like accounting, but if you don't mind being unemployed go right ahead. Don't waste the 4-8 best years of your life on music.

There are more choices than writer and performer in the music world, you know...

a word of advice, don't study music! Maybe do a music minor? Pick a major that you can find a job with. Like accounting, but if you don't mind being unemployed go right ahead. Don't waste the 4-8 best years of your life on music.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Major in what you think is the right thing to do, you might not figure this out until you're 20 of course. Anyway, just make the rational decision and do what you like and are good at. If you aren't very good at the violin or composing, then you probably shouldn't major in either of those things - just sayin.

Don't waste the 4-8 best years of your life on music.

What a silly comment, considering music majors have more fun than everyone else in college :P Anyway, that's really not what this thread is about...so...

a word of advice, don't study music! Maybe do a music minor? Pick a major that you can find a job with. Like accounting, but if you don't mind being unemployed go right ahead. Don't waste the 4-8 best years of your life on music.

I told you already -

The other people who decided to get an education didn't suck as much as you did. Leave them alone.

Thanks guys! You've really helped a lot!!!! Anyone Else??

One of the things I've struggled with is how to get information on Universities/Colleges. Like Dan Gilbert said. Their websites haven't been very informational and Collegeboard can only give you so much!

Any Ideas?

Thanks guys! You've really helped a lot!!!! Anyone Else??

One of the things I've struggled with is how to get information on Universities/Colleges. Like Dan Gilbert said. Their websites haven't been very informational and Collegeboard can only give you so much!

Any Ideas?

If you'd like.. I'd send you a message on this subject. I sorta refuse to post when so many people are misinformed.

Thanks guys! You've really helped a lot!!!! Anyone Else??

One of the things I've struggled with is how to get information on Universities/Colleges. Like Dan Gilbert said. Their websites haven't been very informational and Collegeboard can only give you so much!

Any Ideas?

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I loved not having to worry about AP's and SAT II's and all the College Board's bullshit (although i took both tests :P). One benefit of being a music major: you probably wont be sitting in all of those 101's that you really don't need (esp. math, yuck, unless you're going into music tech). So on the surface it's pretty neat, but you have to be dedicated. And the dedication starts before you even start applying as everyone knows.

The best thing you can do is put together a portfolio of your best works, make 'em look real nice, and contact composition professors from different schools, if you don't know the one you want to study with. Tell them you're a prospective student and want to get a chance to meet with them and have them review your portfolio. Basically you're setting up a lesson with the person. Older people (i.e. older than you) generally respect initiative and won't say no to your resquest; however, their schedule may be backed up. Don't just email them your stuff. Talk to them face to face.

Then the rest is simple. Dress nicely, meet with the guy, and see what he says. Make sure you shake his hand and look him in the eye. Also be prepared to answer questions about your compositions-don't be an idiot and go 'uhhh...well...dumdumdumdum", talk genuinely and assertively about what you're ideas are. You want to sound educated. Ok so you get the point.

Don't be afraid to ask him what you need to improve on, how you should go about doing it, and if you have a chance in getting to the school. He won't waste your time: if you don't have a chance he will say so, but you'll still get some criticism, so you win no matter what.

Obviously you'll be looking to meet with professors in your area, don't call Dr. Joe Shmoe of the University of the Bottom of the Pacific Ocean if you live in Kansas. Unless he happens to be visiting. Plus side of this is that if you go to school in state it will be cheap, and if the prof. likes you/ your work you'll have better luck with scholarships.

This was basically my process but I was instead scheduling lessons with prospective teachers. This doesn't happen all the time, but in my case, if I didn't take a lesson prior to my audition with a certain teacher, I didn't get into his/her school.

For music, you go to a school for the people, not the school itself. If it was the other way around, no one would go to Peabody or other small (but prestigious) conservatories :P.

One benefit of being a music major: you probably wont be sitting in all of those 101's that you really don't need (esp. math, yuck, unless you're going into music tech).

What non-conservatory school did you go to where you didn't have to take General Education classes? Every non-conservatory I know of requires that. Being a music major doesn't exempt you from taking Math, Science, English, History, etc., if you want to graduate with a diploma.

What non-conservatory school did you go to where you didn't have to take General Education classes? Every non-conservatory I know of requires that. Being a music major doesn't exempt you from taking Math, Science, English, History, etc., if you want to graduate with a diploma.

See what I mean about grossly misinformed? Flint is right. lol

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Definitely agree here. There's nothing like student reviews to tell you how a school really is. Make sure you read a lot of them. Really a lot. Some people write reviews that are very general 'this is a good school, the teachers are great, the student body is great, the campus is great....the school is great' which don't do you a bit of good. And the same works for people who don't like the school and everything sucks. But occasionally you find very insightful, detailed reviews that give you all sorts of insight that you'd never get from a brochure because the information is personal when coming from a student.

One thing I did (stalker thing to do) I actually found someone from one school I was looking at on facebook who was not only a music student, but in the same focus that I was pursuing. (who was like 4 degrees from me, so I felt justified in sort of being connected to them).

He accepted my friend request and once he had some time, we talked and talked and talked. I asked him about teachers, I asked him about the opera program(my focus). I asked him about scholarships, I asked him how I could get more than they wanted to give me (schools have money, but often are stingy). I asked about everything I could possibly think of. It was an incredible advantage in deciding I didn't want to go to that school. And he was very honest about everything. This is a bit of an extreme approach, but it certainly got the job done. Also, he got me comp tickets to some of their concerts, in addition to my being able to go to some rehearsals etc. So, this was a great move in seeing a real person's opinion about the University.

At the same time, if you don't see any good reviews, you can always call the school of music and ask for a brochure. This will only be a very small, and polished (that is, you see what they want you to see) look into the school, but some schools have decent information in their pamphlets that can help you to see what the school offers, general requirements for different music majors (for instance, if compo. majors are required to be in a major ensemble, or audition on a primary instrument). This could save you a lot of time you would have spent calling and asking questions.

I agree with RavingSpleen also. I have never chosen a teacher for private lessons (in any instrument, and I've gone through multiple incl. comp.) without a trial lesson beforehand. Sometimes this is impossible if you choose a teacher on the other side of the world, but it helps so much in really deciding if this person can make you the best you can be. With comp lessons (as opposed to instrument lessons) you have a small advantage. I had one friend who was auditioning some school outside of the US(don't remember where, he didn't go) but he obviously couldn't afford to fly out there so what he did was set up an appointment with the professor, and then he sent his portfolio to the guy, the guy reviewed it, and at the appointed time, they had a phone conversation to discuss things. My friend had free international calling as part of his cell phone plan, so he had an hour-long conversation over his works with a professor half-way around the world. He was accepted to the school, though he never went, as I said, so apparently this method wasn't so obscene(though I've never heard of anyone else doing it). That's just another possible suggestion. And also, some teachers, who want the best for you, will actually see that you are going into something that isn't their forte (punny) and they will actually recommend you to a teacher who can better help you.

And off the top of my head, I can't think of any non-conservatory that won't require you to take GE courses (Gen. Ed.). Even some conservatories that are directly a part of larger Universities will still require you to take the 3Rs and then some(I think of Cal State Long Beach whose music school reached conservatory status about 6 years ago and they still require all music majors to take the Gen. Ed. courses required by the University). In fact, all the UCs and Cal States, with some of the best, biggest, and/or most well renowned music programs in the country/world will require you to take some of the Gen. Ed. that is required of all undergrads.

What non-conservatory school did you go to where you didn't have to take General Education classes? Every non-conservatory I know of requires that. Being a music major doesn't exempt you from taking Math, Science, English, History, etc., if you want to graduate with a diploma.

The Fine Arts programs at my school all had reduced (but still present) sciences and maths reqs. It's hard for me to remember specifics though, because I paid no attention to reqs.

Of course, I got a "real" degree too, so I had to (and would have anyway) take the credits.

This concept of college, especially in something like music, being a professional school is really irksome to me.

LEARN SOMETHING. Don't take "safe" or "easy" classes. Venture outside your major -- math and both hard and soft sciences are extremely helpful (if not key) for music.

I love Ferk

Go ahead and send me a note YC26. Enlighten me with your knowledge. :D

What non-conservatory school did you go to where you didn't have to take General Education classes? Every non-conservatory I know of requires that. Being a music major doesn't exempt you from taking Math, Science, English, History, etc., if you want to graduate with a diploma.

Et al.

Which brings up a good point. You might want to look into a University rather than a Conservatory, or at least a Conservatory with a partnership with another University in case you want to take some classes outside your major.

Do note I said "probably won't have to take all of those 101's that you won't need". If you're in a conservatory, you won't. If you're in a University, compared to somone with an undecided or unspecific major, it will be significantly less. Depending on the school, you will most likely have a writing requirement, and roughly 30 units of GenEd: depending on the size of the school, you can take basically anything that interests you that satisfies that requirement. I know people that have taken Psychology courses, Business, Languages, etc. You will be choosing courses you will want to learn, and that's the benifit because you're not stuck to any one particular track in that, unlike a non-music major. I should have clarified so thanks for calling me out on that. But I never said it exempted you from it.

Every school is different.

Every school is different.

Every school is different.

Yes, there are general requirements in all (?) schools. I needed no Business -- and that's at a school known for its business school...