Scouting out places to go to school can be a very confusing and stressful process. There are sooooooo many schools out there, and so many things to consider in the big picture of your college experience. However, there are ways to make the process more fun and less of a hassle.
Before you start looking for schools, you need to have an idea of what you want to do with the rest of your life. Do you want to teach music in public schools? Do you want to play in a professional orchestra? Are you interested in majoring in something outside of music, but would still like to play recreationally at school?
If you’re interested in playing recreationally, your focus should be on what schools have strong programs for your major. As a non-major, you won’t have the skills necessary to play in the top ensembles at a great music school. In fact, it may be beneficial for you to go to a college that doesn’t have a fantastic music school, as such a school is likely to award scholarship money to non-music majors, while the best music schools have many outstanding people who are music majors and still are not receiving a scholarship.
For those majoring in Music Education and Music Performance, there are many similarities, so let’s talk about those…
A good starting point would be to have an awareness of what some of the best schools in the nation are. Our past article on music school rankings (link) is a great place to start! If you can get accepted to any of the schools on either list from the article, you’ve done very well for yourself! However, no matter what your skill level may be, you also need to consider what in-state schools you could attend as well. For those who live in a state like Texas, you have a plethora of options available to you. Unfortunately, not all of us are so fortunate. But even if you come from a smaller state without many (or any) great music programs, there may very well still be some solid in-state options for you…
I’d strongly advise that you do some research and figure out who the professors are at all of your state universities. Even if the music school as a whole isn’t outstanding, perhaps the instrumental professor is the principal player in a good symphony orchestra. This makes the experience much more worthwhile, and such a scenario gets you a lot of bang for your buck. It is very important that you do this, whether it be your first choice school or a back-up school.
That being said, the dream for most of us is to leave home and go for a great school. Even if you don’t think you’ll get accepted or be able to afford a powerhouse out-of-state school, I’d still strongly encourage you to take the following steps and see what happens:
- Do your research on schools and professors.
Start by looking at our college ranking article, which lists what are considered by many to be the top 30 music schools in the country. Then to cut that list down, look up the professors for as many of those schools as you can (all of them would be great!), see what they’ve done professionally, and how their specialties or backgrounds may be able to help with what you specifically are looking to do with your career.
2. Contact the professors you are interested in.
All of the professors should have an email address on the school’s website (if not look for their personal website). Just send them a pleasant little email telling them who you are, where you’re from, and if you’ve made all-county/state or won any competitions or anything. If you have some good credentials like this to list you definitely should, but don’t sweat it too much if you don’t.
You should also ask them some good questions, including:
What is the size of your studio?
How many large ensembles (bands/orchestras/choirs) are there?
Will I be guaranteed playing time in a large ensemble?
Will I be taking lessons from you every week, or from a TA?
What are some of your former students doing professionally?
I think the final question is an especially important one for Music Performance majors. I remember many a time when I’d ask how a school’s horn professor was and a student or faculty member of that school would answer “They’re incredible” or “They’re so kind and passionate” or some other statement of what was essentially nothing more than fluff. I don’t mean to be too critical, but this is your future we’re talking about here – and no matter how “incredible” or “kind” or “passionate” this teacher is, if they have 0 students playing professionally, they’re not your best option (although those are all good qualities to have in a teacher). Remember, as much as the music schools and professors have a right to question your ability, you have that same right to question them, and make them prove why you should choose them over everyone else.
Additionally, if you are lucky enough to establish some regular contact with a professor from a great school, I would certainly lean towards that professor over one who never answered my initial email. That’s not to say a specific school or professor is a bad choice just because you don’t get an immediate response – some faculty are just incredibly busy balancing teaching as well as their own performance careers. However, if you can’t audition to all of the schools you like and need to make cuts to your list, I’d audition for someone who knows and likes me over a complete stranger who isn’t necessarily any better. Which leads me to my final point!
3. Make a list!
Actually, I recommend making two lists. First, after doing your research on schools and professors, make a “big list” of 15 schools or so that you have interest in auditioning for. This is a good place to start. However, due to audition scheduling (not to mention financing travel!) you probably won’t be able to audition for that many schools, and will need to make cuts until you have a “short list” of schools you have decided to actually audition for.
In making cuts and creating your “short list,” again, I’d strongly advise that you have at least one in-state school that you are comfortable going to as a fall back, and at least one school that you doubt you will be good enough to attend. This ensures you have a cushion no matter what, and better yet, it gives you no ceilings!!
Best of luck, and happy searching!
3.
A# Major 
Sage advice as always.(tt)
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