sopranomom92

What Shennie said. Especially for flute performance, very challenging. Though the flute majors we know at Eastman are happy as can be. They are not dual degree students.

and:

...and NU's academic rigor is significant to recruiters.

Yes, that's something to think about.

BassDad

While it is true that there are no guarantees that any teacher will be around for as long as you remain at a school, I think that situation is a little different from one in which a teacher who is known to be retiring next year is the main attraction. In the first case, there is at least a reasonable chance that the same teacher will be there the entire time. In the second, there is no chance at all.

I'm sure NU will hire someone really good to replace Kujala, as will Oberlin to replace Debost. Without knowing in advance who the replacements will be, it is kind of tough to take on faith that they will also be a good match for a particular student.

I guess that what I am saying is that if you do choose NU, hopefully there will be other good reasons to do so than the opportunity of studying with Kujala for a year. There ought to be in any case, because it is an excellent choice both musically and academically. Another thing to check would be whether Kujala is accepting freshman into his studio at all this year, knowing that he will be retiring soon. This whole discussion could be moot.

leflutiste

Kujala was pretty awesome when I had the audition/lesson with him back at Feb...I wish he would stay! But he assured me that the replacement, although not yet named, would be someone of great quality. The Assistant professor, Richard Graef, will also be available.

For NYU, I am pretty set on studying with Brad Garner.

@Shennie Yes, the more I researched it, the more it seems like a good option.

The financial aid for the three privates are NU: 17k/year, NYU or Eastman: 24K. another reason for NU...

Since the majority of the opinion is for NU, I feel that I should balance it with some concerns I have:
The music building is in utter disrepair; practice rooms have no sound insulation(I can play pretty loud, but nothing compared to, say, a trombone, who practiced next to me when i was warming up for the audition...)
Kujala retiring
Academic prestige compared to Cal
Music prestige compared to Eastman
Money: 5 years would be 85k at NU, but I will almost definitely need to go to grad school...(compared to cal)

This is a stupid question but...how come it seems like from where I'm from (middle class, asian, los angeles) no one has heard of NU and everyone has heard of NYU?

Question specifically about financial aid:
at some of the other schools I've applied to, they use a combination of grants and loans to meet my efc(0). but for NU, even though they gave me more grants, they did not meet the entire expected cost, instead they left about 10k unmet by either grant or loan. Is this reason enough for appeal?

lemonspice

For NYU, did you get into Garner's studio, or are you wanting to study with him?

BassDad

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leflutiste

@lemonspice I did not formally get in, but I assumed from the context of the conversation with the woodwind department chair that I would be studying with him...

@bassdad
very intersting...and true! to be honest, i don't think I knew about NU before this year....so can't blame my friends i guess....well again I never really heard of UPenn or Cornell or Dartmouth either...

honestmom

We were told when we visited NYU/Steinhardt that nobody does a double degree there and at Stern. But NYU has a BA in economics program within CAS. I have no idea of its reputation or faculty.

lukeg3891

Hey. Congrats on your acceptances. I am an Eastman student right now, so I can give you some input on the school itself, as well as an outsider's (I am a violist) view on the flute studio. At Eastman, you are probably going to come out with a better set of tools (not just technical skills on your instrument) to be successful in the music world. The theory department here is widely regarded (at least people say so) as the best theory department in the country, and the same can be said about the musicology department. Its a very busy life, and you are going to have a lot of work to do both for your teacher, and for your theory classes and humanities requirement.

Now, as for the Flute Studio:
Every single Flute Player here absolutely adores Professor Boyd. No one has ever said anything that could be seen as implying anything negative. I haven't had the chance to work with her at all, but next spring I am planning on playing the Debussy Harp Trio (viola/harp/flute), and I look forward to the chance to have a coaching with her. 1 year from now I would be able to give you a 1st hand opinion of her.

Good luck making your decision. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM. I could also get you in touch with a good friend of mine studying trombone at NU if you have any questions about the school.

Congrats

leflutiste

@lukeg3891 Yes! I have heard about the great reputation from various people about the theory department. When you said it's very busy, would you also say that a dual degree with UofR is very hard to do?

And about Bonnie, the lesson I had with her was a very good experience and was probably one of the best ones I've had on my audition tours. After the lesson I really felt the difference of what a great teacher (like Boyd) makes compared to a mediocre one.

I remember when I toured Eastman during the summer, the tour guide said that "the flutes here are very intense, wink" I never really understood that... =D

lukeg3891

The dual degree program is going to be pretty intense. Its doable though. The one thing that people tend to complain about is that during Jury week, when Eastman doesn't have classes, people taking classes at U of R still have to go over there. I don't know what your guide meant by "intense". I don't know if intense is the right word. Driven may be better. Definitely a great studio, definitely one of the best at the school.

leflutiste

Yeah that's probably what he meant...he was funny lol

I think the workload itself would not be so hard for me, since I can balance 3 hours of practicing with 5 ap classes with still too much time not doing anything lol, but I'm just worried about the logistics in the Eastman+UofR program, since
it snows
the two campuses are so far apart
the classes are not designed for synchronization between the schools (unlike NU, where I assume music classes and academic classes alike would occupy different blocks of time that would allow for sufficient time in between)

Thank you again to everyone that gave advices.

shennie

I think the problem at Eastman comes from conflicts with required classes. You will be required to play in either the wind symphony or the orchestra every semester. Rehearsals are 2 hours a day M, W, F. My son found that there were either required classes or prereqs that were only offered during orchestra rehearsal. He had no options. And I think you will find that you are busier than you think. With classes, practice, lessons, orchestra, chamber rehearsals, and studio class, my son found there were days he would leave his room at 8:00 AM and not return until 10 PM. Then he would do homework. He took a class each semester on River Campus and loved doing that, but he found a second degree out of the question. He couldn't even manage a minor because of the orchestra conflict issue.

Sam Lee

1. I'd ask music school staff/students about you concern on practice facilities. They are building a $90 million-dollar facility but I am not sure if it will be opened in 2012 or 2013.
2. I wouldn't worry too much about what Asians know. I grew up in Hong Kong and I know many Asians/Chinese, especially the immigrants, know very little about schools in America. The funny thing is they often think they know quite a bit and are obssessed about certain schools. Somehow NYU is well-known among middle-class Asians probably because, believe it or not, everyone knows New York; NYC also has the largest number of immigrants so that helps. Many Chinese never heard of Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke...names that sound more difficult to pronounce or remember. For those in the knows, NU is a notch above NYU-CAS

SteveC

Northwestern is very highly regarded in the orchestral brass world. There is a pedagogical school of thought called the "Chicago School" that grew from the ideas of Arnold Jacobs, Vincent Cichowicz, et al at Northwestern in the mid to late 20th century. More recently, two BM (i.e., undergrad) students of trumpet professors Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer won spots in the NY Philharmonic.

I wouldn't be too concerned.

leflutiste

@SteveC Those are some really interesting points you have and completely broadened my view! thank you

@Sam Lee ahha that's probably true about the easier to pronounce thing

@Shennie thank you for your information about your son. I would love to go to Eastman for its prestigious and intensive program in music; but i'm afriad given my choices and my desire for double major, it would be hard to give up NU