Hi, I’m currently a Sophomore in high school and I really want to pursue singing as a profession. It’s something I’m really passionate about but also something that really scares me because I don’t think I’m willing to dedicate my entire being to singing when it’s a profession that is risky in terms of job prospects and job security. Similarly my parents definitely don’t support the idea because I come from a very education emphasizing culture. I don’t mind studying, often enjoy it, and I have been doing lots of academic related clubs and extracurriculars, my GPA is also a 4.0 and I take as many AP classes as I can. Overall I care a lot about my studies and for the longest time my goal has been to go to an Ivy League and pursue higher education, but now I’m really confused as to what I should do. Can I do both? I found that there are a lot of famous singers that want to Ivy leagues and majored in things unrelated to the Arts but have become extremely famous in their pursuit of singing and it makes me wonder:
Does going to an Ivy League help people become singers? If so, how exactly does it help? Should I consider singing as a hobby for now and pursue my goal of going to an Ivy league and then see what happens if I get there?
Nope. People who go to an Ivy league (or other very selective school) and then go on to fame in the arts are reflecting who they were to start with: smart, motivated achievers who work hard to develop their skills and talents. You can do that from any college or university.
Going to a particular school is not an end in itself- it’s a part of your path. Besides the fun of the prestige & impressing friends & family why those particular schools for you? In 18 months or so you will start writing ‘why us’ essays for each college you apply to. Focus on figuring out what you want from your college experience, and then work on finding out where you can find that.
Whether you should pursue singing or top level education or both is really a decision that only you can make- and you definitely don’t have to make it for a good while yet! .
Music generally is a social production. Even solo artists (singer songwriters etc) have support. You’re more likely to find a high concentration of other talented artists (musicians or otherwise) at some colleges than at others. But it might depend on the kind of music, and on your other interests, whether the best choice (assuming you get in and can afford to attend) is an Ivy or somewhere else (e.g. Oberlin, Wesleyan, Juilliard, or your state flagship).
@tk21769 Unless the Ivy has a world class music program, it is no better at helping a musician than any other college, and just because. Jacobs school of Music at Indiana University is better than any program in any Ivy, unless, perhaps, Yale. In fact, aside from Yale, none of the Ivies has a top music program.
Yes, and there are many ways to accomplish both. You should head over to the “Music” forum here, as this very topic has been discussed many times there. Start here with the Double Degree Dilemma essay with a multitude of options:
Some very talented musicians end up having a career in a completely unrelated field. There are for example a significant number of people in high tech who are quite good in music.
It is very hard to make a living with just singing. Usually you need “something else”. There is a very wide range regarding what that “something else” might be.
I don’t generally think of Ivy League schools as the ones that I would go to for music. However, I am using the term “Ivy League” to refer to 8 specific schools, and not to refer to highly ranked universities in a general way. Of course there are also schools like the Berklee College of Music and Juliard which are great for music (and in Juliard’s case for dance) but are not normal universities in the sense of being strong in a broad range of majors.