This is helpful! May I ask what program/instrument this was for? My son is headed there soon to audition for jazz.
Plenty of chatter about safety in the Rochester area. How does your son feel on campus? Are the security concerns overblown? Between weather and safety, mine is feeling a bit hesitant about Eastman.
He’s trombone, performance and Ed major. But he plays in the New jazz ensemble and absolutely loves it.
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Safety was definitely a concern for us too. But our son says he’s never ever felt unsafe. Like any city it has its pockets of not great areas and they know to avoid those parts. But he frequently walks around the surrounding area and with friends has even walked to UR or scootered there. Just last night, he told us he started going to a local gym about a seven minute walk away in the early morning and says he feels completely safe. The weather on the other hand, not always so great. It was beautiful in late summer and early fall when he started but the winter is long and dreary. Not a ton of snow at once but a lot of small snow storms or daily flurries.
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That is a a lot! You must be a master planner! D (VP) did 3 in 2 days the weekend before last. It was Saturday morning at UC Santa Barbara. A two hour car ride to USC for an afternoon audition, followed by UCLA the next day. Our big trip is over Valentines day weekend. Fly out from CA to New York (Newark) on the 13th. Afternoon audition at NYU afternoon of 14th. Fly from Newark to Cleveland evening of 14th. Audition at Oberlin on 15th. Fly back to New York evening of 15th. Audition at Bard on 16th. Fly home on 17th. Anyone who has done Bard - Do you have suggestions on getting to Annandale on Hudson? Better to rent car and drive or take the train?
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If you dont want to rent/drive (prob 2 hours and you never know with NYC traffic) you could take Metro North to Poughkeepsie train station and maybe Uber to Bard? Metro North from Grand Central is easy but if you didnt Uber I think it’s only a bus into where Bard is.
My daughter is a grad student so she lives outside of the campus “bubble” but still right across the street. You definitely need to keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings but she has not had any issues. I feel the undergrad students are even safer living in the on campus housing.
Rochesters’s weather is not good. I think my daughter feels like her experience there overall has been worth it.
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So happy to hear all of this! (Glad he’s having a positive experience.) Eastman is currently one of our son’s top choices when he applies next year based on visits / trial lessons at schools so far but like Ranger Danger mentioned we hear about it being “gritty” in Rochester; it appeared fine on our visit this November but it’s nice to hear from current first hand experience.
We’re just traveling 3 weekends in a row. Your weekend sound wild. 
for great weather on all fronts. Also, which instrument? I think you said VP, but in my head that’s Violin, Viola or Voice. 
We’re headed to Bard this weekend, will be at Oberlin on the 15th, and Lawrence on the 22nd. We’re renting a car from LaGuardia to get to Bard. Staying in Kingston.
She is vocal performance. Since we are coming from west coast, just trying to minimize number of trips. I think we will rent a car as well and hope for good weather for the trip to Bard. We will fly into Newark, so maybe traffic out of there won’t be as bad. My daughter wants to see a Broadway show the evening of the audition on the 16th. We are flying out of Newark the next day. Not sure I want to drive a car into the city, so have to figure that out! Maybe we will just book a hotel close to Newark airport and take a train in for the show.
And yes…there is little room for error. We are putting a lot of faith in the weather cooperating!
Thanks! I think it is a city that takes some getting used to, there are some really beautiful areas that we have discovered not far from campus. And it’s a very artsy city which is great!
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I recommend that you use the train coming into NYC from Newark. Starting this year, there are double tolls coming from NJ to the city, tunnel/bridge and congestion tolls.
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I just wanted to say thank you for this post. I really appreciate it. My son got at C+ in a class that is aligned to his double major choice (History). Other grades: B/B/B-. Now a 3.60 GPA. I’m afraid it will be a harsh mistake preventing his ability to pursue a double major at Mich and NYU. Maybe he can land in music and then reassess a double major. But that’s a lot of eggs in 2 baskets – there is no guarantee he passes audition at either school. Any words of wisdom from this amazing community? Sending love.
Hi! My son was also accepted into the NYC Scholars program for Electrical Engineering and Music Technology. We live just outside the city so this sounds great to me! However I have sooo many questions about this new location - I heard only 300-350 students? Are they all within a couple of majors or all over the place? And I’m just generally nervous that our kids will be the “guinea pigs” for the NYC satellite………
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Hi! I’m so excited to see a trombone performance/ed major on here! I would love to know which programs you thought were good for that particular double major on trombone.
My son is just a freshman but that is his ideal double major. Is the program at Eastman 5 years? (I’m getting the impression that is true everywhere.) Any thoughts on whether with the Ed piece it is important to go to school in the state you want to teach? Or does it open more doors to be from a more “brand name” music program (as opposed to, say, a state flagship)?
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I can’t speak for U Mich or NYU with the dual degree, they could very well refuse him for the dual degree but allow him to enter with a BM. As you say, he could try to go dual degree after admission, as far as I know (and I am no expert) a student can do that. If it is a concern can I suggest contact their admissions department and ask.
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My son had his MM Rice audition today. He said it went well and he had a very interactive meeting with the professor throughout. He felt very welcomed and got a chance to meet with some current students. Found time to eat some Texas style BBQ before heading back to the airport. 
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oh hi! sorry didn’t see this while traveling! Hope he had a good day there! Busy times!
I know one student in U Michigan who was accepted to SMTD and added a second degree the second year. I know of several other SMTD students who added a second degree this way. They are all string instrument musicians. Don’t know if they will all graduate with two degrees but adding one doesn’t seem to be too hard.
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