Help - To Major In Music... Or Not

lavender46
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 22:01:59 +0000

Hello,

I am going to be a senior in high school come Fall 2015 and am trying to figure out where I want to go for college and why. This is my first post on College Confidential.

I am very strong academically in essentially all fields and have a sizable list of extracurricular activities. Getting into a college I’d like, and perhaps even Ivies, isn’t too far of a stretch. However, I’m not sure what I want to do with my life.

I have played the piano for almost 10 years and I am quite strong at it; I play local gigs around the area, am involved with the school band and chamber choir, and host my own solo concerts locally. My piano teacher, who went to Peabody, believes that I could get into a decent conservatory (like Peabody, for example), if I tried. I absolutely adore music.

However, I am also looking for financial stability and music majors are notorious for being unreliable. I want to have a job that I can rely on to pay the bills, and one that will grant me a comfortable life after I am out of music. Although music is a particular passion, I enjoy my academic endeavors - especially math - and would likely enjoy other careers as well.

My question is, what do I do? Should I involve music in my college life full-time? Partially, like a double major or minor? Even at all? I really, really don’t want to give up the musical part of me, but I don’t want to constantly worry about finances. Is practicing independently a horrible idea? I wish to grow as a musician as well, not just stagnate.

Thanks a million!