How do you know what's a safety/target/reach?

Parents Forum
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We are early in the process with S26, but I know that his school advises that we split up the list between safeties, targets, and reaches.

But I don’t really know how we figure out what schools go into each category for a variety of reasons.

One reason is that he’s torn between two options. He wants to be an O.T. who incorporates music into his practice. So, he either wants to do a music ed or music therapy major, and then go on to grad school in OT, or he wants to do a 5 or 6 year combined degree program at a school that has strong music so he can take some classes and find people to make music with.

Either way, he’s looking at programs that might require auditions, or interviews, or extra steps, and might be more selective than other programs in the same school.

This also means that he might be applying to schools that don’t get a lot of applications from his relatively small private school, so there is no Naviance data for him.

Also, his school doesn’t do AP’s, and doesn’t weight grades. So, his GPA is going to be lower than kids whose school does weight. If they weighted like our local public school he’d have a GPA over 4, but since they don’t he’s around a 3.7. Does that mean that something like Duquesne which has an average GPA of 3.85 is a reach for him?

And finally, I don’t know how rigor figures into it. He’s not taking the most challenging classes, or the highest number of academic classes. His school has two levels for math and science, and he’ll take the lower level, and finish with precalc and stats rather than calculus, and with only 3 credits each of science and world language taken in high school.

And finally he’ll likely be test optional.

So, if he can’t compare GPA, or test scores, or look at Naviance, how does he figure it out?

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Is your son a sophomore? Can he make an appointment with his guidance counselor and get a sense as to where kids like him have been accepted?

Also- keep in mind that finances often play a role in this process. I would start with a budget and take it from there.

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These both require masters degrees. I’m not sure an undergrad in music therapy is the best idea.

He should research colleges to find out what music opportunities there are for those who are not music majors. Many colleges have these.

What kind of music and what instrument ?

Any reason why?

Duquesne has a well established music therapy program. IIRC, it might be one of the first masters programs in this field. Contact them to find out what things are required for admissions.

If your son wants to be an OT, he doesn’t need to major in music therapy to incorporate music into his work. I’m a speech language pathologist, and my students did a lot of singing, etc. I never majored in music.

Has your son discussed his goals with several practicing OTs? They likely will have ideas for him.

Re: auditioned programs, hard to say what is a safety when an audition is required.

I know there are some OTs on this site. Hoping one of them sees your post.

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He won’t get assigned to a college counselor until junior year.

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You talk to the school’s college counselor. That’s part of what you’re paying for.

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He wants to major in music therapy for a few reasons. One is he wants to develop as a musician, and to have access to excellent music instruction, and that is best accessed by being a music major of some kind at a school with a strong music instruction. Music therapy undergraduate programs include more of the courses like developmental psychology that are prerequisites for OT school admissions, plus you get to develop skills on multiple instruments, rather than focusing narrowly on one like the performance majors do. He also really enjoys the music therapy type activities that he does now, and thinks he would like the practicums that are part of a music therapy undergraduate program.

He knows he doesn’t need to major in music therapy to become an OT who uses music in their practice, whether that’s he’s drumming with a toddler as a way to work on bilateral skills, or working with a violinist rehabbing a overuse injury in their hand, but he’s going to need to major in something, and he thinks music therapy, or music ed are things he’d enjoy, that would let him get in the prerequisites for OT school, and that would develop skills that he’d either use recreationally, or professionally.

Definitely jazz, likely voice, maybe bass.

He doesn’t think his test scores are as impressive as the rest of his application would be. I think he’s probably right.

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I would begin with a budget. Are your state schools affordable?

If he is a music education major, will he have time for the OT prerequisites, shadowing, volunteering etc? He would need to student teach for music education- that is time consuming.

Is there another major he is considering? I agree he can include music into his therapy sessions without the major.

Music therapy seems like the better of the 2 options.

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He very much wants a music degree. He wants the experience of going to music school. In that context, music ed and music therapy are the degrees which most overlap with his long term goals, because they’re a little less intense than performance and he’s not interested in things like music business. He might need to do some summers, but he could get a degree in either at most schools and fit in the OT prereqs, since many of them can also be used to fill distribution requirements.

He’s interested in the idea of a combined degree because he’d save a year to 18 months of time and tuition, and because he’s heard that it’s easier to get into a combined degree program than going straight into OT grad school. Also, he’s kind of an anxious kid and so he’s worried about the audition piece. But I feel more confident than he does that he could get into an auditioned program, and that after finishing it he could get into OT school.

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The budget piece, I have a handle on. That seems really clear to me, and so I’m not needing advice on that.

I’m just asking from an admissions standpoint.

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Some of the direct entry programs recommend the major. For example, SUNY Buffalo has a 5 year DE program and students begin on a prehealth track as a public health major.

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Yes, that seems to be most of them. A few of them might give you a couple choices.

We haven’t seen a direct entry program that would allow music as the undergrad major. Most of them don’t have enough electives for a minor either.

So, if he does direct entry, then he’ll major in whatever that means you major in. Otherwise, he’d like to major in music ed or therapy.

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IIRC your son is a HS sophomore. Has he had any luck actually shadowing or even just talking to some OTs and music therapists? I would suggest he start there.

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Colleges will not penalize him because his school does not offer honors or AP classes. He will be evaluated based on the context of his HS.

I would not attend a DE program unless he has shadowed OTs, done informational interviews etc.

The most important school is the safety. I would take a look at your instate options and begin there.

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Yes, he has shadowed and participated in both, and he has more things set up, including working at an OT camp this summer, and shadowing the OT in the music specialty practice where he goes for PT.

But that doesn’t help us answer the question I asked.

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I know that, but it makes it hard to know which schools to target.

We do not have either a DE program, or an undergraduate music therapy program in our state.

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Perhaps you can get some better answers about music safety schools in the music majors forum.

If your son is taking private music lessons, perhaps his teacher will have some ideas.

Maybe @2plustrio has some suggestions.

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I guess I’m asking more about the DE programs, and maybe unauditioned music programs here, because I recognize that audition based programs aren’t transparent to anyone.

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Since high schools vary greatly with weighted, I believe most recalculate. I think the highest weighted grade at our HS is a 4.4, I’ve seen some with weighted grades up to a 6.0. Just use core courses, 4, 3, 2, 1.

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Perhaps @compmom can talk about BA programs in music. But those would not be education or music therapy.

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DE OT programs??