Michigan vs Yale for composition

kmcmom13
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 11:35:38 +0000

Great choices, congratulations!

Spriritmgr pretty much nailed the distinction you need to make between the BMus, which is akin to a professional degree at a school of music like Michigan’s, and a liberal arts powerhouse where ultimately the music focus isn’t likely to be as intense per se.

Both degrees from these particular programs carry prestige in their own ways, so don’t let the ivy phenom factor in for external reasons (though internal reasons, such as if you’ve always loved Yale and wanted to attend, are completely valid ;))

What I mean by this and what I noticed in my son’s case is sometimes music students get a lot of external and uninformed comments like “you chose Michigan over Princeton?!” because non-musically-informed people don’t realize that getting into a SOM program at Michigan is statistically the equivalent of getting into an Ivy

So you have really great choices by two sets of standards and it will come down to which path suits you best. Study both school’s course sequence to get a feel for what your days might look like and if you haven’t visited Yale and you’re able to, perhaps that would help you in your decision. (And if you do, try to meet with one of the comp profs.)

Best wishes and congratulations!