Music Comp focus with Jazz and Production flexibility and scholarships

College Majors Music Majors
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Seeking suggestions for schools we should add to my son’s Early Action list.

Majoring in music composition (contemporary classical); jazz piano player; strongly committed to a career in music; high stats student.

The ideal school would have a very strong music program with good liberal arts, flexibility within the music department to combine composition, jazz, and production, a collaborative environment among various arts. I would like him to get some music industry/business knowledge if possible! Less interested in a stand-alone conservatory but not closed off to it.

A small, nurturing environment would be better for him than a big school, but we know there are some great music programs at big schools and quality/quantity of music offerings is important.

He prefers a BM to a BA in Music, but he’s open for the right liberal arts school.

The best financial deal is a top priority. He’s a good candidate for academic merit and talent scholarships. Aiming to spend under 20K all-in, definitely no more than 24K. We will not take out loans and we are realistic about the struggle to make money as a musician.

According to NPC’s our costs are in the low-mid 20’s at selective LAC’s that generously meet full need as well as some less-selective LAC’s that include academic merit in their NPC calculation. There are schools where our NPC is higher than our budget, but that have both academic and talent scholarship possibilities that could get us at/under 20K in a best-case-scenario.

Prefer the NE, but we know that’s not where the most affordable options are, so we are looking Midwest and South. Generally avoiding NYC and Boston because of cost even though they have great music schools. We’ve toured some; they are a good fit musically but not affordable.

This month he’s been having Zoom calls with admissions and trial lessons with faculty at all the schools on our list. Next month we’ll record prescreens. Aiming to have all application materials in by Oct for these Early Action/Rolling schools:

Temple, Boyer
(in-state cost, knows people there, but would probably rather go further away to school, likely would get academic merit, good music reputation, big school)

UNT
(solid option financially because he’d get in-state tuition for academic merit and possibly more, did a summer jazz piano intensive there and doesn’t love area but liked faculty, programs don’t appear to be real flexible, great music reputation but huge school)

U Miami Frost
(financial reach without a full tuition scholarship, cost of living high, he’s never been to Miami, loves latin/fusion and I think he’d find that there, he could get both comp and jazz and there appears to be some flexibility for production with electives.)

Lawrence University
(finances look promising with merit and need aid, small school with robust and flexible conservatory, liberal arts classes may not be as challenging as would be best for him but I’m not sure how much he cares about that, he doesn’t love cold weather)

Bard College for the Music program not the 5-year-conservatory
(NPC is a little high for us and since it’s all need-aid getting more is not real likely, liberal arts would be a good academic-level fit, music program is flexible, music requirements are light and music offerings are robust which gives him space to create his own music rigor, good faculty)

Loyola New Orleans
(I don’t know a lot about this school yet; we are talking to them soon, NPC is high but I have heard that merit for high stats and for talent is generous, seems to have comp, jazz, production, and industry so we will investigate flexibility and faculty)

SUNY Purchase and Hartt School of Music could work but we visited and he didn’t like. Considered St. Olaf but it’s light on Jazz and production.

What are we missing from this list and what can you tell me about these schools in terms of my “ideal” criteria above and our financial goals?

Also curious which of the highly selective LAC’s (w/big endowments and most generous full-meets-need) has robust music departments? My older kid goes to Grinnell (loves it), gets amazing financial aid there, and is very involved in music, but music is not her major or career goal, and in her opinion Grinnell doesn’t have enough music for her brother.

Thanks so much!

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You could add Oberlin.

Boston Conservatory with its merger with Berklee would be a good option but yes, expensive.

Williams, Amherst, Tufts_?

I am PM’ing you!

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Do you have any assured that will meet budget ? In other words if you have only $20k to spend, and you are saying many NPCs are above that and you won’t take out loans - first and foremost you need to find a school that can work at $20k - big or small - because you might go through this entire exercise and end up with nowhere to attend.

What are the students stats (gpa) and test?

Then it’s a question of possible sacrifice bs desires to find a program that meets the financial need.

While you may find affordable schools later if all else fails, many have earlier scholarship deadlines so they become de facto EA schools.

Thanks.

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Significant musical accomplishments, documented in a music supplement (recoding/video, music resume, 1-2 music letters of recommendation) can help a lot with admissions to non-audition BA programs. He could look at two groups of schools for BA degrees: top schools like the Ivies and little Ivies with good music programs and generous financial aid. And schools like Brown, Amherst, Hamilton, Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, that don’t have distribution requirements where he could still do a lot of music academically.

His academics may get him some scholarships at BM programs as well. As well as music talent.

ps Bard requires a double degree from BM students, which takes 5 years so expenses are greater unless aid is significant.

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UNT, Temple, and Lawrence are very likely to be affordable for us. Bard is quite close to being affordable and if we were offered close to the NPC and appealed for just a bit more, it would work. We are keeping financial safeties in mind.

yes, I want to make sure I have the right list going now because of scholarship deadlines.

4.0 GPA
taking SAT end of Aug and poised to break 1500 but no guarantees. He got 1400 in May and has been tutoring since.
5 AP’s
deep music involvement but no awards or competitions, which is really not his vibe, although he’s applying for a competitive jazz fellowship this fall in our home city

Thanks!

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We spoke to the Bard folks and they think he’s a better fit for the Music program as a music major rather than the conservatory. The conservatory is very classical performance centered. He could study with the conservatory comp faculty as a music program major and still study jazz and production, as well. But, he wouldn’t end up with a BM in that case, of course.

Great suggestion for grouping the BA school in those two categories. My question is, how best to narrow down for the schools that have more/better/best-fit music offerings? Having freedom from gen eds to fill a schedule with music is only valuable if there are the right music offerings to fill the schedule with, and enough to grow for 4 years, and other talented/focused musicians to play/grow with.

yes, we are definitely chasing merit for both academics and music, depending on the school.

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So I know these aren’t your types of schools so I’m noting it up front - but I always look for assured and not just likely. I guess they are likely in that you’d get assured admittance to the school but there does seem to be a composition review process for program admission. I’m not sure if these schools can cover your other needs but again, they are just options for just in case.

Bama you get $28K off - so just over $21K and if you do the scholarship app by Jan 10th you could get more.

The BM is composition does have a requirement for admission - so you’d get in the school but maybe not the BM in composition. Not sure about their ability to meet your other academic needs (jazz, etc.)

UTC would be just over $24K with merit for their BM but also you could earn more.

U of Memphis through it’s Scheidt School of Music also has a BM. Tuition room and board is under $26K and there would definitely be merit.

Again, it sounds like there are qualifiers to get in these programs - but these should be admission (to the school) and cost certainties - if all others fail.

Memphis actually looks promising - with a formal school and lots of concentrations.

Central Michigan has direct cost of $27,324 and merit of $8250. So under $20k. No OOS tuition there. Has a BM.

I know these aren’t what you seek but it’s nice to ensure at least one you know will make cost.

Best of luck.

Music Composition, BM | University of Alabama (ua.edu)

Bachelor of Music in Composition (B.M. Composition) | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (utc.edu)

Composition - Music - The University of Memphis

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Just want to add that opportunities are sometimes extracurricular and/or informal. For instance, a school may have one course in electroacoustic composition (which involves both creative and studio work) but then you have access to the studio for the rest of your time there. There may be a composers organization on campus with visiting ensembles. There may be film or dance students needing music or production skills. There may be blurring of classical, contemporary and jazz musical opportunities. Visits and conversations, whenever possible, really help and as you already know, you have to dig deep into details.

Some composition programs are going to be very traditional and conservative. Aesthetic fit and freedom are key. He needs a good fit where he can be creative and find his “voice.” It may involve other disciplines, who knows.

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Absolutely, and thank you! Great ideas! I will look at these further.

He’s a very talented musician. I am not too concerned about music admission unless we’re talking about the top music programs or conservatories that are competitive, in which case he still has a decent shot but one never knows.

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Excellent points and thanks for the reminder.

Of course, it is assuring to see a concrete list of courses and faculty that interest him and are clear building blocks for his skills/goals, and to know that he’ll have the flexibility to engage with them.

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Please consider the overall music experience and opportunities for this student.

You have some options I would second…Temple is one. UNT is another.

Look at Rutgers, and perhaps University of Miami

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UNT would be a good option for jazz, composition and music technology (creative production so to speak). SUNY Purchase too and it is relatively affordable for out of staters.

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Yes, Miami was on my original list in the post; he is very interested in Miami Frost but he would need a full tuition scholarship to make it work. Agreed that overall music opportunities are important, which is why UNT, Miami and Temple are big ones on the list.

I don’t know much about Rutgers for music or for affordability. I’ll check out.

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I’m hoping @BeverlyWest sees this post. Her son attends Loyola NOLA. As a musician. I believe Jazz.

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Rutgers, Purchase, Montclair State, William Patterson… schools with good Jazz programs are always looking for highly skilled pianists to help anchor rhythm sections.

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Another one you could look at is DePaul in Chicago. Not sure on the cost, but they have a beautiful music building, serious jazz program and do offer talent scholarships.

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Seconding the Oberlin suggestion- the Jazz department is phenomenal and includes a Jazz composition major as well as Jazz performance majors. One can double major within that department too, if desired.

There are tons of Jazz ensembles that perform constantly and they are at a really high level of talent. The faculty is also fantastic.

I also want to say that your planning and research skills are impressive! You’re doing all the right things to find the path that will work best.

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Hi there!

Sorry, this turned out really long. Feel free to skim! :smiley:

This is such an exciting time, finding a great school–my kid and our family went through it last year. He’s a freshman at Loyola New Orleans, and I can help a bit with what that one is like.

However, he’s a performance major with a jazz minor. He does a great deal of arranging, but he is not a composer. I don’t know anything about classical music and composition there.

This paragraph you wrote describes Loyola’s performance program fairly well:

I can’t stress enough how nurturing the environment is there, and how much individual attention each student gets. The people and the supportive atmosphere are some of the top reasons my kid chose the school, and I felt okay about leaving him so far from home once I met the faculty and staff.

He was not as comfortable at larger schools with highly structured and often more competitive programs, and after he visited, he took a couple big ones off his list. Other students feel the exact opposite and love big schools and competitive programs.

One downside: He says the program is not as collaborative across art forms as he hoped, namely film. He’s learning some about industry, which is required for the pop/comm major, but that is a separate major. I think you can minor. That’s basically all he’s got to say about cons. (He was sitting here answering me, but now I hear the metronome in his room, so I won’t see him again for a while.)

Cost: We too are doing this without loans. Loyola was the lowest among all the schools he applied to, including Memphis, CU Denver, and our own in-state university. Memphis did not offer any aid beyond loans, so even though it was still relatively inexpensive, it came in higher than Loyola.

It’s pretty easy to calculate the academic/talent (they combine them) scholarships at Loyola. Of course, this is no guarantee, and I don’t work there, but it’s likely that with a 4.0, your son would receive $27,000. Then, they add a grant to meet the remainder of your need as they perceive it based on your FAFSA. In our experience, no school met the entire FAFSA-based need, but Loyola came closest, and I would consider them a good financial safety.

My son appealed for additional scholarships and was given a great increased offer. I would definitely do that. I didn’t know about writing to ask for more, and another Loyola parent on this forum made a tremendous difference for us by telling us. A small amount of spending money can be made by busking and gigs.

An important detail for us: Once you get your scholarships and grants in line and accept them, they do not change throughout all four years. We do not have to wonder each year whether we’ll get the grant again.

From a parent’s POV, I think the less competitive and more casual environment made me worry it would not be challenging. It is. My kid is learning a tremendous amount. The school is a little disorganized, and I am learning to roll with it. I wish they did recalculate the grant each year, because our need went up a little this year, but it’s still affordable, and I feel very fortunate he found a good match.

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My daughter is a VP student at Bard Conservatory. While she did not receive any merit (or financial aid) from the college, she did receive a very nice scholarship from the conservatory. I have heard very good things about the composition program at Bard. You may already be aware that Jessie Montgomery (Composer-in-Residence at Bard) won the Grammy this year for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

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Thank you so much for that compliment! I am more than a little obsessed with researching schools for this middle kid of mine. I won’t even admit how many hours I’m spending;)

I ran the NPC for Oberlin the other day and I was really surprised at how low it was, particularly because we ran it 3 years ago for my oldest kid and it was much higher; our financials are the same as they were then. So, it’s definitely going on the list.

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