Delaware is a school that seems to fly under the radar. I believe they have a strong performing arts program. It’s a super popular school in our area and we have family, friends and friends of friends who all seem to have a great experience with the school. Also the honors program at Delaware is academically well regarded but you might be hitting up against a deadline.
2 Likes
St. Olaf may be smaller than you want, but it’s bigger than most LACs (~3100 undergrads) and it’s excellent both musically and academically. The local student population is further enlarged by having Carleton in the same town, plus cross-registration opens up additional high-level academic opportunities.
1 Like
Our voice students in NC typically go to UNC School of the Arts or UNC Greensboro for their music programs over Chapel Hill.
4 Likes
I would say UMiami is def far more academic than UCONN or Penn State….Eastman sounds perfect for her just know the campuses are separate (URoch and Eastman) and it’s pretty gritty. HOw about schools with the dual programs? Harvard/Berklee or Barnard/MSM. How about NYU?
1 Like
How about USC Thornton? Super strong in music and also academically. Pretty sure it’s straightforward to combine BM with BA.
McGill? U Toronto? U British Columbia?
Cal state Long Beach?
I would venture to say that by the end of her application/audition journey, your daughter will be able to answer this question.
The way we looked at this years ago (two kids with degrees in music performance but both instrumental) was that the process is step wise and with each step the applicant has the opportunity to learn more about each program and also what they want to prioritize over these undergrad years. And that their priorities may change over these next 6 months.
Assuming that she has a balanced list, her list may narrow as she passes or does not pass pre screens.
In person auditions were a perfect way for my kids to get a feel for the fit of the program/school. Take the opportunity to sit in on performances, take a lesson if possible, talk with current students about their experiences.
I did not have kids pursuing more than one degree, but be sure she explores how feasible this would be. Many programs tout that they welcome students pursuing a degree outside of the music performance degree, but be sure it is practically feasible and that the vocal faculty also support it.
There may be trade offs and she will need to ultimately choose which aspects to prioritize. Variables can be strength of academics, quality and fit of voice teachers, opportunities to perform, “vibe”, location and so much more.
But kids seem to really figure it out through the audition process. With luck she will end up with good choices and a clear winner. Because particularly with music students, the fit needs to go both ways.
Good luck!
Are out of state public universities affordable? Has she considered Ivy League schools with generous financial aid? Music can help a lot with admissions and she meets academic benchmarks. Harvard and Yale have double degree programs and Princeton has a music certificate and study abroad. Tufts? Clark? (Clark is on Colleges that Change Lives website which is mostly small schools but worth checking.)
She could apply to both conservatories and colleges and decide in April. Some BA programs have pretty vigorous music curricula with excellent extracurricular performance and lessons (funded, for credit).
It sounds like she has many talents. If she wants a BM or double degree, go for it, but I wonder about the cost of some of those publics vs aid at a private. The SUNY system is pretty affordable relatively speaking.
Thank you! This is very good and very insightful!
1 Like
what does she want a BA in?
OP has said…psychology.
sorry. missed that
Unfortunately or fortunately, we will be full pay, so I doubt about the financial aid.
A big part of appeal of dual-degree programs is the performance opportunities. The Ivies don’t have music schools, so they don’t have that for vocal majors.
In any case, Yale doesn’t have BM in Voice only MM.
Harvard/NEC just like Columbia/Juilliard is almost non-doable, as they are far from one another and not coordinated. (Also, she grew up in NYC so definitely wants to get out. 
)
Princeton - she is afraid of its rigor, for what it’s worth.
Tufts - used to have the program with NEC but not anymore.
I don’t know anything about Clark.
She did apply to USC Thornton.
1 Like
We loved a voice teacher at McGill but didn’t like the school. Overall, we don’t seem to like the Canadian schools, for various reasons. But, their deadlines are further out, so we keep them in mind.
Why Cal State Long Beach? I don’t know much about California schools. Is it comparable to others on my list? How is it its music?
Interesting. I never thought about selectivity being unrelated to academic rigor—perhaps partly, but entirely?
We are considering the overall fit, of course, but what does that really mean? The weather? Big vs. small? Urban vs. rural? That’s the easy part. What truly matters, in my mind and experience, is the kids surrounding you for 4–5 years, and unfortunately you can’t really know that until you’re there. So we look at rankings—flawed as they are—at where students from her school have gone, and we talk to those already in some of these colleges. What makes or breaks the experience is being around people who want to do what you want to do: party? study? make music? In that sense, selectivity and academic rigor do affect the learning environment and do play a role in the fit.
I understand psychology is a fairly standard degree and still requires grad school. And yet my daughter is researching the psych programs within these universities and their professors, and she likes some more than others. Same with the music schools, voice departments, voice faculty—she’s digging in and weighing her options.
So yes, we’re looking at the overall fit. But the big part of that fit is the other kids.
Good to know, thank you.
@MMRose can also chime in, but I will say that CSU Long Beach has a really strong music program both instrumental and voice. I personally know a couple of recent grads who were just accepted to top notch grad programs for voice.
I’m not sure that the academics outside of the music program are on par with what you are looking for. I can attest as I had one kid attend (not for music) Perfectly good education, but rather bogged down administratively.
However, if you want to throw in an application and happen to be at Thornton (pending a passed prescreen) a visit to CSULB might be of interest.
2 Likes
Why do you say that? I’m not disagreeing, just trying to understand.