<p>For Voice and Opera, how does The Eastman School compare to The Manhattan School of Music?</p>
<p>Honestly, I think both schools are if you are looking at ‘rankings’ they are considered to be in the top ten. I like to think about it this way for schools at this level, What is the difference between Harvard and Yale? Preference. This being said, I think that both programs offer different college experiences. MSM is a very strict conservatory setting, that is know to be supportive. Eastman has the option of double majoring at University of Rochester. MSM has the NYC location that is important when building a career. Eastman will give you a more traditional college campus. Both are expensive and I believe Eastman will provide more merit scholarship than MSM where merit aid is very very rare for female vocalists. Overall, The best way to compare when looking into programs is faculty.
I will be attending MSM in the fall for classical voice, I think the atmosphere and faculty are the main draw. Plus, it really excites me that the school consists of many international students. Also, the location in the city was a preference. I did not even apply to Eastman bc I was not really interested in the program. ( I already know at least 12 people that attend there, and wanted to ‘branch out’). Im sorry that I can’t provide information on Eastman. </p>
<p>For researching faculty and such. Go to New forum for Classical Singers and create a free login. They have a forum that has recommendations/warnings section. If you inquire about any schools you are interested in someone is surly to give you an opinion on the program and the faculty. I highly recommend this because the wealth of information is coming from actual students mouths and tends to give multiple honests anserws. good and bad.</p>
<p>Both programs are great and I think that the quality of students is the same at both. If you are deciding right now between the two, I think the ‘feeling’ when at the school is one of the biggest deciding factors. I hope that I could help. Good Luck with everything!</p>
<p>Hey. Congrats. 2 very good schools. I am currently a student at Eastman, so I can give you a little help here, at least outside of the realm of the voice department. Mezzogirl is definitely right about financial aid. The school gives everyone some kind of scholarship, and most people get more than the minimum, I believe (5,000 is the minimum, and I got 11 off of the waiting list). The one thing that Mezzo Girl said that may be a little misleading is that you will get a more traditional college campus at Eastman than at MSM. The Eastman campus is in downtown Rochester. We basically live on our own little block of town. The difference is that if you need some open space, you can jump on the bus and head over to U of Rochester, and they definitely have what I would call a traditional college campus. </p>
<p>If you have any questions, just shoot me a PM. </p>
<p>Congrats</p>