Which Ivy League university has the best music education program?

My daughter is an exceptional clarinetist, of distinction enough that I believe she could receive significant scholarship help to supplement our meager means and attend an Ivy League university. On which Ivy League school could she best set her sights?

Which Ivy League university has the best music education program?
Why does it have to be an Ivy League school? While they do have music programs, distinguished music majors would be better suited to colleges who have a reputation for their music department.





Curtis Institute of Music has one of the highest standards and lowest acceptance rates. It is very elite. However, your daughter will not have a typical college experience at Curtis.





Julliard, Oberlin, Peabody (Johns Hopkins), and Berklee have wonderful reputations for their music programs as well. Berklee is more contemporary in their studies.





Obtain information from all the colleges she may be interested in. One of the best things she could do is invest in a sound recording session so she can send a professional quality recording with her application. She will have to audition for most of those schools, as they do have high standards, but a good quality recording will definitely help get a foot in the door. Find out what the colleges "specialize" in and pick a composer who may best fit.





Make sure this is what she wants to do. Playing clarinet for a living requires constant practice, travel and horrible hours. It takes more than dedication, it takes total immersion in your work.





Good luck!
Reply:Listen to the poster above me. It doesn't have to be Ivy League - but I know many people who did graduate studies in music at Yale, and Yale has full music scholarships for graduates. So have her apply to other schools for undergrad studies, and if she still wants to get a masters in music, try Yale.
Reply:Columbia would probably be the best of the Ivy League schools for her to go - but I would suggest she take a look at Oberlin College which my cousin went to that might be a better fit for her if what she wants to do is study music http://www.oberlin.edu/





Good Luck!!!
Reply:There are a few problems I see here.





First, no matter how good a musicians she is, she can not get into an Ivy League school if she does not have outstanding academic credentials.





Second, the Ivy league schools are focused on academics. Some do have music programs but they are not music education programs. They are for people who might be directed towards a life as a historian of music or scholar of music history in a university, or at a museum or in the world of classical music.





If she wants to become a professional musician, or be a music educator, then the best shcool for her is probably a conservatory such as Julliard or New England Conservatory for classical performance, or Berklee if she wants to be in the active musical performing world of contemporary musicians. Or if she wants to teach music, like in a high school, then her state university will probably do just as good a job or even a better job at preparing her than any Ivy.





Lastly, at the top schools the admission is need blind. Students are admitted without any regard for whether they can pay. Then the school will bend over backwards to see that she has the financial aid she needs to attend. Needless to say this is why at this moment, Columbia is poring over 18,000 applications from America's best students trying to pick out the kids for the 650 spots remaining in its 2007 Freshman class after the early decision notices were sent out.
Reply:Penn