Choosing a university to attend for your undergraduate education is a big decision. In selecting a school, you are investing not just money but invaluable time during a pivotal point in your life. The people with whom you spend the most time (both faculty and students) will most directly shape your university experience, so you should start by considering those with whom you will have the most contact time and work outward from there: primary professor, applied studio members, other music faculty (ensemble directors, academic faculty, other instrumental faculty), other music students, and finally non-music faculty and students.

Your primary professor will likely be the most influential person during your time at college and as you venture forth. This person will act as an advisor for career decisions and can help place you in a graduate program or job. More immediately, your primary professor is a mentor figure and helps to build the studio culture. If the students are collegial, social, competitive (in a positive or negative way), it is generally as a result of the atmosphere that the primary professor has created. The primary professor also directly affects the makeup of the studio by accepting or rejecting students. If at all possible, you should try to take a lesson with each professor prior to your on-campus audition. Most professors are more than happy to make time for prospective students, and a lesson will give you a chance to see how the two of you will work together. You can also direct most questions to a primary professor. On the off chance that they don’t know the answer, they will likely know who to ask.

You will spend more time with the students in your applied studio than with anyone else in the entire university. Together you will be in academic classes, large ensembles, chamber ensembles, studio class, and more. You might believe that you most closely emulate your teachers, but in reality you most closely emulate your peers. Surround yourself with peers who will motivate you to work hard and achieve at high levels, and strive to inspire others to do the same. If it is commonplace in your studio to warm up each day at 7am, then you will show up too. If all of the studio chamber ensembles rehearse 10-12 hours per week, then you will too. This is not to say that you cannot be a driving force behind establishing good practice habits for yourself and others in the studio, but it is certainly easier if the culture is already in place. Your peers’ work ethics and attitudes can be a strong force for good as you transition into a new life situation. Also, the professional success of students within a program is what determines whether or not the value of your degree from that program will increase following graduation. In this way, students and faculty depend on one another for collective success. You should ask to be put in contact with current and former students from each university that you’re considering. Professors understandably try to show their schools in the best light, but the students will always tell it like it is, the good and the bad. Students are your most honest form of information.

Ensemble directors (band and orchestra directors, jazz band directors) set the tone and expectation for many studios across the music school, and you will inevitably spend a reasonable amount of time with at least some of them over the course of your studies. They provide invaluable recommendations for graduate school and public school teaching positions. Conductors often move in different professional networks than primary teachers and can help open that network to you. It is important to question the number of ensembles and general makeup of each. For example, if the top wind ensemble is comprised primarily of doctoral students, undergraduates may rarely place into that ensemble, limiting contact time with that conductor. If you make a campus visit for a lesson, try to observe an ensemble rehearsal. You will get to hear current students and see how the conductor leads them.

Academic faculty in the music school are those who teach music theory, aural skills (also called ear training, sight singing, or musicianship), music history, music education, music business, and other non-performance based courses. Depending on the size of the music school, you may spend a great deal of time with each academic faculty member, or you may not study with some of them for even a single class. Smaller schools generally have fewer academic faculty members with whom students spend more time. Larger schools will have more academic faculty members but classes may or may not be taught be graduate students. If you visit campus, try shadowing a first- or second-year music student through their day. This will give you an idea of what’s in store for you as a music major.

The reputation of any university as a whole matters, but the reputation of the music school and your instrumental studio matters more in the music world. Music, like many fields, is all about connections and networking. If there are many alumni from a college who have the career that you want, that can be useful and telling. For example, if your end goal is to teach high school band, the school that you attend should have former students who are currently teaching high school band. This shows that the program is capable of placing students in jobs, and your shared connection to those in the field could eventually help get you the position that you want.

Choosing a graduate program should not be that different from choosing an undergraduate program except that at this point in your academic career, you should be better informed. If you are not yet, you should be a member of the national or international organization for your instrument (i.e. North America Saxophone Alliance, International Clarinet Association, National Flute Association, etc.) and regularly attend conferences. You want to be aware of the wider world of your instrument, and you want to see and be seen, so to speak. Before you take auditions for graduate school, you want the primary professors to know you, and you want to know them. It’s not just about competing for a spot in their studios though, it’s also about making sure that you are choosing the school and professor that will be the right fit. As a potential graduate student, you have a better understanding than most incoming undergraduates about what you need from a teacher and can choose accordingly. Perhaps you thrive under a teacher who will really push you each week, or maybe you’re at your best with a teacher who will praise your efforts consistently. A good teacher will adapt to the student, but just like most students have a preferred learning style, professors have preferred teaching styles. You also likely have more focused career goals than undergraduate applicants, and you can and should directly and candidly address these with potential primary professors.

Going through the audition process and choosing a university can be scary and exciting at any level, but when you arrive on campus as a student, it is all worthwhile. 

Questions to ask:

•  Who is the primary professor on my instrument?
•   Will I study with the professor or a graduate student?
• Can I have the contact information for one or more current and/or former students? Or can it be arranged for me to meet with them during my campus visit?
• Can I have a lesson with the professor prior to my on-campus audition?
• Can I observe a lesson with the professor prior to my on-campus audition?
• Can I observe an ensemble rehearsal?
• Can I observe an academic music class?
• What are your recent graduates doing now?