Asliuf :

I’m 17 and a Junior in High School. I’m pretty set on studying music in college. I would like to study Composition, and perhaps eventually Conducting. A list of some of the schools I’m considering:

Mannes
Manhattan
Julliard
Ithaca
Eastman
New England Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
Longy School of Music
UCLA
USC
San Fransicso Conservatory
Peabody
Curtis
Lawrence
U michigan
Clevland Institue of Music
Oberlin
Indiana university
U of I

As a reference to how ‘good’ a musician i am (silly as that sounds…) I’ve attended the Illinois All State convention for french horn, I also qualified for voice. I’ve performed on WFMT, Chicago’s classical radio station on piano. This summer i was accepted to both Interlochen and NHSMI’s composition programs; I will be attending NHSMI for five weeks. I also plan to learn violin this summer. (uber excited about that!)

My questions are very open: I invite anyone who knows anything in particular about the above (or other) music schools to tell me what they know about the composition department, the campus life, or anything at all. Based on my (admittedly brief) resume, are schools like Curtis and Julliard out of my league? what about schools like Oberlin and Lawrence? Are schools like USC, U mich, still good pathways to a successful music career for a composer or conductor, or something else? Which schools offer good merit aid? General Career advice also welcome.

(Disclaimer: Obviously this site isn’t the best source for information, but there seem to be some pretty knowledgeable people who peruse the classical music section. I’m doing other research as much as possible, and I figured I’d give this a try, too.)
radiologic technologist

Thanks so VERY much for reading all this, any advice or knowledge you could impart is appreciated greatly.