i'm also going through the grad-school-applying phase right now, and i go back and forth between feeling fine and feeling like i'm not aiming high enough due to the fact that, as of this point, i'm only applying to one school: Northern Illinois University.
i'm not applying to eastman, julliard, NEC, manhattan, northwestern, CIM, San Francisco, USC, Boston Con, Rutgers, or any other "prestegious" school. why? because i don't want to focus on orchestral percussion/music in my graduate studies, i want to focus on jazz and world/more popular music (as well as some contemporary music), as opposed to orchestral. that doesn't mean i don't want to play classical anymore, i very much do, but i know that in order to really get good at jazz (and related musics), i'm going to have to spend a shit ton of time on that, which will leave not too much room for orchestral percussion. i still want the opportunity to play in orchestras and bands, but i don't want my curriculum to be decided for me before i even arrive (that curriculum being the same 10 orchestral percussion excerpts over and over again).
so i guess i figured, why apply to these big-name conservatories when i don't want to go into orchestral music? now, i should say that i don't want a jazz degree because 1) i'm not good enough to be accepted into even a bachelor's program in jazz studies, and 2) i don't want to do that exclusively (just mostly), i still want to play other types of music.
northern illinois university seems to one of the few places that i will really be able to do what i want, while still being Far Enough Away From California and Near Enough To A Big City (Chicago). but i sometimes have guilt trips for not applying to these prestegious schools, and i start to second-guess not applying to them... but then i think about how limited i think i'd feel if i were to go there....... and thus i go back and forth.
and then i wonder, should i want to be going to these big name conservatories? should i go with what looks good as opposed to what feels right? i usually pick the "what-feels-right" option, but still.... i sometimes wonder.
eh, i guess there's always a doctorate for all that, should i choose to go and get one. *shrug* if nothing else, i've missed some applications deadlines already.
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i'm not applying to eastman, julliard, NEC, manhattan, northwestern, CIM, San Francisco, USC, Boston Con, Rutgers, or any other "prestegious" school. why? because i don't want to focus on orchestral percussion/music in my graduate studies, i want to focus on jazz and world/more popular music (as well as some contemporary music), as opposed to orchestral. that doesn't mean i don't want to play classical anymore, i very much do, but i know that in order to really get good at jazz (and related musics), i'm going to have to spend a shit ton of time on that, which will leave not too much room for orchestral percussion. i still want the opportunity to play in orchestras and bands, but i don't want my curriculum to be decided for me before i even arrive (that curriculum being the same 10 orchestral percussion excerpts over and over again).
so i guess i figured, why apply to these big-name conservatories when i don't want to go into orchestral music? now, i should say that i don't want a jazz degree because 1) i'm not good enough to be accepted into even a bachelor's program in jazz studies, and 2) i don't want to do that exclusively (just mostly), i still want to play other types of music.
northern illinois university seems to one of the few places that i will really be able to do what i want, while still being Far Enough Away From California and Near Enough To A Big City (Chicago). but i sometimes have guilt trips for not applying to these prestegious schools, and i start to second-guess not applying to them... but then i think about how limited i think i'd feel if i were to go there....... and thus i go back and forth.
and then i wonder, should i want to be going to these big name conservatories? should i go with what looks good as opposed to what feels right? i usually pick the "what-feels-right" option, but still.... i sometimes wonder.
eh, i guess there's always a doctorate for all that, should i choose to go and get one. *shrug* if nothing else, i've missed some applications deadlines already.