As a newly graduated high school student, I will be attending the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in August. Getting to the point where I chose Crane was a much more difficult process, as I was accepted at three very prominent institutions. I applied and auditioned at SUNY Fredonia, ranked 9th in the nation for Music Education, the Crane School of Music, ranked 4th and the legendary Ithaca College, ranked 3rd. Not only were these colleges relatively close, they were the three colleges in New York with fantastic programs. I'm here to help those students who are trying to make their decision by explaining why I picked Crane as my future home over the other two schools.
1. Cost
For most people, cost is an important part of deciding on a college, and it certainly should be! If you are paying for a degree, you want to get the best for the least amount of money. With Ithaca College, cost was a problem. If you compare the costs all around (just tuition, room and board anually), Ithaca came to be $56,766. Since Ithaca is a private school, the cost is to be expected. SUNY Fredonia came in as second highest with a cost of around $20,820, which can be found by multiplying the semester total by two. Crane came in with the lowest cost of $17,890. My parents, though not rich, were not as concerned with the price, but it was a factor that came into play when making final decisions about where I wanted to go.
2. Flexibility of the Music Program
If you are a musician like me, you may play an instrument and sing. For me, it was important that whatever program I was in allowed me to either have a double concentration in band and chorus or they had to allow me to switch in some way if I ever changed my mind as to which I wanted to focus on. At Crane, there is already a double concentration, and it is relatively easy to get into. They are extremely flexible for their students and know that music is a passion which exceeds just one focus. SUNY Fredonia also allows students to do something similar, although it is not an official double concentration and it is harder to get into. Ithaca College is very inflexible compared to the other two. Every time I asked a professor if a double concentration was possible, they simply said that, "You learn some instruments in your curriculum and you get the certification to teach band when you graduate." For someone who is equally passionate about both, I found this very shocking, especially since Ithaca College was my dream school. What if a student no longer wants to be prepared to teach chorus and instead wants to teach band? You already learned some instruments and you get the certification anyway, so you are fine. just keep doing what you do not want to do anymore!
3. Lesson Time
You may not get why "lesson time" is a reason to choose one school or another, but the difference between a half-hour lesson and an hour lesson is staggering. In speaking to recently graduated Ithaca students, they said it was really important to get those hour lessons as it gives you more time to really focus on technique. And yet, if you are only a Music Education major at Ithaca, you are only given a half-hour lesson. At both SUNY Fredonia and Crane, the lessons are ALL one hour, regardless of major.
4. The Professors and Students:
Though some people thrive on a competitive music program, I do not. The Crane School of Music has very competitive programs, but the atmosphere is that of friendship and helping each other. The students all say they love Crane and SUNY Potsdam, and I find that especially heartwarming. Similarly, the professors are both kind and forthcoming. I had an excellent opportunity to sit in on a graduate rehearsal with Dr. Deborah Massell (pictured above). She was very willing to explain each piece to me and even asked what I heard a few times. The graduate student was extremely nice to allow us to sit in on the rehearsal and she offered excellent advice about the school and studio professors. All in all, I met the most happy, kind people at the Crane School of Music, and I am so excited to join their ranks.
Stay tuned for next week's part two!
