University or Conservatory

For the past few months now I have been writing college essay’s and filling out countless applications. I have visited seven schools since my last blog post and am more confused than ever about where I want to go to college. My main struggle now is do I want to attend a traditional university or do I want the conservatory life?

Universities play to the part of me that likes big and flashy. I’ve now visited Northwestern, DePaul University, Oberlin College, and Temple University. They were all magnificent and they all had so much to offer. All four were either in a city or right next door. They all had great Libraries with every book you could ever need or want. And they all offer academic classes that would challenge and excel me intellectually. And I think THAT is what I want in college!!

Most of the Universities, however, seemed to have many distractions. There would always be more parties at a University. There would be sports functions tempting me away from the practice rooms. And did I mention that generally Universities do not have many of those?

Conservatories, on the other hand, entice the musician in me. When I enter any conservatory I can feel the energy and focus surging through the building. As my Dad said during our visit to Cleveland Institute of Music, “You can tell that the business of music is happening in this building.” It’s invigorating for someone like me who would be happy to just practice cello until they die. Conservatories have so much to offer in the way of music. One amazing bonus to a conservatory is the vast number of concerts held weekly. Someone will always be giving a recital, there will be many visiting artists, and there are more orchestra concerts than you can keep up with. As a conservatory student you ingest so much music you get sick!   And I think THAT is what I want in college!

There is my problem. There are parts of both that I love. I am not asking for you to tell me what to do, because in the end I will have to do what I feel is best for me. But I would love to know if there are other pros and cons that you think should be brought up. ALSO, there is a poll on the side of my page. So, let me know!