Take a look at this article – Planning to Visit Music Schools – and the other articles mentioned in it. To tailor this information to your needs and interests, we also offer fee-based consulting to students and families. If interested: contactmajoringinmusic@gmail.com.

Hi, Saige. I would recommend checking out Carnegie Mellon School of Music in Pittsburgh. My daughter is a voice major there and she is very happy. The school is difficult to get into and it’s not cheap. However, they are pretty good about aid to students and the school has an excellent program for young musicians.

As to the conservatory vs. liberal arts university debate: I believe that a university is a better choice. Given how competitive the industry is, you have to be prepared to support yourself through other ways besides your art. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make a living, it just means that you need to eat while you’re building your career. Also, make sure that whatever school you choose offers business of music and marketing classes. I know that CMU offers these classes to their undergrads. I wish I had been offered a business of music class when I was an undergrad at University of the Arts.

Good luck to you.

So much depends on what you’re passionate about, what you think you want to do when you graduate, how much you want to just focus on music. There is no definitive answer to your question – we suggest you start by looking at your personal criteria and get support in clarifying what would be the best route at this time to consider pursuing. There are schools where you can study popular music/songwriting as your focus, with learning the ropes of working in the industry as part of it. Check out our popular music articles to learn more.