The Future: College, Credits, and Confusion (LONG w/ TL;DR)

[SamDeLeonTuba]

Hello everyone. This is my first post on Tubenet (go easy on me), I'm glad to be with you all. My name is Samuel De Leon. I am currently a junior in high school. Given the complexity of my dilemma, I have decided to post all of topics I will discuss in this post consecutively. I have also decided to post it in “The bulk of the musical talk” forum, for I would like to reach out to as many of the best people to assist me in addressing this as possible.

With junior year closing in and senior year drawing closer, decisions will have to be made soon. A while back, I made the decision that I wanted a career in music, geared towards education (I think, I’ll work out the kinks down the road). I want to play tuba in college and into a professional career. Given the fact that I don’t have as much time as I used to, it’s something I need to start thinking about. I think I should be thinking about scholarships, applications, tuition, living expenses, transportation, and the like, but a lot of that is undecided and out of my hands at the moment. Which leads me to some primary concerns regarding what I can think about at this point in time (for the most part): a college tuba and where I’d like to attend. I have amassed a list of potential instrument choices and schools I am interested in, but I feel that the process is much more complicated than that. I’ll need to speak with my family, school counselors, band directors, and school professors before and during any of this actually happens, but I want to get some questions out of the way beforehand, to be somewhat prepared for what lies ahead.

COLLEGE: Some schools I am interested in would be South Texas College (community college, it’s complicated, check the next paragraph), UTRGV, TAMUK, TAMUCC, maybe UTSA, UT, UH, Baylor, and UNT (I previously considered Rice, but soon after became aware of the audition schedule…). I know I will obtain further knowledge about these institutions later on, I’m just providing background knowledge about myself in this topic that can be referenced later.

CREDITS: My school district collaborated with STC to provide high school students with the opportunity to earn associates degrees while still in high school. Freshman year, I enrolled. I have 26 out of 60 credits to date, 19 core, 7 degree, with a 3.48 GPA, pursuing an Associate of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (not much I can do with that right off the bat). I don’t necessarily want to lose these credits, but I’m on the fence about a fresh start. Personal issues have forced me to cease pursuing the degree farther in high school. I’m focusing more on finishing high school right for me, something I should’ve done a long time ago. I have been given counsel by my family to pick up where I left off after high school. I haven’t really spoken to anyone else about it. Will do so later.

INSTRUMENT: I currently use an older, school owned Mirafone 86a, 4v BBb, with a Giddings Alan Baer MMVI mouthpiece. I’m looking to upgrade horn and piece before college and maybe buy a personal setup, almost anywhere from Mack Brass to Eastman, and from Perantucci to Parker. Eastman has recently caught my eye, and I may or may not have found a good deal on one not long ago, so I am tempted. I am aware that different colleges and degrees call for different arrangements when it comes to instruments, so this I will look into further.

To conclude, if you have read up to this point, thank you. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I absolutely had to get this off my chest. I am open to public and private messages pertaining to the topics above for advice, suggestions, and AMMAs, along with general advice. Thank you for your time and patience. Have a blessed day.

TL;DR: Happy to be here. Am high school junior worried about future. Want to do music and tuba in college and life. Need advice about Texas music schools, college credit transfer, and instrument buying. Please help, thank you.

[vespa50sp]

Some generic thoughts from a amateur tuba player and father of a 24 and 27 year old.
* It's great that you have some credits already, it will give you some flexibility in class load and a more choices in what classes you want to take at school.
* If your horn is working, don't sweat any new purchase until you have been accepted by a college and get advice from your new instructors. You might not be picky, but they might. Plus they might have a horn for you to use. Go with the flow.
* Now is the time to pick the schools you really want to go for and what their aid packages are. The advertised price of college is not always what you pay. You might find that a private college that you want to go to is more affordable than a state college. Don't decide until you see all the options. When you're young you can swing for the fences.
* A lot of students switch majors in the first year or two. It would probably be fine to start as a music major and then choose Education or Performance after your first year and you see the lay of the land, or choose another major related to the industry after you get a feel for what's out there.

Good luck.

[vespa50sp]

Some generic thoughts from a amateur tuba player and father of a 24 and 27 year old.
* It's great that you have some credits already, it will give you some flexibility in class load and a more choices in what classes you want to take at school.
* If your horn is working, don't sweat any new purchase until you have been accepted by a college and get advice from your new instructors. You might not be picky, but they might. Plus they might have a horn for you to use. Go with the flow.
* Now is the time to pick the schools you really want to go for and what their aid packages are. The advertised price of college is not always what you pay. You might find that a private college that you want to go to is more affordable than a state college. Don't decide until you see all the options. When you're young you can swing for the fences.
* A lot of students switch majors in the first year or two. It would probably be fine to start as a music major and then choose Education or Performance after your first year and you see the lay of the land, or choose another major related to the industry after you get a feel for what's out there.

Good luck.

[mooggsentry]

I’m finishing up my last semester in university. First off, I would call each school and see if your credits transfer, some schools are weird about that.

If you really want to buy a Tuba for college, look into some C Tubas and get a head start on learning the new fingerings as you are most likely going to have to learn how to play more than just a Bb Tuba.

Lastly, I would look for a Tuba store where you can try before you buy, don’t take anyone’s word for such a large purchase. Each player is different so you have to look at what works well for you.

[sweaty]

Lots of good advice here. With regard to double majoring, I found that just one major was all I could handle. I went to Northwestern starting out in Electrical Engineering. They had an EE and music double major program. I considered it, but switched to the School of Music. Great experience, no regrets, about to retire from teaching music.

[tokuno]

I applaud you for keeping an open mind and seeking ideas and opinions outside of your circle.
Echoing Bloke,
Some very good local musicians who love & devote a lot of time to musical performance have "day jobs" as engineers, medical pros, librarians, etc, that provide them with reasonably balanced, financially comfortable lifestyles, and plenty of nifty instruments, time to play them, and nice cars to drive themselves to gigs. That's in contrast to many of the local music educators whom we've come to know well. The new college grads have zero lifestyle while they pay their dues, many supporting multiple schools, working evenings (concerts, fund raisers, football games) and weekends (parades, tours, shows). Those on the performance/private teaching track are hustling gigs and learning the teaching ropes - studio rentals, scheduling. That's not to say there's not a learning curve for any self-supporting young adult, but we parents find ourselves over-using the words "sacrifice" and "service" when we're talking about the (old & young) music teachers at the various local schools.
I have colleagues (IT professional) whose kids weren't of an academic bent, who are carving out pretty good livings in the trades (welders, plumbers, electricians). Interestingly, they seem to work much more reasonable schedules than their dads (me and my colleagues), who find ourselves attending meetings, managing maintenance activities, or riding herd on outages around the clock, seven days a week (our employer is a global, follow-the-sun corporation).
FWIW (perhaps irrelevant for the music industry), we pay scant attention to applicants' schools when we're interviewing, and I have no idea what schools my colleagues attended. "Brand name" seems to be very important to my childrens' high school peers and their parents, but not at all to the folks paying them once they're in the work force.
Another consideration for you: my two oldest are both Marine musicians. They entered out of high school (but many of their Marine peers completed or at least attended a couple years of college, and it affects their pay and rank, so you could benefit from your college credits), and whether through correspondence during service or Post-911 Bill after enlistment, my kids expect to complete self-paid, loan-free 4- or 6-year degrees (non-music, btw). In other words, you could complete a 4-year enlistment with a degree, no debt, cash savings, and a wealth of experience. Also, the military supplies the instruments If you're interested, call your local Marine recruiter. I think they're the only branch left that routinely accepts high school grads.

[Three Valves]

Unless you have won a decent chair in All County or Regionals down there, I would not contemplate a performance major. A minor?? Sure, why not?

Armed services also have Reserve bands. You could do that for the next 30 years. I wish I did!!

[SamDeLeonTuba]

Some generic thoughts from a amateur tuba player and father of a 24 and 27 year old.
* It's great that you have some credits already, it will give you some flexibility in class load and a more choices in what classes you want to take at school.
* If your horn is working, don't sweat any new purchase until you have been accepted by a college and get advice from your new instructors. You might not be picky, but they might. Plus they might have a horn for you to use. Go with the flow.
* Now is the time to pick the schools you really want to go for and what their aid packages are. The advertised price of college is not always what you pay. You might find that a private college that you want to go to is more affordable than a state college. Don't decide until you see all the options. When you're young you can swing for the fences.
* A lot of students switch majors in the first year or two. It would probably be fine to start as a music major and then choose Education or Performance after your first year and you see the lay of the land, or choose another major related to the industry after you get a feel for what's out there.

Good luck.

If these thoughts are generic, I can imagine you are a wise, intelligent individual. Your advice is down to earth and easy to understand. I will take note of this. Thank you!

[Matt G]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tuba/comments/ ... ame=iossmf" target="_blank

Not sure if the same OP, but some reasonable responses to a similar question on Reddit.

It’s good to see young people being a little more critical about this decision.