Going to College in America

Posted on

Bohemian
Member Since: May 04, 2003

Hey all

Me and a Friend of mine ( ricardo ) are now at
a music school here in holland.
We are able to go to the Conservatory here in holland for 4 years and be done with it... BUT

when Performing at our school, someone mentioned we should try to get to a Music College in America
( Berklee College of Music in Boston)
www.berklee.edu/

Now we really want to go there Because we think that the level of Music Knowledge is higher in America and it should really be a Kickass time in there! :D But we Both don't have any Idea what College is like in America
we have a totally different system here in Holland

we Only go to a "college" we call it Highschool for 4 years, How long does it Take in America?
As I've seen from Movies, or reading, there's like some kind of dormitory where you have roommates and stuff which is really cool. We just live close to school.

I was just wondering IF anyone could fill me in on how your experiences with college were
or if someone could explain the thing's like

Bachelor degrees, master degrees Etc
Major Minor ( not the chords, but as classes or something ;) )

Cause we don't have that in Holland
you just have a MAIN thing that you do (example: Singing. and you can do a "side study" in Piano )

ahh Well
hope to hear some of your college life experiences

Greetz,
Presley

[ Back to Top ]


Dub head
Member
Since: May 03, 2004


Oct 05, 2004 11:27 am

Most colleges in America are like this.

You attend after highschool (at about 18yrs of age). Most colleges and universities have academic programs that are 4 years long to receive a bachelors degree in whatever the specified field is. Most students live on campus in dorms thier first year or two then end up moving to an apartment or house close to campus (this varies on the school). Colleges and Univeristies all vary depending on size and location. For example, I went to University at Buffalo (New York), there were about 25,000 students that attended when I did. We had 2 large campuses and lots of dorms and non-campus housing. It was located just outside the city of Buffalo and in the suburbs. On the other hand, I have a friend that attended Berklee in Boston, MA. The campus is in a city so you're not really isolated as much and more involved in city life (very nice). He lived in an apartment 20 minutes away and took the subway(train) to classes everyday. Its a smaller school and much different that my experience. It all varies you see.. but it is all very well worth it. I suggest not looking at where you'll be living but the program you want to study. Look for the best program possible and try to get into it. After all, the main goal of attenting college (and surving it) is to educate yourself. Everything else in college should be considerd secondary in the scheme of things. Goodluck! -Al

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Oct 05, 2004 12:50 pm

So, I agree with just about everything Albert said. Just to add, a major is your emphasis of study. For instance, I majored in business administration. A minor is like a secondary emphasis (not everybody chooses to pursue a minor). Bachelors degree is equivalent to 4 years of full time school, but sometimes it takes people longer. My sister is taking about 6 -6.5 years to get her bachelors degree. A masters is what is called a graduates degree. You have to go to school for another 2-3 years to get a masters. During a masters degree program, you usually have a more focused curriculum.

In my experience, dorms are cool for people of the same age group (usually 18 years old) starting out with college. But you don't want to be a 21 or 22 year old dealing with a bunch of 18 year olds. That would be extremely annoying for me.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Oct 05, 2004 01:02 pm

yes that's true, what albert says.

i went to kent state in ohio and lived in a dorm my first two years. this is actually a really fun thing to do if you find a good dorm at a good school. our dorm was co-ed. there was always something going on. i spent late nights wandering around talking to people. there were hyjinx galore. boredom was not something you had to deal with in the dorm.

in american colleges, the progression of degrees goes like this:

Associate's degree or AA (usually get these at small community colleges in about 2 years. this is totally optional and it cuts your BA at a larger school in half, time-wise. some people do this for money reasons or convenience)

Bachelors or BA degree (usually takes 4 years, took me 5 and a half because of dropped classes)

Master of Arts degree or MA (took me a year and a half--you already have your core classes done from your BA. now it's program-specific.)

Masters of Fine Arts or MFA (same thing as MA but a little better. in some fields it's difficult to teach at university level without one.)

and finally, PhD, med school, and all the higher advanced degrees, which can take years. not sure how any of this works.

for your bachelor's degree program you choose a major program of study. this is what your degree will be "in." you can also choose a minor, but depending on the school, this may be optional. a minor just basically lets you say that 'oh yeah, as a bonus i also have skill in this other area.'

for advanced degrees beyond BA's you don't choose a minor.

the bachelor's degree has a core group of basic-type classes (like english composition 101, several classes of a foreign language, and things of that nature, depending on the school and your major) which you must complete, in addition to the core classes that you need for your major. these prerequisites can take up a lot of credit hours, and it's partly what lets people study as 'undecideds' for several semesters. they don't know what they want to major in, but they have all these classes they have to do anyway, so they just do those for the time being.



Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 09, 2004 02:18 pm

That is sweet Presley, Berklee is one of the best choices in America for sure. And I guess I dont have anything further to add as its mostly been covered by the others. But for sure keep us posted as to what you are going to do.

You will have to make a stop in Minnessota to see dB and myself on your way to Cali.

Related Forum Topics:



If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.