The University of Massachusetts - Lowell

Date: Jan 20 2006
Major: Music Education (This Major's Salary over time)
I came to Umass Lowell with the intentions of becoming a music teacher. I think that first week I practiced piano 5 hours a day because I was worried about competition. Soon enough I realized so few of the students actually care about being good musicians, that there is no competitiveness at all. This school turned me off from music education because it depressed me. There was little to no real challange other than what I could create myself. Some of the faculty are excellent, especially the piano faculty (Bonnie Anderson, Thomas Stumph, and the amazing Tony Mele) Walter Platt, and Dan Lutz. That the school has. What it doesnt have is jazz. There are maybe like 15 serious jazz musicians at UML, so if thats your thing, run away. If you are into sound recording, its probably one of the best educations you can recieve, but all the other music programs get the shaft. Also the administrative system is run horribly, with huge mistakes (3 incompletes in the place of A's on my last semester's grades) being the norm. Also the social life is horrible because so many people commute, and those who do live on campus leave. I am a commuter, and I definately spend more time on campus then half the people who live there. If you are a single straight male run away. I have some friends who love Umass Lowell, but for me, no matter how little it costs I would recommend you seek education elsewhere, because there is just no challange (no matter how much you try to create it yourself) at UML. I am in the process of transferring to Berklee for the fall of '06.