The St Mary's College of Maryland

Date: Jul 29 2007
Major: Music - Performance (This Major's Salary over time)
Overall, I had a positive experience at St. Mary's. The college itself is wonderfully tailored for the liberal arts experience and for a student such as myself who had several interests outside of my degree, this was really a great place to foster those interests. However, I think the actual structure of my degree program (Music) needs to be reevaluated, at least from where it was when I was attending. I felt that the two senior members of the faculty were too distracted with outside commitments and public relations to be effective educators and leaders. I also felt that within my focused instrument there were too many changes in the faculty. I was fortunate to be able to stay with my private lesson instructor into my senior year after she had left the college. I do not know if this was the case for other students in my instrument. SMCM has a difficult time maintaining a quality faculty within its music department and I believe that this is to the detriment of the students. Without consistency in lessons and in ensembles, learning can become jumbled and unproductive. My bright spot was again my private lesson instructor who really solidified my decision to stay a part of the music program and not become an English major. I hope that SMCM has sought out these weaknesses in its department since my time there. I do not wish away my time at SMCM - I perhaps wish my time with the music department had been more productive.