Musicians Institute

Date: Apr 23 2008
Major: Music - Performance (This Major's Salary over time)
If you take a look at the reviews, they are all over the place. That is because everyone has a different experience when they come to any school. First off, I was a bit older than most of the students when I came there, so I was able to understand their actions, emotions, and words moreso than if I were 20 or so, like most of the students. I was still in the "age range" to be able to relate to the "kids," and I had already completed a Bachelor's at a major university before I attended. One more thing is that I had been playing for many years, and just wanted to learn what I could from whomever I could while I was there, which is definitely the way to approach MI. If you feel that the students and faculty will help you find your direction while you are there, you are mistaken. You will not receive any sort of assistance from the students, faculty, or department heads, really, even if you ask for it, so you're 100 percent on your own at this school. This was not my experience at the university I attended; there, the students were basically coddled, but, then again, it's where a ton of celebrities and politicians' kids attend, so you could imagine the difference (at MI, I didn't get the impression that anyone was from that kind of background, even if they were). Also, perhaps black students should know that they aren't treated very well at this place; if you go into the bathroom, you will see Nazi swastikas and "Skrewdriver" written on the bathroom walls, and if you don't know that band, they are the flagship heavy metal band of the KKK and the National Skinhead Movement. I was familiar with it because I grew up in an all-Irish area and all the kids loved the band. This was in grade school, meaning that you can now tell what the mental capacity of most of the students is. That is not to say that there aren't some great folks there, but I'd say most of them are older teachers (the student population is not the best, musically, but if you are any good, you will meet those who are "better than most" in the student body right away). If you want to learn jazz, you can, but I'd say the school is more steeped in the hard rock and metal ethos, which is very limiting for players who may want to study other kinds of music, like jazz, blues, country, and other genres. All in all, MI is definitely not a "conservatory," but you can learn a great deal that you never thought you would in a short amount of time, so the trade off might be expensive but it is probably worth it. Final coda: I went to a Renaissance Faire, wearing the MI shirt, and a total stranger saw it and said "good investment." I thought he was talking about the beer in my hand but, alas, that wasn't what he was referring to. One thing: there isn't any "social life" to speak of. Go to an actual university for that, I guess, because I was unable to really forge out any relationships with anyone at all, dating or otherwise. That was unfortunate, because that wasn't my experience at the university, and the student body is diverse enough that there is something for everyone. However, I wouldn't come to MI expecting to find a girlfriend, that's for sure, even though, during the orientation, one of the speakers will tell you about meeting his wife there. Also, during the orientation, someone was asking about what happens if the students are "arrested," so that should also say something significant (this person, I learned later, was in my program and was in and out of jail the whole time, missing most of the term).