Western Connecticut State University

Date: Dec 15 2014
Major: Music - Performance (This Major's Salary over time)
Looking through the comments by others I noticed the lack of music students rating, so I figured I would lay down the day to day life of a commuter music student. To start, this was my second year as a college student previously attending college in Manhattan. My freshman year there was pretty awesome and the kids were extremely friendly and fun to be with. I moved to WCSU switching my major to music and media production with hopes of filling the gaps in my education process. I was not familiar with either campus living near the new Milford area. Westside is the main campus for art students and so forth music. The visual arts building is flashy and has great resources such as practice rooms and Well sound proof rooms. The only problem is the people inside this building make you question Why this ammount of money was spent on such undeserving people. When transferring to a new school you're, or at least my goal was to stay quiet and get involved and meet cool music kids to jam with and live the kind of student life those at Berkeley in Boston would find plausible. Jazz is a huge influence on this school, as Well as classical. If you are somwewhat into or are not remotely interested in the style do not attend this school. I favor rock and metal as Well as some classic music being a violin minor and bass guitar major. The teachers tend to frown and insult other music genre's other than the school standards, which at times makes you feel like you and your professors don't connect, which leads to boring classes, and a semester to trudge through. The student themselves I felt were very close minded. Many of them had already formed social groups way before the semester came to a running start which made it difficult to even try to meet people. Rather than practice or help one another it seemed as though students would just pass by each other in the halls exchanging glances like you would seeing a stranger for the first time, and you get used to it fast. Each student seems to be Well versed in their instrument, which at times makes you feel overwhelmed when you are not actively practicing. I think this is because the aura in the department is so competitive. The music staff does not seem to care about the students personally, and most give off a vibe that would give you the impression they want to just leave the classroom and have a mental breakdown. This department does a really good job at making you feel like your the only student falling behind or not having the college experience, and at times I actually had professors ask me why I was anti social. Keep in mind that I am a commuter and do not know how the campus life of westside is. When you submit assignments, there is no mercy when you hand them in even a few hours late. I had some professors that would not even except assignments from me late when I was abcent or requested half credit for being a day late. If you work a full time job as Well as attending wscu, don't expect to have a social life at the school. Many of the students in the music department commute and Also have jobs, which means when they are not working or having class students are practicing alone rather than hanging out. The practice rooms are wonderful, but lack the ability to do much. There seems to be plenty of rooms but when students with electrical instruments need to practice they become limited to only about 3 rooms of the 24 with amps, and most of the time these are being used by kids not even using the equipment. the surrounding town life is not worth exploring if you commute, but if you are out of state you will find the limited campus city area to be lacking entsrtainment aside from a city mall and movie theater. There are some Plus sides to the westside campus if you are coming for a music degree. There is a guitar center within minutes of the school with wonderful staff that offers student discounted lessons for finals and midterm weeks where they will help you get extra help on a piece or something. The security is Also pretty decent. Danbury cops are never out of sight it seems, and wcsu has bought some police cars to up the security of it's own community. The school confused me on transferring transcripts as they did not take 10 of my past credits just because they were not part of their class content, and could not give me 10 in electives. This made me extremely upset given that ten credits is nearly a semester of it's own. Overall, wscu is not a school I would recommend to anyone. There is no social lfe, and if there is, it is not in sight of commuters. If you want entertainment follow what most of the reviews suggested and get involved, because campus life is your entertainment. If you are a student who struggles with music fundamentals, do not even bother filling out the application Unless you plan to teach yourself, because no professors at this school will want to help you willingly.