Western Michigan University

Date: Jul 22 2004
Major: Perfomance Arts (This Major's Salary over time)
As can be expected with a school boasting over 30,000 students, you'll find plenty of people who either love or hate WMU. I personally love the school, and have more good things than bad to say about it. I'm heavily involved with theatre and music (both vocal and instrumental) so i've experienced first-hand a lot of what Western has to offer for the performing arts. For those who live in Michigan (which doesn't include me) it's no secret that WMU has some great arts programs, but on a national level this school is highly unnoticed. We have the number 1 vocal jazz program in the country, with Gold Company I & II, which are yet again, the top in the nation for vocal jazz. Our theatre program is very competitive (sometimes cut-throat though..) and the classical vocal program is also amazing. The big choir professor in the music department, Dr. Joe Miller, is an amazing man and anyone serious about voice would be wise to consider studying with him. The instrumental program is very good, but nothing i'd call the presses about. All-in-all, if you're looking for a school close by with good performing arts programs, Western is a great great place to look. Just prepare well and be ready to put yourself up against thousands of other dedicated students..

(Socially, Western is also known as being a party school. to that i say 'with 30,000 students how could it not be?' my personal credo is 'study hard, play even harder' so this atmosphere is great for me. if you want to party, it's there, if not, you won't even notice.)