I studied music as a private university from '08 to '11. For reference I finished high school in '07, I went to a pretty low SES school in a smallish town about an hour away from my states capital. Right now I'm three years into an education degree at a public university.
1. For the most part it was alright. The tutors were decent (they got better), and my classmates were really good people. Although I started the first year the campus opened, and you could tell everything was new. Which was kind of good because all the rooms and equipment were brand new and booking rehearsal and one-on-one time was really easy. But it was bad because none of the admin staff had any idea what to do, we didn't get wi-fi until the start of my third year, there was no Blackboard or Moodle system until third year and everything was kind of shaky. Actually, the whole place was kind of shaky, regardless of how new it was. The institution itself had been around since the 80s, yet there were still spelling mistakes on the assignment task sheets, and any issue with had took ages to get worked out. Rough around the edges is one of the ways we talked about it. Which didn't really bother me that much, but considering the cost of it, maybe it should have. An average 4 year degree in Australia is $12k to $18k, this one cost me $55k. I got it on a loan scheme so I'll probably be paying it off for the rest of my days.
The course itself was fine. It was super hands on which is important for a creative degree. Over the four years I was there I played in like 15 bands, recorded a 4 track EP and two singles, made a music video clip, played a bunch of gigs (a couple at my cities really really big venues), and made a load of contacts. This is what made the course worth it for me. Having said that, I'm fairly certain this stuff gets done in most of the other music programs in my city. For many thousands of dollars less.
I went back there last year to help a friend with a recital and I feel like it's got way worse. They are doing trimesters and allowing for late entry, meaning there are 3 cohorts a years, all out of sync with one another. This means that it's almost impossible to get extra rehearsal time and the place is so god damn crowded (it's a small building with six different faculties). And because it's trimesters everything is done so fast. A four year degree takes two and a half years. I don't know how much content you can learn if you're going that fast.
Finally, I could rant about private education for years, but I don't have the time. Another day, maybe. Basically, I'm not a fan. This institution definitely cared more about marketing and it's "image" than it did it's academic ability. And that is just pretty wrong.
2. My public university is 1000x times bigger. There were definitely more people in my intro to education lecture than there were in the whole campus where I did music. It's a lot more organised and overall just way better. I can't really say if that's because my public uni has existed for longer or not, but my university now is infinitely better than my old one.
3. They don't offer a grad program but even if they did I wouldn't enroll. I'm hesitant to recommend the undergrad program.
Good thread, OP.
