College

[MrIndigo]

Well both coolking and I are 1 year ahead for our age so w/e

I am interested in Biology. My plans are that I'll do a general biology major in Uni and then go on and do an Md-PhD course or just a PhD and then work in a research lab of sorts. But then again, I enjoy Economics so I am looking into Bio-Economics also, though our school is a shit-hole and so we can only choose one from Biology and Economics, since I prefer Biology over Economics, I'll pick Biology. I'll be doing - Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Math/English in 11th Grade [Junior year iirc]
So yeah they're quite the standard subjects. I'll probably take up Economics in University for a term or something.

Could you not do a combined degree? BEcon BSc? That said, most degrees have free space, so you can probably do core units of bio and use your spares for economics etc.

I also have an avid interest in music. I want to maybe take up a few courses in relation to music in University. Lets see how that goes, this may be easy for me to do since I can play a lot of instruments and sing. Aside from that, I also play sports, I play football [soccer] and I play basketball (though I'm absolutely crap). I'm not going to focus on sports too much, but I'll try my hand at it again, nothing too seriously.

As far as I'm aware, most universities don't allow you to dabble in music as part of the degree; you need to actually be doing a music degree to do so. I would instead recommend looking into the clubs, societies, and bands. Universities frequently have Jazz Clubs, Musical Societies, choirs, and so forth. A friend of mine who did his Science degree with me has since gone to Oxford for his PhD, and joined an A Capella group called "Out of the Blue", featured recently on Britain's Got Talent.

Most universities also have revue programs, where musicians and singers are often required. At USyd, each faculty plus the Queer Society and Women's Society run their own revue.

 

[Myzozoa]

Your music may not be part of your degree, but if you're looking to do it recreationally thats easy. You can still take a few music classes, like music theory 1 and 2, and things like electronic music (if they offer it). They won't let you into some of the classes, because if you aren't practicing 4 hours a day you won't be good enough to play with those classes, theyre reserved for music performance and music education majors (which has a high element of performance).

 

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

Many schools offer a minor in music. The grades can be an issue, though. Many music classes grade you on what basically amounts to talent. Ear training classes will require you to do things like listen to a piano chorale and copy down what you just heard. The difficulty is designed to challenge the most talented students enough that they will still have to practice. For a dabbler, this can make these classes brutally hard, unless you have perfect pitch or at least perfect relative pitch (which, despite what many high schoolers like to brag, almost nobody does).

What you should definitely be able to do, though, is just sign up for a couple of classes that interest you. Taking a few musicology or music theory courses can have a drastic effect on how much you enjoy playing and listening to music. The ability to analyze the chord progression as you listen makes even Top 40 music much more pleasant to hear. You should be able to sign up for these courses just like any other class. Usually only performance ensembles and private lessons require specific placement through the music program itself.

 

[Lanturn314]

JHU actually offers a dual degree program between the school of Arts and Sciences and Peabody Conservatory (a music school affiliated with Hopkins). You can major in anything you want in Arts and Sciences and also have a major in the music school, but you have to audition to get in, and it's really competitive. I actually got rejected from Peabody (you have to be admitted to both places to get the dual degree), though I still take piano lessons there (not for credit, though). Even if you don't do dual degree, though, you can still take classes over at Peabody and music lessons for credit, and it will count towards distribution credits you might need to graduate.
There are also various music ensembles both at Peabody and at Hopkins that you can join, though the ones at Hopkins itself kinda suck because all the serious kids go to Peabody. Peabody ones are all audition-only, whereas anyone can get into the Hopkins ones if they go to Hopkins.

Also, we're awesome at biology (research at Hopkins Med School, anyone?), and I think our econ program is pretty good, though not as high-ranked as some of the other programs here.

 

[Burn Jack]

Jesus shit aren't you guys like 15?? That's insane; i didn't fully decide what i wanted to do at uni 'till like the year before. B)

I didn't decide until I'd already accepted a place for a different subject, so I'd say you're doing pretty well if you've got it all sorted out a year in advance.