… college—and especially music school—isn’t a job training program. It’s an intellectual and educational foundation upon which you can build the rest of your life.

There’s a tinge of orange on the leaves outside my window here in Michigan—fall is officially upon us. But in my household, with a class of 2027 senior, we’re entering a different season: college application season.

If you’ve been through the college process yourself or with a student or child, then you know rhythm of this season well. It starts with pre-season training junior year—college tours, program research, and trial lessons. Applications, pre-screens, and essay writing start in earnest as senior year begins. Auditions fill the winter months and decisions roll out in the spring. It can start to feel like more of a long slog, so much so that my own senior recently wondered out loud, Why am I even doing this?

It’s a fair question to ask, and as the cost of attendance at some U.S. universities crosses into six figures, it’s becoming a critical question to ask. Each student’s why is unique to them. There are countless good reasons to go to college. There are also a few terrible reasons to go to college. I don’t presume to know your why, but I can tell you three whys that should not be on your list:

Don’t go to college because you think it’s your ticket to landing a job. This seems counter-intuitive because many jobs require a college degree, and the college-to-professional pipeline is a track so many people follow. But college—and especially music school—isn’t a job training program. It’s an intellectual and educational foundation upon which you can build the rest of your life. Do you really need to know how to identify a German augmented sixth chord to get hired for a gig? I sure hope not! But I think most professional harpists will tell you that having a grounding in music theory, history, and performance practice makes them better musicians, and better musicians get hired for jobs.

Don’t go to college because you think you’ll learn everything you need to know for your career. College will teach you a lot, but it won’t teach you everything. No college degree can guarantee you receive the comprehensive skill set being a professional musician requires. Just ask Katherine Siochi. In her feature article in this issue, the San Francisco Symphony principal harp describes 10 essential skills for her career, none of which she learned in college, despite the Juilliard alum being the first to point out that she received a superb education. I don’t think there is a school in the world that could boast that their degree recipients have nothing left to learn. But if you treat college like a transactional proposition—I pay you tuition, you give me everything I need to know—then you are missing the point almost entirely. A college education should teach you how to think critically about the world around you, and challenge you to grow. If you continue on that path after you graduate and enter the real world, you’ll be set up for a successful career.

Don’t go to college because you think it will make someone else happy. If you are going to music school because you think it’s what your parents want or what your teacher expects, you’re going to have a rough time. College is long, expensive, and hard. Go because it’s your dream, not someone else’s.

As you’re pondering your why, look for some inspiration in our Higher Ed Harp Directory (and Collegiate Advice). With details about over 140 harp programs and nuggets of wisdom found in music school, there are bound to be a few colleges to get you excited. And I’d bet every single one of them will teach you what a German augmented sixth chord is.