Let the "Welcome Back" parade begin because after a huge amount of time, I have finally returned to my blog - and I couldn't be more excited. After my eighteen month hiatus, I've come to the realization that I want to go to graduate school in the future - the very near future. I used to think that I wanted to go to school for Sacred Music and Music Theory, but those plans have changed and I now want to go for Sacred Music and Musicology. I love the musicological world and everything that this incredible subject deals with, especially music history. The best school where I could get an education for these two subjects and not be too far away from home is, without a doubt, The Florida State University. This past week, I had the incredible opportunity to visit FSU and fell in love with the campus, the programs, and, most importantly, the professors.
My mother and I arrived in Tallahassee on Thursday morning at around 10:15 and started exploring the city and the college after getting checked into our hotel and settling in. We started out with getting an early lunch at one of the most intriguing restaurants I've ever been to. We had some great food and loved the atmosphere that the restaurant and city (so far!) had to offer. After eating, we started to head over to the university and drove around the campus since it was about 90 degrees with 50% humidity. We loved what we saw of the main campus and some of the pictures of that can be found below.
After driving around, we went to the FSU History Museum that told about the history of the university when it was first founded in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The museum was located in an old library and was astoundingly beautiful. Pictures of this can be seen below.
After this, we walked around in the music building where most of the academic faculty have their offices. And before you ask - yes, they have more than one music building. The College of Music is split up between five different buildings and they share some of those with other departments and schools of the university. The building we walked around was the Longmire Building and, even though it was old, it was extremely well-maintained. It's obvious that the staff of the school do a wonderful job of making sure that their buildings are well-kept, even in the middle of summer! Here are a few pictures of the Longmire Building:
Luckily, there seems to be a nice music store in town, so that's definitely a plus!
After this, I had a private meeting with Dr. Douglass Seaton, the Warren D. Allen Professor of Music in the College of Music. Dr. Seaton is a Professor of Musicology and one of his interests includes Mendelssohn. He talked with me about everything from admissions, to what the school had to offer, and even what other schools I should consider for my future. Meeting with him definitely solidified my reasoning of why I want to go to FSU, which is because I want somewhere extremely similar to Appalachian State in terms of not being too competitive and everyone encouraging you to reach your goals and go even further with your studies. After my meeting with him, he offered to take my mom and I on a personal tour of the music school and show off what the school had to offer. Here are a few photos from the tour:
After this, I had a private meeting with Dr. Douglass Seaton, the Warren D. Allen Professor of Music in the College of Music. Dr. Seaton is a Professor of Musicology and one of his interests includes Mendelssohn. He talked with me about everything from admissions, to what the school had to offer, and even what other schools I should consider for my future. Meeting with him definitely solidified my reasoning of why I want to go to FSU, which is because I want somewhere extremely similar to Appalachian State in terms of not being too competitive and everyone encouraging you to reach your goals and go even further with your studies. After my meeting with him, he offered to take my mom and I on a personal tour of the music school and show off what the school had to offer. Here are a few photos from the tour:
One of the most amazing parts of the school of music was their music library. They had a huge collection of books and the library was so well organized and clean. It was two floors and absolutely massive. Here are some photos of the second floor of the library:
After we were done touring the library, my mom and I went back outside to look around a little more of the campus. We found the main library and it was massive and had at least five floors. Here are more pictures of the rest of campus:
Besides Florida State being amazing, Tallahassee had some great things to offer, as well! Here are some photos of a local park, some of our meals, and the view from our hotel room:
All in all, the trip was absolutely amazing. I had a wonderful time touring FSU and getting to know the programs a little bit more. Here are some final thoughts:
PROS - Probably about 95% of my experience. It was amazing and I had barely any complaints.
CONS - The buildings were older, but well taken care of. Besides that, it was HOT, but it is Florida in the middle of summer. I could get used to it, I guess! (If you have any questions, don't be afraid to contact me in the "Contact" tab above or by commenting on this post below!)
After this trip, I can, without a doubt, say that Florida State is my top choice for graduate school and I couldn't be more excited to be a (hopeful!) future Seminole.
PROS - Probably about 95% of my experience. It was amazing and I had barely any complaints.
CONS - The buildings were older, but well taken care of. Besides that, it was HOT, but it is Florida in the middle of summer. I could get used to it, I guess! (If you have any questions, don't be afraid to contact me in the "Contact" tab above or by commenting on this post below!)
After this trip, I can, without a doubt, say that Florida State is my top choice for graduate school and I couldn't be more excited to be a (hopeful!) future Seminole.