MADLab research on arts students and the transition to college has shown that high school arts students are more likely to apply to college than their non-arts peers and that there appears to be no college admissions “penalty” to devoting time during high school to pursuing music and arts coursework in place of doubling up on subjects in the other academic areas.

This line of research is important as students, their parents, their teachers, and their guidance counselors consider which courses will comprise their well-rounded high school curriculum.

As promising as our early results are, there is still much to be learned in this nascent line of research. MADLab members are pursuing research projects that ask:

How engaged are arts students in continuing their education beyond high school?

What majors do K-12 arts students pursue in college, and how successful are they in completing a 4-year degree?

How is achievement in music and the arts related to postsecondary attendance, persistence, and degree?