There are several fine music schools. Some are noted for one sort of music over another. There are a number of conservatories and public funded universities. A short list--not including the ones you mention. (not in any particular order)

Indiana University
University of Michigan
Peabody conservatory
Oberlin conservatory
SUNY Stonybrook
Wichita State University
New England Conservatory
Bowling Green
New School

I'm sure there are plenty more. You don't want to research schools--you want to research teachers.

 

It's a bit like mouthpieces, try out as many as you can and see what works works best for you...

My apologies if that seems facetious, but what are you going to base this on?

Known rankings? The number or quality of gigs that graduates get? How much they earn? How many go on to get jobs in academia?

The reputation of any music school or university program and the qualification you get has value if you are going to stay in academia, but beyond that, in the world of professioanl music your qualification will mean diddly.

The contacts you make and some references may be useful, but apart from that what you get from any college is going to be based on what you put into it. No easy ride.

What I got from college was getting to know some great musicians who taught there. Not just great "qualified" musicians, but wonderful people who helped me get work (big difference!). And I was surrounded by other students who I could jam with in lots of free rehearsal space and equipment. Those students who appreciated that and got on with it have done very well, others who just wanted to be handed "education on a plate" did not.

(EDIT: you may think that as I am English I don't know much about American music schools.

I have done post graduate and undergraduate seminars at some of the top universities in the USA and been offered professorships there, something I don't talk about much but I just mention it here as it is probably relevant)

 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Florida State University

 

I was thinking of making my search a little broader than just UNT and Berklee, as I hear that they are very good schools for saxophone and there's a huge amount of challenge there. So I was seeing if I missed a few other schools that are really good for saxophone.
I'm basically look for a school that has the challenge and teachers that will make me a better player.

 

Don't forget to consider the music scene around the school, in case you actually want to play as well as learn music.

I'm surprised manhattan school of music hasn't been mentioned... it's a big one.

 

MSM seems to have some of the best saxophone players out there, both attending and graduated. Their faculty is also top notch. Definitely agrees with airmouton that it should be considered.

I do think that ranking music schools is pointless...people don't care where your degree comes from, they care about how you play and interact as a musician and human being.

 

William Patterson Univ.
USC
Manhattan School of Music
The Juilliard School

 

The choice of school should depend mostly on what you plan to do with the education you receive there. One school might offer a better curriculum if you want to be a music educator...another will have a better curriculum for composition and arranging...yet others are better for performance majors...etc...
You really need to focus in on exactly what you plan to do AFTER school before you decide which school to attend.

 

I have heard that Brigham Young University in Utah is getting big. They're music has always been decent. Does anyone know more in detail?

 

I can only add this - there is a BYU cable channel with some pretty good music on it, from time to time, from the Tabernacle Choir and BYU ensembles. But there is a jazz combo which is on from time to time and which seems to be a faculty group and they are a bit - how can I say this - weak for what I would expect from that music school when compared to other music faculty and groups. So my suggestion is that if you are interested, get as much info as you can, listen to faculty members and groups and best of all visit the campus.

+1 for WPU. Many of the best young players that I know went there. I agree that the regular college is pretty much a wash.

The weakness of the university was a side benefit to me when I went to UNT. People like to joke about the University of Hawai'i as the school with underwater basket weaving classes, but it was academically much more challenging than UNT when I transferred there.

For me, who wanted a balanced education, but not one so demanding that it would cut into my music studies, UNT was a good match. Academically not bad but certainly not as challenging as the UH, and a great music program which was challenging and which was the reason I traveled so far.

 

Are you interested in jazz or classical saxophone? That may make a difference where you go.

 

For Jazz saxophone, I would recommend my Alma Mater, William Paterson University. I actually did a tour of the schools all over the East Coast, and found William Paterson to be more appealing than Eastman, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music and the New School. I've also visited University of Miami, and although the social scene there is really cool, I still missed the feeling of being "near the action" in NYC.

William Paterson has a ton of successful musicians who come out of the school, costs eons less than the schools in NYC, and is very much focused on jamming with others as well as individual practice. I mean, why spend $100k on a degree in Jazz, seems kinda ridiculous when you think about it.

The other cool thing about WPU is that it's the most selective of the college jazz programs, as they only allow 60 people in, and these are 60 great musicians from all over the world, as opposed to 60 people who can afford a $100k tuition.

Sax-wise, the program is run by sax/woodwind player Dr. David Demsey, who's not only a great player, but also a great educator (big different between the two).

All of that said, the downside is that outside of the jazz program, the college itself is a crappy commuter scene with no social life to speak of. The surrounding area is suburban and boring, and some areas near the school such as Paterson and Passaic are almost apocalyptic-looking. However, those areas are very easy to avoid, and it is nice to be 30 mins from Manhattan.

So hopefully all of that helps!

 

William Paterson has a ton of successful musicians who come out of the school, costs eons less than the schools in NYC, and is very much focused on jamming with others as well as individual practice. I mean, why spend $100k on a degree in Jazz, seems kinda ridiculous when you think about it.

There is truth to this statement. Someone way more famous than me once asked, "How do you make a million dollars in Jazz music ?". A: Start with 2 (Million).

 

Also, I know that I'm going to get in trouble for this, but if you're looking for a jazz school, I'd avoid the (United States) west coast (although there are some great players who have come out of west coast jazz programs).

 

+1 to Pete Thomas, airmouton, and CooolJazzz. Context is everything.

What is the top music school for YOU is what matters, not some arbitrary numerical ranking. For example, if you look at all the "best places to live" rankings that various magazines and websites do, you notice that the cities chosen often differ from one ranking to another. Why? Because they use different criteria to judge them on. Same thing happens with university rankings. Do you care more about how many articles the professors there publish, or about the class size, or whether you get teaching experience? Rankings are meaningless unless you know what they are based upon. If you want to teach jazz sax to kids, and the 'best-ranked' school is great at placing conductors with major symphonies, you will likely not get as much out of it as if you went to a lower-ranked school that matched your needs better.

Asking here is good, but make sure you ask yourself (as CooolJazzz suggested) first what you want to get from the school.

 

Here's an opinion, and it's just mine. I'd pick a public university. Part of going to university is learning about a lot of things beside your major area. Save the 'specialist' music schools for grad school--and believe me, if you want to be an academic (college prof, instructor etc.) in music, grad school is mandatory.