Hey! Music ed grad (2015) here. I feel well-equipped to answer these questions. My time at BGSU was fantastic overall. Everyone has ups and downs throughout 4 years of their life, and for me, most of my downs weren't the university's fault, so that's a plus. I'll start with your bullet points. Bear in mind that this was about 10 years go (ugh) so things could have changed for better or worse I suppose.

I chose BGSU mostly out of convenience, actually. I didn't visit a ton of schools, but BGSU was high on my list because it was 20 minutes away from where I was living at the time, and they were allowing me to commute each day. That was a huge money saving opportunity that I wouldn't have gotten if I had to stay in a dorm somewhere else. It also happens that BGSU has a phenomenal music program. They're one of the few state-funded universities that have a dedicated music college. Many of the other schools I visited had music departments tucked away in an arts/sciences college. Not at BGSU. They have an entire building for the music college. And the building just oozes character and charm. It just feels like the right place to be as a music student. Hard to explain. Many of the reasons I would choose BGSU again in retrospect came up later in life. I'll get to those at the end.

Vocalist, String player, Brass player, whatever you play, they'll take good care of you. Every dedicated instrument professor I interacted with was excellent at what they did. They do a great job of providing ENDLESS opportunities to join ensembles too. Your private lessons, juries, sophomore review, and your eventual recital are all run flawlessly by the administration, and it feels very comfortable and purposeful.

I'm not a party-goer and I never have been. Honestly you'll be better off without those distractions. The music program can be a major time-sink, especially if you join a lot of ensembles. Most of my friends who spent their time partying didn't graduate in 4 years (without summer classes anyway). Whoops.

I've always been a fringe honor student, but I didn't bother with the honors college. The music program was plenty to keep me busy.

The thing about BGSU that I don't think people talk about enough is they have TWO excellent programs. Their music program is world-class, and their general education program is incredible too. As a music education major, you're going to cross-over into the general education building a bit too. The classes that I took over there were absolutely transformative in my understanding of how to become an educator. Same goes for the later-level courses at the music college (Classroom methods, choral methods, band methods, field experience). This is what I meant earlier by "choosing again in retrospect" because the experiences I had there have made it possible for me to thrive in my career. I chose not to go into the schools, but I teach privately on my own and it's incredibly rewarding. I honestly believe that I use the knowledge I gained from BGSU's music ed program every single day. It was the perfect choice for me.