Advice for high school seniors who want to be worship leaders

This year, I have several students that are graduating and considering pursuing worship ministry. Many of them are asking what they should do next - i.e. where they should go to school - Christian Colleges that offer worship/music degrees, secular colleges that offer music/performance degrees, specialized schools that equip worship leaders, etc. I'm trying to get some feedback from the worship community and see what preparation people have found helpful. I know there are a lot of valid paths that God uses to prepare people for His service. I would love to hear some personal recommendations from people that have actually attended different schools/events. I just want to be able to present the best options to my students that will prepare them for what God has next!

Here's my background. I attended a state school and got a degree in English with a Minor in Guitar while volunteering at a local church the whole time gaining valuable experience. I then attended seminary and earned a M.Div with a specialization in worship leading. I loved both my college and my seminary experiences - they were very different but prepared me in specific ways to minister in my current context.

I'm really thankful that I didn't get a full Music Degree - it would just be overkill for the amount of musical preparation that is needed to lead contemporary worship. I'm not knocking music education - just saying that I'm glad my seminary degree placed a higher emphasis on theological education. Of the two, I feel like theological education is a higher priority for the worship leader. Minoring in Music and taking additional music classes at seminary proved to be the right combination for me. Since seminary, I've grown to appreciate even more the theological and pastoral training that I gained. Those tools have proved truly useful in ministry.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I've also posted this question at the following forums so feel free to check what other people are saying at worshiptherock and the worship community.

Creative Team Meeting #1

I've been wanting to get a creative team started in our student ministry for quite a while and this semester it is finally time. We have some incredibly talented students that have worked on projects in the past like creating dramas, set designs, photography, etc. but I can't wait to see what happens when we unleash their creativity on a regular basis!

We went to beach camp last week in Orange Beach, AL so we took the opportunity to meet at a local coffee shop during our free time on Thursday afternoon. The Dizzy Bean provided the perfect atmosphere to get the conversation started (and they proudly display an autographed photo of an insanely ripped dude so you know they must be legit!)
We started the meeting by discussing the vision for the creative team: to create experiences that ignite authentic worship. We took a little time to unpack this. We have 2 weekly environments ALTAER and SLAM that we want create a consistent experience from the moment people walk in to the moment they leave. This can happen through a variety of ways including music that's playing as they arrive, how they are greeted, how the service starts, how announcements are made, the content of the worship set and the talk, the graphic design on the screens, the stage design and lighting, and how people are dismissed. All these details and many others create the experience and we must be intentional about using each element to make that experience consistent.
Our end goal is to ignite authentic worship. The theme verse for ALTAER is Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
We should look at the creative elements as pieces used to build the altar that God calls us to lay down our lives upon. We can't make anyone worship but we can certainly light the fire and prepare the altar in a manner that encourages people to experience Christ in a fresh and compelling way each week. Our goal is not just that they would worship on Sundays and Thursdays but through those experiences, they would be equipped to live out the second half of the passage - to be transformed by Christ's power as they worship with their lives day by day.
This gave us a lot to ponder and sparked some great discussion. We will plan on meeting once a month to get things started. During these meetings, we will look at the upcoming series and special events and divide into teams that can take care of different projects.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 27 at 2:00 pm at the Student Life Center. We will be discussing 40 and set design for the first series of Fall 09. Can't wait to see what comes next!