<p>My friend who is applying to a top college (HPY) was told by a professor (and conductor of an orchestra) that the professor would write a letter to admissions saying that my friend is very talented and would be a big asset to the music department...would it help her get in if her academics are up to par?</p>
<p>It depends on a couple of things... is she applying as a music major? If so, then the letter from the professor/conductor would/could serve as an additional LOR from a professional source in that field. But, if it's an audition based program, her audition will be the deciding criteria. Period.</p>
<p>FYI, if she plays violin, viola, or cello, there is an abundance of talented string players at HPY on those instruments. Some of these students play at the conservatory level. In any given year, there may be a shortage of bassoon or euphonium players, but the impact would be marginal.</p>
<p>If she's not a music major, it would have minimal impact for admissions.</p>
<p>is this an automatic acceptance?</p>
<p>she applied as a music major</p>
<p>it was through an audition program that the school offers</p>
<p>she plays a pretty rare instrument</p>
<p>The letter would not be an automatic admit.</p>
<p>If it's an audition based program, her audition will be the primary deciding factor, and judged against the level of the other audition applicants for her instrument. Admission will be offered to fill the number of studio openings for that particular instrument.</p>
<p>A lot will depend on the talent level of the peers she's auditioning with within the applicant pool. Some years, it's tough, some years, "easier".</p>
<p>The letter may sway a decision if another candidate had an equal level audition and the committee were comparing the two candidates' other criteria.</p>
<p>idk how much validity is to her story but she said there are 5 open spots on her instrument, according to the conductor</p>
<p>Bump 10charactesr</p>
<p>I'm going to disagree with ceebrown. On an audition based program, a letter from The Almighty himself (or herself to be pc) will not insure an admit.</p>
<p>All things being equal with other auditioners for the particular instrument, the letter would sway a decision her way in an equal field. Weight would depend as stated on the rep of the prof/conductor within the professional community.</p>
<p>well, understanding that it is the conductor of the main orchestra of a top tier school, shouldn't it have a pretty good rep.?</p>
<p>I don't know how else to phrase this, so I will reiterate it.</p>
<p>In an audition based program, the audition is the deciding factor. If she does not do well enough in the audition to be admitted, no recommendation, be it from the Pope, Zubin Mehta, or Luca Brazi will be enough to put her ahead of a better qualified candidate.</p>
<p>That's true of admission to the program, violadad, but isn't it often a two-tiered process? Admission to the university, and admission to the program? Assuming that the student passed the audition for admission to the program, but is borderline academically for admission to the university, would such a recommendation help?</p>
<p>Among HPY, where is there an audition process offered?</p>
<p>Princeton uses the word "audition" on its supplement pages but when asked, the person who answered the phone at the music department sighed loudly and said he wished the admissions folks would rephrase that. You can play for the music faculty but it is not an audition like that for a School of Music program. The Princeton guy said that a so-called audition equals sending in a supplemental CD.</p>
<p>Neither H,Y or P have audition-based music programs. It may be that once a student is admitted into the school s/he must audition to be a music major. </p>
<p>A letter from the orchestra director can certainly be helpful for admission to the University. Every school has different policies and procedures for recommendations from music professors. The orchestra director may have a ranked list of students s/he would like to have from the admission pool. The AO will take this info into account when looking at the student's other qualifications.</p>
<p>Chedva, yes, a recommendation could help someone who is borderline academically. But these days there are so many students applying who are well-qualified academically, it's hard to imagine them dipping too low. Also, there are only a finite number of compromises the AO will be willing to make. If they're making an especially high number for athletes in a given year, they may not be willing to do so for a musician. It's really hard to make predictions.</p>
<p>Chedva, it depends on the program. In a strict conservatory, Juilliard, NEC, MSM, the admission is audition contingent. At combined programs, ie, a conservatory level program within a university setting Indiana, Michican, U/Hartford/Hartt, and others acceptance is based on meeting the institution's academic criteria as well as successfully auditioning. There are some programs, normally BA's as opposed to BM's that are non audition based.</p>
<p>My experience is based on conservatory level audition based programs; I can't cite the HYP admission criteria for a music major, and don't know if any or all those music programs are audition based. I do know that Yale does not offer an undergrad performance degree. The concentration at Yale is in the academic music disciplines, history, theory and composition.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP is confused, or hasn't stated the question properly. If the program is audition based, the audition is the prime decider, coupled with meeting the institution's academic criteria. Strong recommendations from established professional educators, performers, music directors are extremely helpful in sorting through the other criteria on making final admission decisions.</p>
<p>It could be the case that the OP is referencing audition based ensembles, once the applicant has been admitted academically, and NOT an audition based admit program. Many, if not all the Yale undergrad performing organizations are auditioned based; I would assume H&P operate similarly.</p>
<p>A strong LOR from a noted professor/conductor may hold significant weight<br>
in the admissions deciscion, but I stand by my statements that it will not be an automatic admit.</p>
<p>It's HY&P. Nothing is a given. Just like an audition at Curtis, Juilliard, or NEC, you're competing against the top level peers. The LOR is one of a multitude of factors. </p>
<p>To illustrate further, a strong LOR and a national competition win, and semi-pro/professional performance experience would increase one's chances. It would not be an automatic "in."</p>
<p>As Skie says, policies vary, and all info is weighted in addition to the student's other qualifications.</p>
<p>she just went into play for the faculty who were impressed and said they were writing something for her to admissions, im wondering how much it would matter.</p>
<p>Well, without knowing more about the student, it's hard to say "how much". But, just as they say about chicken soup, "It couldn't hurt!"</p>
<p>it wasn't for admissions to the music department, it was in lieu of sending a CD. but the music guy after it said that he's writing her a rec. to admissions. her academics i think are up to par with the school from what she told me. so assuming academics are good enough, would this letter make it for her?</p>
<p>donatejimmyfund wrote: <she just="" went="" into="" play="" for="" the="" faculty="" who="" were="" impressed="" and="" said="" they="" writing="" something="" her="" to="" admissions,="" im="" wondering="" how="" much="" it="" would="" matter.=""></she></p>
<p>Ok, that puts it in a bit of different perspective.</p>
<p>I assume from the above that she played in front of faculty/orchestra director at either H, Y, or P and impressed one of them enough to write a strong LOR.</p>
<p>In THAT light, should she have all her academic ducks in a row, it conceivably could sway an admissions nod here way.</p>
<p>This by the way appears to be a trial lesson or audition before certain faculty, not a standard performance based admissions audition. There is a major difference, and it is important for all to recognize that.</p>
<p>jimmyfund- it could help, but NOTHING IS GUARANTEED. That is the issue you cannot seem to come to grips with.</p>
<p>lol i know nothing is guaranteed, i was just trying to clarify the situation a bit</p>
<p>thanks for the help</p>
<p>what r the chances of such a letter reaching the regional adcom?</p>