<p>Not to worry. Different schools have different ways of doing things. Some have specific early review programs that could grant acceptances to strong candidates as early as December of senior year. Some have rolling admissions and make decisions on the fly, starting to accept students as early as October of senior year. Some schools on a regular admissions schedule will send out early admits for applicants that they are certain will make the grade and make the less obvious decisions later after auditions are over. Some wait until they have heard everyone before notifying anyone and send out their decisions on April 1 or even a week to ten days later.</p>
<p>In trying to attract the best talent they can get, schools make early decisions in hopes of getting commitments and deposits earlier in the admissions cycle. It is kind of like having a lower admission price for tickets bought in advance rather than at the door of a concert. It makes it easier to handle the last-minute rush and gives the administrative types some confidence that they will be able to fill all their seats. It also helps applicants to know they have an acceptance in their back pocket when going to later auditions, and perhaps even allows them to cancel some of the later auditions for schools well down their list.</p>
<p>Hang in there. The waiting is hard but it will be over in five or six weeks and then April will just fly by if you have some hard decisions to make.</p>