My D was admitted to Mannes voice and opera (grad) but was offered a minimal scholarship that, at best, covers 1/10 of the costs. She is waitlisted elsewhere but unfortunately does not have other viable options. Does anyone hsve any experience with Mannes - how best to appeal the scholarship, what a ‘reasonable’ scholarship would be and what opportunities there are to work at Mannes. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Bumping this post as I posted it late last night. Would appreciate any input/insight. Thsnk you.
If she wants to attend Mannes, she needs to get in touch with their financial aid officer immediately and let him/her know the situation. A grad student applies under their own finances, so she needs to be honest with them and ask what the possiblilities are for work-study/ assistantships and the availability for off-campus employment.
She could pay her deposit to Mannes and then wait and see if she comes off of a waitlist at another school. Or she could take a gap year-which most VP students do now- and go through the audition process again next year; but she should make sure that she continues lessons during that time.
I’m sorry that I can’t offer any more help but your daughter isn’t alone. An unusually high number of voice students were accepted to their “dream schools” thois year but received little or no funding. It’s the end result of the rapid expansion of VP programs in undergrad and too many students being poured onto the market.
Hello @“Mezzo’sMama” - can you expand upon VP students taking a gap year between undergrad and MM? It seems to me that if my daughter decides on a 5th year to complete her second degree she’d be accomplishing essentially the same thing. We are having these discussions now as she heads into registration for fall semester. I’m told she would still be eligible for lessons, studio, performances, roles, etc. She’s got a later birthday and a bigger, still very much developing, voice.
For @bouyant - Hopefully @“Mezzo’sMama” will see your comment today. I’ll make a few comments as I have some experience in this.
@buffbuff - your D doesn’t have to go this year. That’s the good thing about an MM, it’s not like UG where everyone expects you to go. My D was going to take a gap year or two if she couldn’t get an offer that worked.
My D had a few friends in her UG program receive ONE offer only…at their current school (it had a UG and grad program). They had no rejections for UG and only ONE acceptance for grad. Since she was at a school with a grad program no one was shut out…but I have heard of that in the first time around. Note that for grad school, the field may not be level as schools may make room for their current UG students who could be of equal or even slightly lesser talent…but still good enough for the school. Note my D had several friends receive multiple offers too.
One reason to wait is your voice continues to grow so you will be more competitive (as long as you keep up your voice studies). A 25 year old will be more competitive than a 22 year old…meaning they may get more acceptances and more money. There are a lot of older students in grad programs. In UG, you are competing against 17 and 18 year olds…in grad school you may be competing for a spot against a 24, 26 and 28 year old.
Also some take a gap year to work to save money. Many do basic performance experience (church singing, light concert singing) and then return when they are more assured of principal roles. They want to be sure to get some bang for their buck…and don’t end up in chorus roles only. They want a principal role on their resume…my D was very focused on this. She saw students enter grad programs and never get a principal role.
Despite many good reasons to wait, my D had concerns about returning to college after a year or two off. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be a 25 year old student. Also it’s easy to say you can move somewhere and get a teacher (she did have a teacher in NY that would take her into her studio…but I was wondering how she was going to find a job, pay her rent and pay for that - I would help but…it seems like a lot of work and expense!) My D did not want to stay at her UG school area, work in a T shirt shop and sing with her teacher. So she went for it.
The last reason that students wait is…it can be difficult to prepare and audition in senior year with performances (particularly a good role) and recitals etc. My D became a part-time student and worked with the school to lighten her ensemble requirements that semester. She had a role in the fall show to free her up.
@bouyant, imho, your D seems to be in a great position. She has the access to all the resources to continue her growth. Getting a year older will only benefit her.
@buffbuff - good luck in appealing to Mannes…and if it doesn’t work with that or WL, a gap year is very common.
Hi. My D was offered a decent scholarship at New School so part of Mannes I think isn’t it? Or associated with it? I’m unsure. I emailed the head of admissions there about an appeal and he sent a google doc form for the appeal. It was fairly straightforward and asked if there was a higher offer we wanted matched (we have one) and how much needed to attend New School (which is higher than the matched offer). We submitted and hope to hear soon. Always worth a shot.
My friend’s son was also admitted to New School and emailed Amanda Hosking for the appeal form and was sent the appeal document for Mannes by mistake. So I know they have one!
@buoyant -Taking a year or two between undergrad and grad is more the norm than the exception for VP students now. @bridgenail covered it pretty well- there are a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that there are just too many kids being dumped out on the market from the explosion of programs. In the good grad programs, there can be as many as 300 girls auditioning for each available place (that is an aggregate number I’ve been given from department heads). Voices have growth spurts which are pretty typical at certain ages, so waiting a bit can offer that advantage.
Another thing to keep in mind is that senior year in a conservatory can be very stressful when it comes to time commitments, and I’ll ilustrate with the example of my own daughter. She was younger than her classmates and had the stress of a new teacher for her final year (her teacher upped a quit at the end of her junior year- ugh!), but actually, due to the teacher leaving, she had all her personal reccomendations in place and her applications done. She went ahead and submitted them- one of only 5 in her class to do so, the others either taking some time off or deciding to change “careers”. One girl went to a 3yr MT certificate program, my D went on for her MM in VP, one of the boys deferred entrance and the other two did not receive any acceptances. Now, when I mention stress, picture this: she was trying to decide among offers and secure the best possible financial package while learning a role (she had the lead in the spring opera) AND prepping for her senior recital, and all these things were taking place within the month of April. The role was completely unexpected and shows that you can never anticipate what’s going to happen. Given her very particular fach and growth curve for it, she had to take time in place after grad school but she never would have gotten the results she has now without that time, Lighter, higher voices mature earlier and can be a different matter.
The US spends a lot of time on technique with young singers versus Europe but our kids don’t get the performing opportunities they do. That gap year can be used to learn rep and get some additional performing experience but it’s crucial that the student continue to study with a good teacher and keeps up her/his theory and music history skills because those will be tested.
This year, I’m seeing a large number of students being accepted to top schools but not getting any, or much more than a token award, to the top grad programs. It’s distressing but it was bound to happen. There isn’t one “right” way that works for every student, so thinking outside the box can be helpful.
@“Mezzo’sMama” my D was all about the performance opportunities. To pay tuition and give up 2 more years of her life to sit in yet another atonal theory class and write a paper about female character portrayal in Mozart’s opera…that was not what my D was looking for in grad school. But it happens to some. For grad school it’s important to try to get a sense if you have a shot for principal roles.
Thank you @bridgenail and @“Mezzo’sMama” for your very thoughtful posts on my question of gap year/5th year. I really appreciate your willingness to share your kids journeys. Lots to think about - but for another time. The other shoe dropped today and we found out my daughter’s well-loved voice teacher, who has been on medical leave this year, will be away next year too. This year’s sub won’t be returning next year, so my daughter will be starting her junior year with her 3rd voice teacher. Sad for all, but especially for this teacher who is missing her studio kids so much…
@buoyant sorry to hear it about the teacher. The best you can do is hope it makes her better at adapting to various styles and she’s a learning a little something different from each teacher. I’ll hope the next one is a great fit.