<p>Hi everyone, I am a saxophonist and I am in sophomore year of high school. Does anyone know if it is possible to apply to a conservatory in my junior year? If so is it a good idea or should I wait? I am really curious! </p>
<p>Thanks for the help! </p>
<p>I’ve known kids who have done this, both successfully and unsuccessfully. </p>
<p>would i need a diploma or GED? </p>
<p>It depends upon the school you are appying to and what their requirements are. There is much information available on school web sites now so go ahead and check it out. One word of caution is that you may need that extra year to be at the level that the top schools want, if you’re going that route.
I believe that a CC member, woodwinds, had a D who applied early and she is a saxaphone/oboe player. Hopefully she’ll see this and chime in.</p>
<p>My daughter did apply early, and is now a freshman classical sax player at a conservatory. She felt she was a bit old for her grade, and as it turned out, many students at the conservatory are her age anyway.</p>
<p>You will need a diploma for all the schools with good classical sax programs that I can think of. Even the European schools want a diploma.</p>
<p>My daughter attended a high school where there was a lot of flexibility. In sophomore year, she was taking two junior-level courses. She wasn’t interested in taking all those APs as she wanted to concentrate on her playing and music study. In our state, a student only needs 22 high school credits to graduate. She took American government online last summer and that was her last class. So she completed four years of high school in three, and got a regular diploma. She also took US History online, and took physics at an alternative school which provided her with more flexibility in her schedule.</p>
<p>I know one person whose daughter did this. In the long run I am not sure it was the best choice. There are so many other things that go into making somebody a successful musician. If you are able to graduate early or if you feel that you are musically already qualified for conservatory then why not take some time to grow in other areas. What is the rush? The fact is that you will get the most out of any conservatory if you are the best you can be when you enter. My son’s private teacher in HS had our son working very hard the spring and summer of his senior year to prepare for entering into conservatory and it paid off. </p>
<p>A diploma isn’t necessary if you can get a GED in your state. In my state, that is not possible for someone under 18. Yet, my oldest daughter skipped a year and went to college early. (Not for music.) How did we do it? She was homeschooled and I retrofitted her transcript to make her a senior (she had completed all the state requirements.) She graduated from a “highly selective” LAC in 2008, no repercussions. D3 goes to a conservatory where it is not unheard of for kids to begin college at 16 or 17. I’ve also known kids to apply in grade 11 to see what happens and if they don’t like the results they stay in high school. Going to college younger was the right thing for my oldest daughter–she was so ready, but I would not recommend it for most, for reasons stated by MM and StacJip. </p>
<p>My D’s undergrad conservatory had extensive academic requirements and she was able to meet all of them with the AP and dual/credit college courses that she took in HS. That didn’t save any time or money in undergrad because of the structured theory, music history and performance requirements, but she had time in her schedule to take extra classes that interested her and to take on some PT jobs.</p>
<p>I see. Well do i need a diploma by the time I attend the school or before I apply </p>
<p>Nope. HIgh school seniors don’t need a diploma in advance of applying. </p>
<p>classicalsaxman- go online and look at the entrance requirements for some of the schools that you are interested in; you’ll find a lot of useful information under the admissions sections. Having the ACT and/or SAT scores may be required. For example, here is what I found on one site:</p>
<p>If you are applying for undergraduate study (transfer applicants included), you must upload to your academic application transcripts from all the secondary schools you have attended. Home-schooled students must also submit transcripts showing subjects studied and grades earned. Transfer applicants must submit both secondary school and college/university transcripts (see below).</p>
<p>According to the recommendation of the Ohio Board of Regents, it is suggested that a 16-unit College Preparatory Program include the following courses (note: this distribution is a recommendation and not a requirement):</p>
<p>4 Units in English, with emphasis in Composition
3 Units of Mathematics, at least one of which should be taken in the senior year (Algebra I, Algebra II, Plane Geometry)
3 Units of Social Studies
3 Units of Science
3 Units of Foreign Language
{School} considers for admission applicants who have completed secondary education through the General Education Development Program (GED) as administered by various state departments of education. Additionally, the Institute considers home-school applicants without a GED providing they complete either the ACT tests in English and Mathematics or the standard SAT test plus the SAT II test (Math Level 1).</p>
<p>Transcripts must provide a listing, year by year, of all courses taken and the grades or marks received for each. Records must also provide the grading scale for each institution. This applies also to applicants who are home schooled.</p>
<p>thank you! </p>
<p>Most schools will require a degree that I am aware of, I am sure they make exceptions with some prodigy types from time to time, but for the most part, you’ll need a GED or Diploma or proof of studies if homeschooled. That said, why the big rush? First of all, you may not fully realize how good you need to be to get into a quality auditioned program, they don’t admit a lot of woodwinds (I am talking performance, not music ed), so you already are facing major fight for few slots, and second is that the level of playing to get into decent programs is very, very high, and that lost year if you apply early can be huge. Keep in mind if you are talking performance, you can be a straight A student and it doesn’t matter, it is the audition, it is a lot easier to finish HS early and go to college academically then it is in performance, it is very, very hard to get around that extra year of practice and polishing repertoire you would be losing by going earlier. </p>
<p>classicalsaxman, in answer to your last question, you just need to finish your requirements for your diploma/GED before you start music school. In my daughter’s case, she took her final high school exam in August, only a few weeks before starting conservatory.</p>
<p>My son did a homeschool/online high school program, and he simply had to prove that he had finished the requirements before starting conservatory, same as Woodwinds aid. </p>
<p>Curtis has a program for younger students. Students attend an affiliated HS though until they acheive the degree requirements while taking their music at Curtis. Very competitive I am sure. Don’t know if other schools have similar arrangements. </p>
<p>CIM has a something similar… It’s their “Young Artist” program, where the kids attend school in the morning and are at the conservatory in the afternoon. There is a list of schools that participate, both public and private and living arrangements can be made. </p>
<p>It’s not really a separate program at Curtis, and the student is allowed to attend any high school she/he wishes. Some just do cyber school and some get at GED. Some do go to a local private school (but it’s expensive.) I’m not sure if it’s still happening, but many Curtis kids used to attend a local academic public magnet school with reduced hours to accommodate their schedule. </p>
<p>Curtis does admit younger students without degrees, but I was answering the OP classicalsaxman. Curtis does not as yet, unfortunately, have a classical sax program.</p>
<p>Thank you guys! I want to try and apply </p>