My S got a “verbal acceptance” after one of his auditions, too, but didn’t truly believe it until his acceptance email came two weeks later. So nice to have that one in the bag while we’re waiting for the others.
Meanwhile, anyone else eagerly awaiting word from Frost?
@JazzKeyMom my daughter did not apply to Frost, but her best friend did and has not heard anything yet, so you’re not alone!
One of the crazy things I didn’t brace myself for is the trickles of acceptances we start hearing about at schools my daughter is waiting to hear from. This almost makes it worse to know things are getting closer!
My D had email acceptances from teachers as well. Still we waited for the official acceptances from the school. They did work out. Good luck.
And choirsandstages if you get a merit offer (any personalized communication) I think it’s ok to call on when to expect a decision. It may not speed things up but it does give you a reason to nicely inquire. Others may differ on this but I think as it gets into late March any personalized communication does give you an excuse to reach out.
Thank you @bridgenail. I was hoping the “In writing” and asking my D to come for another lesson whenever she likes was positive…but I don’t dare breathe! Ha!
And dare I say do NOT be surprised by merit aid offers on April 1 at 8:00 pm or the following Monday. Just saying…
Duly noted. ( Sigh!) Thanks
Well, regarding the posts today from myself and others about not taking verbal commitments too seriously, you know that school I mentioned where the professor gave her a verbal acceptance before she was even out of the audition? Daughter just got a rejection.
Buyer beware.
I am sorry to hear that, @DesignDad. And thank you for sharing this. It’s an important reminder. So many factors beyond our control. This is truly the tough part.
@DesignDad that’s just rotten. We are NOT enjoying this part at all.
Boo!
We are in the same boat. My S auditioned for MM programs in cello performance and we are waiting
for acceptances and financial info. Like many of you he needs some scholarship help to make this work.
He got an e-mail from one professor after his audition saying he has a spot for him in his studio, and an email from another professor congratulating him on his audition and asking to stay in touch. but nothing on paper yet. It is an agonizing wait! Best of luck to everyone on hearing good news and soon!
I wish professors would be more circumspect in their reactions during auditions. It’s great to know that the professor loved your audition performance, but the faculty knows perfectly well that admissions decisions are not entirely in their control. And of course some faculty will extend a verbal invite early in the audition season and think nothing of “replacing” that with another student who seems like an even better fit. It’s one thing to give a student validation for their hard work and talent; but it’s just cruel to lead a young person to believe they have been accepted, only to have the rug yanked from under them.
Absolutely! @glassharmonica it’s just cruel and unnecessary. Ignorance is bliss!
@DesignDad, I hope your D is taking the prof’s comment and rejection in stride. As others have noted, the prof was undoubtedly sincere at the time, then circumstances changed - fewer openings than expected, surprise auditioner that took precedence, etc. The quality of applicants may have been higher than normal, skewing the admissions decisions to an unusual level, whereas in most years, she would have been in with big merit. I still think your D should be proud of that audition - it’s not unlike seeing your young adult professional making the finals for a symphony job, but not getting the position. Close, but no cigar?
It may be my imagination or it may be just certain schools or it may be instrument or instructor dependent, but it seems to me that when my kids (strings) started into the conservatory audition track a while back, there was virtually no comment from those on the panels. Maybe a smile and “thank you for coming”. That seemed perfunctory, but I agree with @glassharmonica, it is better that way than raising hopes that may not come through, even if done unintentionally. As I observed what I thought to be new trend (my perceptions only), I wondered if schools, even the conservatories, have become more conscious of their “yield” and profs are saying more to students they like hoping that the students will attend if offered spots. I guess I’ll never know!
@DesignDad, that’s awful. I’m sorry that has to happen to any of our kids. Audition time is stressful enough.
I made a pact with myself that I would absolutely not instigate or encourage any speculative conversations about school admissions or scholarships with my son before all the decisions are in. It’s not an easy pact to keep! I know there’s endless talk at his school among the music students. It doesn’t help that various professors are calling them, asking where their school is ranked in their preferences. The kids are being coached about what to say/not say to maximize scholarship offers. It has been intimated that the professors of different schools talk to each other about their common prospects which isn’t surprising if you think about it.
TWO MORE WEEKS.
Thank you all for the supportive comments, but I’m sure most/all of our kids are going to face their share of rejection in the next couple of weeks. (And if not in the next two weeks, eventually throughout their career.) It’s tough no matter what the circumstances and it was just my daughters “turn”. Frankly, and I’m sure this is the case with many of your kids, I’m amazed at how D handles all this. Better than I probably would! The level of maturity among young musicians just astounds me sometimes.
The takeaway that I would offer to everyone else is to not let your child get too hopeful over verbal comments. Despite my cautions, I think D let herself get too attached to the school, almost assuming that admission was a given because of the comments from the teacher.
After the rejection came yesterday, my daughter had similar comments to @glassharmonica above. Essentially that it would have been better to not say anything. That said, parents and students alike need to always remember that you’re not officially in until you’re officially in.
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be musicians. Or something like that.
This is just an opinion - but I saw two extremes in auditions results with of course some in the middle. The extremes were:
Tightly managed - these schools did exactly what they said - all acceptances were received almost on the same day - the teachers said nothing and never reached out - seemed more of a smaller faculty thing but could be part of strong management at any school. Aid too got done when it was suppose to.
Loosely managed - trying to keep a large-ish and/or diva-filled faculty under control was maybe an exercise in futility or maybe “management” didn’t think it was necessary (hey, it’s all about the music right? not administrative processes). This is where teachers would make offers. My D did go with one of these teachers and it was great for her. But I hate to say, after 4 yrs, I could see this teacher extending an offer and then kind of forgetting about it as the situation changed. Just a really different personality type from mine. If I say something I feel bound. But not all people do…and that can be so confusing to young people.
It would be nice to infer that the stronger school in audition administration would be best. But I don’t think that’s the case…unfortunately. Some schools just do auditions (a very stressful time) in a more uniform way.
Wait for the paper acceptances since you never know exactly what you are dealing with.
Just a clarification - I don’t think that the audition process (well managed or not) reflects that much on the actual music study. I think it may just reflect more on tradition and audition management styles at each school. I didn’t mean to say that loose audition schools had better music programs!
There is no commonality to how programs manage the audition process, from my son’s experiences in auditioning the panels were all very professional, they told him what they wanted to hear, and were otherwise businesslike (well, one audition panel did apologize to him, when the mother of the prior kid auditioning apparently wasn’t happy with the way they auditioned the daughter, thought it was too short an audition, etc, and walked in the room screaming as my son was trying to make sure his violin was in tune…). I am always more than a bit skeptical when I read about how a kid auditioned at someplace like Juilliard or Curtis and claimed that the audition panel gushed over their playing, told them they played like Heifetz,how impressed they were…the reason I am skeptical is the teachers they have at those schools have seen a lot of very talented students, and I doubt they would ‘gush’ over someone like that (more than likely, someone said “thanks for coming” or something like that and the kid immediately blew that out)…
I think the teachers are sincere when they say something like the kid is admitted, but I also suspect many of them may be unaware that for example, the school decided to cut down their studio size, or that there were a bunch of really talented kids who auditioned when this teacher wasn’t on the panel, so when the final decisions are made, the kid doesn’t make it. I wish schools would tell teachers not to say things like that to the students until they know for sure the kid will be admitted and otherwise try and keep the auditions neutral, simply to keep it from being misconstrued one way or the other. I remember reading something someone famous wrote (I think it may have been Perlman), about being at an audition and seeing this member of the panel wincing, as if in pain, and assuming it was his playing, then found out later the guy had the beginning of apendicitis lol.
Wow.
“when the mother of the prior kid auditioning apparently wasn’t happy with the way they auditioned the daughter, thought it was too short an audition, etc, and walked in the room screaming as my son was trying to make sure his violin was in tune”
What I am wondering is WHY the Mom was allowed anywhere near the audition? CRAZY!