<p>D auditioned for a school. She was promptly contacted by the professor letting her know that he wanted her in his studio. He asked her to make a verbal commitment to him, before he could make the formal offer. D told him that she is waiting to hear from 3 other schools before she could decide. He told her that he needed to submit his list now. She was sent a rejection e-mail. In all honesty, this school was last on her list. </p>
<p>Yikes! That’s unusual, but not unheard-of. </p>
<p>The manner in which it played out would be writing on the wall for me. I think, generally, most reasonable teachers are accepting of the time and space needed to consider all options. Needing a firm commitment this early on seems quite premature.</p>
<p>That’s what we thought. Even though the school was her last choice, it was still hard for her to receive a rejection (via e-mail no less) after knowing she would be accepted. Perhaps that’s a sign of what it would be like to study with that professor.</p>
<p>One thing we were told over and over in informational meetings before auditions was this: No accredited school will pressure you to decide before the national date of May 1st. If one does, they strongly suggested contacting admissions for another accredited program and report the issue. I guess there is a strong agreement between all of the programs to not act this way towards the students. We, too, have been sent a couple of emails letting my son know he was being recommended, but never any pressure.</p>
<p>Our situation was different. He never offered her a formal acceptance. He wanted to know ahead of time if she was going to commit before he sent her the formal notice. When she told him she couldn’t make any decisions yet, he sent a rejection e-mail. </p>
<p>She has all of the communication between the two of them. He put a lot of pressure on her, but he never sent the formal acceptance. So, technically it just shows that she was rejected. All of her e-mails from him tell what really happened.</p>
<p>kaybaby, it is possible that the school’s admission people don’t know what is going on either. They may just get the lists from the studio professors. You might want to ask, them if they are aware of this. However, if it is not her first choice and you have others it may not be worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>We had a slightly different experience six years ago when D was considering finishing HS at a residential arts school. The pressure and hints were subtle; she was strongly encouraged to attend the music festival that the faculty member worked at during the summer. The festival was much more expensive and offered very little aid compared to other summer offerings. She chose another festival. The day after she declined this individual’s festival via polite e-mail, she got an e-mail rejection from school.</p>