<p>I hope this does not sound like a silly question, however are there any benefits and/or risks of opting to audition at a local audition site vs. at the college itself? I know many music colleges hold auditions around the country yet I'm unsure whether opting for this would hurt my child's chance of acceptance or whether it is advised to try to audition on-site. Any insights appreciated.</p>
<p>In theory, it shouldn’t matter. Many schools have rounds of regional auditions. However, I will tell you anecdotally…my son did one regional audition. All the others were done at the schools. While he was accepted, he did not receive any merit money from the school where he did the regional audition. He always wondered if that was why.</p>
<p>If it is POSSIBLE for you to get to the college, I would suggest that. BUT sometimes it’s just impossible to get to all the different places. The regional auditions are usually videotaped for review by the department faculty at a later date.</p>
<p>PianoMom2: I agree with Thumper. As Woody Allen (and I think others) said, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” From our experience, regional auditions are no more than recorded auditions; i.e. the recorded auditions are carried back to school where the decisions are made. Some people just don’t record as well as they do in a live performance. Then, the other thought, many schools, not all, have a full program going on the day of the audition, an opportunity for your student to learn even more about the school and to interact with potential decision-makers. So, I would say – go if you can.</p>
<p>To me it depends on the type of on site audition the school has. If the audition is one on one with the prof then I really believe you are better off doing the audition face to face.</p>
<p>A past thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/213753-regional-auditions.html?highlight=auditions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/213753-regional-auditions.html?highlight=auditions</a></p>
<p>An admissions dean at one of the conservatories my D applied to told a group of us visiting parents that there were no statistical differences regarding admits from regional vs. in-person auditions. I have no reason to believe that that’s not true. </p>
<p>But, as other posters have said, there is a feeling of “We’ve done all we can…met with the profs, interacted and put our best foot forward” that goes along with the in-person audition.</p>
<p>We found that it depends a lot on the individual school, and possibly even on the department within the school. At one school where my daughter auditioned, it was very much like a regional audition. It was taped by someone from admissions with no faculty member in sight. We were in and out in 20 minutes and could have done the same much closer to home had we known.</p>
<p>In all of her other auditions, we were glad that she auditioned at the school and, in several cases, had met and played for the faculty members on a prior visit or at a summer camp. It certainly helped her to be playing live for someone that she already knew. In some cases, the audition turned into a mini-lesson which let the teacher get an idea of how she responds to their instruction. That is not possible on a recording and it could very well be a factor that has some influence in an admissions decision. </p>
<p>If a regional audition means that your child would not get to visit the school or meet the teacher before making their decision, I strongly encourage you to audition at the school.</p>
<p>I agree with BassDad that if you have been unable to visit a campus, then taking the on-site audition is probably a good idea. At least that has been the primary factor in the cost justification part of this process for us! My daughter may not be able to arrange a sample lesson, but she will have an opportunity to tour the campuses and get a feel of the schools.</p>
<p>There are other advantages to auditioning on campus . Although the schools are usually on their “best behavior” on audition weekends, you still get to walk around, check out the facilities and save yourself and your D/S the insanity of cramming visits into the last few weeks before letters of intent to enroll and deposits are due. Auditions are held during times when students are still on campus, so you can talk to some in between auditions and testing sessions. Another plus, which can happen, is to be invited back to meet with a prof in the evening after everything else has quieted down, to have a mini-lesson or to discuss things on a one-to-one basis. Teachers from the dept can use this chance to select candidates for their studios, they may want to hear something other than what was sung in the formal audition or work with a student to see how they take instruction…
If at all possible, I’d suggest staying over the night before and audition and the next evening so that you don’t feel rushed and can get all that you can from the experience, which will come in handy when it comes time to make that final decision.</p>
<p>I had to think back on my son’s live auditions. He auditioned for the faculty on HIS instrument in ALL cases. And he even auditioned for the faculty member on his instrument for the off campus audition (but that person was the ONLY one there…it was a privately arranged audition). By all reports, the faculty on the instruments from HIS schools did not ALL travel to all of the regional auditions.</p>
<p>My son auditioned on site at 3 schools and did the regional at a 4th. At the school he did the regional, we had visited the school in the fall and he had met with his teacher of choice for over an hour. We figured that this teacher wouldn’t learn anything more in a live audition and the regional was much more convenient for us. In the end, he was waitlisted at 2 of the on site schools and accepted at the other 2. He received a very nice merit scholarship from the regional audition school and he ended up attending there. So my experience says that it doesn’t matter. But I also think that this worked for son because he had visited the school and teacher earlier in the year.</p>