Hi there. My daughter applied to Berklee for early admission. She found out on January 31st that she will be moved to the regular action decision group. We don’t know what to make if this. She is partly disappointed because she hasn’t gotten accepted, but also pretty glad she hasn’t gotten rejected. Has anyone been in this position? If so were you ultimately accepted or rejected? Also if you were accepted for the fall, 2018 semester, first of all congratulations!!! Second did you receive any scholarship money? Sorry for the multiple questions lol but I’ve been reading a lot of these blogs and have found some valuable info.
Hi, and congratulations to your daughter for making it this far! It must be really hard to have thought you’d hear by now, only to find out you have to wait even longer! But it’s a WHOLE lot better than a rejection! 
I hope she gets good news in the end.
My son was rejected the first time he applied–three years ago (and, as awful as that seemed at the time, I now feel that he’s much more ready, musically and maturity-wise, to be there now)–but he was accepted as a transfer for the fall this time around. No scholarship though, and I guess we wouldn’t qualify for need-based money. But he’s going, and we’re very happy about it. I believe that he and Berklee are probably perfectly suited to each other!
Sorry I can’t be more helpful on the delayed decision for your daughter, but there are probably others around here who know more about it.
Best wishes and keep us posted! What area is your daughter applying in, by the way? And is Berklee her first choice?
Hi AsMother. Thank you for your reply. And congratulations to your son as well! I don’t know what just happened. I wrote this whole long comment back to you and when I posted it, only the first sentence showed. So let’s try again
AsMother. My daughter wants to major in Music with a vocal performance concentration. We were kind of in limbo when she received the decision from Berklee. Or should we say no decision yet from Berklee
She actually already got accepted to her state college that has a great Music program which is great. At least she has a backup plan. That school and Berklee are her top 2. What will your son be studying there?
That’s great that she’s got the acceptance to a good program–I imagine that will help make waiting to hear Berklee’s final decision a BIT less of a nail-biter. But still, to quote Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part! I was counting minutes after my son’s audition (and this was his SECOND Berklee audition!).
My son will do either guitar performance or composition, or perhaps some combination of the two. He also sings very well, but so far has been reluctant to add that to his repertoire, for some reason.
From what I understand, guitar and vocal performance are the two most competitive concentrations at Berklee, because so many guitarists and vocalists apply. Just our luck, right?
Ugh. You’re so right. And there’s a lot of like “double and triple threats out there. I.e singer, songwriter piano player, etc. Abi just sings. She plays piano as well but mostly teaching herself songs by ear etc. She also has a decent sized reaume of stuff she’s been in. She has that ability to figure intervals and key signatures in her head and discovered she has perfect pitch. Don’t know what a lot of that stuff is lol. But your son probably does. I’m thinking this may be one of the reasons they haven’t decided yet for her. But who knows!!! Tom Petty said it best for sure
Same here as far as knowing what most of that stuff is (altough I started learning how to play guitar–something I’ve always wanted to do but never got around to–last year at the ripe old age of 56, so I’m sort of picking some of it up)!
Your daughter sounds like my son (who also has perfect pitch, although up to about two years ago he “thought everybody did” ) . To a large extent he’s self-taught (less so at this point), but just seems to pick that stuff up easily and actually ENJOYS theory (even though he really dislikes math). I envy them both.
Your daughter sounds really talented and interesting, and I’m sure she has a good shot at a final “yes” from Berklee. And if they happen to say no, it sounds as if she’ll shine wherever she ends up.
P.S. Yup–I’ve always adopted. My current adoptee is whining to go out into the freezing cold as we speak!
Wow!! Now that’s impressive! Not too many people have that gift.
I must be a slow typist because half my replies are disappearing after I post lol
I don’t know much about Berklee but I’ll make a few general comments. My D did classical VP and is done with school now. Just a couple general comments.
My D was waitlisted at 2 schools and was accepted eventually by both. It’s slightly different than deferred but still not an initial acceptance. So you will need to wait it out. And yes there is reason for hope.
No matter how hard you try to “understand” it, you won’t. Luckily @AsMother has shared that voice can be a hard admit there. Your D could be fine talent-wise but they may have a lot of similar vocalist already and may defer some to see who else auditions before making final offers. So she definitely could get an offer, it just depends. She may even get a scholarship offer … depending on needs and why they are holding the decision. Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t say it could be a decline in the long run. But the point here isn’t so much talent as it is the harsh reality of numbers and needs for the school. Everyone has to face the reality that even though they ARE talented, a few schools may pass on them for the simple reason that they are looking for something slightly “different”. It’s the nature of the audition beast. You can’t game the system. The best thing is present yourself honestly and see where you get offers.
You can grow in many environments. The best environment is where they WANT you. My advice is to put Berklee aside. She obviously is talented enough or she would have been rejected. Now it’s up to need for Berklee. And there is nothing your D could have done differently for that. I would focus on the school where she is accepted. Learn about it. Get excited about it. Make sure not to overlook it. And just wait to see if Berklee has a need in the end.
Good luck and congrats on the admit! That’s exciting!!!
Thank you bridgenail. Everything you said is absolutely true on all counts. We are doing exactly that. I’m finding out that the only result in all this overthinking is just more heartburn haha. She is also waiting on 2 more colleges but Berklee and the one she got accepted to are her top. So she’s definitely in a great position going forward. We will just have to jump bre Berklee bridge when and if happens.
My son was just recently accepted on guitar and he applied early action. We got ZERO money. From what we have heard, not only is voice and guitar the most competitive programs, they’re the most competitive with getting scholarship money. Good luck to your daughter!! It’s a great school. My son has been wanting to go to Berklee since he was freshman!
Congratulations to your son! He must be so excited! I have heard about they’re lack of scholarship generosity lol. And thank you for the good luck wishes. We’ll find out March 31st I guess. What’s today’s date??? Hahaha
Exactly the same here, @Mttfromage ! My son applied as a transfer EA (guitar), and was accepted with no scholarship offer. But he’s going, and is REALLY looking forward to it. Congratulations to your son! I just told my son about your post here, as I’m not sure he believed me when I told him that acceptances and scholarships are particularly hard to come by for guitarists (and vocalists) at Berklee.
Will your son be attending?
@AsMother Thanks so much!! And congrats to your son! 95% he will be going. It’s a hefty price but we’ll make it work! Yes tell your son scholarships are very hard to come by for guitarists. Has your son visited there? It is such an impressive school. I’m just as excited as he is! LOL!
@adoptdontshop the waiting is unbearable! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for her! Keep me posted!!
Same here! I was bouncing off the walls when we found out he got in–I think we paid the tuition deposit the next day . He toured the school with his father three years ago (he had applied then and was rejected; it felt like the end of the world at the time!), and then he and I went up there again for the Boston audition this time around. I’d love to go there myself, if I knew anything more than a few chords on the guitar and wasn’t 56!
What style of music does your son prefer to play? Maybe they’ll end up hanging out together there!
Thanks all! We will be crossing our fingers too!! Not holding my breath though. So much competition out there! They are still doing auditions for regular action applications through February. My daughter did hers on December 2nd! Like are they even going to remember her lol?? What days did you all audition? Wonder if we were there at the same time? @AsMother where did your son transfer from if you don’t mind me asking?
@adoptdontshop , my son auditioned in Boston in mid-November sometime. He’s transfering from SUNY Purchase. And I’m sure they have their ways of remembering your daughter and her audition!