Berklee Music School Admissions

College Majors Music Major
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Hi there @AsMother, @bridgenail and @Mttfromage! Long time no CC lol. I’m checking in to see how all of your kids are doing at Berklee! I revisited this thread mostly for one reason. First let me just update you all by saying that my D ended up with a “no” from Berklee ?. It hurt as it was her No 1 choice. I actually think it would have been easier if she had gotten denied the first round instead of having to agonizingly wait for the regular action decision.

Moving on, as we all have to do, she is now attending the Hartt School and she loves it. She loves all her classes, professors and is making friends that all have a common interest. My D has some physical disabilities and Hartt has been more than accommodating. Thanks to them bending over backwards in order for her to be able to attend, she is now living on campus and loving all her classes and professors. We really think she is in the right spot for her. Someone once said, and I believe it may have been @bridgenail to go to the school that wants her. And they really wanted her. She even got a decent size scholarship which was an unexpected surprise. They say things happen for a reason.

Anyhoot, so she says to me last week that she was thinking about reauditioning to Berklee. I’m pretty surprised because she really likes Hartt and surprisingly, I’m not exactly supporting this decision. She said that Berklee was her no 1 choice and that also they do a lot more contemporary music. Hartt is more classical or jazz. She does enjoy the classical stuff, but she wants to do some contemporary stuff as well as explore music tech. She also would like to be a Spanish translator/interpreter which I know isn’t exactly music related, but between the Spanish classes they have, as well as a campus in Spain, she may be able to obtain this there somehow. She can also do it at her college as well. She would like to minor in Spanish, but right now there is no room for it in her vocal performance curriculum. I’ve heard from other music colleges that if you are classically trained, you can pretty much sing anything.

Anyway, enough babble. Just wanted to give you all an update and maybe get some different perspectives of it all. So I really only have a question for @AsMother. You had said that your son did 3 years at another music school. Did any of his credits transfer to Berklee? Will he graduate sooner because of the other music school? Also, you did say that he didnt receive any scholarship money. That’s one of the biggest reasons I’m digging my heals into this. Even if she gets accepted this time around, I’m afraid, she won’t receive any scholorships. We do not qualify for financial aid so that will pretty much be out. Plus I’ve read that Berklee only accepts credits for liberal arts classes and no music credits from any other school. So basically my daughter would be starting back at square 1. Hartt is cheapter than Berklee, but not by much. If she had gotten accepted last year, we may have made it work. But now that we have college tuition bills for this year, it kinda puts a wrench into it.

I’m thinking she should do her 4 years at Hartt and if she still wants to go to Berklee maybe apply for Grad school. I already told her that if she auditions at Berklee this year, and IF she gets accepted, she will have to receive a pretty hefty scholarship in order for It to be worthwhile for her to transfer. I know after stating all this, I’m sure her staying put is the best thing for her. Plus I would hate for her to audition and get in then not be able to attend. It may be a different story if she really didn’t like where she was. But then I would probably suggest giving it a chance at least until the end of the semester.

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Hi again, @adoptdontshop ! I’m sorry that your daughter didn’t get into Berklee (my son didn’t get in the first time he auditioned a few years ago, and it really stung!), but it’s great that she’s loving Hartt! I can understand her desire to be somewhere where she’s more free to explore genres other than classical and jazz; on the other hand I can understand your “If it ain’t broke…” thinking, not to mention going through the whole audition process again and worrying that it will be out of reach financially! Just when you think it’s over… :slight_smile:
My son actually took some music classes at a community college for a year when he got cold feet about his acceptance to the Purchase conservatory, and then he went to Purchase the following year, thinking, for some reason, that he’d decided to pursue Political Science instead of music (then one night a few months in he called me to say that he’d like to try Berklee again, which made me happy but anxious)! I believe that Berklee allowed him to transfer all of his liberal arts credits, so that’s pretty much out of the way, but none of the music classes from the community college were transferrable (not unexpected). Berklee is apparently very picky about transferring music credits, but they may be more flexible about classes taken at a school like Hartt! I would call the Admissions or Registrar’s office and just ask.
Aside from the fact that an overuse injury became very serious pretty much as soon as he got to Berklee (a lot about that on another thread) and he’s been incredibly frustrated about being at Berklee and not being able to play, he seems to really like it so far. His classical guitar teacher has been very understanding about his playing limitations, and he seems to enjoy the atmosphere. He also really likes his non-performance classes like Tonal Harmony, Ear Training, Arranging, etc., and they’re great preparation for his intention to major in Composition/Film Scoring. He also told me today that he bought a beginner’s clarinet and intends to learn how to play it, just so he’s playing SOMETHING (he’s composed some stuff for clarinet, so I’m sure it will be a good thing one way or another). Today I also reminded him that he has a beautiful singing voice, and that he could certainly use that as his instrument, at least for the time being.
What’s kind of funny is that at this point HIS main interest is in classical music, although he’s also dying to be able to “shred” again on his guitar! I think it’s great that Berklee encourages so many different kinds of music.
I’m sorry–I forget what instrument your daughter plays. Yes, the scholarships for vocal and guitar majors are apparently the most difficult to get, and I’ve heard from others here and elsewhere that being a transfer student makes it even more difficult to get one. But I’ve also read that it depends on many different factors, and if your daughter happens to have what they need that year she may get one! Others are probably more well-versed on that topic.
Please keep us posted! I’m definitely a believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason, often in ways that you’d never expect…

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Sorry–I just went back over the thread and remembered that your daughter is a singer–which is awesome, in my book, but yeah–it could make the scholarship thing a little more tricky.

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Me again–sorry! I was just thinking…can you let your daughter audition for Berklee again with the very clear understanding that unless she gets a workable scholarship she won’t be able to go? I know it’s a tough process, and of course if she got in and still couldn’t go it would be painful, but at least she won’t think that you wouldn’t support her in at least trying. And at least she’d know that she still has Hartt, which she does like, to fall back on. If she hated the place, that would be another story!

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I hope your daughter does 4 years at Hartt. It is a great school. She can do grad work at Berklee maybe. Freshman year is tough and it is hard for the kids to have a long range view. Sounds like she wants to prove herself somehow. Rejection lingers but eventually fades. Hartt sounds great for her. Several years ago we looked at it and really liked it.

Undergrad can be “foundational” with the fun contemporary stuff after she has training at Hartt-??

It may also be easier to pursue her other interests at Hartt.

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Hi all! Thanks for your responses! @AsMother, I’m so happy to hear that your son is enjoying Berklee! It has been a dream come true for him and you are, rightfully so, a proud mom. The no scholarship thing is tough, but hey your son seems to be dabbling with different instruments. Usually when you get a scholarship, it’s for the instrument you auditioned for. Once you change that, you lose the scholarship. But I’m not 100% sure Berklee does that since the students don’t actually pick their major until their second year. They also seem so accommodating which is nice to hear. My D needs a lot of accommodations, mostly for her living conditions. Hartt has been unbelievably accommodating to her. If there have been any issues, they get addressed immediately. I was kind of nervous that once all the whooing was over and we signed on the dotted line, she would get lost with all the other incoming freshman. Not even close. She continues to get the VIP treatment which makes me feel better being an hour and 1/2 away from her. They take good care of their students. One of the reasons why as you say, “if it ain’t broke…” or the other saying that keeps coming to mind “the grass isn’t always greener…”

I’m sure, that Berklee would be more than accomodating as well. They should be for the money right?? I say this about Hartt as well :). But who knows? I tell her getting around in her crutches or wheelchair will be a heck of a lot different in Boston than at a pretty little campus where you don’t have to cross a single road to get to class. She knows this though. We’ve been to Berklee on many occasions. And some of the days weren’t very pleasant.

I do have a feeling it may be a little of what @compmom states. Someone I talked to about this said she may have an “itch” to scratch. Like wanting to try again just to see if she can get in. She didn’t deny this when I asked her that lol. Anyway, I’m with you @compmom. I think she should continue with Hartt as well. It’s a wonderful school. She’s just getting her feet wet now. And I can understand how freshman year can be making her overthink things and the reality of it can lead to the what ifs and maybe ifs. I think she will be able to investigate other things at Hartt once she gets comfortable and seeks help from her academic rep. I tell her she has to put herself out there. Stuffs not going to come to her. Especially in college. This is another thing I’m concerned about Berklee. It’s a wonderful school and you get the best of the best over there. I just read a lot that the student kinda has to make their own path and connections in order to really get your money’s worth. Like I’m sure she would do great and would love all the classes. Sounds like she’s taking a lot of the same classes your son is @AsMother. I’m just not sure she’s ready for all that hustling she would have to do.

I did mention to her that if she really wants to reaudition at Berklee, we would support her. And we did tell her that if she got in but didn’t get a scholarship that would be worth her transferring, then she wouldn’t be able to go. It still is hard though if she decided to do it. If she gets another rejection, I’m sure it will still hurt. But then it will be out of her system…hopefully. But if she does happen to get in but with no scholarship, that will hurt even more.

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for your time and advice :slight_smile:

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I would try to ascertain whether her desire for focus on contemporary is also motivating her. If so, and if Hartt is truly not where she wants to be, then she should audition again at a few schools with a contemporary focus, not just Berklee.

If you have a conversation about that and she ONLY wants Berklee, then it would seem it is, indeed, an “itch to scratch” and she wants to undo the rejection.

Hartt is a great school, they are accommodating her well, she loves classes and professors, can follow some other interests there. It is a very very well respected conservatory.

That said, the vocal performance degree is choral and opera. As you said, they also have a jazz program. is she able to do both or is she mainly in the choral/opera/recital program?

If she wants to do contemporary/popular/commercial music, then she may have a reason to switch unless she can see Hartt’s program as foundational and later does a grad degree, which many do.

The Hartt program could lead to grad studies at the doctoral level, and an academic career , private teaching or performance: And on the website, it says " A key component of Hartt’s performance curriculum is pedagogy, the science of teaching, to give students the knowledge necessary to start a successful teaching studio."

Berklee, on the other hand, has a program with styles “from jazz and R&B to rock and country to a variety of global styles,” I could be wrong but I believe the emphasis at Berklee is less about years of study and more about getting out there. Someone can correct me.

These programs are very different and have different likely career outcomes, so I just wanted to add that thought to my previous post :slight_smile: If this different focus is truly your daughter’s dilemma, then she could go ahead and audition but she should have at least one other school with this kind of program, besides Berklee, to audition at.

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Yikes–it hadn’t occurred to me (duh!) that a musician could lose her scholarship if she couldn’t play or changed instruments! Stress much?!!
It DOES sound, as both of you have said, that “undoing” the rejection might be a motivator here. And Berklee really emphasizes to applicants that they should re-apply if they’re not accepted the first time around. Hartt does sound just wonderful, though! I’m sure you’ll get it sorted out, and you’ll both come to an understanding of what the underlying issues might be so that you can move in the right direction.
I will be interested to hear how it all turns out!

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P.S. My grandparents lived in West Hartford, and I lived with them there for large chunks of my childhood–such a pretty, peaceful little town! Boston is gorgeous too (in a different way, obviously!). I can imagine that getting around the city in a wheelchair or on crutches during the winter would be a serious challenge, although I’m sure that your daughter has considered that and would find a way to do it, if she did end up at Berklee.

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@compmom You mean there are other music schools besides Berklee??? ??. I’m so glad I checked in here. I like hearing the different opinions. I think the issue with my D is a little of both. We toured Berklee twice. The fact that they have so much to offer and that you can basically “make” your own schedule, (as long as it’s ok’d by the Dean), sounds amazing. I don’t think any other colleges do that. It would allow her to explore different options. She really has a lot of interests musically. Right now she is a vocal performance major. She’s mainly classical/choral. She doesn’t have that booming operatic voice that a lot of the students have there. She’s a little thing with more of a soft, angelic voice. To be honest I was kind of surpriesed she got into Hartt just for that reason. However she has a lot of other talents musically which I think also contributed to her acceptance there. Having perfect pitch is one of them. Which is pretty rare. However there are 5 students (including her) with perfect pitch at the music school in both vocal and instrumental. So I guess they know what they’re doing. And now she is finally getting challenged. She is getting music in a certain key and being told to transpose it into other keys. She does this all in her head. Her singing life has been mostly choruses and occasional solos. She’s not big into the jazz thing which is unfortunate. I had her listen to some Esperanza Spalding, who just happened to have graduated from Berklee. She has the same type of voice my daughter has. She’s amazing. No interest. Oh well. It’s her life not mine lol.

So really it’s both sides of the coin here I think. I do see her point in wanting to reaudition for the reasons listed above. I’m just not sure about auditioning elsewhere. She really loved Berklee. I feel if she auditions at Berklee and then another school, then if she doesn’t get into Berklee, but gets accepted to the other school, my feeling is she will stick with Hartt. Which brings us back to the “itch” scenario huh? But then again, I may be wrong. I think D, myself and her Dad need to have some more conversation about this just to see exactly where her head is at.

And yes @AsMother, that whole scholarship thing came to mind when I was reading about everything your son is doing there. I remember one of the colleges she auditioned for mentioned this. It may have been Berklee. But I think your son can apply for scholarships at some point down the road. You probably already know this though. My D has a friend who is in his sophomore year at Berklee. He got zero scholorships. I asked his Dad if he will be able to apply for this year and he said that he can’t apply for scholarship until he is in his junior year. I have no idea why. Maybe they want to make sure the student is going to stick around before they start dishing out money. That makes sense because a lot of people who go to Berklee don’t actually “graduate” because they make connections and leave because they got jobs or paying gigs. Probably the reason a lot of incoming freshman don’t receive a lot in the way of scholarship as well. Maybe they want to save it for someone they know is going to stay.

And yes, West Hartford is beautiful. The Uhart campus is too. I think I have like 100 pictures of that campus on my phone lol. I took your advice and emailed admissions to ask about transfering credits as well as the chances of getting any scholarship funds the second time around. I probably won’t get much of an answer about the scholarship part. But hey, can’t hurt to ask. I mean us parents are the ones footing the bill, right? Or at lease we are in this case ?

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PM’ed you…

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I vote that she does whatever she chooses with Berklee. You gave her the financial parameters. Be clear how much you’ll help. And say “scooter…how you spend your time at college is up to you”.

If she wants to audition … fine. She’ll either “fail” again. My D fails all the time and gets over it. So no big deal. She seems resilient so I don’t see a problem (except if it starts costing the parents money…so be clear…it can’t cost a boatload to audition). Or she might get accepted with no money…but then she got accepted and she feels better about herself…or she’s mad she can’t attend and has to lick her wounds yet again. I wouldn’t try to prevent that. It’s good practice for the future. Or her dreams come true…and she goes to Berklee or decides to stay at Hart after all. Who knows what a 19 year old will decide. But if you stand in her way she’ll never forget it.

Of course she could run out of gas on her way to the audition. It could just be talk. Thanksgiving is the season of “I’m going to transfer”. I wouldn’t help much…it’s her deal. Just sit back and see what she does. It’s her life after all.

And my D never attended Berklee. She did classical VP.

Good luck.

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My daughter has 9 schools on her list but Berklee is definitely at the top of her list. She has her audition in December.

She is also a vocalist interested in pop/contemporary music as well as songwriting and recorded arts.

We have already had the chat about Berklee only being a responsible choice if she gets a fairly generous scholarship. We are limited on finances and don’t want her leaving college in that much debt, even if it’s a “dream” school. She plans to put her best foot forward for the audition and hope for the best, but understands the reality. The good news is that she is very happy with the other choices on her list, many of which are either known to give generous scholarships or in our price range (although NYU Clive Davis is another expensive reach on her list not known to give much $) She has a friend who goes to Hartt and loves it, but she felt it was too classical for her interests and never put it on her list. But it’s definitely a wonderful music school!

I’m trying to stay nuetral on her list, other than discussing our financial bottom line, but I’m not so sure Berklee would be her best choice. I see her doing better in schools with small or medium music departments. Some we looked at have a total of 200 in the program whereas Berklee has about 1000 VOCALISTS on campus, not to mention total musicians. Berklee definitely doesn’t do much hand-holding (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing) but I think my daughter would benefit more from a more intimate program with individualized attention.

One huge positive in Boston is the collaboration opportunities, endless connections to musicians/gigging and big name professors. Don’t get me wrong, Berklee is a top caliber music college and I’d be thrilled for my daughter if she got in, let alone got a scholarship, but I’m just speaking as a mom and thinking of the environments she thrives most in. Finances aside, I just want her to be open minded and really consider the pros & cons for this huge decision, not just go for the “biggest name.”

In your case, I think you did exactly the right thing. It’s good to show support but with clear parameters of what kind of scholarship she needs to aim for. Who knows? Maybe she’ll get in and then decide she wants to stick with Hartt, that she just needed that reassurance or confidence boost. Musicians are competitive by nature so it’s easy for them to take the rejection personally, even though it’s often for things out of their control such as number of vocalists, as many here pointed out. Keep us posted on the process and what she decides to do. Good luck!

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Hi @AmyIzzy! Thanks for your insight! Best of luck to your daughter! It is a very exciting (and exhausting lol) time for you all. I hope she gets into the college of her choice and with a nice scholarship! She sounds very talented. Berklee has a lot of pros, but also has its challenges. I also think my daughter is better in a small, more intimate environment where she’ll get a lot of support. Maybe when she has a little more experience under her belt, she’ll be more ready for a school like Berklee. If she even still wants to go at that point. I understand her wanting to go the Berklee with all it has to offer. I feel she would fit in with all the genres she can explore. But she is enjoying the classes at Hartt as well. And I think a lot of them are pretty similar to Berklee.

The other issue is the whole transfer of credits thing. We already are paying for a year at Hartt. If Berklee doesn’t take their credits (which I’ve heard they only take liberal arts credits, no music), then she will be at square one again and we would be out some $$$. I talked with her last night and I think she is going through a little slump and second guessing what she really wants. After reading some of these responses as well as other threads on CC, it seems she’s not alone with this feeling this time of year. After we talked it out, she seemed in better spirits. So we’ll see if she still has the Berklee Bug in the next few days ?

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By the way, @adoptdontshop , I love “soft angelic” voices. Most of the ones that come to mind for me are in the pop/rock/folk genres (only because I’m still not well-versed in the classical/operatic/choral vocalists)–Joni Mitchell, Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, Margo Timmons of the Cowboy Junkies (showing my age here!). I’ve never actually listened to Esperanza Spalding, although her name does tend to come up a lot with regard to Berklee!
I have heard that it’s possible for non-first-year students to get scholarships, but I haven’t looked into it much so far because my son is barely able to play at the moment because of his injury, and, although he says he’s been writing a lot of music on his own, I don’t think anyone else there has heard it yet! It would be fantastic if he could get one, though!
Did you get an answer from Berklee about music transfer credits?
I definitely think that your daughter should audition again if it’s still what she wants to do when it’s time. She sounds very talented and music-oriented (transposing keys in one’s head doesn’t sound like something for the musically faint-of-heart!), and I would think that her chances would be excellent the second time around (even though, as we’ve discussed, the scholarship thing will be a challenge for a transfer vocalist). It will certainly demonstrate her strong interest, for one thing, especially since she’s already in a great program.
On the other hand, I was thinking yesterday about how my son would have reacted if he’d been rejected a second time–I don’t think I let myself think much about that possibility at the time, even though it certainly could have happened! Everyone is different, but it’s worth some serious consideration. I wonder if my son would have decided that he “didn’t have what it takes” to be in music school, even if that wasn’t rational or true.
The people who auditioned him the second time picked up on his perfect pitch during his second audition (when they asked him to identify the notes in a chord or something). I don’t know if that helped, but it does seem to be a coveted attribute!

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@adoptdontshop Yes, it’s a very exciting time but definitely stressful. I’m glad she has an easier school and theatre schedule this year (she attends an intensive theatre program after school and has done theatre her whole life but decided she did not want to study Musical Theatre in college-she’s more into the pop music thing.) The transferring of credits is a really important piece of the picture here and could translate to more money and time in college if music classes don’t transfer so I am hopeful Berklee would work with you on that. Let us know what they say.

If my daughter gets into Berklee with no scholarship, it’s off the table (I know I’m a mean mom for putting my foot down there.) But if she gets in with a scholarship that doesn’t meet our budget, they did tell us during our visit that she could take 24 liberal arts credits at our local college and could enter as a Sophomore and they would still honor the scholarship. So that might make sense if she really thinks that’s the best school for her. I think I’m privately ok with that option so I can selfishly keep her home another year. She is my first off to college and I’m just not ready yet! Lol.

My daughter has won local and even some national recognition in musical theatre, jazz and pop areas but we know an amazing award-winning piano player who did not get into Berklee. We were shocked! So you just never know! Sounds like you have a very talented daughter (and lots of parents of talented kids posting here!) so I wish luck to you all!

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Thanks @AsMother. Yes I did get an email back from Berklee. It was as we thought. Only liberal arts classes can transfer. No music. The cap of transfering LA is 24. My D has 1 this year. It’s academic writing. So that doesn’t help much. The only thing I’ve read that may be a possibility is something called Exam by Credit. Like maybe some of the music classes she is taking now, she can test into the next level at Berklee. But it says not all classes do this. And even if they do and she can level up, will she get “credits” for the previous level? Something tells me no. But that would be another question to ask. The scholarship questions was what I expected. Everyone who auditions is considered for scholarship. But not everyone gets one. They are able to award about 40% of all entering students. The dollar amount is anywhere from $10,000 up to full tuition.

So I’m really not sure what we will do here. Having to swallow a first year’s tuition for her to start again will be difficult to say the least. I know my husband is against it. If she was really unhappy at Hartt than that would be a little different. Plus she’s pretty busy with all her classes and music repertoire that she’s probably not going to have a whole lot of time to practice for a new audition. But I guess it will be up to her to see if she wants to take a shot. And yes I do think of what if she gets rejected AGAIN! I told her that this could very well happen. She knows this. It will definitely sting, but at the same time she is already enrolled in a very respectable music school that’s not so easy to get into. That may soften the blow. I’m actually thinking she may decide to not go ahead with this audition. Like I said in the previous post, she seems to be going through a funk which she needs to work through before jumping the gun. But hey, who knows. This whole college experience has been one unexpected thing (some great, some not) after another!

And I love Joni Mitchell! I tried getting her to sing one of her songs. She refused lol. Guess it’s too old for her. But it may make for some good audition material ?. Ok. I’m getting ahead of myself here lol.

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Thanks @AmyIzzy! Same to you as well. And you’re not a “mean mom” by any means. Berklee is a huge bill to take on. All colleges are for that matter. If you can’t do it than you can’t do it. And your smart letting your daughter know this now so she’s not set up for a downfall. I like the taking the liberal arts thing at another college and then transfering credits. I do hear that Berklee is pretty generous with their accepted students. I’ve read some students decide to defer their acceptance and re-audition at a later date to try for that scholarship they didnt get the first time around. Or to try to drum up some scholarship money on their own during that time.

One thing I’ve learned through this whole process is that I know nothing!! ?? What I thought was going to happen for sure didn’t and what I thought wasn’t going to happen did. Berklee I thought would be a no. Not because my D isn’t talented enough to get in, but because of the caliber of auditions from all over the world. A lot of triple threats like singer/songwriter/piano player/, students with their own web page, bands, you tube channels, etc. Sure she has an impressive resume of performances, but not a lot of bells and whistles to go with it. We got a little more hopeful when her application got moved to the regular action group. I was like hey ok, she’s still being considered. But that made for an agonizing 2 month wait which then became a no. That was a bummer.

Her home state college, which has a pretty good music department, sent her a letter saying that she has been accepted into the music program but didn’t have enough experience to study vocal performance or music ed. Wait, what??? First of all she didn’t even apply for music ed so why even say that? And not enough experience? She made All State 4 years in a row, for 2 voice parts! She scored Supeior on her All State solo ensembles. Oh and she was nominated, auditioned and picked along with kids from all over the world to sing in a choir at Carnegie Hall!! OK whatever. And they basically kissed the ground she walked on after her audition so it made this letter even more shocking. I mean I’m not saying she’s the best singer in the world, but geeeeeze, she’s certainly has enough experience to study vocal performance! Then she gets accepted to Hartt (which is the one I didn’t think she would get) for vocal performance, and a generous scholarship! There’s just no way of knowing how these decisions are made or why.

I’ve read that this happens A LOT, in the music and theatre world and not to take anything personally. Although it is hard not to when it comes to our kids lol. I really think a lot of it is talent and a little bit more of luck. All the kids that audtion at these music schools are super talented. It must be so difficult to have to pick and choose who gets in and who doesn’t.

Your daughter sounds like a mega talent for sure. She definitely has the goods. Hopefully she’ll get into all of them and be able to pick the one she wants. The other thing she can do is use a scholarship award from one school to bargain with another school she would rather go to. Except I’ve heard Berklee doesn’t play that game. Not surprised about that ?. But it can’t hurt to try ?

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The more you write about the situation, adoptdontshop the more it sounds like she is in that freshman slump and would do very well staying at Hartt. You’ve heard of the turkey drop, which refers to break ups around Thanksgiving. But around that time lots of kids are also thinking about leaving or transferring, doubting their choice, not feeling committed or at home yet. It hasn’t been that long. It seems that after the holidays, many of them are suddenly very happy to be where they are and it feels like “their school.” Hoping that is true for your daughter :slight_smile:

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Thanks @compmom. I do believe you are very correct. I realized last night while I was chatting with her that she was a little down about a few things. Berklee never came up except for the hint I gave her when I said that whatever is bothering her now isn’t going to be fixed by switching schools. Now if she started talking about not liking where she is, we would be having a different conversation. She seemed better after we spoke and had a much better day today. She talked about how they all practiced stage make up in Opera Stagecraft, yep thats a class, and gave me a date in December that she will be perfoming a solo with her vocal seminar class.? I really think it would be best if she wait for grad school to try Berklee again. If she still wants to. Who knows what will happen between now and then. Whatever it is, it will come quick because everyone I talk to said that the college years fly right by. Even faster than High School.