<p>wish I had discovered this web site months ago!
My son wants a career in piano performance. He is going to apply to Juliard, Oberlin, New England Conservatory, Peabody, and the Cincinnati Institute of Music.
I know absolutely nothing about any of this. I have no idea if he's applying to the "best" schools. Please - if you have any information or feedback or anything to help me/him I would deeply appreciate it. What schools have we totally missed? What do you think of the schools listed above? Good/bad? Why? How can he possibly say which teacher he'd like to take lessons from when you have no clue who they are? We don't have a ton of money to go around and take lessons from them.............thoughts? If he gets accepted (I know the odds are low!), but he can't go due to finances, are there any good public schools where he could study piano performance? We live in MN if that helps at all. He's pretty solid academically - 31 ACT, 1970 SAT, 3.7 GPA (someone suggested I add the academic info).I really appreciate any guidance you can give me.</p>
<p>Well...first of all, if he's auditioning at those conservatories, his stats will have little bearing on his acceptance. They accept student largely based on the audition the student plays. As others have pointed out (on the other board) there are some schools which do have piano programs but are not conservatories...Lawrence was suggested to you. Your best bet is to talk to your son's private piano teacher. If this teacher is of the caliber who is training students with conservatory level abilities, she/he will likely have some suggestions for you. Also, talk to other students and teachers. When we were in your shoes several years ago, we found that by talking we heard the same names over and over from various sources. We also did not have a lot of specific info about teachers, but when we started hearing these same names again and again (and from very reliable folks) DS was able to focus his search better (and has spent the last 3 1/2 years studying his instrument with one of those "frequently named teachers". I know nothing about the music programs at the state universities in MN but I'm sure someone here does. You should be alerted that the conservatories do have financial aid, but it is reserved for their most highly desired admits. But I always say...nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>Like thumper1 said, with the following emphasis, the schools you list are all "top shelf." Therefore the critical evaluation of abilities is critical so you can plot a safety school strategy, from an ability perspective. </p>
<p>Since finances are important, you may want to also plot a financial safety school strategy too.</p>
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<p>Oberlin meets 100% of need>></p>
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<p>That may be true...but you would still have to get accepted through the audition. Also, you would need to check to see if needbased aid is also done for the conservatory students. I know that at some schools, it is not. Hartt, for example...music students do NOT receive need based aid through the university...of course they also do not meet full need so that may be some of the reason. But Hartt's policy is to award performance awards, and the music dept students do not receive any other merit or need based aid.</p>
<p>anxious parent - I would like a bit more information. What year is your son? If he is a senior he has likely already missed some deadlines for some schools. How did you come up with your initial list of schools? Were they recommended to you by someone or did you come up with the list on your own? </p>
<p>This is a very difficult process and many of us have had to learn by hook and by crook. We are all happy to help if we can, but it would be helpful to know where, exactly, you are in this process. </p>
<p>He might want to consider UW-Madison. His stats might be a bit low, but he would have a pretty good shot I think. They have a wonderful pianist there in Christopher Taylor. I don't know how involved he is with undergrads. You would have to make a contact to find out. UW has rolling admissions and you would qualify for instate tuition under the reciprocity agreement. He would have to be accepted to the university before he can be accepted to the music school.</p>
<p>Oberlin administers all of their aid through the same office for both the conservatory and the college. The only difference between the two that I have seen is that the musical merit awards are determined by conservatory staff and faculty rather than by the financial aid people. Both the college and con claim to meet 100% of need and they have been very good about making a high percentage of their need-based aid in the form of grants rather than loans.</p>
<p>That said, the admissions process is not need-blind, meaning that they take into consideration how much aid you are likely to need when they make their admissions decision. Oberlin's per-student endowment is not overly large, so they cannot afford to give massive aid to everyone. They are also trying to gradually reduce their discount rate so that they do not get into financial difficulties down the road.</p>
<p>Just some additional thoughts that might help with some of your concerns.</p>
<p>Your son's list consists of all very good conservatories - - not a "bad" one in the bunch. There are only a few others of equivalent stature: Curtis (no tuition, but all but impossibly selective), Manhattan School of Music, Eastman, and possibly Rice. Whether his list makes sense depends on your son's abilities. Even if he is very good, you might want to consider some safeties.</p>
<p>Don't be too concerned about not being able to visit in advance of auditions. You can count on excellent teachers at every school on the list. There will be differences in style and personality. Kids tend to want to pick teachers who are like their current teachers. It is not necessarily a bad thing to have a different type of teacher. Also, there is a lot more to conservatory training than just the hour or so a week with the primary teacher.</p>
<p>On the average, some schools tend to be better than others for financial aid. Among those are Juilliard, Eastman, and Oberlin. The averages don't mean much. Aid often depends on the audition and how badly the school wants and individual student. There is little to do but apply, audition and then see what happens. There is already enough audition pressure without the realization that a little sloppy playing can mean tens of thousands in financial aid. Almost every school will offer a FA package which will make attendance possible. Unfortunately, some of the FA packages may be almost entirely loans.</p>