BU or NEC: Graduate School

Hi all!

I was accepted to two graduate schools, BU and NEC, and waitlisted at several others. Those two are my viable options right now, but as my username suggests, I’m in a bit of a pickle right now.

I went into the application process only wanting to go to NEC to study with this one teacher, and nobody else. I was happy when they accepted me, but they won’t tell me my studio assignment. Admissions told me that I’m on a short list to be able to study with this person, so I emailed the professor saying how much I want to study with him. It’s been four days and there hasn’t been a response, and it’s unlikely that I’ll find out before April 15th (the day I have to commit somewhere). Financial aid was decent, but not great. However, it is a “prestigious” school, which is unfortunately an important factor in this pretentious field of classical music.

The other option is BU. I had a lesson with the professor there and learned so much! He reached out to me expressing his enthusiasm regarding taking me as his student, and the financial aid package was very good. I can still watch BSO concerts for free. This school does have studio class (I know for my department at NEC they do not have studio classes), which is important to build relationships with colleagues and get more playing experience. My current professor told me that overall, NEC’s ensembles are better than BU, but the latter has a more nurturing environment.

Which school should I pick? Is there anything I don’t know about each school that I should know? Your experiences and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
pickledpeppers

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We don’t know your field, so it’s hard to comment,.

However, I can tell you that often emailing folks at NEC does not work. I would call admissions and ask how best to get a hold of that teacher.

Maybe you could set up a formal meeting with either the teacher or the dept. chair via Zoom since probably not in person. Since you have been accepted I think they would be relatively attentive so don’t go by the unanswered email!

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These are all great ideas—thank you so much! I will try them throughout the next couple weeks!!

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