chances for nyu?

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>i am really excited about nyu, seeing as it fits everything i want in one school!</p>

<p>my gpa is 3.3 as of sophmore year. once my junior year grades are calculated in, im sure i will get an 89 MAYBE 90. i got a 1750 on my psat, and im planning in taking both the act and sat and am studying hard for both, and am planning to get at least a 1900on the sat. (on the act not sure) i have a lot of music ec's of which include taking private lessons for the viola for 8 years, playing in my local youth orchestra as of sixth grade, making all county, area all state, and making backup for all state. (this is new york btw). my junior year i enrolled in msm prep (manhattan school of music prep) and am doing that, but am not planning on doing it next year. i have been playing ultimate frisbee for all of my high school career, and our team is first in the state, so we take it pretty seriously. i also went to a few music camps.</p>

<p>i am really interested in finding a school that has a good music tech/production program, and is located in a populated city, to climb up the ladder through internships</p>

<p>-thanks</p>

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<p>please help!</p>

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<p>@Cabbage123
Are you asking what your chances are for being accepted at NYU? </p>

<p>Are you planning to apply as a performance major, for Viola? If so, the conventional wisdom and experience of this board is: the priority is to find a teacher you want to study with. Acceptance will be by audition so it is not possible to gauge your ‘chance’ of acceptance.</p>

<p>Or are you applying for music tech/production?
I’m not sure what the requirements are for music tech/production, or what type of audition or portfolio is required. I’m sure you can find the info at NYU’s website, or use the search tool here at the music forum.</p>

<p>For NYU, your academic stats will also factor in. I’m not 100% sure, but off-hand, your 3.3 and 1900 appear low for NYU.</p>

<p>Lastly, NYU is notoriously expensive, and known for not giving much merit or need-based grants. </p>

<p>Before you go any further “loving” NYU - sit down with your parents. Discuss how much, if anything, they are planning to contribute towards your future education. Find out if you’ll have access to that money for grad school if it is not all used for u/g. Develop a budget of how much you can afford per year. As you prepare your list of schools, make sure you include FINANCIAL SAFETIES.</p>

<p>As you are in NY, have you looked at SUNY Purchase Conservatory? They have something called Studio Production; I’m not sure, but perhaps that is comparable to music tech/production.</p>

4

<p>I agree w/ mtpaper, cabbage. Don’t start loving NYU too soon as your stats may not make it a good fit. Consider it a reach school, but look for more schools that are a better fit. Your frisbee thing is nice, but I wouldn’t drop your prep to do more of that … keep doing ultimate frisbee for fun, but don’t do more frisbee and less music if you are serious about music. BTW, there are some great opportunities to pursue ultimate frisbee in college, but don’t make that your top priority as I’m not aware there are scholarships for ultimate frisbee, nor have I heard of professional leagues that would provide you a salary.</p>

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<p>Cabbage123, it’s not the best idea to have your heart set on one school so early in the process. My daughter is a hs senior and I never imagined in a million years she would end up going to college in Ohio. She had her heart set on being in a big city for many different reasons and did not want to look at anything else. Her list of schools was always changing end she eventually ended up with several great choices. I am happy she kept an open mind, did her research and took many sample lessons. Do yourself a favor and look at other programs, including state schools. Best of luck.</p>

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<p>Are you looking into the Clive Davis Dept. of Recorded Music, or one of Steinhardt’s programs? ReMu seems like it would be a good program to try for unless you want a lot of private music lessons and performance in your curriculum - then, I would recommend something at Steinhardt. Although as of now you’re reaching a bit academically, your chances still depend on the specific program and what you can do to prove to the school AND the program itself that you’re worthy of acceptance. I got into ReMu with an UW 3.5, W 4.2, 2000 SAT, and a really impressive portfolio, so it can certainly be done. Also consider how expensive the school is and how little aid they usually give, if that’s an issue.</p>

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<p>Cabbage, please do try to bring your GPA up a little bit for NYU – midrange is 3.6. That said, as 27 dreams points out, Clive Davis is by portfolio (so more weight on portfolio). Odds are usually about 1 in 10 get in. So it’s truly a longshot for even the most talented. This is why you need a nice, long list of options ;)</p>

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<p>… including several that you can afford without any merit scholarships.</p>

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<h1>3, i would most likely be applying as a music tech major. i don’t know if Clive would be a good choice because it seems as though grades are more important there than at Steinhart</h1>

<p>I will most likely apply to state schools as well, however i find it very unappealing how most of them (outside SUNY purchase) are in the middle of nowhere. i feel as though with music production, making connections is a very important factor. I was considering Umiami as well, because they seem to be more in my range.</p>

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<p>Berklee has a Music Production and Engineering major. Their recording facilities are amazing. Plus they have early action so you can audition in Nov/Dec and possibly drop a few schools off the list if you are accepted. You’ll know early even about a scholarship.</p>

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<p>

I don’t know where you would get that idea. I think you need to sit down with your guidance counselor at your HS and discuss the Naviance results and “fits” for kids from YOUR school to different University programs in general to develop a good list of fits, reaches, etc. For example, look at the mid-range ACT/SAT scores of the accepted class at NYU in general and you will note that the midline is at least 3.6 typically.</p>

<p>On one hand, academics do not weigh HEAVILY in conservatory auditions for performance degrees (at standalone conservatories). On the other hand, academics (coupled with performance experience) DO weigh heavily at many top University-based school of music TECHNOLOGY programs such as University of Michigan, Northwestern, NYU, USC, Miami Frost, etc. Particularly in the discipline of engineering/production, you can expect to take calculus, EECS (electrical engineering), psychoacoustics and C++ programming as requirements. At UMich, for example, the bare min. ACT score for Math is 28 otherwise you are not even REVIEWED for the audio production program – and I do know a student who was rejected with a 35 ACT and a 3.95 unweighted GPA.</p>

<p>A 1750 on PSAT does not predicate a 2000 level performance, but you can practice the tests in order to increase the score. For GPA, if you could get it up to about a 3.5 unweighted, you would have more options available to you. </p>

<p>But what I want to emphasize most of all is that you need a very well rounded and “deep” list of options, including a “safety plan” that you could live with, in order to have the freedom to pursue your field in a way that does not leave you in debt or otherwise shut out from access to the best programs. So you want to get your portfolio, resumes and recommendations together this summer, take any extra training in technology you can access, and get evaluations from people who specialize in production to develop the best list for your dream.
Best wishes!</p>

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<p>My recommendation is more about how to go about this then specifically about NYU. If you are thinking of heading into music technology, then you need to do research into the schools that offer it and then figure out how you will stack up in terms of going there. In straight conservatory programs for example, academics generally mean little to nothing, other then if a kid totally fouls up, admissions are by audition, in a school where you are required to get admitted to both the music school and college, it can matter a lot.</p>

<p>It is really important that you look at the program itself and not just the school, for example, I am not sure if Steinhardt even offers music tech, I thought that was strictly Clive Davis, I think Steinhardt is strictly performance and general music. Unless Clive Davis, for example, is by portfolio alone, NYU is pretty competitive academically so your grades and SAT may be a problem (for example, I know that with some of their arts programs, like dance, you can get admitted by audition). </p>

<p>My recommendation would be to do the research on the websites and find schools that might interest you and then look at the requirements for the school, and more importantly, send the admissions department about how they select students for a particular department. Do they weigh heavily by their portfolio (where that applies), or is the student selected in the same admissions pool as everyone else, in which case academics might be a show stopper. It is okay to ask questions, that is what they are there for and most of them are nice people IME. </p>

<p>Like others, I also recommend thinking about the cost, NYU is not known for good merit or financial aid and it is quite expensive. If you want to stay in the NYC area, then check out other colleges who might have programs you are looking at, maybe Mannes or another school might offer something you want, but I also recommend casting a wide net. There are also the schools in LA, like USC and UCLA and such, though I hear they are tough admits as well. </p>

<p>Hopefully there are people on this board who have been through this who can give some advice on the specifics of MT. One warning, from the little I know MT is pretty rigorous, this isn’t the stereotype of being some cool program inhabited by hipster slackers but is a pretty intense track that takes a lot of work and study, it has a lot of tech courses that are not easy, things like acoustics are not easy (friend of mine took an acoustics course under Amar Bose at MIT, said it took 3 years off his life:).</p>

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<p>^Musicprnt, Steinhardt does have a music technology degree available as well, but it has a different flavor than Clive Davis.</p>

<p>Cabbage, it’s just occurred to me that if you only have your PSATS, you may just be finishing your sophomore year. Is that correct? If so, I should tell you a little story about a student named “McSon” who at one point in his life thought a 3.3 GPA from a magnet school would be solid enough to get into UMich’s music tech program (called PAT - performing arts technology, music stream). He went to visit the program, fell in love with it, and discovered that he needed to not only kick academic butt to get in, but to start working, two years ahead, on any areas of tech skill deficit, sequencing, electronic composition etc. He took a private summer course with a super great recording engineer, wrote a boatload of music, learned piano to shore up his midi/composition skills, and then went on to get a 3.95 GPA in both Junior and Senior years.</p>

<p>Guess what! He got into his dream program (one of four selected for that stream) and got a scholarship to boot.</p>

<p>So it’s doable, but keep your eyes wide open re: what it takes, and get visiting so that you can tell what it takes ;)</p>

<p>(PS - That’s how I know about Clive Davis, Jacobs Recording Arts Bsc., Miami Frost, Belmont, Northwestern, etc. We started travel/touring programs in the summer of sophomore year.)</p>

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<p>thanks for the info everyone!</p>

<p>kmcmom, im finishing up my junior year in high school right now, and am taking the sat/act in 2 months.</p>

<p>if it is any help to anyone, my dream job would be producing music. I am assuming music tech would be the smartest choice for a major, however some schools like Berklee have specific music production programs.</p>

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<p>Here’s a little something off the Steinhardt and Tisch websites to compare the two programs NYU has to offer…</p>

<p>If you were to apply to Music Tech at Steinhardt, you would be prepared for a career in “sound engineering, computer music, audio-visual production and post-production, mastering, scoring for film and multimedia, audio for games, software development, and multimedia production.”</p>

<p>If you applied for the Clive Davis ReMu program at Tisch, you would be trained as a “Producer-Entrepreneur,” aka “producers & songwriters who work ‘behind the glass’ in the record studio and launch or run their own production companies, record labels or other music ventures.” You would be studying with fellow “producer entrepreneurs” as well as “executive entrepreneurs,” “performer-entrepreneurs,” and “journalist entrepreneurs.”</p>

<p>Which would you prefer?</p>

<p>Also, Berklee would probably work well if you don’t mind being in a place where everyone studies music and there’s no real campus or “college feel.” I’ve heard that Miami and UMich are also really nice. </p>

<p>Start looking into your preferred NYU program’s curriculum options as well as their portfolio/audition and academic requirements immediately, and if you need any help from someone who’s already come out of the ReMu process with an acceptance letter, feel free to contact me.</p>

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<p>Hi I am also interested in the Clive Davis Program. I want to register as an executive entrepreneur. What should i do for my five minute section in my portfolio??</p>

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<p>Trossi, I am not sure what you’re asking. What are your strengths? They’re very open ended about what they’ll accept. If you’re good with composition and or music production, then you’d want to edit together excerpts of different songs, styles, effects, sampling, multitracked recordings into a 5 min. package. If you’re strong in multimedia/promotions/posters/business plans, then you’d want to make a flip book with live links to samples. If you’ve a performer, video of a live show, Etc. Here’s what they’ll accept or offer as guidance:</p>

<p>Examples of past creative sample submissions have included, but are not limited to:</p>

<pre><code>* A business plan you would like to implement, or have already implemented

  • Evidence of experience with Internet/new media, music marketing, promotions, A&R, management, merchandising, Internet entrepreneurship as well as work on a street team or as a music stylist
  • Audio recordings of music you have either composed, produced, arranged, engineered, or performed on, and may also include multimedia recordings, music videos, or lyrics written
  • Promotional materials you’ve created showing your graphic design such as logos on a t-shirt, band or event flyers and ads
  • Evidence of live events, concert production and promotion
  • Articles you have published on music, music photography, evidence of music blogging
  • Designs you have done for a home or school studio and technology including construction and implementation of the studio with reasons for choices made
  • Films you have scored, soundtracks, or sound design
  • Video of live performance [highly encouraged for performer entrepreneurs]
    </code></pre>

<p>PS - My son’s portfolio, for this and other programs, was actually in three parts: 1. Booklet with design artwork/promo/writing/samples/lyrics, resume, recommendations and production notes, with on the inside booklet CD/DVD holders including: 2. A 5 minute demo featuring selected clips from multiple compositions and performance (and multitrack production) followed by the full length versions of each song and 3. A scored DVD sample video with highly edited clips plus in some cases the inclusion of sheet music for some of the compositions (different programs required this; not Clive Davis).</p>

<p>He did it this way to cover all the requirements of different programs. You only need to zero in on your strengths, but it makes sense to cover what OTHER programs will ask you as well, because the production time involved is quite extensive.</p>