@eh1234 My oldest son was accepted to an audition program for acting off the waitlist. You never know why they put you there. Often, it is a numbers game. Later my son found out he was wait listed even though they would have normally taken him, but the year prior they accepted their usual amount of students and too many prospective applicants accepted. The class was larger than they wanted. They count on a certain percentage to NOT accept. They therefore tried to compensate for that the following year when my son auditioned. He also received the $25 K merit scholarship for academics. Yes, we had put a deposit down on another school, but it was worth leaving it on the table to attend the school of his dreams, especially in light of the fantastic scholarship he received.
Oh, and regarding my oldest son…he was contacted by the school on May 5.
Thank you all for the waitlist advice!
The school sent him a form with a reply envelope asking him (1) whether he wants to be on the waitlist and (2) whether he wants to be evaluated for need-based aid, which I am fine with saying “no” to. Based on the info provided on audition day, I’m surprised that they even have a waitlist (they mentioned their intent to accept 10 to 12 for 3 to 4 studio spots which I guess is why it seems unlikely that he would get off the list). Some of those will go to tippy top schools and some will pursue less expensive options, I suppose.
He is academically qualified for the largest scholarship at this school so if that is likely still on the table, I think I’ll encourage him to send it in with a “yes.”
My D also came off a wait list in early May for MT. It does happen.
S received his first official acceptance to the music school this morning from an in-state school so the process is starting for move along. Has received un-official acceptances based on feedback at auditions as well but still waiting on official acceptances from those schools.
@eh1234 I think this is great advice! Maybe we’ll meet in August 
@TxSker congrats to your S! May there be many more!
Finally, one more thank you to the veterans – @bridgenail, @SpartanDrew, @glassharmonica, @NYCMusicDad, @classicalsaxmom, and everyone else who has stepped in to offer advice and encouragement along the way. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned since I signed on in September of S’s junior year. Sometimes it seemed like so much work, expense, and risk for both S and our whole family, with such an uncertain pay-off, that I wondered why we kept at it. But you kept us on track, and S kept pursuing his passion, and now these wonderful acceptances and offers are flowing in for all our kids and – well, I’m a little verklempt (overwhelmed). I know it’s too early for Oscars acceptance speeches, though all our kids deserve them, but I did want to share my gratitude.
Now, off to the finish line!
My daughter was waitlisted by a top school. After she received excellent scholarships from her first and second choices (and very nice scholarships from all other schools), she withdrew from the waitlist in early April. Money was not the most important factor in her decision, but it did show that the schools really wanted her. She is very happy with her current school, but sometimes she feels that she should have stayed on the waitlist just so that she can say she got in. Her teacher had a few prior students who got off the waitlist and eventually attended the school so it’s a possibility. The admission office called my daughter to ask why she wanted to withdraw. I felt that she shouldn’t stay on the list if she had no intention of attending. It would have been nice to say that she got in. Of course she could have been rejected after all. Now we would not know, which was what I wanted at the time.
So happy to hear that acceptances are flowing in!!! Wow!!! Congrats @TxSker!
I got a chuckle from an email that was sent from one of our daughter’s four schools that she auditioned at. They sent her an email saying how much they enjoyed hearing her and hoped the feeling was mutual. She responded that she really loves the school - but that finances are important since her father is disabled. They responded that they are excited to hear that she loves the school and “Finances are an important factor in choosing a school. At the same time, if this is what your calling is, it is important to invest in yourself and your career as a jazz musician”.
I had to chuckle a bit - but there is an important question of the hour: Just how much should a jazz musician invest in their career? E.g. how much debt is too much? Do any of you have a “rule of thumb”? How much is too much?
@tripletmama, if she can see herself possibly wanting to do something else, then then the money threshold maybe substantially lower than if she’s all in. If she is ALL IN, then only you can answer that question.
@winjammer - she’s definitely “all in” - and we have already invested a ton into it. (between moving to CA from SC for her school, summer programs, buying a good bass, weekly lessons, etc). The rule of thumb that I’ve heard for college students is that their debt should not exceed what they expect to make in their first year. Hmmm…for musicians that might be very low 
@tripletmama, Could not possibly say what is right for you and your jazz musician, but as far as a rule of thumb goes, here is one that we picked up from The Financial Aid Handbook when my older D was applying to college and that we continue to use as a frame of reference – a student should not take on more student debt than the amount of income they anticipate being able to earn in the first year out of college. I’m sure there are other guidelines out there, but I like this one because it acknowledges the different circumstances of engineering grads and music or English grads. I don’t know the pathway for jazz musicians, but since my classical D will need to go on to grad school, it would be hard to convince me that any undergrad program is worth taking on crippling student debt.
Congrats, @TxSker ! It’s hard to beat the excitement of that first big official admit.
Congratulations on continued admits. Also great advice regarding waitlisting, student debt, scholarship negotiations. I know we may have to do that but since our top choice is our one hold out it will be a few weeks. We don’t have all the numbers anyway yet. We got one more admit today to the conservatory at Baldwin Wallace. So excited for S to get that validation. He was reminded multiple times by his directors it was his toughest school to get into, so I’m proud of him for accomplishing it. He didn’t go for the top programs a lot of you did but we are proud of him just the same for getting through the stress of audition season. We have all had our trials there. He also decided to do one more audition for a scholarship at a non-audition BA program that is actually looking quite appealing (at least to me lol). So I made the call today to arrange it. Expect to hear back tomorrow if the date works. Fingers crossed.
Congratulations @UniversityMomOf2 S! Baldwin Wallace is a great admit!
Thanks @akapiratequeen They did a really nice personalized congratulations video uploaded to YouTube. It’s brief but unique to what other schools are doing. I appreciated it. So did S.
Tripletmama——— I wouldn’t feel comfortable making my jazz musician son being in debt more than maximum federal loans ($5500, $6500, $7500 x 2, Am I right with those numbers?) right after he gets BA. I am not sure what we will end up doing / deciding but I wouldn’t let any schools convince my 17-year-old that he needs to invest into music school education at this moment. He is just a kid!
Fabulous news, @UniversityMomOf2!!
Congratulations @UniversityMomOf2 ! Uplifting news!
Congratulations @UniversityMomOf2! I love the idea of a video…so creative.
Congrats @UniversityMomOf2!!! Fantastic news!