@akapiratequeen: Lawrence definitely had its own vibe (which my daughter liked) and so a visit might tell you a lot about the fit. It appears a little geeky and friendly and small, and there’s a lot of snow in winter, of course!
Small and geeky sounds right up his alley! Question: is the group diverse at all?
Bard has a grad VP program with Dawn Upshaw and for undergrad voice is in the college, not the conservatory. Might be worth a look.
Hello all - I’m just poking my nose in here to say that I’m still alive. Just busy with getting four teens to focus on whatever they need to be focusing on.
Our daughter spent 5 weeks at Berklee this summer (in their Jazz Program) and fell in love. Seriously in love. She was in the Jazz Workshop but was asked to join the Women’s Jazz Ensemble led by Terri Lyn Carrington - whom she loves! It was the first time that Berklee had an all women’s jazz ensemble so it got a lot of attention. The Dean came to their performance and said that he expects them all to come to Berklee. (ummmm…sure!). They were all college students except for 3 out of the 11. Two of them got full rides (the trumpet player and pianist). She felt like she had died and gone to heaven. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her so energized or excited - or “in the zone”.
So - the bad news is that she ONLY wants to go to Berklee (has anyone else experienced this?). I’ve been stressing ever since she announced this. She did audition for and get a nice scholarship while she was there - but it’s a drop in the bucket given the tuition there (and my hubby is on disability). She is determined to make it happen - and she says she knows what she needs to do. (the auditioner said her audition, improv and performance was top notch - except she needs to bring her sight reading up to the same level. She also didn’t do so well in the singing portion (do-re-me) as she doesn’t sing. So - she will re-audition (hopefully early) - and she wants to do it in Boston. She loved her Berklee bass instructor this summer and he said he would write her a recommendation.
I’m excited that she has found her “place” but now I’m sweating bullets that we aren’t independently wealthy and can’t make it happen.
SpartanDrew was amazing and somehow pulled a rabbit out of a hat and got us a late night tour at the New School in NYC (after we took back her basses in Boston and moved her out - we high tailed it to NYC). She was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the bass faculty members there was someone she worked with at Berklee this summer (a woman bassist who borrowed her bass 
But - she was a bit disappointed to hear that there are only 10 females in the Jazz Program at the New School. She loved not being a minority at Berklee. But - it seems like a good fit and she will be applying.
We did a tour of NEC while we were in Boston and our daughter peeled off halfway through the tour (oh my!) She said that it wasn’t her “vibe”. Too classical in it’s focus. Not sure if that’s true or not - but she had stars in her eyes for Berklee which I hope fade over the next few months. Right now she doesn’t plan to apply to NEC which is a bit of a surprise.
So - she will likely apply to Berklee (of course!), the New School, Oberlin - and maybe Indiana (her instructor went there). That’s all I can get her to commit to right now.
Someone said that it might be best to apply Early Decision or Action (can’t remember which) to Berklee since financial aid is more plentiful at the beginning of auditions. I’m not even sure if Berklee has financial aid as it doesn’t show up on collegedata.com.
Any advice for this stressed out mom?
So glad she had an amazing time, @tripletmama! So cool. She sounds like a Berklee type for sure, though she will certainly thrive elsewhere as well.
S19 is applying early action (not binding/it’s in his top 4 but not the only fave, luckily!). They set audition dates based on how quickly you submit the application, so your D should do it right away if she hasn’t already. It’s a super simple app…no essays, just attach a resume and fill out the form. Early auditions in Boston are on Saturdays, Nov 19 (I believe) and Dec 1. There might be a third date as well.
You should also definitely apply to a few other places, early if possible, because Berklee will negotiate if she gets a bigger offer elsewhere (or so I am told—maybe some of the parents who’ve be been through this can check in, or ask on the scholarship thread.) PM me when you’re going—I’ll be up there with S on one of the early dates — and best of luck to D!
Oh goody! Things are ramping up already! 
I don’t envy you the stress and difficult decisions, but I’m eagerly anticipating this process. Likely this will be us next year, and I know we will learn so much from all of you in these pages. I think back to last year’s group, how overwhelming it all felt, and how each of them seemed to find his/her place in the end. I know that will happen for all of your talented kids as well! Best wishes with these early application decisions!
tripletmama, just to give a different viewpoint on the Women’s Jazz Ensemble: can you imagine a Men’s Jazz Ensemble? Berklee is doing a form of affirmative action here. Not enough women in the regular jazz ensembles? Why is that? Is their play inferior? is there sexism in auditions? Why the need for an all women’s ensemble?
An all-male ensemble would seem discriminatory but a women’s ensemble is cool?
There is a lot going on in various areas of music to combat the lesser opportunities for women. Many people, including women in music, think this is great. For me personally, this kind of compensatory short term opportunity will only marginalize women further.
To give another example, sometimes you will see all female composers concerts. Can you imagine a concert billed as “all male composers” (Beethoven, Mozart ant Mahler for instance). Why is gender mentioned only in the context of “all female”?
I think women would be better served by participating in the best ensembles for them, regardless of gender.
@compmom, Please move your comment to another thread. In order to provide support for everyone, this thread needs to be judgement-free and apolitical, for lack of a better term.
I’m going to ask that anyone who would like to engage with @compmom on this topic do so either in the new thread or privately. Let’s keep this thread focused on supporting each other through the journey.
I think it is relevant because the all-female ensemble was a major factor in the daughter’s reaction to Berklee. Berklee is a great school. No judgment. There are many ways to look at the all-female efforts throughout music and it is good to think about. Not trying to start a discussion.
Again, I will ask you to move this comment. It’s a valuable conversation but not for this thread.
@tripletmama so glad your daughter had such an amazing experience at Berklee. For auditions, have her mainly focus on the song she will play. She should play what best represents her in the best light and know if forward and backward. Don’t try and play something you think Berklee wants you to play. As far as sight reading, there are some Berklee books on this you can buy on Amazon but this should not be the priority. The singing, which is part of Ear Training is a nice bonus but will count for very little. There are online exercises for this online. As for Financial Aid that is through FAFSA, not each school individually. There is an online calculator on the Berklee sight to help figure out what financial Aid you might qualify for. My son will be starting his last year at Berklee in September. He’s had a great experience overall. How awesome for your daughter to be asked to play in the all female Jazz Ensemble! Quite an honor. Be sure to include this on the application. Good luck!!! Apply now so she can get an early audition. SOME early auditions get their acceptance in December. That was a nice Christmas present!
@rockinmomab Great info! Did your son get his financial aid offer early as well? Also, does Berklee ask for the CSS or just the FAFSA? Hoping for the latter…
We didn’t qualify for Aid but he did get scholarship info on same day as acceptance. FAFSA is now available in October which helps with getting packages out earlier but Berklee is pretty slow with info. They do have CSS but we have not had to fill it out. There is an increase in tuition available to help cover rise in tuition available in years 2,3,4 if you fill out FAFSA. We didn’t realize that until year 3. It’s only $1500 but it’s better than nothing. Here is link to help with audition info https://www.berklee.edu/admissions/undergraduate/audition
@rockinmomab - thanks for the tip. She plans to play the same song she played during the audition she did at Berklee this summer. (presumably it will be different auditioners). She knows it like the back of her hand and loves it (and it loves her). Terri Lyn Carrington had her play it during the summer as she thought it was a show stopper. Is that too much usage?
What I’d like to know is how much can student usually increase their summer scholarship in the next round of auditions? Just trying to set expectations.
@compmom - what a nasty comment! Our daughter played in various ensembles but felt that the female ensemble was the best. Anyone who saw them agreed. I have no idea why you think that is wrong. There is rampant sexism in the jazz instrumental world - ask any jazz instrumentalist. Sometimes they just need to collaborate and support each other through it. They had many tips on how to deal with it among themselves and with Terri Lyn during this summer. It’s not easy - I can tell you horror stories but I won’t bore you with the details. All of the instrumentalists were top rate - it had NOTHING to do with them not being “good enough” to be in another ensemble - in fact, just the opposite. The women in jazz program is a new Graduate Level minor. I think it’s wonderful for them to compare notes on how to deal with sexism. Our daughter said that for the first time - she felt like she could freely play and not feel judged or “second best”. She said it was an amazing experience. There were two other women in her jazz program at her high school and they left because of rampant sexism. I celebrate that she found support this summer on how to deal with it this coming year. (I encouraged her to leave the sexist program - but she feels much more prepared to deal with it after this summer). So - your comment is misguided to say the least.
@tripletmama I have no idea about increasing scholarship $$ from 5-week, sorry! My son and his girlfriend who both attend Berklee are at my house right now and I asked them about the all female ensemble and they both think it’s a GREAT IDEA!
My daughter has given me permission to say (I guard her privacy) that she is 14 years into the composition world and has experienced incredible episode of sexism, as well as the more subtle, embedded kind. Recently she went to a prestigious festival and was asked whose wife she was.
I am also in my late 60;s and have been watching efforts at equality for more than 50 years.
I had hoped we had moved beyond “all female” anything and am upset that the need continues I do apologize for being SO upset. It is indeed an emotional issue that does not belong on here.
That said as young women look at schools, look at the number of female faculty as a barometer, think about the best mentors (not always females), try to stay yourselves against so many pressures. If a young female musician feels comfortable in an all-female group great but the ultimate goal should be inclusion, not segregation.
For me this isn’t political at all it is everyday life. My daughter tells me that there has been progress. It is just very slow.
@tripletmama Although my daughter is open to other colleges, she toured Berklee in March and fell in love so it’s still at the top of her list. We spoke with the tour guide for awhile after the tour ended, He told us that if she got in, but the scholarship money wasn’t enough, one option would be to take a gap year and get her 24 credits of required liberal arts classes in at a local college (MUCH cheaper) and enter as a Sophomore. So we would only have to pay for 3 years. He said they would still honor any scholarship if she began as a Sophomore. I think she could even audition one more time to try for more $ during the gap year. Just trying to give you suggestions if the scholarship offer doesn’t increase enough for your budget, $62K is ALOT of money and I am shocked to know people who attended with zero scholarship, leaving with much debt, The most I’ve heard of scholarship offers for those I personally know was 25K which still leaves $37K-a challenge for many! I’m glad my daughter got a good vibe from at least 4 colleges (including Berklee) because cost and scholarship amount will be a huge factor for us. She is working hard to prepare for the Berklee audition (she’s hoping for an early audition) and hopes it will pay off. However, her good friend is an amazing, award-winning piano player who did not even get into Berklee, let alone with a good scholarship (he had big scholarship offers elsewhere but described his Berklee audition as one of his best so it was really baffling) so she is trying to be realistic in expectations.
Hi all, great information and I’ll just pop in to add a few comments. First off I’ve been communicating regularly with @tripletmama and I am so delighted that her D had such an amazing experience at the 5 week! I actually tuned in to listen to the blowout concert and waited to hear her name called because I had ZERO doubt she would be announced as a scholarship winner. She is very talented. And I’m glad she got a late night quickie tour at TNS because of course having just moved my D there over the weekend, I’d love to see her in NYC with her! Trying to recruit great female instrumentalists!
One word on increasing Berklee scholarship money, I can tell you that Berklee does NOT do appeals based on our experience and the experience of others. I have a couple of friends who’s kids went through the process and appealed with higher amounts from other schools and were emailed and told “all scholarship decisions are final and we will not take appeals”. So that audition should blow them away. One friend even has connections to some of the faculty there who advocated on her D’s behalf and nothing came of it. So be forwarned. Some schools will take appeals and some will not.
I just looked at the roster for the New School incoming jazz freshman class. There are 16 initial ensembles just for a “listening concert” this evening with 7 kids in each ensemble, many of them are in more than one, especially the female instrumentalists. There is one female bass player that I could see on the list and she is in 3 of the ensembles so a hot commodity! I think there are around 100 new freshman overall in the jazz program including vocalists. Probably around 10 female instrumentalists.
I hope that’s helpful information to all of you and best of luck as you traverse this crazy process this fall and winter. One final comment that I know all of you parents have little control over, but if you can really converse with your kid and ask them to stay open to all of the schools that they visit, I think the process will work itself out. I was so happy that D was open to each school she visited and auditioned. I would never have guessed she’d end up in NYC but it all worked out and feels like a perfect fit for her. And funny enough she almost didn’t apply because we didn’t think the scholarship money would come through so you just never know.
Feel free to reach out to me if I can help in any way.
GO @SpartanDrew D, and welcome to NYC! We live about 40 minutes from The New School. It’s an amazing place. Please reach out if she needs anything!
On another subject: I’m reprinting this post from @vivasolar, which I saw on another thread, because I thought it was such great advice!
“We controlled costs by DD attending a state university for UG because even with even the conservatories that gave her 75-90% tuition offers the net price was still more than double our in-state costs. We also did want her to think she was “so special that she got into such and such a school” as she will need thick skin and drive. Grad school- we took the attitude that if she had any chance in the biz she would get at least one full ride offer (from a decent school) and close to full rides at prestigious schools and then weigh the options. She was accepted at every school/conservatory but one with full or close to full tuition rides and a fellowship. In our limited experience 'tis better to be a big fish in a small pond as long as the small pond teachers are decent because unless you have a truly exceptional musician UG is for development as those who are truly exceptional at that young age have already been identified and their development pathe. Can’t tell you how many times in summer training programs DD has worked with singers who are completing their MM in Opera Performance (or have completed it) from high dollar “top” universities and conservatories and have not had a major role, or even covered a major role. So 70K a year x 6 years to be in the chorus? Low or no debt is the way to go for music. don’t sweat the school name, there is likely a state school that will be great for UG.”
Great advice (as usual) @SpartanDrew! The other factor is financial aid. I don’t think we will get much, if any, but if you get a nice financial aid package @tripletmama, Berklee just might be affordable, combined with a decent scholarship. I’m not sure if there is a calculator application to figure your general chances on financial aid but I know friends who have a decent combined income but have twins entering college at the same time and were given aid because of that burden. So having triplets may have some perks!