In case anyone is looking for the Acceptance thread (took me more than a few minutes to find it 
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/2119460-acceptance-thread-for-undergrad-class-of-23-grad-class-of-21-p3.html
Thanks so much for all the kind words and encouragement; you all are too kind.
Prior to making the rather scary decision to only apply to 3 schools, all big names, we did very seriously take the “what if?” worst-case-scenario into consideration. In D’s case, the state school (even though it’s a solid program with a teacher she loves) was just not the right environment.
The gap-year alternative is what we are going with. It’s going to take some organizing, but she should have a very productive year. It’s very comforting to hear, on this thread, that many students have successfully done that, and ended up in great programs.
If anyone knows of a thread helping to navigate the undergrad application process, post gap-year, I would greatly appreciate it!
My D was elated to receive an email from the voice prof at NEC with whom she’d done a trial lesson last fall welcoming D to her studio. So no envelope yet (maybe tomorrow) but great news!!
@eh1234 and to all, for what it’s worth, in my original post I used the words, “lesser known schools” vs. “nationally known schools” when discussing gap years vs. transferring. Maybe poor phrasing on my part. My s has some good options at some schools that have good solid programs and have a good reputation in our part of the country but are not necessarily well known in other parts of the country. As we await news from the last couple of schools he auditioned at and are trying to be realistic about affordability, we are trying to weigh the pros and cons of different paths and options. I never meant to call certain schools “lesser” and I hope that all understand this.
@cellistamadre @CaraCoMO @sbjdorlo and others…interesting discussion about well-known vs not-as-well-known schools, gap year etc. I believe there are many ways of accessing an excellent music education. When we began our search, my daughter’s violin teacher told us to focus on choosing a teacher more than anything else, and in junior year she met a conservatory professor with whom she wanted to study. However, just before senior year she suffered an overuse injury. The recovery was slow, with many setbacks, and it took a long time to build up her practice time, therefore she was not able to prepare her audition material. She thought about a gap year, but her search led her to another teacher at a non-audition school, and she is now studying with that teacher as she pursues a BA in violin performance. From speaking with other string players on faculty, it appears that this is a valid route to grad school. Thus far she is making the progress she was hoping for, and in fact was accepted to Bowdoin Summer Festival which has given her some much-needed confidence and suggests that she is with the right teacher.
@CaraCoMO, although I explained to my daughter, as she was making her choices, that she would have the option to try to transfer if she decided partway through her undergraduate career that she wanted to be in a conservatory, it was important to her to be in a school where she anticipated, at least at the outset, that she’d want to stay for the full four years. That was just the way things went for us. She’s in her first year now, and loves it, and hopefully that will continue!
@sbjdorlo I’m impressed with your son’s trajectory and his singleminded pursuit of what he wants in the face of challenges, and I do sincerely believe that, given his age and experience, he will make a wise choice for his music and for his whole self. I have sons who have struggled (with different things) and I am in constant admiration of them.
@calican I’m so glad your daughter is in a good place. Strangely enough, my daughter’s overuse injury, while devastating and terrible and emotionally awful, compelled her to learn how to relax certain muscles while playing and basically re-learn how to hold her violin after many years of playing. She achieved a better instrument setup and has actually make a (little bit of a) commitment to exercising and maintaining core strength, all of which are healthier habits and make for a happier violinist.
@cellistamadre like your child, my daughter only applied to a few schools because she wanted to be sure about the teacher. I think a gap year is a great idea, and in music there are so many productive things one can do. I’d love to hear more about how the planning shapes up, as things develop, if you are willing to share.
@Pikachu’s Mom Congratulations on the NEC email!! We are traveling to Boston next week for a sample lesson at NEC (as well as BoCo). D is also a voice student… If you have any helpful info for our visit, please PM!
The message from @diglass reminded me of a question. Forgive me if this has been asked/answered before. My D will be a HS senior next year. For her English and Math, she is planning to take college classes offered at her HS. Curriculum is from UG schools in our state, but taught by teachers at her HS. She will not be doing this as part of any degree or certificate program, but may have the potential for college credit. Not sure. I live in fear that this will somehow jeopardize her chance for UG scholarships–something we will definitely need! Don’t want her to be considered a ‘transfer’ student. Thoughts?
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid check with your school, of course, but this should not be a problem. S took college-level summer courses at Berklee and even received credit for them (probably not transferable, sadly), but he was not seen as a transfer student.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid No need to worry. Your D will be fine. My children all took similar courses through thier HS. These courses are still considered HS credit. Your D will still be considered a first time college applicant or freshman applicant.
In our case @mom2clarinetobsessedkid, students have to register at and even have a student ID # for the community college, completely separate from their IB diploma, in order to receive the college credit for the class they are taking in the high school and in actual HS building (same professor, same texbook as in the CC). This allows them to get the HS credit as well while the grade is used to calculate their HS GPA. They also are still considered a first time college applicant.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid - my son has been doing two years of ‘Running Start’ classes at the local community college and one “College in the HS” class. He’s still considered an undergrad and has received scholarships at (so far) two schools he’s applied to. So no worries! And…bonus, he won’t have to take a lot of the regular GE classes as he’s completed them already.
Belated congrats to everyone who got good news this weekend. Some amazing scholarships to great schools. Bravi to you.
Unfortunately, we were not in that group. S was not admitted to either Thornton or Frost. Very disappointing, and a bit surprising giving the very positive – even effusive – comments he got from faculty at both schools separate from the audition process. I could speculate as to what happened, but won’t, and instead will look forward to the remaining schools on the list.
@WestOfPCH I agree with you. At UCLA, the faculty members showed much interests in my son and asked a lot of questions about his dual degree pursuit. They asked him if he had perfect pitch and if he knew theory of harmony and said that he’d save some time if he had those. He was rejected by UCLA. At USC, there were 5 of the faculty members and non of them asked him any questions. They even didn’t ask him which piece he’d like to play first. I thought they were very cold. He was accepted by USC.
Sorry to hear about these disappointments @WestOfPCH and @pdxtigermom. Sending hugs today.
Honestly, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to these rejections. I’m feeling the same way about scholarships or lack thereof – no logic that I can see. As you said, the best advice seems to be to let it go and move forward. It stings but will be in the rearview mirror before we know it.
I am sorry to hear about Frost and Thornton @WestOfPCH. Sending good vibes for S’s remaining schools. And, I totally agree with you and @pdxtigermom about the fact that sometimes the end result doesn’t match the feedback. S was rejected and waitlisted from the two schools that were effusive in their feedback and implied he would be admitted. And he was admitted to the two schools where he walked out of the audition room having no idea how the audition went – the best he could say is “well, I didn’t screw anything up” but didn’t know how well his playing was received. It is baffling.
The viola professor at UCLA even went outside of the audition room and greeted my son and patted him on the shoulder. Since I exchanged several emails with him already and he even nodded and smiled at me. I was so pumped and positive and felt very welcomed. Actually he was quite familiar with my son since my son auditioned at USC last year before the professor transferred from USC to UCLA. He basically watched my son’s prescreen videos twice and live auditioned him twice and we exchanged several long emails detailing my son’s viola study.
@pdxtigermom The decision was likely out of that professor’s control. It just goes to show how expedient it is to cast a wide net!
I want to congratulate you all on the many successes, failures (AND in-betweens) of this past year! EVERY year parents post that their sons and daughters receive super positive feedback at schools, and then receive a rejection. Ugh. It is important not to count those chickens until they are hatched, and you have an official offer of admission in hand. There is no way to know the whys of these decisions.
I also want to give a special shout out and a big hug out to all the Oberlin applicants who were waitlisted or rejected this year; WOW, it seemed like a tough year for an Oberlin admit.
@glassharmonica But UCLA is not Juilliard. There’s only one viola professor and the other faculty member sitting in his audition was the cello professor and he also talked with my son in the lobby since he overheard my son also played the violin. They were so nice and supportive of his dual degree interests.
@pdxtigermom and @cellistamadre and others: Count us in as another candidate who got effusive positive feedback and tons of supportive emails, and then got waitlisted. That was one of son’s top picks and it was painful. He still has three other acceptances at great programs, though, and is trying to move on. I’m proud of him for staying balanced and courageous throughout this long and treacherous process. Sending hugs to all.