ROFL vistajay, I use that one. You can live at home and go to the U of MN. It will save us a fortune! :)) You don’t even need to go to the school of music!
I have no sense of safety about any school that requires auditions honestly. And doubly so with prescreen schools. I do know that if kid does well at LU EA auditions and gets a decent offer (NPC shows doable and close to our flagship just based on ACT/stats) he will drop some auditions for sure (U of MN) . LU is not his first choice at the moment (but honestly, it should be his 2nd IMO). It is above some other schools though for sure.
@MusakParent , yes that is what makes music applications so challenging. On paper, there is no such thing as a safety because the audition process can be so subjective. There are still a couple of schools I am mad at for not acknowledging the brilliant supernova talent of my progency, though S18 has forgotten all about them, LOL.
Now that I’ve talked to a bunch of people about this process, I told the kid it’s not necessarily always about your talent if you don’t get through a prescreen. It’s also about schools balancing their budgets and knowing who’s going to be able to be full pay vs. those who are obviously merit shopping vs. those who qualify for need based aid etc. Or even schools that might perceive that they’re a student’s safety option so they clip you that way. For vocal programs they’re also casting potentially. If they have 4 applicants with a similar look, they probably all won’t get in. Maybe the one that has been to campus 2-3 times stands out more than the kid that has only been there once. Who knows!? My kid has a young voice, the range is still a work in progress especially his upper register. His friends who hit puberty earlier seem at an advantage.
At one school the kid walked into his sample lesson and the teacher asked immediately “Are you applying to ‘local flagship’?” First question. LOL. That is totally gauging budget IMHO. Maybe it’s a good sign that teacher held him 5-10 minutes extra over the 30 minutes they had scheduled. The flagship requires a pre-screen for that matter and is a small music school so it’s not like that’s in the bag by any stretch.
Yep, yep, yep @MusakParent ! And you forgot to mention voice subtypes… is D sounding like a potential Soubrette, Lyric, Spinto, etc??? How many like that do we already have??? (and same goes for the young men) It’s so important to TRY not to take rejection too personally, although it’s almost like @vistajay is inside my brain when he says " there are still a couple of schools I am mad at for not acknowledging the brilliant supernova talent of my progeny." ;
Such great info! I have a question: Do you tell them the other places the kid is applying? Our state school asked in their music supplement and I told S to leave it blank. Is it usual to share that information?
I’m SO glad to hear we’re not the only people behind schedule here! S has done nearly all of his applications, so that’s not the issue. It’s that, between marching band, All-states, youth orchestra, school, and the applications, he’s simply not practicing enough for his prescreens and auditions. I feel for the kid – he comes home exhausted from three hours of marching band drill after school and I don’t have the heart to say “practice for your auditions.” He has lessons two afternoons a week and at least three hours of practice for something every other day, except Saturday and Sunday. I’m thinking of letting him drop one honor band because I don’t see how he can be ready and do the prescreens otherwise.
The scariest part is that it’s nearly here! He has two prescreens due December 1, which is also the date of his first on-campus audition. He’ll get a break after that until January, when he has one regional and one on-campus audition. I’m less worried about him being prepared by then (or if he’s not, it’s on him). And then February is three weekends in a row on campuses 4-8 hour drives from here.
Does anyone know: do the kids get a sense of whether they’re going to be accepted at the auditions, or do they have to wait? S’s first choice audition is in late January, so if he knew he had a good shot there he might drop one of the February options. I guess there’s no real way to know.
@akapiratequeen The kid here now is naming like 3 peer schools at each school. A reachier school might get 2-3 peers and a safety. Which isn’t always easy to guess. He has been asked on applications and has been asked in person in sample lessons. He even got asked directly if he was applying to school b by school a in a lesson. Seems so nuts! None of your business people!
I really would love to know what grinds in their head with that info. Perceived budget for sure. Perceived interest in program and likelihood of accepting an offer?
If he left it blank, have him be prepared with a couple at auditions when he gets there. I’m sure they’ll ask. I bet plenty of kids just starting to apply don’t have a clear list.
@MusakParent that’s my concern…if he tells them he’s applying to a reachy school will they assume they’re not his first choice? Right now his first choice is NOT the reachiest school he’s applying to. I feel like we need to strategize his answers, when what I want to say is “Why do you ask?”
I definitely tell kid not to tell safer options about reaches! I don’t know if that’s the right approach but that’s what I was thinking too. And ugh it burns a little just to say safer options because none of them feel super safe at the moment with the kid barely practicing. LOL.
We were visiting a music school recently, and the head of the program told the kids they should basically drop out of school senior year. Pretty sure he was only half joking. (Is the correct reaction in this situation to laugh or cry?) Anyway, the message was: practice! practice! practice! My kid left feeling motivated and validated (no, you may NOT drop out of HS!), but is now exhausted and overwhelmed at the thought of how she is failing to live up to this. So much fun, this process!
I have little made-up categories for my son’s schools in my head, but I honestly have no clue which one’s are safer. Our in-state schools seem like the safest because they probably don’t attract a lot of kids from OOS to their music programs. At least this is what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.
He has three OOS publics where I think maybe one will take him? I don’t know. I lumped them together. And then there’s the two reaches - he hasn’t submitted the applications yet and I wonder if he should bother. I’m not sure if any of his supplements ask where else he’s applying since he hasn’t looked at them yet!
@MusakParent an @akapiratequeen I wouldn’t worry so much about being forthright with the “where else are you applying “ question. I think most programs want to know that you have done your due diligence. In other words, if the school list doesn’t make sense, they may ask questions about that. Schools want to know that S or D knows what they want (as far as a HS senior can). They EXPECT safeties, matches and reaches. Actually, it might be something of a red flag if all S or D’s schools are top end programs. I know at Oberlin, during an audition weekend reception, we overheard faculty discussing a school list with a prospective student (Oberlin is famous for being an undergraduate only program, and said prospie had all graduate heavy programs on their list). Colleges want to give their admissions offers (and money) to students who know what they want. A student who knows what they want in terms of program is much more likely to be successful, I imagine. My D was always 100% forthright with this other school question, and actually it led to several interesting conversations with faculty. Perhaps others will have more input about possible negatives, but I don’t think sharing this information hurt my D at all; perhaps it even helped.
I would also not worry too much about the “where else are you applying” question. For one thing, your kiddo is going to under intense pressure auditioning. They are not going to be able to sort out the “what am I supposed to answer” other than the truth. Also, my D got nice advice about the other programs/teachers, etc when answering the question.
I never thought about the answer to the question of what schools. Now that S has figured out what he likes, most schools dropped off the list. Now it’s basically all small LACs with the exception of our state flagship. However he honestly doesn’t want to attend and just is doing it because he feels obligated since it’s our state flagship. So asking where else probably won’t seem whacky for us. Actually with the great merit scholarships out there, some LACs come in pretty close in price to our state school. Our state is BROKE and so with a higher tuition than the offshoots, huge student population, and lack of merit aid it’s not what I’d call cheap. Now the off shoots, “regional” state schools I guess you could call them, are cheap. But the education is crap. And a couple have come close more than once to closing doors and/or rescinding scholarships because the state is so broke.
Now, he just filmed his video interview for some other thing he is applying for that is part of all-state weekend, and he used my iPad to do it in privacy. But, he left the video on my iPad so I just watched it. Listening to him speak all I could think was that sounds like college essays. If he can take the time to come up with all that and record 3 1/2 minutes of it, why can’t he sit down and type it out in 500 words? At least I know he’s been thinking about some of those topics so maybe writing it won’t be as hard as I thought. But I do agree that he’s not been practicing enough. Doesn’t help that he has a nasty case of bronchitis and can’t stop coughing. I’m amazed he got through the video. So I’ve made him miss marching band (if he can’t go to school he’s not marching), and thankfully Saturday is his last competition (at our state flagship ?). And district is done in 2 weeks. So maybe then he can get cracking.
I think auditioners ask about other applications from a place of genuine interest, because the answers can indeed prove insightful (i.e.: Which other programs does this student see as comparable to ours, and does the list make “sense?” How narrowed/focussed is the kid and the kid’s goals? Is s/he targeting the same type of program at all schools or tailoring different ones at each school, which might indicate how knowledgeable s/he is about schools and the music industry overall as well as how solid and committed the kid is to a particular genre? What level does the student appear to be targeting, and is that in line with the talent we’re seeing on display from him/her today? And so forth….) Just answer genuinely and with enthusiasm and trust the system.
Be warned: one auditioner followed up with “which is the frontrunner?” Mine replied openly and honestly (he said that he wasn’t entirely sure of his top choice but one—not theirs—might have a slight lead in his current thinking; he gave reasons why but acknowledged that it was still early, this was his first audition of the bunch, he hadn’t yet seen every campus in person, the programs were highly selective and admission wasn’t likely at all, and he didn’t have offers in hand and would need to compare packages if/when he did, etc.).
If a school wants your kid, they’ll offer a spot regardless of the answers; they’re just pieces to further fill in the picture of who the student is and what his/her ideal college fit might be.
One auditioner proceeded to (gently, lightly) badmouth one of the programs on the list (a well-respected competing program). It didn’t turn my kid off, but it did give him pause—not sure why they didn’t just boast about their own school offerings!
It can be tough to read audition experiences (and also post-audition contacts/recruiting)–some are warm and receptive and ego-boosting, and others are intense and formal and off-putting (neither of which necessarily mean anything about your individual chances OR about the faculty or program itself other than, perhaps, that the latter feels no need to “sell” itself).
Mine is a sophomore now in the program for which he had his “worst” audition. All (but one outlier) of his classmates laugh now about how they walked away from the audition feeling that they had lost their shot—they all remember feeling utterly deflated because they hadn’t had the opportunity to show the panel what they could do. All were shocked and thrilled to get in (and it turns out to be one of the most warm and nurturing programs imaginable!). You just never know!
Agreed … be honest about schools…and see the response. There is no right or wrong. I agree that they are simply trying to get a read on who you are as a performer…and THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT. If you try to “game the system” by being selective in answers, you may not get your best results. It’s like gaming your responses to your tinder dates…it just doesn’t work. Of course I’ve never used tinder…but I’m sure I’d be pretty good at it!
This makes a lot of sense, @bridgenail and @YertleTurtle , and I feel better about it. S chose the schools on his list because they all have strong jazz and strong music ed programs. His list is perfectly logical given that emphasis.
That front runner question is odd! When you’re auditioning to competitive programs it seems most emotionally healthy to realize you could likely be very happy at all your options. I feel like our list makes sense too. He’s going to make it to at least 9 applications before he’s done. I do think for my kid having a list of 3 or 4 schools to say is probably wise. He is going to have at least 9 applications out and he could not talk competently about all under pressure I suspect!
s. I don’t think he’s trying to game the system at all. At points he is painfully honest in his essays to the point a couple of schools might think he’s not actually a fit for his interests and goals if they’re thinking hard enough about it. I do wonder how much essays actually matter in music admissions though he’s applying for dual degree wherever possible as well.
First rolling admission here this morning to our flagship. It’s a start! Still have to get through pre-screen and audition there but it’s school we can afford and they have a BA Music and BA theater worst case. And this school would likely accept all dual enroll credits (he should have about 30-33 when he graduates.) And it’s the boy’s birthday today too!
