@bridgenail - I sort of want, but obviously not badly enough, to make a college timeline that shows along the “time” axis all the things that tend to come up at that relative time. One such event would be the first week of classes where many of the double majors/degrees get shaken out of the tree - “Oh, my. I didn’t know music would take up so much time. I guess I am just a math major now.”
@lkbux64 I’ll second @HereWeGoAgain2018’a comment–that’s really cool and they must have really liked your son! Congrats!
@bridgenail you’ve put into words what I’ve been feeling. My S is definitely that kid who needs college to figure out a focus. I’ve actually been concerned he wasn’t focused enough to get admitted. You’re absolutely right–college is not high school and he can’t just continue to do everything indefinitely (he’s been successful so far and we’re trying to keep him within the realm of reality on this going forward) but he does need a little more time (and nudges) to find focus and we’d appreciate a school for him that can willingly provide that.
@GoForth It’s honestly good to hear that the impression of breadth of offerings and support continues to be accurate in your son’s experience. My other two kids have headed to smaller colleges and had great small college experiences, but for this one, there’s something to be said for having a lot of options within music, and all that depth and music-specific support. He really loved feeling immersed in a music atmosphere (and all the variety it entailed) for the two days we were there. That was clear, at least. Decent food is a bonus. My other kids hated their dining halls and couldn’t wait to escape the meal plans. I’ll send you a PM with some specific questions once I can formulate them.
Trying to be patient and let the process play out, and help son make a final decision based on facts and not just warm fuzzies, as much as that’s possible. Only halfway through auditions though.
@Parentof2014grad, congratulations! My S just had audition this morning at Rice and now we are back in hotel spending time until our flight departure schedule. Unfortunately it snowed heavily when we were leaving WA State yesterday and this has probably affected our flight today. Two hours of departure delay and it is likely that we are going to land at Seattle close to midnight. Anyway, it was our first time to be in Houston and Texas, it was pleasantly warm but quite humid! We arrived late last night but my s was lucky enough to practice couple hours in meeting room. Today we went to Rice early as 9 am since he had his audition planned for 10:36 am. Information desk people were so kind and answered all our questions as much as they could. The only down side was, there were no practice rooms available for practice! All we could get was warm up room for 20 min. It was good that my s has practiced a bit in the hotel room this morning with “hotel mute” on. We were not complaining because everybody were in same situation. We saw the audition list and there were 14 cello players listed and among them 11 students were applying for MM. We heard Rice is more of a grad school and I guess it is. I asked information desk person how many cello students are coming for undergrad school and she said she does not remember because there are 3 days of cello auditions, one was in January, today was the second one which was most of students’ preferred day and there will be one more audition but it will mostly be for MM and DMA students. Unlike USC, audition was in one of cello teacher’s lesson room, two cello teachers and one administrator(?) were present. Given time for BM applicant was 14 min. and my s played about 12 min. He played not in full length but all pieces he had prepared. After my s got out of the room, he said it was very comfortable atmosphere and he thinks he did better than at USC. He said he has done all he can so if he gets rejected, it is because there were better players than him so that is not what he can control. Regardless of what his result will be, I am happy that he walked out the door with good mood. If I were to compare Rice and USC, USC was very formal, wanted piano accompaniment and there were other string instruments auditioning in the same room so adjudicators were also from different string departments where Rice, atmosphere was quite casual, no accompaniment needed and there were only cello adjudicators for only cello players. I liked USC more on their practice room but both schools were equally kind and supportive to students auditioning at their schools. Now I hope I can drive back home safely after I arrive at SeaTac airport as roads are going to be icy and I have to drive back passed midnight. We are flying to Georgia coming Saturday and after that we will have two weeks of no audition!(already looking forward to) Wish everybody travels safely.
Ah, so you all live in the area, @Parentof2014grad. We’re a 6-hour drive away, but my eldest son lives next door to ASU, so it would have been nice to work it out. I hear the prof is excellent, but he’s gone from 2/10-2/23. Would have been nice to know that many months ago when we were scheduling auditions. Oh well!
@chollist, I love hearing about other cello auditions! Sounds like your son did great! Do you mind sharing what he played for Rice and USC? I’m curious what other students are playing since my son’s choice is a bit off the cuff for some schools. We looked at both those schools but ruled them out (too competitive academically for my transfer son who has a 3.54 GPA among other reasons).
@chollist - good luck with travels. There is about 5"+ of snow on the ground here in PNW, so be very careful driving home as it’s predicted to freeze (one saving grace is that it’s not melting so hopefully no ice). Glad to hear your S had a nice experience at Rice and USC.
@sbjdorlo, regarding academics, the person at information, who I spoke to today said,(because my s also had same worries like you regarding academics) for music major it is definitely not as harsh as for students applying for other majors so don’t compare with them. My s played slightly different programs for USC and Rice, Rice wanted to hear etude and USC wanted to hear any repertoire what player wants to play which his teacher thought it should be not etude but something that can show one’s technique.
For both schools he played Bach Suite No.6 Prelude and Allemande, Dvorak concerto 1st mvt. For Rice, he additionally played Piatti Caprice No.8 and for USC, his third piece was Spinning Song by Popper.
I don’t really know if my s did a great audition but I was happy to hear that he had no regrets.
@Lendlees, thank you for the heads up about road condition. I drive outback so hopefully the car will bring me home safely.?
This young man has figured out how to be a brilliant cellist and tenor at the same time. 
@Music2023 I’ll have to show that to my son! We think nothing of playing the piano or guitar and singing at the same time but somehow it’s bizaree when it’s cello.
S actually has recently played cello and sung at the same time as part of a chamber piece one of his choirs was doing. Some other choir members played instruments and sang as well. The voice part was fairly tricky but son said the cello part was super easy. It didn’t seem to phase him at all and the piece turned out great.
Wow! That seems hard to do! Exactly; other instruments seem to lend themselves to playing while singing, but cello? Not so much! My son had to drum and play cello for a gig he had. He was hired by a local theater company to play cello for a run of Romeo and Juliet. They were supposed to find a drummer, too, but in the end, my son played that (single drum), as well. He’d never drummed before, but it wasn’t complicated so he did ok.
@chollist, your son’s repertoire sounds similar to my son’s: Bach, Piatti Caprice, Saint Saens, and Kodaly Sonata is what my son has used. He was working on a second Bach but didn’t need it after all.
While we’re all enjoying a post audition weekend lighthearted moment, here’s something I came across today to cheer you all up!
He certainly sets the bar quite high! Enjoy!
Also, @BassDad has a very talented daughter who sings while playing the double bass. Very cool!
@sbjdorlo, yes, all schools are quite similar to what they want to hear.
I have seen a couple times where an upright bassist will also have tap dancing as a secondary “thing.”
@Lendlees, I am still stuck in Houston.There is 4 hours delay on our departure and we are likely going to arrive at Seattle at 2 am. ?
Oh dear… sorry about that…
@Lendlees that’s not fun. Sorry.
@chollist - they are predicting ~4 hour delays right now. So sorry you are stuck. At least it’s warmer where you are. (always looking for the bright side) Another bonus - your S wasn’t absent today as all the schools were closed. Good luck getting back. Winter travel is so glamorous…NOT.
Thinking of you all in the thick of audition season! It was a wonderful but stressful time that D and I still reminisce about. Conversation after she and I returned from her audition at USC:
Me: Well, that audition cost $75 a minute.
Husband: I did not need to know that.