100% agree with all of this. We feel very lucky to not feel like a number in the process or a statistic. S’s list was very short and purposeful but it seems to have been the best strategy for him.
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Oh, yes. That’s probably exactly what it is! ‘doh!
Once you get to ANY music program, your student will receive a LOT of attention. Even at a big school (my D’s choice), the amount of individualized attention and accountability was a little surprising to me. It is not uncommon for people to worry about their kid feeling “lost” at a big school. Good luck with that…my D couldn’t get away from all the individualized instruction (her teacher, her studio, her coach…and sometimes a diction teacher one on one) and ensemble requirements with known faculty members…not to mention classes with the same group of people year after year after year. I make it sound like a “bad thing”…lol…it wasn’t. It was just a LOT.
I’m very excited for your kids…thinking about the wonderful (and sometimes challenging) years ahead. I’m hoping that you can encourage your kid to really go “inside” to their gut instinct about what school is right for them (regardless the status or what their frenemy or nosy relative thinks).
My D wanted “variety” in performance…and while it didn’t always work exactly as she imagined…it was the right school for her. And now in the professional world, she’s still the same…looking for variety instead of specialization.
Good luck as you all move forward.
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Has anyone received financial aid info from Jacobs/IU? Just curious since it’s getting really close to April 1st
Yes, just this morning.
I should clarify, we were asked to verify FAFSA info for financial aid, but got an email with merit and music/talent scholarship as well.
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Rejected from Blair/Vanderbilt for composition. Oh well. That one was a stretch. Happy she at least passed prescreening!
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Has anybody else NOT heard from Jacobs/Indiana yet? She auditioned in January and not a peep yet. I know most people have heard. We got the generic college admission waaaay back and academic scholarship too but nothing music related.
Sorry to hear that-- but it sounds like expectations were kept realistic.
Onward!!
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Yes passing the prescreen definitely validating & I think it’s pointing her sails to the best fit!
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Another waitlist at Vanderbilt/Blair (clarinet). After he didn’t hear anything last week, we were nearly sure it wouldn’t be an acceptance, so I guess this is the best he was hoping for. Two waitlists sure does drag out the uncertainty, though.
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We will be scrambling a bit before decision day because we need to visit where our son did virtual auditions and/or only met professor for a lesson. Hoping it will be a “this is best fit and doable” decision, but if anyone has few awesome questions to keep the process a little more focused, we are all ears. Rooting for all of these students !
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I think so too! Just have to convince her of that! Haha
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ah well…so glad she got her good news from Bard earlier!
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Well, I had hoped that all the decisions being in would bring MORE clarity, not less! The Blair waitlist is a tricky one–it’s PROBABLY one of his top choices, but he hasn’t visited and only had a very short zoom lesson with the clarinet prof, and it was plagued with technical issues. So…hard to say. He accepted his spot on the waitlist and we should be able to make it up for a visit sometime in April.
I’m a little bummed with how the last few decisions went; I’ve probably said it before in this thread and definitely elsewhere, but he only started playing in 9th grade. So I feel like he’s done so well for someone who went into auditions with only 3 1/2 years of clarinet under his belt. Passing all the prescreens and then waitlists at 2/3 of his prescreened/reachier schools tells me we weren’t just way overshooting or anything; he had a legitimate shot at those schools, and I wish one of them had gone his way. BUT! He is happy with his acceptances and will be genuinely sad to have to turn some of them down…and I think they’re all places where he can grow and improve a lot in the next four years. Really he’s going to be happy as long as he can go somewhere and play clarinet constantly. And of course there’s still a chance a waitlist school will come calling.
In less complicated news, he got his FA package from Baldwin Wallace today, and it’s way better than I expected…it’s even a little better than what his older brother gets at Macalester, even though Mac is a need met school and BW isn’t. So money won’t be an issue with any of his current acceptances at least. We leave tomorrow to go see Oberlin, BW (again), and Lawrence. And then the (tentative. because waitlists) decision making begins!
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I love this post even though you’re bummed-- what it says is that your son is a truly teachable musician and that the schools see this clearly, even if some are wait listing him. It means he is qualified and can succeed in those programs as much as the ones he got accepted to.
I truly hope you and your son can feel good about this, because it’s GOOD! And great news about the FA at BW!!
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I’m so sorry to hear this. Glad she was accepted to Bard and with great aid to boot!
I heard good things generally about music at Puget Sound. Sorry not to have more specifics!
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Let us know your impressions! My D visited three of those schools and it was interesting to hear her different takes! Good luck!
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Thanks - it all paves the way to make the decision easier, at least! I hope your daughter loves Vanderbilt!
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Next 3 days are going to be an interesting ride for us as NYU, Peabody(JHU) and Berklee will be releasing decisions. Good luck to everyone that’s waiting on these/ or other
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