I also just remembered that the YMCA is right next door to the student center (dorm)-they may have running groups and other outdoor activities.
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Thanks! I’ve heard from a few people though that the University of Rochester is over half an hour away by bus and I don’t know how sustainable that would be on a regular basis if I’m really busy
Final Decision Day - never thought we would get here. What a road! Daughter (BM classical trombone) is headed to Boston Conservatory on a scholarship! Not easy to turn down Oberlin and UNT, and even harder to turn down Kentucky b/c Dad is an alum and it was financially enticing, but think BoCo might be the right spot. (If anyone is looking for a state school trombone studio though in the future, I do encourage you to look into what Brad Kerns is accomplishing at Kentucky - it might be under the radar but is worth a look. He’s a really caring professor and is getting amazing grad school results.) Wonderful to have you all as support through this difficult process.
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Congrats!!
Congratulations! 
Hoping we can get to a decision here soon-it’s the turning down that is hard I think.
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Sorry, what is “WT”? IS your daughter going to do musical theater or classical voice at MSM? I was not clear on this.
I wonder if your daughter could take advantage of the many dance classes available in the city, as well as anything possible at the school. Adds expense, so maybe not financially feasible.
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congratulations! so nice to finally know where your kid is going to live next year 
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We’ve been told it’s about 20 minutes, but with waiting for the bus, I totally get it. Still, I think a LOT of Eastman students travel to the River campus. (My son was advised by a current student to take liberal arts courses at the River Campus to get a regular change of scenery and different perspective.) There is a student activities page: Office for Student Activities - Eastman School of Music (Which you’ve probably seen.) Very few clubs, but I’m sure there would be an opportunity to start a club and there are probably plenty of students like you who would be interested. I’d suggest talking to the admissions office-they’d be able to inform you of opportunities. My son is trying to decide between Eastman and NEC-both of which have very few clubs.
Congratulation to your D for a lot of great choices.
I do not have knowledge of how MSM runs its programs (how siloed or not). Still I would advise your D to contact them and ask if there are acting or dance classes availble to VP candidates (and how many). My D had some dance classes available to VP majors at her school…mainly ballet due to ballet in the conservatory. There were NO acting classes in the conservatory. However she chose her school bc she could take acting classes through the MT/theater program (which was outside the conservatory). She did need special permission. Some classes were ONLY for the MT students (but my D got permission due to her degree type). I’d love to report it worked out perfectly…but the MT kids were very tight…and she did feel like an outsider more and more over the years. MT and VP tend to compete with each other. I’ve heard this from others as well…so just something to be aware of.
Of coures, it is possible to take classes outside the school in a city. Still it can be expensive…and frustrating when classes are at the school but closed to you.
MSM may be better with this as a smaller conservatory. But definitely you want to check carefully so there is no disappointment once she gets there. While there were some challenges for my D (we were warned!), she was very happy with how it worked out in the end.
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Lol…WT meant to be shorthand for waitlisted. She is accepted at MSM Vocal but waitlisted at MSM MT. And yes, taking Dance Classes is a possibility.
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100% agree with bridge nail’s comments. My D is a freshman at a different school and she is pursuing a dual degree - BM + BA in theater. It’s hard, there are barriers (same issues re: the BFA program being quite separate and tight), but my D and I both think it’s a great fit for her - it’s working and she is happy and thriving so far. Dance is possible at the the school but my D is doing privately because she can’t fit it in her class schedule.
I will say, though - my D has already decided to change the BM from VP to a music industry degree. At least at her school, VP requires all the languages + opera rehearsals every day (whether you’re cast or not!) - it’s much less flexible than other BM programs and really meant for a student who passionately and exclusively wants to be an opera singer. Happy to discuss privately in more detail.
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Thanks! We’re in communication with admissions and so far they seem flexible with ‘auditing’ dance classes in the MT department as a BM-VP major. Will continue to explore but that will definitely help to finalize the decision.
Still deciding, made a visit last weekend. This is really going to be hard!
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Right there with you!
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Yes for sure - our daughter had a real connection to Oberlin Conservatory and UK. Even UNT.
What is the best approach to appeal for financial aid at Jacobs? TIA
I can only comment from the VP grad student’s perspective, and it may be different depending on discipline. Jacobs has a very rigorous algorithm for ranking students based on audition, resume, recommendations, and GPA and uses this to determine merit awards, as it is most equitable when done this way. If you could show a competing offer at a peer school that was more generous, there may be an adjustment. D did this with her studio head, showing offers from Bard and Mannes and was able to get a little bump. The studio teacher advocated for her with music admin. There is no harm is asking, so good luck!
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Thanks songbirdmama! Since Jacobs’ COA is less than that of private music schools, do you think they would give weight to larger offers from other schools that are much more expensive? The other schools gave more, but they are also more expensive, so Jacobs’ bottom line cost is still less
Hmmm. In D’s case, COA was the same so the bump helped push her over the edge. Wishing you luck!
You already have a good answer. But, yes it gets tough when the COA is already less.
For grad studies, my D did ask a target school for more money even though the COA was already less. She did this by acknowleging that fact (you don’t want to seem “silly”). Instead, she used the other offers to show that there was competition for her and some nice offers. She then asked for more (in the few thousand…I think like $5000) and said if they could do that for her, it would really help and be enough for her to commit. She said that money is an important issue and any assistance would really help. She also mentioned why the school was of such high interest to her. It’s been awhile…but I believe that she did all this…lol.
It will all depend on how many dollars are floating around now or later in the month. You may need to be patient. You may also get a “no”…especially in UG…and IU is not always in the position of having to give out extra dollars. So just be aware of this if you get a no. It’s not uncommong there particularly for UG.
It definitely will not hurt to ask. It’s good practice for the future.
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