I’ve been thinking about him and hoping he had a yes. I’m glad to hear it’s not a no. While getting admitted off the waitlist may sound daunting, I feel like it’s a real possibility for Berklee. Many of those spots will open up as students make their decisions. I would let them know that he is laser focused and not considering any other school. They would not be messing around with a student who might or might not attend.
When I heard about his WL, I wondered whether one could still apply for the Valencia program, and I searched it. I came across the fact that Berklee has three admissions cycles each year. It’s not necessary to hold off too long. I think spring deadlines come up soon.
The Bachelor of Music program welcomes a new class of students three times a year: fall, spring, and summer.
Also, I can relate about The New School and the portals. My kid missed sending in something to TNS, so I assume they did not consider him.
That’s correct. We didn’t know about asking for lessons before the application season started. Our son goes to a community music school studying rock & funk guitar and drums. It’s not typical for the kids to pursue music degrees. We weren’t prepared.
Well then reach out. I think the relationship between the applied teacher and the student is an extremely important one…and can be lifelong.
And congrats on his admissions! He has done very well.
ETA…my DD had a fabulous applied oboe teacher (she was not a music major). Fun fact, this teacher was actually a CC poster at the time. That teacher, unfortunately, left that college after two years. By that time, my kid and only one other were taking private lessons. So…my kid asked if she could be some part of the search process for the new teacher…and they said yes. DD was the student who the applicants did their sample lesson with…observed by the dept chair. Kid was asked to write up her impressions as well. The second oboe teacher was also terrific!! So it all worked out.
Possibly the waitlist you daughter is on is smaller and/or she’s close to the top of it. I hope so!
I looked back at Berklee waitlist stats going even further back and there was such great variation in size and number of people let in. In the end, the data is really not that enlightening except to show that there IS movement from the WL. Which I figured, but I guess it just feels as if there should be some tangible formula you can clutch onto when your kid is actually on the waitlist.
We’ll see if my son can finesse any information when he calls the admissions office. I doubt it, though, because that kind of thing is not really in his wheelhouse.
My son was told by his teacher always to offer to pay, even if he hadn’t been told there would be a charge. He was also told that “someplaces the answer will be zero, and other places it will be $300.” We also encountered a school(Vandy) where there was a reasonable set rate and the billing went through the university.
That kind of thing is rarely in a boys wheelhouse.
I don’t know if my daughter asked about numbers when she was on that call. I think she was pretty surprised to hear from them and probably wasn’t super prepared with questions.
Our kids had a bunch of trial lessons between the two of them. Some were at no cost…and others had a cost. Honestly, I don’t remember ever being told in advance about a cost. But at the end, our kids politely thanked the teacher and then asked what the charge was. We sent them with signed checks (this was before venmo and the like).
I have enjoyed watching this thread, as the mom of a musician daughter who plans to double major in music and another major, because she does not plan to be a professional musician, but she does want to be a lifelong musician. This post is mostly for the next round of parents who might be reading this as they help navigate the journey next year. I just want to say that being open to a double major in music and something else, and auditioning for music scholarships, can open doors at non-conservatory schools. UNC-CH is one example of a school that has auditions for prospective music majors, and offers the Kenan Music Scholarship along with some other smaller scholarships. In the instructions for auditions, they ask students to audition by January so that they can advocate for them in admissions. I do believe that my daughter’s music auditions (some in-person, some recorded) may have made a difference for her admission to several schools, including UNC-CH, Wake Forest, Davidson, and Furman. UNC does require a music major or double major to keep scholarships, but Wake, Davidson, and Furman do not. My daughter has decided to go to Furman, which has the combination of a strong music program and liberal arts, and she received both academic and music scholarships. She has also made a strong connection with her instrument’s professor at Furman and she is very excited to join the music program there, whether it ends up being a major/double major for her or not.
@BeverlyWest
Your son should absolutely reach out to the professors with whom he’s interested in studying. Clicking with the right teacher is so very important. If you are not within driving distance, he should ask to schedule a zoom sample lesson. Assuming the profs reply with available days/times, your S can then ask how much the prof charges and if he/she accepts Venmo or Zelle, etc. Seeing he has already been accepted, the profs might waive their fees.
My kid’s sent many emails like erin_barret posted such a great example of above to get sample lessons. Don’t be afraid to name drop a teacher or call attention to something from the music resume that may be of special interest to who is likely reading the email. We’d all like to believe this is all meritocratic and that is a big part of it. But connections matter too. I know my kid applying now got a couple opportunities through her teacher she wouldn’t have other wise had. Though that’s a note more for before admissions than after, I think students will have the upper hand after admisions.
We ALWAYS offer to pay for sample lessons. And literally have never paid for a sample lesson through college admission processes (before admission or after). Even at some very competitive programs. It’s interesting to me some schools have it streamlined through admissions. That seems smart to me. We would have always been happy to pay.
My older kid had a waitlist situation. The way that rolled out for him it seemed like they were gauging his interest level because he had tons of contact both from music admissions & a faculty member and was asked directly if he’d take an offer with little/no merit money. The answer to that was no, moved on quick after that even though he really liked that school.
I am grateful my current music kid is not on any waitlists. But she probably won’t pick until the end, we are going back to visit a couple options. Baby steps! The finances on 4 look great though, don’t feel like we have much room to negotiate. There is one she loves but is too high to negotiate down and I think we’re going to have to let that one drop off. The last option she was accepted at kid won’t even consider any more, though the finances are ok. Though we can’t get a music faculty member to return an email, so it’s a good call.
@BeverlyWest My son did not do any trial lessons before applications. He did get recommendations from his voice teacher but honestly, 98% of the schools she recommended were out of budget for us. He has been talking with teachers now via email or in person and doing trial lessons.
I agree 100%. That was my son’s single most important factor, clicking with the guitar professor AND making sure they would work together. There was a school he did not click with the professor that he thought might be a top option, but that factor was too important to overlook.
@BeverlyWest Your S only needs to contact the profs via email…but my advice would be for him to do this asap. Just keep it simple. Something like:
“Dear Professor Jones-
I am extremely honored and excited to have been accepted to the University of X! In order to help solidify my decision, might you have any time this week for a sample lesson via zoom?
I look forward to connecting with you-
-BeverlyWest’s DS
Hi,
My kid (gender non binary, they/them) was also waitlisted at Berklee. Similar to your guilty feelings over taking a step back, our kid took full ownership over their berklee process including choosing an audition piece that their guitar teacher considered risky. My wife and I decided to let them run the show but I am wringing my hands over it now. But I also feel pretty ambivalent about Berklee altogether - although my kid really wanted it most.
Their options now are Bard College (they didn’t want to double major so didn’t apply to the conservatory program there) and Carnegie Mellon, for Electronic Music. We will also stay on the wait list.
Good luck to your son! And you.
My son asked for a trial lesson from the CWRU Flute prof after getting his surprise offer from them bc he knew nothing about her studio. They immeditately started an email communication to make it happen most likely via Zoom bc she is too busy to meet with him during Admitted Students day this week.
And we too knew very little about trial lessons until told by his Flute prof, a phd in Music who went through all this somewhat recently (She is a millenial I believe)
Hi all,
Thanks for advice and tips from this group in the past! I wasn’t always quick to see responses–I don’t think I have my notifications configured properly. Anyway - we are down to two schools to consider, and one WL – Bard College (not the conservatory bc my kid didn’t want to double major) and Carnegie Mellon, Electronic Music.
I would love any thoughts folks have on their merits or drawbacks. We live pretty close to Bard, and have family even closer. I love the idea of my kid in a lovely bucolic setting as a break from their NYC childhood! They love nature, hiking, etc, and I think they could be very happy there!
Pittsburgh also seems like a fantastic city - I hear it is quite artsy. I wasn’t sure about the vibe at CMU - my kid goes to LaGuardia performing arts school in NYC and fronts a punk band. They wear full goth gear and makeup to school most days! I worried they might not fit in on campus at CMU but have heard from others that the arts schools there are… quite arty
If people have opinions about either the culture of these two schools, or the merits of their music programs, I’d love to know! Looking at school rankings seems pretty much useless, but interestingly when I did try to do that, on one list CMU was #12 and bard #48, on the other bard was somewhere in the teens and CMU didn’t make the cut of the top 20! So there does not seem to be any accepted “better” school between them - whatever that could possibly mean anyway, I don’t know why I even looked . . .
Thanks music parent community! It is wonderful to have some feedback from folks w so much relevant knowledge!
My son is a senior at Carnegie Mellon but in mechanical engineering. Very different vibe. I know his experience has been that it is a pretty intense environment but I know that his world is pretty different from the arts programs there. If you have any general CMU questions - just send me a message and I’ll try to answer them.
@BeverlyWest I am not sure but it seems to me that the sample letter posted by @erin_barrett is more suited to the application period, not the period after acceptance.
Once accepted, the schools want to convince you to attend. You can ask to meet with professors/teachers, ask for a sample lesson or ask to attend class- at least in our experience. My son even did an overnight. Of course this varies from school to school.
Also in our experience, some teachers did not answer email. We contacted admissions and they sent the message request on to the teacher. If a teacher doesn’t respond, I would not make any judgments on the school or how much they want you.
While getting admitted off the waitlist may sound daunting, I feel like it’s a real possibility for Berklee. Many of those spots will open up as students make their decisions. I would let them know that he is laser focused and not considering any other school. They would not be messing around with a student who might or might not attend.
The answer to that was no, moved on quick after that even though he really liked that school.
