We were always so envious of vocalists and those with mutable instruments who can sing and practice without searching for a practice room. No way to play an oboe quietly. My kid always wanted to arrive no sooner than the day before because he did not want to miss practice time. So I always stressed about weather/flight issues.
Thinking good thoughts for all of you as you head off on auditions. It is so exciting to follow along with your adventures!
Rochester… I remember my son’s audition from 2020 it was freezing. I still remember how cold it was. Dress warmly. Somehow it all works out. Good luck to all.
You can’t really practice opera quietly. 
I didn’t plan us 2 days out because my daughter can’t/shouldn’t miss any more school, plus the last day before we leave is her lesson so she wanted to get that in. I just asked her if I could change our flight but she’d rather not. We will see!
I would guess most kids do best with arrival the day prior. Best to stay with the familiar routine and their own bed as long as possible More stressful for the parent/travel agent, but it will all work out.
My kid is primarily doing online dual enrollment except for music (and those teachers are being extremely flexible) this semester which is how we can swing allowing some extra time on the travel. Frankly, I’m hoping we get some touristy fun in our mix! We’re in the upper midwest so we could have weather problems at any point.
We just booked flights to New Orleans and Texas, but that doesn’t take us across any snowy zones. 
We had to do just two nights at Loyola (arrive late the night before audition day), but for Texas we have an extra day for seeing the campus.
Has anyone auditioned at Loyola before? Is it hundreds of kids like Miami or Texas? Or is it a smaller affair?
ETA: Those are my kid’s last two in person auditions. He’s got another four virtual, and a couple of uploads.
My son has been admitted to CU Denver. Woohoo! The full name of the program is nuts: University of Colorado Denver College of Arts & Media, Music Entertainment & Industry Studies, with a guitar performance emphasis. 
I’m so proud that my D (viola) passed her Curtis prescreen. She almost didn’t apply because she realized very late that she forgot to prepare an extra piece. She cried buckets for a few days. Somehow she figured it all out and recorded what she needed. Now it’s time to put on my travel agent hat and coordinate flights for these auditions.
And even for those who could turn down their guitar amps or use their electric drum kits, “it’s just not the same, mom”. 
ETA: I used to work for an opera’s development department, and I absolutely loved hearing rehearsals in the building.
I’m with you, I love the travel!!
I am really viewing this audition journey a bit differently now having the first one done: I had the best time with my kid! This is one of the last times (if not the last) of her childhood that we will have this concentrated time together. I loved the whole experience of being with her and being there for her. I am grateful that she was happy with the audition and loved the school and I am also mindful of the gift of having this time with her.
Exactly this. I am so grateful that I was able to go with D to undergrad auditions as her road crew and fan club. Now she is hitting the road for grad school auditions. I’m helping out with the travel arrangements, but she is traveling solo. I was thinking about inviting myself along on her NYC audition trip, but (sadly for me) she has a friend there now that she can stay with, so no interest in sharing a hotel with mom.
This the 2nd time around for my D and I. For undergrad it was a bit rough, she was often overwhelmed/anxious/nervous and not pleasant to be with. We still had some good times but I still remember it as fairly stressful overall. Now, after 4 years of undergrad study, many auditions, competitions, performances, more training, etc, she is much more confident and prepared and I think we will have a great time!
Tell me about it, LOLOL! (although I really do miss the singing in the house).
Hi everyone! For those who have been here, I have a housing question. Some of the schools my kid is applying to have very limited housing on campus, and one of those is the one he’s been admitted to. My assumption has been that we wait until we commit to a school before putting in a housing deposit, but is that right? Putting a deposit in to a school he may not go to seems wrong, unless that’s normal. How does this work so that there are rooms available for incoming students? Thanks for any knowledge.
It depends on the school! I know people who have put in housing deposits just to be sure.
If this is a viable option, or if it is the best/only option so far, I would personally err on the side of caution and put in the deposit.
For a few reasons, it’s a really good option. Mostly, the program looks to me like a good fit, he’s been admitted with kind words from the professor who wrote to him, and it’s a WUE (tuition exchange among western states) that’s affordable.
They have just one dorm, which happens to have a concentration on arts and music. Otherwise, I think he’d be looking for an apartment in the city…not his or our idea of college life. His dad has a cautionary tale of not applying soon enough when he went to McGill and having to find an apartment in Montreal .
Oh, then I would definitely send in the deposit!
I put in housing deposits at Big Us. Having a girl walking across campus at night after a rehearsal was a “no-go” for me. I would rather lose 50 bucks (maybe its more) than lose nights of sleep worrying. Everyone is different. Every school is different. Some will give you a refund. I think that I put in a housing deposit at a school where she hadn’t even auditioned…just in case…wanted her close to the music school. Smaller schools I didn’t do it…wasn’t as concerned about walking at night as everything was fairly close.
And once your kid accepts at a school (even in April)…get a reservation for a hotel room on move-in weekend! It’s like the “hunger games” at many schools for move-in, graduation etc. So many people, so few rooms…
We already put down the 50 dollar deposit at Big U where kid already has academic acceptance for the most music friendly dorm. I’m glad it’s a reasonable amount! I think that is smart, especially for a safer option.
Most of the other places she is auditioning seem to not run their dorm lotteries that way? They just require freshman housing apps in by a certain day and do a random lottery from there? We should maybe look closer.
Totally agree on getting a hotel for move in. My older kid is on a big 10 campus in a midsize city and we’ve gotten good at gaming hotel prices. We can’t always get walking distance to campus for reasonable and football weekends the hotels are SO expensive and booked early. Which reminds me we don’t have a room for graduation yet. That should be a train wreck, I just assume we will be staying WAY out of town that weekend.