We didn’t know about them until too late in the process. It’s a shame, because they sound as if they would have been worth exploring and they are on the East Coast.
A great part of the Oberlin audition, was that in addition to my son seeing a couple friends who are enrolled there, he was pleasantly surpised to discover a number of his close friends from the summer were there auditioning as well! He said it was like a mini-reunion.
Did faculty members in your students’ areas talk to the auditioners or just listen to the audition? There wasn’t an “interview” part to the audition and interview…
I loved that Oberlin had a reception with faculty and students available to chat! It was quite well done: Only her second in person audition, but it was very well planned.
We now are home for 10 days with 1 local audition, then on the road for 3 weeks for 5 auditions! It is all very exciting!
He and the teacher played together/improvised. I think they talked for a few minutes about his interest and experience, but it was not an interview. Parents heard a dean speak, but we did not meet faculty.
So far, the only audition he’s done is for Berklee, which does include an interview. He has a great experience with that one. He’s passed pre-screens for Eastman, Mannes, and Boston Conservatory and will be auditioning live in February. They all require interviews, I think. He’s doing a Zoom interview for Mannes tomorrow, and I’m a little nervous for him. He’s not a big fan of Zoom!
@Painomom1 That’s an exciting array of auditions coming up! Wow. Nice job passing prescreens. My kid has Loyola, UArts and UNT coming up, two of them in person and one virtual. He decided on uploading materials to a couple others, and we haven’t heard yet if C0lumbia Chicago has a virtual option for him. If not, I don’t know what we do in that case.
I can’t really speak for him, but I don’t feel like he’s had a fun experience yet, only because the two he’s done were intense and at highly competitive schools. I have my fingers crossed that a few of the upcoming ones are fun and not stressful.
It sounds like your son will be busy! I wish him luck and hope he enjoys the process. Berklee auditions are much different than the others because the student is playing just one prepared piece. If they enjoy improvising, the rest of it can be really fun for them. I think my son’s February auditions will be much more stressful.
I hope everyone had a great audition weekend! My daughter and I had so much fun actually, it was a really nice weekend in all ways and she felt great about her audition. She had her 2 possibly easiest auditions first which was nice. At our state flag ship and neighboring state’s flagship (where we get tuition recoprocity). Also, she got EA academic acceptance to the neighboring state’s flagship this weekend which was a HUGE relief. I don’t know if music people are watching these flagship admissions the last few cycles but it is crazy town for out of state applicants. It definitely wasn’t a slam dunk and I was nervous about it. It kills me a little bit that some kids that traveled for auditions may have been denied that day. We both actually LOVE that school, so great in so many ways and the music department was warm and welcoming.
Also - there was 4-7 inches of snow in southern Wisconsin yesterday for the record. Worked out mostly ok, a little white knuckle slow driving yesterday but good for our drive home today.
Flying to Boston this week! My kid is applying to all University or LAC programs, that was her (and probably ours too) preference. Most have a history of good merit scholarships. Stay healthy everyone!
It sounds like you all have lots of good options! I would not worry and if you already have a school your son would feel he would do well in and it’s affordable, that’s wonderful.
If you don’t have enough financial matches, make sure to make good use of acceptances to negotiate. My D got into several fine schools and her acceptance at the one she was second-most considering (other than the one at the tippy-top that was unaffordable) came with a slightly better financial package.
After telling admissions that she was most interested in their school and submitting the specifics on the package she’d received at the second-most desirable school (when they asked), they increased the package just enough to beat it (which ultimately helped a lot with lesson cost as she studies both cello and voice).
Miami may be a financial safety but it certainly isn’t otherwise, and deferred also doesn’t mean he’s out of it, if that is still one of the most preferred schools. I was surprised at how wisely my D chose. She really knew where she would feel best.
I would say it’s his preferred school, which is complex because I have different feelings. It might be doable financially, but would be more difficult for us than a couple others on his list that are still to come. I’ve also heard that costs rise quite a bit and housing is a problem, so I’m kind of relieved he’ll get some other answers first that he might fall in love with. This coming weekend is his Loyola audition, and I have a feeling NOLA would be perfect.
Your daughter’s experience is helpful. I didn’t know until I stumbled onto CC that you could negotiate scholarships! I really appreciate all your help.
Going forward, I’d love your opinions or advice. My son still loves Frost, and I want to help him follow this all the way through.
He’s checked the box that he wants to continue to RD. Now, I feel like he should write to John Hart and thank him for the audition, stating that he’s still very interested. Do you think so? I know it’s not required, but could it hurt? I feel like by the time all the musicians have auditioned, it might be good to remind them of who he is.
I thought about contacting the admissions office, too, to make it clear we’re very interested (not just clicking a box). I heard on another thread that there were students who’ve been in constant contact with their AOs. I can’t imagine how, because I have had a really hard time getting answers when I’ve called and emailed in the past.
I’m general, the recommendation is that it is the student who contacts Admissions, not the parent. Parents are recommended being the ones who communicate with financial aid offices though. That may be a reason why you are not getting much response while other students are?
At Miami, I was contacting the financial aid office, actually, when I needed help. My son has been the one to contact admissions offices and music departments, making it difficult for us parents to know exactly what’s happening, because his reports to us are not detailed. Sometimes when I write “we” on this board, I should be more careful to say “he”.
I am thinking of going off-road and making one phone call without my kid today. Now that he’s been admitted to CU Denver, he’s having a hard time getting his login. He’s contacted three people. At this point, he’s at school, and he needs that login to secure housing.
1.) I do think it’s OK to have your S contact the Miami teacher and indicate his continued interest in RD. My recommendation is it be VERY short and sweet. He may want to mention briefly why Miami is his “top” choice…in one to two sentences. The teacher may or may not respond. I would NOT send more than one, brief “still interested” email.
2.) I’m not sure that contacting admissions is worth anything for a music student. My D did get accepted into Miami many moons ago. It’s not a big school in area and the admissions guy (a former football player) seemed confused about my D…was kind of negative…and thought she should retake her ACT. We ignored all, applied and she was accepted.
3.) I would be happy if people disagreed with me…with a different take. This is just my view.
And…again not an expert…however, my take of early acceptances at Miami was that it was linked with very high academic achievement along with talent. If your son was NMF, he may have gotten accepted early. So I wouldn’t go to extraordinary length with Miami…except to be patient.
I just remembered, my older kid auditioned at frost and was deferred EA a few years ago. And he was actually very high stat (ACT 34, 4.0, 35ish college credits).
My current music kid was not interested in auditioning in Florida.
We both actually LOVE that school, so great in so many ways and the music department was warm and welcoming.
Worked out mostly ok, a little white knuckle slow driving yesterday but good for our drive home today.
Sometimes when I write “we” on this board, I should be more careful to say “he”.
Or, can you bring me that thing from the box of percussion stuff?