Class of 2027 Undergrad/Class of 2025 Grad: The Tours, the Auditions, the Journey

8k, though. Wow. Is that due to scholarships? Loyola comes down to about 30 for us. We parents are still looking at final options to apply to by the 15th, the main one being University of Memphis.

ULL has specified criteria for receiving various levels of merit aid. If you’re an out-of-state student and qualify for the Live Oak Scholarship (ACT 32+ / SAT 1420+; 3.0+ cumulative GPA), then I think $8k/year would probably be the final cost. It’s a pretty awesome deal. If you’re a Louisiana resident, then having those stats would cover the remainder, so it would be a full ride for in-state students.

4 Likes

That is amazing @2plustrio ! Congratulations! :partying_face: :partying_face:

2 Likes

We (or at least for sure I) am definitely aware it’s a long shot with Curtis. It’s a pricey trip even without the 2nd night added on (in fact I almost wish we had the 2nd night so we would have an excuse to say and explore the city) but Here’s how I’m looking at it - we had SO much fun our audition trips so far, so I’m happy to do one more even if it nets nothing career-wise. It’ll be worth it either way.

5 Likes

@AustenNut @BeverlyWest

He has not visited ULL. So far it has been just word of mouth. I have an old coworker friend who lives in the area and recommended it. Looking to find what days work to visit both ULL and LoyNo. Loyno has the big advantage in music. But ULL fits his other criteria which is bigger school in an area that has different culture and vibe than current midwest home. He would be happy living in cajun/creole country and learning about music (classical, jazz, recording, and music business).

ULL offered him about 28k at year (OOS for ULL is 36).

5 Likes

Agree. Again, I never want to indicate that it’s not worth the trip or effort. My D did it too…knowing it was a hard admit. Auditioning is a skill that gets better with practice. And, besides the possible acceptance, you never know if you’ll make a connection that benefits you later.

And, this is often a question that comes up around now. Should your kid continue to audition if they have a top acceptance that is financially feasible? Once my D was in this position for UG, I tried to pull the plug on an upcoming audition (within driving range). My D would not have it. She had worked hard and prepared for this process…and now it was getting fun since the pressure was off. 5 years later, she was in summer opera festival where a professor remembered her UG audition…and hired her for a gala for their opera program. So…you never know since it’s a small world. Of course, if it’s a financial hardship, that may be different. But if you can continue to audition and your kid wants to…it can be a good way to build skills and make connections.

6 Likes

Only 3 years ago when my son auditioned, there was no pre screening submission for oboe at Curtis. I believe that was the case for all of the woodwind studios. Any candidate willing to pay the audition fee and travel expense could audition. A few dozen oboists just showed up on audition day! While no one likes to get declined based on their prescreen recordings, in my opinion it is much better than spending the money and time and getting declined in a few minutes in person.
Now, all of the studios require a pre screen. Perhaps this is a by product of change in processes during and after the pandemic. Like the VP audition process, it makes for a more user friendly and less costly experience for the candidates.

6 Likes

My son has a different list of schools than many students here, with several that do not require prescreenings. I can say that it was a little scary for us parents to visit and audition at Loyola with no reference.

The three prescreens he did helped and yet didn’t. They let us know he was playing at a level appropriate for these schools, but since he passed them all we couldn’t cross any off the list. :person_shrugging:

I liked the poster’s idea for a sort of common app for prescreens. They make the process more fair and less random, but they also involve a ton of work when each school requires different material. (I’m sorry I don’t remember who posted that.)

1 Like

Fantastic!!!

1 Like

That’s wonderful!

1 Like

Thank you! And thanks @Baribassmom. He had the answer just 3 days after the audition. He applied back in October and it feels good to have the result.

I’m in my 50s, and I just got the senior discount at the market without asking me my age, so I guess this process has me looking 10 years older. :laughing:

2 Likes

Can’t wait I see where this journey takes your son!!

1 Like

I’ve heard about several acceptances here :tada: Should we (I?) start an acceptance thread for this year?

ETA : I’ll start it in the morning!

11 Likes

Heading to Bienen as we speak! DS has his classical voice audition tomorrow afternoon. :crossed_fingers:

8 Likes

We are in Chicago/Evanston this weekend too, for Northwestern audition and UChicago tour.

Had a lot of fun today, building a makeshift virtual audition studio in the hotel room - another audition on the road, we moved furniture, had to improvise propping note stand, lamps and computer on ironing board, waste baskets, suitcases, but it worked!!!

Good luck to all - last audition weekend for my daughter, we are all tired, but I will miss travelling with her like this!

7 Likes

I spent over an hour entering tax numbers on the USC site, which are all already in the CSS that they require. Grr. Then, we worked on six scholarship questions/essays. I am done for the day.

@RussianMom that sounds fun!

p.s. Apparently I wasn’t done. I just had to load 7 tax forms for Williams as well.

3 Likes

I’m feeling sympathetic pain. Since D is headed to grad school, I thought we were finally done with all those wretched forms, but 2 of her 6 schools require the CSS for grad students (grr!), and if there is a way to avoid giving parent financials, we missed it. I guess we could have refused, but D is working so hard that I didn’t want to do anything that could potentially make things harder for her. So I gave in.

4 Likes

We are at Bienen today as well!!

7 Likes

Wishing TOI TOI TOI to those auditioning this weekend!

Dear friend of S22 is going to Bienen in the fall for vocal performance- it looks like a fantastic program. (S did not apply but I tried to get him to, LOL)

Let us know of your adventures!

5 Likes

Sure am gonna be happy when all these auditions are over. Been driving thousands of miles with my son and his bass. 3 different rental cars cost a fortune (and hotels) while my car is in and out of the shop for a mystery noise. Did not know what to expect as far as passing prescreens so he applied to 8 and got 8 auditions. Halfway done, been to states we have never been to before and met lots of nice students and teachers. Seen some very impressive and beautiful schools and with each audition he gains some experience and is probably a bit less nervous. Only 1 more far trip and the rest are much closer :smiley:.
These audition trips are adventure that I am sure we will both remember.
…next comes the wait for audition results.

8 Likes