<p>It's great you are doing all this as a junior. That's smart. But remember that even smaller schools such as Baldwin Wallace that have a big rep (like BW) does and one that is growing do attract way, way more people to auditions than they can accept. In some ways, it can be harder getting into one of those smaller programs located in a LAC than it might be to get into a larger program that accepts more people. Soozievt?</p>
<p>melsmom, I'm glad that you and your D were able to visit the UCLA fair and get some further information! A couple of thoughts: Muhlenberg, Wagner and BW are not BFA programs. For a good reference, the big list is a bookmark you'll use frequently:</p>
<p>I agree with NMR's comment about underestimating the selectivity of admissions to some of the smaller programs. I don't know the exact numbers but I'm sure Susan can provide those. I do know that some of the 'smaller' programs are also almost as selective as some of 'bigger' ones. Lastly, although serious prep for next year's auditions should be one focus (and I imagine that you didn't truly mean "her only focus"), make sure she also has an equal focus on her academics, which will be just as important at many of the schools she's likely to be interested in. Kids do tend to go through the occasional 'meltdown' times during the course of this process. Lots of deep breathing and reassurance tend to help. :)</p>
<p>Thank you, NMR and alwaysamom for your feedback. I stand corrected regarding the BFA degree at the aforementioned schools; what I meant to say was they had conservatory style programs in a LAC. I think we've been using the term BFA to describe a conservatory type curriculum in our household a little too freely. I have referenced that link you provided several times as a newbie on this site - thank you for your patience as we begin to navigate the waters! </p>
<p>What I meant by "her only focus", is that her admitted weakness is getting too "hyper" at auditions which sometimes causes her to get pitchy on a song or for lack of a better term, "lose focus". That's what she's identified as something to work on to gain more confidence when walking into those college auditions. She'll be very competitive academically- that's an area with a lot of focus!</p>
<p>Thanks for the input about the smaller schools. I wish she had the time to "talk" to everyone on this site and gain the benefits of all your experience. I'll just continue to pass it along; I've actually printed a lot of responses that I thought gave good general info for her. But, I digress and this should probably start a new thread...
Thanks again!</p>
<p>melsmom, you're welcome. We're all here to help as much as we can and you have the advantage of an early start so you'll be fine! </p>
<p>Totally off topic, but I see you live in Agoura Hills. It's a beautiful area, we have friends who live in Westlake Village and have visited often. :)</p>
<p>We went to the LA fair...an amazing experience and I would recommend to anyone who has a child interested in a music university. We even ran into an 8th grader! We were very impressed by the large turn out of schools and information provided. As stated above, there were some places were were impressed with (USC, Otterbine, Michigan, OCU) and there were some schools which we felt less than welcome at (Interlochen). The ballroom was packed and we had to wait in a crowd outside just to get in. We did see some college we had never considered before which was invaluable. Address lables are a must for going to any of these fairs.</p>