<p>Our son will be going off to college next year and perhaps his search for the right school and our process might have some value to you.</p>
<p>Early in the summer before his junior year of High school he had begun to voice a desire to study piano in college, perhaps in a conservatory. Although he had taken lessons since he was a toddler, it had all been with the same teacher. His teacher didnt believe in recitals or competitions and was not a part of the mainstream classical music scene. None of us had an end goal in mind. He just loved music and playing and we left him to enjoy the process. </p>
<p>As we began to look into conservatories we learned of how systematic and driven some students are and how competitive the admission process is. </p>
<p>He formed a list of schools that included stand-alone conservatories like Juilliard, colleges with conservatories like Oberlin and colleges with strong music departments like University of Puget Sound. We read that the process should include visiting schools and perhaps to have a lesson to test out how you like the teacher. </p>
<p>So we began with a visit and a lesson and were told that he was musically gifted but had learned some bad habits and had several other technical issues to work out. The professor suggested changing teachers and that with a lot of work our son might have a chance at getting in a top-level music conservatory.</p>
<p>We returned home and our son had several test lessons and did decide to change teachers. He wanted to improve regardless of the college he attended and he engaged fully with the new teacher and increased his practice time. He adjusted his college list with the realization that he may or may not get accepted into a conservatory. </p>
<p>Key points -
Get outside assessment early in the process
Stay open to what develops over time and to ideas changing over what schools are right for them
Let your child drive the process
Encourage your child to look deeply at who they are and what they want and what they think would be best for them
Visit lots of schools and have lessons to get to know the teachers
Questions they should be asking themselves What kind of learner am I? What size school would be best for me? What size music department would be best for me and would I be at the top or bottom or in between in terms of my musical abilities and how do I feel about that? How important is location of the school or weather? How important is the look and feel of the campus? How important is the academics outside of music? What type of academic structure do I like (such as progressive or traditional, lecture or discussion based)? What type of kids does this school attract (such as conservative, liberal, party types, sports kids, egg heads, Greeks, etc.) and how important is that?</p>
<p>We visited a lot of schools. After visits he eliminated Rice University and Conservatory, Whitman College, Willamette University, University of Colorado Boulder, Vassar, and Ithaca College. He visited and applied to University of Redlands, Lewis and Clark College, University of Puget Sound, Bard College and Conservatory, Lawrence University and Conservatory, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Skidmore. He was accepted at all these schools and all the conservatories except Bard. He will attend Oberlin College and Conservatory in the five-year double degree program.</p>
<p>With the visits and research and self-reflection he determined he liked smaller to mid sized private schools with a campus setting. He also determined that he valued academics, as well as music, especially when progressive and discussion based. He wanted a general liberal arts education along with an intense musical experience. He wanted to make sure however that the academics were in balance so that they would allow enough time for great musical growth. He didnt want a school dominated by sports or by Greek life.</p>
<p>More key points -
Keep notes on visits and on lessons with pros and cons and note anything that needs further research
Help your child with the research
Understand the audition requirements as soon as possible so repertoire can be learned in plenty of time
Apply to schools with a range of acceptance criteria that your child would be happy to attend. It doesnt do you much good to have a safety school on your list that your child doesnt want to attend.
Create a spreadsheet to stay on top of the application and audition process
Realize that the more attractive your child is to the school the higher the merit offer will be. This often means the most merit money will come from the schools lower on their list and less merit money will come from the schools they most want to attend.</p>
<p>Good luck and enjoy the ride.</p>