Hello! So I’m currently pursuing a BS in Music Education with a focus on voice. I applied to Boston U, Juilliard, Yale, USC, UCLA, Eastman, Frost, and I am possibly adding on Hartt, NYU, and Peabody for a graduate degree in vocal performance. I had felt ambitious, especially since I thought to myself that if I really don’t get a good offer, I can simply put off my Masters studies. However, I have received my first prescreen result today at 1 am, and now I am kinda panicking. I got REJECTED from USC! Now I am doubting everything since I sent the same recordings to every school! Are there more programs I should consider that are still accepting applications? I was also thinking that maybe part of my rejection had to do with a slight technicality- on USC’s website, it states that a BM in a vocal arts major is required. I am not sure if perhaps my BS in Music Ed put them off?? Maybe it was not entirely clear that I am a vocal major? Just looking for some advice/help. Was hoping that at the very least my first decision would be a pass. Now I am doubting everything.
Would like to add that I got passed prescreens for Frost and got into BU for undergrad, so that is part of why I decided to apply again.
BSc Music Ed ≠ BM [Vocal Art], so it is more than a “slight technicality”. You would have needed to spell out how your major had a comparable level of training- which seems unlikely. For example, the BM Voice at UWa requires 119 music credits and 60 non-major credits (to include a foreign language). The BS Music Ed program at USF requires just 60 credit hours of music, 40 hours of music education, and 36 hours of GenEds.
I’m seriously not an expert in your field! but I know enough about grad school admissions (from both sides) to know that graduate level programs look much more intently at the fit between you and their program. It’s more than the quality of your recording or even how ‘good’ they think your voice is. As one AO put it to an aspiring student: ‘We know what we are good at doing and we choose applicants who are looking for that. We will turn away even very talented applicants if we don’t think that there is a good fit between what we do and what they are looking for’.
I suggest you post on the music major forum where people have a lot of knowledge on this.
Some schools will have flexibility in terms of your undergrad degree, some won’t. For instance, Yale says:
The two-year master of music (M.M.) degree program is open to students who hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in any major.
One rejection is not cause for panic. Especially if that school requires a BM that you are not going to have.
Hartt, Ithaca and Bard are possibilities but I have not researched their requirements. How about your in-state public? Your list is quite ambitious!
Have you met with anyone at any of the schools, or met faculty during summer programs?
While I am not an expert myself, my daughter is a second year masters candidate at Jacobs (IU), studying voice and opera. This is a long, hard, HIGHLY COMPETITIVE path and you will experience a lot of rejection along the way. You have to be realistic about your talent and goals, and your list was highly ambitious: Did your studio teacher help you in choosing where to apply? What is your musical aspiration (classical music, opera, choral singing, jazz)? What is your voice type? What do you require in the way of financial aid?
That you were accepted previously does not bear into this round. You have had 4 years to work on your technique and are competing against students who focussed exclusively on performance as undergrads. You should have had coursework in theory, music history, pedagogy, languages,… so you may not have adequate coursework with a BS (you didn’t state where you are currently), though ultimately, it is all about the voice. Most prescreen applications deadlines have passed, so it may not be straightforward to add applications at this point either.
Wishing you luck with your other applications, and hope you will have time to regroup and add a safety or two (@compmom suggestion of Hartt seems like a good idea).
@songbirdmama is an example of the kind of great advice you will find on the music major forum 
It does help to know your voice type and what genre you want to study and perform.
Hi! Thank you for your feedback! Ive spoken to an admissions faculty member at Hartt who has connections with my teachers and she watched my performance and informed me that I would be a great fit and asked me to apply. I’m in NY and I figured that if need be, I can apply somewhere with rolling admissions if I really can’t find a program. Even so, most of my in state programs are pretty competitive as well. Not too many options for me.
Hi! I’m a soprano and I’m going for classical/opera.