Hey all,
Asking for insight on this program. My (small) high school’s college counselors surprised me by nominating me for an award from URochester (which I won) and yes, URoch has done their marketing well and gotten me semi-interested in applying. I received the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award which waives my app fee (for URoch, not Eastman, as far as I can tell) and makes me eligible for a minimum $10,000 annual scholarship upon admittance to URoch.
I already knew about Eastman’s prestige and the double degree program, but now that I have this potential money in my pocket I’m looking into it. I know Eastman is a huge longshot for me but I’m shooting at something similar for USC Thornton and math. So, what the heck. A few questions I have before I go any further:
- Why have people in the past chosen Eastman over other schools? What makes it special? Why should I apply there? I'm looking at you, @akapiratequeen @mperrine @Mamager19
- Are DDE (double degree) applicants eligible for merit awards from BOTH URoch and Eastman? Do these awards stack?
- How closely knit are the two schools? I know they are 10 minutes apart... is your impression that they operate as two separate schools, or are they really one school with two campuses?
Thanks for all the guidance so far, and thanks in advance for everyone’s replies 
Hi @Racingfan53, and glad to hear of your interest! My S chose Eastman because the level of playing there, and the teaching he experienced during a two-week summer workshop (one of his professors is now his studio head), blew his mind. He liked the small, tight group of students (only 500 undergrads plus 400 grad students) and he appreciated the opportunity to do a jazz/music ed double major. He also liked being in the middle of a small city. And he liked the academic approach, and even what I might call the intellectual vibe. He felt that people there weren’t just in it to build their chops and get out.
The other two questions are tougher for me. He didn’t apply to U of R, and I am not even sure the pricing is the same – Eastman is nearly $70k a year. So a $10k scholarship would not go far. Luckily, most of the students I’ve heard about who are going to Eastman got a lot more than that, double or triple or even more. Check the thread on merit awards for details. (So another advantage – they were generous with merit money.)
Finally, I only visited twice, but it seemed to me like the two schools were quite separate – more like Johns Hopkins and Peabody than, say, Oberlin or USC. They are probably closer to 20 minutes apart on the shuttle, and my S has no plans to take any courses at U of R.
Finally, you didn’t mention what you play/sing. The Eastman audition was pretty demanding and took a lot of preparation. There was also a prescreen video requirement. Certainly doable, but you’d need to be very motivated.
Hope that helps! Are you a junior this year? Best of luck!
Hello @Racingfan53 - merit awards do not stack between UR and Eastman, you get the best award. However, make a call to UR about the specific award you rec’d just in case. They operate as 2 separate schools, with little coordination. That said, the ESM dean who supports dual degree students is very helpful.
This link includes a table which describes how merit (talent) awards and financial aid work at Eastman. Let me know if you have questions and good luck!.
https://www.esm.rochester.edu/financialaid/cost-of-attendance-undergraduate/
My D also chose it because of the over all teaching staff which is some of the best in the nation… theory, instrument(horn), musicology,the vast variety of things taught and she wanted a stand alone conservatory because she was not interested in a double major. I do have a friend who is going to U of R next year and she was interested in a double major from them… what instrument do you play or voice?
Thank you all for your responses–after hearing what you all have to say I think I’ll be focusing my efforts elsewhere. I think I would rather have a conservatory within a university, rather than one somewhat separate. Also, since Eastman is such a giant reach (for everyone, but especially me I think, due to my total lack of interest in solo performance), I think I would just get a big headache going through an arduous audition process for a school I’m not super interested in.
@mperrine and @akapiratequeen I’m going to be auditioning as a soprano, voice, but not as a performance major. To be honest the area that I’m looking for great faculty in is choral conducting–more than anything, I want to be in a great choir
Makes sense, best of luck and can’t wait to hear what you find!
No offense, but those awards with the potential scholarship seem like a marketing tool. It seems that every high school gives one out. I don’t know how many of the $10k annual scholarships are given but the percentage of must be low.
Glad you are using other priorities for your decision! Good luck!
ps St. Olaf might be a good one to look at-?
@compmom yeah, I think they are just a marketing tool which is why I’m not putting much stock in it. In fact my award was one of like 10 that were handed out during the junior/senior awards assembly. Only one kid got an actual check for $50 
I love love love what I see at St. Olaf (plus 2 graduating seniors from my choir are going there this year) but I just don’t see it working out financially. My family won’t pay more than about $15k a year and Olaf doesn’t give merit aid past half tuition.
Do you qualify for financial aid? I can PM you if privacy is an issue.
Olaf will meet 100% of financial need… that plus merit might make it doable? Choral conducting? … it is certainly one of the best places for you to consider.
I’m going to apply to Olaf anyway because there’s no application fee, and just see what deal they give me… I don’t think it will be enough, but we’ll see.
@Racingfan53 , for choral conducting check out Florida State. They have a great program. Good OOS scholarships and most music students have OOS tuition waived.