In additions to conservatories like SF, NEC, and Manhattan, I am also applying to Northwestern, Michigan, and Vanderbilt, all schools with high academic standards (in addition to the great music schools).
I am applying as a performance/Ed major (I’m a junior so I’m not quite sure which route I should go quite yet). My unweighted GPA is around a 3.55-3.65 with all honors/AP with 2110 SAT (1450 reading and math). I am top 6% of my class. Will this be enough to be accepted academically at these schools? Thanks!!!
@compmom I know that for some schools, you need to be accepted musically and academically. I’ve read about some cases where students were accepted to studios but not to school because of grades.
Of course. Am well aware. I guess I will elaborate since I was not clear. This student seems to be qualified academically, in the sense of meeting benchmarks (though I am not sure what the weighted GPA would be because I have never understood those things). So therefore the best way to try to get into the school is to do well with the audition.
Michigan’s academic profile for SMTD students (school of music, theater and dance) is published here http://www.music.umich.edu/prospective_students/admissions/ug/app_proc/acad_prep.htm. Your UW GPA is right around their average for admitted students and your SAT is above average - both are well above the required minimum. I agree with @compmom that academics are very unlikely to be a barrier and your audition will be the key to your admission.
Just because I was not clear: the music is the most important, yes, but even more so because you look fine with academics, so that leaves only the music to really worry about
If the OP had a 3.0 UW GPA and a 1750 SAT, then that would likely keep him out of elite universities regardless of musical talent. But his stats are within the range for the schools listed.
I disagree, at least with UMich if you consider it “elite”. Their minimum requirements for SMTD is 3.0 and 1650 (or ACT 24.) Based on my conversation with admissions, as long as the applicant meets the minimum requirements, the admissions decision is left to the music school. Same goes for USC, which actually doesn’t even have minimum academic requirements for Thornton applicants. I’m not saying that these music schools don’t care about grades. I think they do, because they want students who they think are going to be successful in a school setting, but I don’t think those stats would automatically keep anyone out.
“Based on my conversation with admissions, as long as the applicant meets the minimum requirements, the admissions decision is left to the music school.”
Thanks ScreenName, you expressed what I was trying to say, but a lot more clearly
I agree, I suspect with those stats you will be fine. As noted, when you apply to a music school inside a university you have to be accepted by both the music school and the school as a whole academically. It is a bit different for a student applying to the music school for a performance degree than it is for straight academic, as has been discussed on here a lot, the schools understand that music students because of the demands of practicing and other commitments to music may not have the same stats and academic record kids not in music will have, it is very hard to play at a high level and take all the academic grind courses that have become de rigeur these days for kids applying academically. In a sense, the way to look at this is that the academic grades with music students , rather than being the driving force to get them admitted, as with the regular college,is that they are looked at as a criteria not to admit the student, so instead of saying “how does this student’s academics compare to our typical student”, it is “are the grades at an acceptable level where we think they will do okay with academics”. As a result, schools can be a lot more lenient with music performance students than they will be with academic admits, because they are an entirely different pool. The real competition for music students is in the audition, that is where the brutality lies for them:).
I think with the 3.0 GPA and the 1750 SAT, it would depend on the school whether the kid gets in or not. I don’t think that would necessarily keep a kid out of a music program at an elite university if the kid is planning to do performance, where it might keep the kid out IMO/IME is if the kid in his audition is on the cusp of being accepted, the academics at that level might keep him out. It is the one case where I think academics can help with music school admission, if your audition is borderline strong academics might get you in…which is why I agree that the biggest thing to worry about with music school admits in a university is to go in with a really strong audition, if you do that, then as long as the academics are decent, you should have a good chance:).
