<p>When schools ask where else are you applying/auditioning, is it good or bad to tell them this? What are the pro/con's of answering this either way? </p>
<p>I've heard someone suggest you evade the question with such as "I'm only applying to schools I'd be very happy at". But if they have a legit reason for the question, that might not make them happy.</p>
<p>There was a thread about this earlier in the year–I’m sure one of the wonderful Dads can find this for you.</p>
<p>That’d be good, I’m looking but my search skills on here yield so many results I usually get sidetracked before I find what I started looking for :)</p>
<p>well on the northwestern music information sheet i listed all the other schools i was applying to (none of which were music schools) and i still got in … only after the professor emailed me about my commitment to music though …</p>
<p>There may have been two, or a similar question within another thread. Sometimes even I can’t remember or find it. Here’s one:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/761988-what-do-you-say-sample-lesson-when.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/761988-what-do-you-say-sample-lesson-when.html</a></p>
<p>Good general audition advice, may even be covered in either of these:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/850837-fall-cycle-2010-audition-experiences.html?highlight=audition[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/850837-fall-cycle-2010-audition-experiences.html?highlight=audition</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/240407-audition-tips-info.html?highlight=audition[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/240407-audition-tips-info.html?highlight=audition</a></p>
<p>This may help your search skills:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html?highlight=search[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html?highlight=search</a></p>
<p>Edit: duh! They’re here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/814373-questions-asked-auditions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/814373-questions-asked-auditions.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/812993-why-do-audition-committees-want-know-where-else-you-will-auditioning.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/812993-why-do-audition-committees-want-know-where-else-you-will-auditioning.html</a></p>
<p>I had linked them here earlier <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/901390-2010-collective-experience.html?highlight=2010[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/901390-2010-collective-experience.html?highlight=2010</a> with the intent of making them easier to find.</p>
<p>At a young, blossoming program, it can whet the faculty’s appetite to hear that you’re considering them seriously alongside an established conservatory or department. Mentioning a number of small schools at a big school or vice-versa can work similarly.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I’d avoid sending the message that their school is a safety, i.e. " I’m applying to Juilliard, Curtis, the Sibelius Academy, and Podunk Polytech."
Conversely, don’t make your application seem like a lark-- “I’m applying to five satellites of Podunk Polytech and Juilliard.”</p>
<p>If one of the last two situations is the case, be discreet, but do not lie, and do not be evasive if directly questioned.</p>
<p>At one school when DD auditioned they asked her why she was applying there considering the other places she was applying. She did not say it was her safety, she told them she was still considering a university vs a conservatory experience and she liked that university and had heard good things about what they were doing with their program. They stayed in contention with some fantastic scholarship offers.</p>
<p>For the higher level programs, it helped in the scholarship offers, too, when they knew you had also applied to other high level programs.</p>
<p>We were not only asked about what other schools we were looking at but some asked what teachers we had talked with/had lessons with. We were upfront with all questions. It was easier to answer truthfully than to beat around the bush and try to remember what you said.</p>
<p>ineedchocolate: When you ask about “the pro/con’s of answering this [question] either way,” I assume you actually mean what are the pros/cons of answering or not answering (I hope you do not mean “answering truthfully or deceitfully”).</p>
<p>Pros of answering: You show respect and trust for the person/institution asking the question. You give them information that can help them make a good decision concerning your admission. While I know that schools and teachers have their own self-interests, I also believe that those interests generally coincide with the student’s interests: i.e. finding a good fit between the students and the school. It is not in a student’s best interests to gain admission to a school to which their are underqualified; the student is unlikely to thrive in such an environment.</p>
<p>Con of not answering: You show a distrust towards the person/institution asking the question. You look as if you have something to hide. No one likes working with people who withhold information. </p>
<p>I believe that most faculty and administrators actually want to help students and that knowing more about the students allows them to be more helpful. Certainly there are exceptions to this and I am sure there is a horror story or two out there, but ultimately having an “us against them” mentality when it comes to music school admissions is counterproductive.</p>
<p>A couple of additional thoughts: Don’t think of college admissions as a game that you try to win (and it may be difficult not to think of it that way, given how often we hear people use the game analogy). Perhaps, the analogy works for describing some aspects of the admission process, but ultimately it is an unhealthy metaphor as it implies that there are winners and losers. A rejection from a school where you would be the worst musician is a “win” for you: it prevents you from wasting one or more years and many thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I’m not sure that I understand what your two implied ways to answer are; I can only see one way: the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.</p>
<p>By “pros and cons” either way, I was in no way advocating untruthful answers. But was wondering if there was ever a drawback to naming specific schools. </p>
<p>It’s very good to know that most of you who have been around this block before find the admission process a sincere effort to find the best fit and not a game :)</p>
<p>Schools should choose students on their own merit. By asking this question, it seems like the schools are trying to figure out whether or not the student might accept, which is a bit unfair. Students make their lists based on so many factors that are unknown to the schools - and a kid might easily choose a school that is not the obvious choice from the outside but is one where they really want to go.</p>
<p>There is a difference between truth and information disclosure. The problem with fully disclosing where else you are applying is that your dedication and or/likelihood of attending that particular school may be judged and your scholarship offer adjusted accordingly. The problem with not answering this question is your willingess to cooperate with their request for information would also be judged. I liked the idea someone raised earlier of putting your response in the context of the type of school you are applying to.</p>
<p>Are the schools asking these questions disclosing how many openings they expect to have in your instrument, and how many people they are planning to audition?</p>
<p>One of our music kids had an experience of a well-known conservatory asking applicants point blank where else they had applied and directly what was their first choice as well as where else had they applied? Obviously, if every admissions staff asked this, it would put applicants in a dilemma. Another of our kids (also music) had to write down on several apps where else apps had gone. Not really sure of the effect of all this. Seems to me students should have the right to submit a variety of apps (including conservatories, schools of music, large and small schools, public and private schools) without some unintended angle being read into it. Sometimes the student is seeking a special studio teacher, and these teachers exist in all kinds of institutions related to the study of Music!</p>
<p>I’m not convinced that they’re asking for this information [solely] to judge a candidate’s suitability for admission. It’s data mining; they have a sparkly pool of demographically appropriate customers, so squeeze as much information out of them as possible for institutional purposes that have little to do with the individual applicant. It’s similar to the surveys they ask you to fill out after you decline admission.</p>
<p>It depends on who’s asking!</p>
<p>stradmom has it right: school administrators like to know as much as possible about the applicant pool. For instance, at Bard we want to know: are our applicants looking at other double degree programs, or other small liberal arts colleges, or other standalone conservatories, large universities with schools of music, or ivy league schools? Which ones? What might lead these numbers to go up or go down in any given year? What’s the yield with respect to these different applicant pools, etc. etc. So this is a case where volunteering such information is just being helpful, a good citizen, etc. </p>
<p>At any rate, if you complete the FAFSA, the school is told all the other places the SAR was sent, so if someone at a school really really wants to know where else you’ve applied, they can find out through the financial aid office. (Though past experience has shown me that there isn’t a 1:1 correlation between the schools someone ultimately applies/auditions and the ones listed on the SAR). </p>
<p>Where it gets tricky is when faculty start asking this question during a lesson, or at the audition itself. The question could have many different purposes:</p>
<p>The faculty REALLY wants the student, and wants to know the chances vis a vis the competition. Example: you say you’re also looking in to another school with exceptionally good financial aid packages, so the faculty knows s/he must put in some extra leverage to get you a good deal. </p>
<p>Or the faculty may like the person, see some talent, but don’t feel s/he is a good fit for their particular studio…knowing the other schools then helps out the faculty psychologically, saying to themselves “well she’ll get in with so and so, and that will work out nicely for her.” Not what you want to hear, but remember these teachers also get stressed out by auditions, and know they’re making decisions that affect peoples’ lives! In this case, the decision is already a no, and not impacted by the disclosure, but it helps smooth out the encounter for all involved. </p>
<p>The faculty just want to make small talk, and there’s no motive at all behind the question. It’s just a way to break the ice, or make some kind of comment about the weather in a particular city, or say hi to so and so for me. </p>
<p>It’s best to remember the most important “talking” takes place with the instrument, and trying to outwit or outmaneuver a potentially awkward question is sort of a lifelong process (job interviews, anyone?).</p>
<p>whoah–I thought I’d lost the first post, and then tried to recompose it. Sorry for the redundancy, I’ve asked the mods to remove one of them.</p>
<p>N8Ma, perhaps you can shed light on an experience my son had at one of the conservatories where he auditioned, as perhaps it could be helpful to someone in the future. </p>
<p>Anyway, at this particular place, my son was not only asked where else he was auditioning, but he was repeatedly pressed to give his first choice. When he politely said "While I’m extremely interested in (school that was asking), I really haven’t got an absolute first choice yet, as I’m waiting to see what my real options are, finish my auditions, etc. But the person asking didn’t let it end there - they kept pressing with “but if you HAD to choose now, which would be your first choice?”, etc.</p>
<p>He was really thrown by this, and kept repeating that he loved this particular school and why, but that he really hadn’t picked a first choice yet. After we left, he regretted not just telling them what they wanted to hear, and was afraid he came off as wishy washy, or worse, evasive. Since they ultimately accepted him (he chose another school), we know that’s not the case, but still…</p>
<p>Why would they press like this? And what should someone do in this situation?</p>
<p>shreddermom–perfectly natural to be thrown in the face of such persistent badgering!</p>
<p>Who asked this question, and when? Was it one on one, or was it asked in a room full of people? </p>
<p>My guess is this school loved your son, thought he was awesome, and got carried away. Remember, these are sensitive musicians, they hear a string of people, and after three or four unremarkable players, someone comes in and really says something that actually moves them, and their emotions kick in and they lose their heads. That would account for the first minute of persistent questioning, at least. After that, not letting the matter rest, not taking the cue that your son was trying to give them, it then seems like they were going off the rails. Something some faculty aren’t too keyed in on: the “perfect” school for someone is the school that will #1 admit them and #2 they can actually afford…so how can you really have a first choice with imperfect information? </p>
<p>But anyway…they wanted your son to say right then and there his first choice. He was right to never say one way or the other, if that’s how he truly felt. And if the school demands such psychological validation from all its applicants, it’s their problem, not yours.</p>
<p>Anyone faced with this in the future–a roomful of adults, and your kid being asked to tell them right then and there how much you love that same roomful of adults, I think honesty is the best policy. If it really is your dream school, let them know. If it’s in your mind your safety, just say it’s among the schools you’re considering and you’re waiting to see what the results are (which is true, otherwise why are you auditioning there?). </p>
<p>While we’re on the subject of authenticity–I wonder why I get these nice emails, or even handwritten cards, from students who’ve visited telling me Bard’s their first choice, and then I never even see an application from them four months later. Sure, some might get in to Yale ED or something, or you visit another school a few months later and write Bard off the list. It’s all part of the process. But I hope no one thinks routinely writing every school they visit with a “you’re school’s so awesome I love it it’s my first choice” email is a good strategy. (Is there a chapter on this in some book I haven’t read?)</p>
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<p>I’m on the same page as N8. Seems that son was a serious contender there. And if he was near top of the heap, AND it was clearly his first choice, perhaps it was a situation where “they” were thinking “if he wants to be here, we may not necessarily have to be overly generous with talent money”. Not as big a worm needed to catch a fish ready to jump into the boat.</p>
<p>Just a possibility.</p>