<p>Seriously, they require a live audition so it’s fair for everyone? And no CD/DVD? Again I am in total shock decent music schools actually operate like this…because according to the self-annointed “experts” on here, they would be the one exception in the USA.</p>
<p>I cannot argue with your logic - some do, most do not, it constantly changes, and it totally depends on your instrument…dang, there I go again making sense.</p>
<p>StoneMagic,
You REALLY need to chill! Some instruments (like voice, strings…) have prescreens at almost ALL the best schools. But honestly who cares?! The applicant will find that out when they go to apply to whatever schools they want to. This is an absolutely pointless conversation!!!</p>
<p>My son , who is a high school senior, is a very gifted guitarist. He auditioned last summer for the USC summer jazz/studio guitar class. Great class, very expensive, but he wanted to audition for the Thornton School of Music there so…needless to say, two weeks into it, he decided a music major wasn’t for him. He did not want to teach, play little gigs at night or record as a studio musician! He also did not want to have to “compete” with other musicians. He saw his very talented teachers playing at night and never really making it big so…he’s going to major in chemistry (and hopefully get a job). The cost of the class saved a lot of time and money. Maybe your son should try a summer class, it may help either way in his decision.</p>
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<p>Something to think about in choosing a college music school/program…what if our 17-18 year olds - gasp - change their minds? What options will they have if music isn’t, after all, what they want to study?</p>
<p>I’ve given that a lot of thought, lately.</p>
<p>@ohiobassmom, I understand what you’re saying. My opinion (notice I said my opinion, apparently posting on here under your name doesn’t equate to that unless you spell it out), life is too short not to pursue your passion. So if they love music, and that is their dream, and they have some talent, I say go for it. If they change their mind one day, they can always go back to school…at their expense of course!</p>
<p>Ohiobassmom, I think about the same thing at lot!! I feel that if the change needs to come, it will make itself known to the student and I hope that something else will reveal itself along the way. Having two right now in the thick of the application/audition process is keeping me up at night!</p>
<p>Ha! I have one son in a college music program and another in high school becoming quite a musician. Although where son #1 has always eat/lived/breathed music and music alone, son #2 has many interests. I jokingly like to advise son #2 that music makes a great hobby and to remember he may need to support his older brother one day.</p>
<p>musictwins I know…it’s a crazy time but he is almost done - a double this weekend then MAYBE one more and that’s it. WHEW.</p>
<p>shreddermom - my S has music as a hobby NOW, I think he’d be OK with it as one in college too. But who knows, he changes his mind pretty regularly.</p>
<p>I’ve encouraged my S to follow his passion, for sure., stonemagic.</p>
<p>But when we know what his final options are, I may encourage him to think carefully about the schools he’d be glad to attend even if he wound up majoring in something else.</p>
<p>He hasn’t applied to any conservatories that aren’t part of a U or LAC. But in some cases the non-music college wouldn’t be a top pick were it not for the conservatory.</p>
<p>Hmm. One more thing to worry about :)</p>
<p>ohiobassmom, my son’s school - USC Thornton - would never have been his choice if not for Thornton. (If he weren’t a musician, he’d be at a small LAC.) Kid’s never even been to a football game, so I completely know what you’re talking about.</p>
<p>So it looks like most folks agree that some instruments may require pre-screens more than other, especially for popular instruments like voice and piano. </p>
<p>Is it possible that more schools require pre-screens for music performance majors versus music education majors? I’m wondering if @StoneMagic’s trombone son is performance or education, as that could change the requirements definition.</p>
<p>And rather than say ‘decent’ or other terms to describe a school’s quality, would it be fair to conclude that highly selective music institutions require pre-screens more often than selective institutions? By highly selective, I mean those institutions that admit a very small percentage of applicants (Julliard, USC Thornton, NEC, Peabody, etc.).</p>
<p>I enjoy reading this forum because there is good data to be shared from parents and students from all parts of the country and all levels of talent and expectations. I think a parent who has a student competitive for Julliard may have a much different opinion than a parent who has a student trying to get a scholarship at a well regarded state flagship. They are both great students, and we want them all to be successful.</p>
<p>I agree Snowflake. It is safe to say that the most selective schools require prescreens in most instruments. Frankly, I think the conversation is a ridiculous one to have so let’s just let it rest to before it gets restarted haha.</p>
<p>And just to be clear, Peabody actually admits a fairly high percentage compared to the rest of the schools you have listed…not trying to make a point. Just stating what’s fact.</p>
<p>Wow. What has happened here since I last signed on? lol</p>
<p>I tried a few posts ago to get back to the OP’s original concerns. But I guess this magically morphed back into a “do colleges require pre-screening” thread! </p>
<p>Sheesh! :o</p>
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<p>StoneMagic, I don’t know if you were addressing me or not (since I was the one who wrote the post right above yours), but if so …</p>
<p>I never said that all schools require pre-screenings. I never said that all major universities do. Nor all LACs or conservatories or anything else. I also never said that Lawrence U required a pre-screening in the post you may have been addressing. Like lots of parents on these threads, I’m pretty well-versed in the college audition process at this point. And I know Lawrence U’s process very well.</p>
<p>I only said, many posts ago, that these two statements, made by you, were NOT true:</p>
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<p>It probably won’t be the last time that you say something that’s not quite right here on CC. Anybody who’s posted with any frequency has mis-spoken, mis-typed, or inadvertently given bad information. I don’t really understand your position – you seem to be sticking to your guns and trying to prove that you were right all along. There’s really no need! :)</p>
<p>Besides, this is Mdndad’s thread – about the music major’s college admission process, in general. I think we scared him away! :o</p>
<p>When a thread meanders like this, I resort to PM’ing the original poster.</p>
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<p>Thats actually makes for a good arguement against conservatories. At least at a LAC or major university there is a good chance that if our students change their major, they won’t have to change colleges. Two of my son’s trumpet playing peers at his college just changed their majors from music to something else.</p>
<p>The question about what will kids do if music doesn’t work out is a common question on here and elsewhere, and there is no one right answer to it. Yes, conservatory programs (with some exceptions, i.e a conservatory like at Bard part of a larger music program) are self contained with music.And yes, in theory, if you go to a place like Umich or Indiana or the like, you could shift to an academic track (friend of mine did that at Indiana). </p>
<p>On the other hand, plenty of people get music degrees from conservatories and the like, and do other things, IT especially is full of ex musician types IME, for example. Plus I have known music majors who went on to law school, med school or other grad programs, or went into business in various fields. Put it this way, a lot of English Majors, History majors and other liberal arts students get out of school and go to work in various fields and how much does their degree really prepare them directly to work in marketing or whatever they do? It depends on the field, but college for a lot of students is about learning, it is about growing up and learning to take responsibility and so forth as much as learning ‘practical skills’. Yes, some fields to get into you have to pretty much study it in college (engineering, accounting and so forth) where direct skills are needed, though even in those fields people often get into them roundabout…</p>
<p>I think it is wise to think about the future, obviously, and with as tenuous as music can be as a vocation even more so, but I also think you need to dream a little and realize that the path we take in life for the most part is not set in concrete by what we study in college…</p>
<p>Just a brief comment on the whole prescreen/no pre screen thing. The absolutes I saw was in the line “no decent music school requires a CD/DVD for audition”, that was the throw out line. What others said is true, it all depends, especially on the instrument. I would be willing to be across all programs that a pre screen is required more often for strings, piano and voice then it is for woodwinds or brass; the pre screen is in place because of the number of people applying, and there are a lot less on average applying to audition for brass or woodwind then on strings and piano, when they could face several hundred potential applicants instead of 10 or 12 let’s say. Likewise, the ‘big’ programs do prescreens more often then the ‘merely competitive ones’ because the big programs draw more applicants, fairly or unfairly, because of their name. The violin program at Juilliard will get applications from several hundred students and they will whittle that down to less then 100 (same for NEC, etc), the university of Minnesota prob gets less then 100 total applicants to audition on violin. The pre screen isn’t there to replace the audition, it represents a method to make the madness of the audition process a little easier logistically, that’s all. Yes, some schools do allow CD/DVD audition but that has nothing to do with pre screens. All the pre screen does is get you admitted to the show, it doesn’t get you seated.</p>
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<p>Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head, musicprnt. StoneMagic’s son is a trombone player. I also surmised that s/he is therefore probably not as familiar with all the pre-screening hoops that strings, piano, and voice must often jump through at all sorts of schools. For trombones, as far as I know, no major universities DO require pre-screenings. I really wouldn’t know. ;)</p>
<p>^not just strings, piano voice, but guitar, bass, drumset, sax, flute and countless other instruments.</p>
<p>^Oh yeah. Sure enough! Flute?? Phew. VERY competitive! The others as well. ;)</p>