As we get into applications and prescreens, what VP programs are on you or your child’s application list? I am not looking for a list of the best programs. I am interested in where students are actually applying, both the reaches and the safeties. I will start. Not sure if he will end up applying to all of these but this is the list:
USCal
USCarolina
Northwestern
Miami (Fla.)
Vandy
Furman
SMU
Loyola, NO
Alabama
Oklahoma
Trinity (TX)
UNC
FSU
Emory
Not applying as a vocal performance major myself, but Rice, UT Arlington, and UNT are especially known in my area for their vocal/overall music programs. Baylor too if you can ignore the controversy.
That’s a long list and a lot of schools!
@compmom , it is a long list. A function of the uncertainties of getting admitted to voice programs and chasing merit $$. But some will drop off if he does not pass prescreens, or as he runs out of steam preparing applications.
My D2 is applying this year for VP as well. Her list includes:
Chapman
Cal State Long Beach
Cal State Fullerton
UCLA
UCSB
San Francisco State
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Arizona State
University of Arizona
Cornish
Cal Arts
Univ of Redlands
She has a few other colleges she is interested in applying to as well. All very close to us and easy to add if one of the other colleges falls of the list. For her, prescreens and academics may limit her options, so we are trying to cast a wide net. Having helped my D1 “academically” oriented child, I had a much better feel of where she could be admitted. My artistic daughter…not so much.
@BearHouse , yes prescreens mean a large list for us as well. Though I am thankful for that process, as it will save us the costs of travel to auditions where he would never have had a shot. Are Arizona and AZ State well regarded for VP? Feel free to PM me, if you like.
@vistajay In Arizona, ASU is the popular choice for musical theatre, and NAU is far and away the recommended school for choral music and music ed. Everyone loves Dr Copley. We know a number of NAU choral music grads and they all rave about the program.
My S19 did a program this past summer for potential music majors at ASU and we came away impressed with the voice people and all the programs actually. Son also plays cello, and we know a successful cello grad from ASU (as an aside, if I had a tuba player, I’d send that kid to ASU–loved that prof!). Son has sung at and heard choirs from both ASU and NAU and is consistently impressed with NAU over ASU, but he’s definitely more a choral music kid than MT. He started voice lessons recently and his voice teacher is an ASU grad. She’s been fantastic so far.
I’ve been told that U Arizona is the best of the three for orchestra, but we haven’t been down there to visit yet. They may have a good voice program too.
@Parentof2014grad Thank you for information on NAU. I will pass that info on to her. She isn’t a MT singer although she enjoys being around MT. She also started playing the cello this year but does not plan on pursuing that in college unless she has free time.
@vistajay I am not too sure if ASU and UA are well regarded for VP. My daughter thinks that if she is in the right environment, she will thrive. She focuses more on where would she want to live for four years. She is so type B she is killing me! 
Her voice teacher recommended SFCM, UCLA, USC, ASU and Fullerton but also told her it was about finding the right teacher, which seems like an impossible task. Her voice teacher loves MT so that might be why ASU slipped in there! It is hard enough to figure out what school she might be able to get into for VP much less find the right teacher! USC is on the fence. Likes the program from a distance but thinks that her average academics (actual average, not CC average) make it too much of a long shot.
I tried to get her to look at Loyola, NO. It looks like an interesting program and place to be. She wouldn’t consider it. Too far. I have a cousin who studied violin at Furman. She enjoyed her experience. My dad was a music school drop out almost 60 years ago at SMU. He loved being at SMU - a little too much.
I will say we had a very friendly encounter with a music professor at Chapman. We haven’t done any official tours but while visiting SoCal we took her for a drive by. We got out and walked around campus. While we were there a music professor approached us and asked us what we were doing. We told him and he chatted up the program for a good while. Very friendly and kind. I have no idea if he is representative of the program as a whole but it was a very good first impression. As soon as she got home, she started working on her Chapman application.
Thanks, @BearHouse . Chapman sounds nice. We’ve had that type of experience at several music schools. At Rhodes, we walked into the music dept for a self-guided look-see and bumped into the voice professor who was also director of studio placement in the hall. She gave us a tour and then let us sit in on one of her voice lessons, which was cool. I commiserate regarding finding the right voice teacher. You can read all the bios and talk to other students about certain teachers. You can even spend some $$ and get a sample lesson, but it seems you never know if you have the right fit until you enroll and start. I think we are going to focus on getting into certain schools, then if he gets in we will research the teachers, take some sample lessons, etc…
@vistajay We are thinking the same thing. Admission first. Sort out the rest later.
D is a jazz vocalist and songwriter. Ideally hoping for the perfect fit that has jazz voice as well as songwriting. Current list (may or may not be in order of priority since we have only visited ONE of the 6 schools…)
UMiami/Frost
Loyola NOLA
The New School
SUNY Purchase
Western Michigan
William Paterson
It was suggested we look at U of the Arts in Philly so I’ll do a little digging there as well. Crossed Berklee off the list, she wasn’t happy there during her summer. Crossed USC off the list, she wants to stay on the East coast primarily.
Cal Arts has come off the list. Not sure why, but it has. Also, University of Arizona general admission came through. Now she has to be admitted to the College of Fine Arts via audition. If not admitted to CFA, she can still pursue her alternate major at UA if nothing else works for her.
Congrats @BearHouse ! That’s an early notification of admission! Wow! I wonder if D will hear early from Western Mich on admission? She is easily within their academic standards. I wish they had an application portal to check the status but if they do we don’t know where to find it. I think her list of 6 still stands at the moment. I keep have nervous moments and wanting to add a few to the list but nothing I suggest interests her…hopefully she finds the right fit in the current list but it’s worrisome given that we have only visited one of the six. Eeek.
@SpartanDrew I know how you feel. My D has only visited one on her list as well. She did a few college visits with her older sister but to different colleges. We are using the audition as the visit. Fortunately, she only wants to stay on the West coast.
Arizona State came through with a general admission last night. She is admitted as a “music audition student.” These early university admissions do take some of the pressure off even if they are not admissions to the music program.
I think a well researched and diversified list of 6 should be very good @SpartanDrew !
OK hopefully that will be the case. We are staying pretty much on the East coast so I feel you in that regard @BearHouse. It limits options somewhat. And thanks for the support @dramasopranomom. Hopefully we should be OK. She really has such a specific major/minor that she wants to pursue that it really whittles the list down a lot. Hoping we get great “feels” from Loyola next week which will help kickstart things. We’ve already had an amazing visit to Miami so we know what’s what there. The rest are a giant question mark. Yikes!
FYI, Classical Singer mag. has this month free PDF download in their site for their popular University Sept. issue.
My daughter has narrowed her list to 11 with a few non-audition programs as back up. She removed Cal Arts and Redlands from her list. Her non-audition back ups are my doing, however. I am a bit nervous/obsessive on this but have now learned to throw the college postcards away. So it looks like the final list is Chapman, SF Conservatory, Cornish, UCLA, UCSB, Arizona, Arizona State, and Cal States Long Beach, SF, Fullerton and San Diego.
She had a nice visit at Chapman and had a lesson. She was told her song selection was good and suited her voice. Also told her which song was the strongest and advised to lead with it. My wife and I went on a tour and enjoyed the city of Orange. She spent the day with another music student and seemed really pleased with the experience.
Neither my wife nor I are musicians. My dad was but talent skipped my generation. I am hopeful that I am guiding her in the right direction and am trusting what her voice coach tells her. To me, her voice is lovely but I recognize I am biased! I will miss her singing when she leaves.
Two auditions scheduled. Only three of the schools prescreen (UCLA, SF Conservatory, Fullerton-I think). While I think she wants a state school experience, the three private schools all have something she really likes about them and are in areas she really likes as well. And she is 17, so who really knows what she is thinking.
My soprano opera hopeful applied to:
Portland State University (our state school, no prescreening, already admitted, just needs to audition. Will have tuition and fees paid for 4 years guaranteed)
University of Washington (no prescreen)
IU Jacobs
SFCM
MSM
Oberlin
Northwestern
Obviously several of these are pipe dreams, but why not try and see what happens? That was the logic, anyway. We haven’t heard anything from the prescreening schools yet.