<p>Hypothetically speaking, if you were already accepted in both Juilliard and Curtis, which one would you choose? Specially for voice. I mean, besides the tuition, any other considerations about the faculty, job oportunities, focus, etc, etc?</p>
<p>Well, considering the fact that several teachers teach at both schools, I’d find Curtis hard to pass up considering the fact that it is substantially cheaper, and you could likely end up working with the same person you would have studied with at Juilliard.</p>
<p>Curtis all the way. Best music school on the planet, and subsequently one of the most difficult to gain admission to. Tuition Free. And Philadelphia is an excellent place to live as a musician. Truly a sense of community.</p>
<p>Curtis is tuition-free, but you still need to pay for living expenses. I’d wait to see how much scholarship you received from Juilliard before discounting it entirely. And of course you’d want to consider your studio placement. (I live in Philly and love the city; gardenmom is right that Philadelphia is a good music city, but NY is a great music city.)</p>
<p>My D (MM viola, year 2) is at Juilliard and my S (trumpet) is in his first year as Curtis. Neither are voice majors, but I have spent time at both as a parent. I can tell you they are both amazing schools, but the environments are completely different. If you haven’t done so yet, visit both places. As you know, graduates from both places hold lots of jobs. </p>
<p>Great teachers at both. If money is not a part of the discussion, and you’re split on a teacher, then you have to decide which place you think you’ll like better.</p>
<p>Philly is like a scaled down NYC and Curtis is in a great neighborhood. NYC is bustling pretty much 24/7. </p>
<p>Curtis is very small with a TOTAL enrollment of about 150. Freshmen (unless they are underage) have to live in the dorm (Lenfest Hall) which also has classrooms and practice rooms. There have been days when my son has not left the building. Practice rooms are open 24/7. He has never not been able to get one. Lenfest is pretty much brand new. As far as I know, the dorms are all suites with two doubles, two singles and two bathrooms per suite. It’s a pretty nice set up. FWIW, he always has good things to say about the food.</p>
<p>NYC/Juilliard are massive. There are 65ish VIOLAS at Juilliard. D lives in a ridiculously expensive apartment with three other J. students less than a ten minute walk from Juilliard. Practice rooms get full at Juilliard, but since she can practice in her apartment this is not much of an issue. This is also one of the advantages to living close to school. She originally looked at housing all over NYC. Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey all would have been cheaper, but the commute is the big trade off.</p>
<p>Both are very happy to be where they are.</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing your views!</p>
<p>glassharmonica, Curtis also have scholarships, I believe, but only need-based, while I’ve hardly heard about any full-ride scholarships at Juilliard. Do you know something about that?</p>
<p>tomdug, I knew Juilliard was bigger, but not that big! Can you elaborate a bit about this environment thing you mentioned? I heard Juilliard has a somewhat stressful and very competitive environment. Btw, congratulations on your kids! It must be nice to have them both already in such renowned schools!</p>
<p>Hi quiara, </p>
<p>I live in Philly; my daughter goes to Juilliard. 65 violas sounds kind of high to me. I don’t think of Julliard as that massive. My daughter finds it on the small side, a bit of a fish bowl (but she would not even apply to Curtis, which is very small.) Juilliard is pretty competitive, depending on the instrument. My daughter lives in a fairly spacious apartment on the upper west side with two roommates, a 15 minute subway trip from the school; she pays about $1000/month. She has friends who live farther away who pay about $600. As for scholarships, it’s always more complicated than on first glance. There are many fellowships at Juilliard which (although taxable) pay well. But you need to be at least a sophomore to have one of these. She has a number of friends who are on full-tuition scholarships, but as far as I know, they are on their own for room and board. She has friends from the NY area who move back home with their parents after Freshman year (when dorm stay is mandatory) to cut costs.</p>
<p>As far as Juilliard being competitive, I have to say that D never has complained about that. Other than a two-round principal audition at the beginning of the year, she has had no other head-to-head competition. Some students are supportive in studio class and some are jerks, which is pretty much how life is. </p>
<p>She loves living in New York. The housing search was very stressful, at least for me. She really likes her viola teachers and has had some great classes. It has been an amazing experience for her. Now we just hope she can get a job!</p>
<p>As to the number of violas at Juilliard, I only reported what I was told. (And this came up more than once.) There are a lot. If it’s not in the 60s, it’s very close…</p>
<p>As for the environment of each school, I would strongly encourage school visits. Everything about Curtis is smaller. For my son, that was very attractive. He thought that was the right environment for him.</p>
<p>Oh well, YMMV. But the atmosphere is generally different for grad students than for undergrads, and also varies from instrument major to instrument major. And yes, it is stressful to find housing in NYC, although my daughter lucked into her apartment, which had been located already by one of her roommates, who was looking for two more to join. There is also the option to live in the dorms. Curtis now has dorms, by the way, which is a change from the past.</p>
<p>I WISH Curtis would announce VP prescreen results! The waiting is killing me, lol!</p>
<p>^Hey! My wish just came true! Curtis VP prescreen results are out! :)</p>
<p>Yay! I hope it went well! 
Tell us about the audition later, I have heard wonders about the drama auditions at Juilliard and so on, but I have read nothing about Curtis’. Maybe I haven’t searched enough…?</p>
<p>^No, I’m with you. There seems to be very little information out there about Curtis auditions – or even Curtis experiences, in general. Perhaps that’s because it’s so small. Consequently there are fewer people available to write about it?</p>
<p>Tomdug: I’m currently a junior in high-school and preparing for college piano auditions. The Curtis Institute of Music is at the top of my list and I consider it my “lofty goal” to be accepted. With few members on these boards having close connections to Curtis, I was wondering if you could maybe give some insight on how your son went about practicing and preparing for his Curtis audition. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>I can only comment on the trumpet side of things. I don’t know how it compares to piano. The big thing is Curtis asks for more rep than anywhere else. No other school that my S auditioned at asked for a full concerto. Of course, he didn’t play the whole thing. They only let him play a few minutes (3-4?) of the first movement (through the most technical parts of the piece) and some excerpts (some technical, some lyrical). </p>
<p>Round one was just for the trumpet teacher. Round two, for which they advanced maybe eight trumpets, was for the brass faculty.</p>
<p>My son’s strategy was to minimize rep as much as possible, playing the same things as often as possible. Some schools have specific requirements, so the list for all auditions was still lengthy, but he did his best to trim it. </p>
<p>Other than that, he just practiced a ton. He also did as many mock auditions as he could, usually for friends, his teacher, video recorder… Pick your rep as early as possible. Perform it as often as possible. When you can, play it in competitions and recitals and for relatives. He tried to take as much anxiety out of performing these pieces as possible.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Awesome!!! Thank you for the great advice. :)</p>