<p>Here's the deal. I have yet to hear from McGill, my toughest music school I am definitely educated guessing. But, so far, I believe that University of Miami and Northwestern are tied for difficulty for MUSIC not plain admissions alone. So, what happened was, I was accepted to JMU, Miami, and Case Western so far, but only accpeted for Music into Miami Frost School of Music...Does this make ANY SENSE? Of all the music schools, this was one of the harder ones I thought I wouldn't get into, and would use the easier ones as backup. And here I don't even get into my safeties for music! Is it truly this competitive or am I just second geussing myself? It's so confusing because I got rejected also from Northwestern completely and Bucknell completely. McGill is my last hope, and I know how unbelievably cut throat it is to get in ther! AH!</p>
<p>I feel that Northwestern is the most competitive to get in academically and musically on your list. I do think that McGill is more competitive than JMU, Miami and Bucknell. Good luck though... if it doesn't work out, you still have good options to choose from.</p>
<p>Miami's Frost School is very highly rated and you should be proud!</p>
<p>Good luck with McGill. This year was so competitive; most of my son's friends have a much smaller number of options than they expected to have. But one good school is all you need, really, unless financial concerns make it impossible to attend.</p>
<p>If you go to Case, you will be taking advantage of their "one door" policy. You will technically be a student of Case, but you will be taking your music lessons at Cleveland Institute of Music, which is literally just across the street from Case. Can't get much better than that, depending on your instrument. I think that maybe the CIM students may take from a principal in the CLeveland Symphony and the Case students may take from a different section memeber of the CLeveland Symphony, but HEY! it's still a wonderful opportunity. You should check into it more and see whose studio you would be in.</p>
<p>Maybe after you get started, you could apply to CIM if the 100% music curriculum is for you and you no longer want the general education that Case offers.</p>
<p>If I read your posting correctly, you have been accepted both academically and as a music major at U Miami, you have been accepted academically but not as a music major at JMU and CWRU, you were rejected by both Northwestern and Bucknell, and are still waiting to hear from McGill.</p>
<p>There are a lot of variables involved when comparing music school X with music school Y and trying to decide which will be a harder admit. For starters, it depends on the number of available spaces in your voice part or instrument, the relative strength of that department, the strength of your competition for one of those spots, how well your audition went and the overall impression you made on the teachers.</p>
<p>While it may seem odd that you were accepted by the music department at Miami and not at JMU, that could happen for a number of reasons. Perhaps there were a smaller number of openings at JMU, perhaps your audition went a lot better at Miami than at JMU, perhaps you followed somebody really phenomenal at the JMU audition and sounded not so great by comparison, perhaps there was a bit of "Tufts Syndrome" going on and JMU got the impression that you would rather be attending some other school. You could contact the schools involved and ask for feedback on your own audition, but that still may not be enough information to tell you why they acceted you or rejected you.</p>
<p>The whole reason that music majors in particular need to apply to a lot of schools is because the process is so unpredictable. Your own experience serves to confirm this. Miami would be an excellent choice if you can afford to go there. If McGill comes through for you, you have a second great option. Don't try to over-analyze the situation, just go with the place that is best for you.</p>
<p>If you choose to make a career as a musician, you will find that extremely unpredictable (and sometimes completely unfair) auditions are a way of life.</p>
<p>I believe that the "one door policy" at Case means that you can declare any major you want to in any school you want to as long as you are accepted to Case in general. It would be worth checking into this, as getting assigned to a musician from the Cleveland Symphony is a good opportunity and the proximity to CIM might open some doors for you.</p>
<p>I visitied CIM and hated it; I thought the student body was very arrogant and way too "all i've ever done and all i ever do anymore is breathe and sleep music." ok, i love music, but i'm not going to completely immerse myself into that ocean because we all need balance!</p>
<p>Did you actually get a rejection at JMU music? Our friend called up and the music dept acceptances were going out later than the schools acceptances. So she go the school first and the dept told her to watch for the music.</p>
<p>Jeremy, I know what you mean. My son loves music and would have gone to a music conservatory, but always thought that most conservatory students tended to be very one-dimentional and he didn't feel that he fit that mold. He also wanted a broader education. As it turns out, he formally studies engineering and german, and studies his instrument and music theory/composition/history with private teachers. Where there's a will, there's a way. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>My D was accepted academically to JMU but received her rejection from music a few days ago. They did say she could minor and participate in ensembles and if she still wanted to major could speak to the dept. 1st week of classes. What does that mean? She is a soprano and wanted to study vocal performance or music theatre. How competative is it for a soprano?</p>
<p>Jeremy, Miami is a wonderful university that's very hard to get into. Their average GPA is over 4.0 weighted. Frost is also highly competitive and has a national reputation. The campus itself is beautiful and it's hard to beat weather-wise compared to your other choices. Plus, you've got Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and South Beach at your doorstep. I think you should strongly consider Miami.</p>
<p>Issue 1) i hate the student body (and hate is strong.) They are very distant and snooty, and at least if i have to go to a school i would like (prefer) to be happy haha. I also think there's an air of athleticism and I'm not athletic like football RAH RAH RAH you know? And, they say the music students anywhere are different from the mainstream college crowd at the college. NOT TRUE AT MIAMI! The are exactly the same.</p>
<p>It's pretty hard to classify an entire group of students that way. I think you're focusing on the negative because of your other disappointments. The Frost School is amazing!</p>
<p>Here's my two cents. Just browsing the music threads since my S, a hs jr, is thinking about majoring in it. Jeremy, I went to Tulane, my H went to Miami. imho Miami is the Tulane of Florida. Tulane is the Miami of Lousiana. I just had this conversation with a neighbor whose sister is at Miami and he totally agrees. We forced our D to apply to both since we're alums and she didn't like either one. She wound up at the Univ. of Pittsburgh, a place where you will never know who has money and who doesn't unless they decide to tell you.</p>
<p>As for the general air of snootyness, sorry guys, but we went to H's class reunion this fall and I noticed that too. In fact it made me think D had made a good choice for her. Coconut Grove and Coral Gables and South Beach are nice, but they are pretty much dripping in money and Louis Vuitton.</p>
<p>Go with your gut, Jeremy, it's usually right.</p>
<p>edit - my H is not the least bit snooty but he also is kind of in a fog and doesn't notice things like being surrounded by snobby people. He made some wonderful friends at Miami, including his best friend of 25 years, so it's not all bad. And the music school IS very good.</p>