More questions (sorry): How many schools? And how do they manage all those auditions?

College Majors Music Major
1

As the list grows, I’m wondering what’s a good number of schools to apply to for my very non-traditional, transfer student who is trying to be a cello performance major. Right now, there are about 12-13 on the list, but that’s too many.

How do you work around scheduling conflicts? I see a lot of schools have auditions on the same weekends in February. Do you guys do a master spreadsheet with dates and then try to get the best possible schedule, and then eliminate schools because you know your kid won’t make the audition?

How do your kids deal with missing school for auditions? And all these applications to fill out-ugh. How does your kid do it all while practicing for hours and going to school? (Granted, my son is just getting back into school at the local CC, and is only taking one class this semester; he’ll take more in the spring, but it’s more than enough for him)

2

I think we made a spreadsheet of all the schools that S applied to and audition dates to try to see how we could make it work and then requested audition dates as soon as he was allowed to to try to get his first choice so the dates would work with each other and would work for us based on other obligations.

3

Yes, that’s what we’re doing, as well. We’ll go over the dates together and try to figure it out. Some schools don’t have dates yet.

4

If you take a look at the previous prescreen and acceptance threads it will give you an idea of how many schools some people apply to. Maybe you can get a feel for how many and where other cello players have applied.

Most schools my D applied to used common app which makes it pretty easy in terms of applications.

Those that require prescreens may end up narrowing your list automatically.

If travelling to auditions is a concern, find the schools that have regional auditions (ex: Berklee auditions in many cities…I don’t know about other schools) and those that accept video auditions to help cut it down a bit.

Personally, I’d chose the top 2-3 choices to audition in person no matter what.

Good luck!

5

My D auditioned at 8 schools. One in Arizona and the rest in California. One was in November and the rest were from January to March. She also applied to a few schools that did not require auditions and to one program that accepted a video audition as well. It is hard to say I’d change anything because it provided for some great family bonding time. However, we were all pretty exhausted when it was all over and I think she could have easily eliminated two of her auditions if we had planned a little better. Six would have been manageable. Except I might have been a nervous wreck. Or MORE of a nervous wreck. So there is that.

Scheduling was not as difficult as I thought it would be. We placed all the possible audition dates on the calendar and strategized from there. The November audition was to get her feet wet and to try and work out any nerves. It didn’t work. She knew she was waitlisted prior to audition number 2. We tried to schedule the colleges we thought would be top choices in the middle. None of those ended up being a top choice for her. Her top choice ended up being a school she did not want to apply to initially. Nothing went as planned but it all worked out.

I think 12-13 is a good start especially if they are geographically near each other. Then he can let the process begin to sort itself out. Prescreens, scheduling conflicts, etc may help move him in the right direction as he organically narrows down the list.

6

We (or rather, I) started the research for potential schools a year ago and noted down all their audition dates for S’s intended major. When compiling the application list, which was before most of the audition date announcements, we had already had a combination of possible audition plans based on the dates of the previous year (moving one day backward to match the day of the week). Now S’s audition plan looks like this:

  • 1 regional audition (in Asia) in Nov to avoid clash with another school (going to miss 1 day of school)
  • 6 on-campus live auditions (in both the US and Canada) in a span of 11 days in Feb (going to miss 5 days of school as some days overlap S's school holiday)
  • recorded auditions for the rest

The regional audition in Nov has been confirmed and I’m about to book the air tickets and hotel. We’re going to take the flight after S finishes school, arriving late at night then staying in the hotel until late morning the next day. We’ll fly back home in the late afternoon after the audition. I’m looking forward to this very first audition trip!

7

Make a spreadsheet for sure but to me that seems like that isway too many schools and I have been down this road with 2 kids, cellist in grad school now. Assuming a number of them have prescreens that might or might not change number of auditions. However I would focus on schools that seems like the best fit of school with the best fit teacher. Does student have a specific reason for having all of those schools on the list? I would rely on private teacher to help advise about which schools/teachers might be a good fit. If you can make it work go visit, have a lesson and visit the studio class. Plus unless you own a flight case flying with a cello for auditions requires buying 2 seats so it gets pricey or 3 because we sent a parents alone to auditions. My younger kid’s list at first glance seemed odd because he had 2 huge universities along a few small stand along conservatories but he had a specific reason for having everything on the list and I think because we did so much research before he picked a school that was a great fit for him. Also just because you can get into “whatever” famous school does not mean it is the right fit for every student. When you schedule your auditions try and pick the ones you are least interested in last so you can cancel auditions if you might already have other acceptances in hand. Maybe. Depending on the school and when they notify.

8

Oh gosh, @cellocompmom, my son is so complicated. I would say that’s why the list is so long at the moment.

TBH, his decision to move ahead has just happened in the last few weeks after a very rough summer of severe health issues. He’s been in and out of college since age 16 as a high schooler. He’s just getting back into CC classes after dropping out of an Ivy 2 years ago, and this is a big decision and big deal–and it certainly could not pan out. He’ll have 60 units barely (assuming he can take 2 classes in the spring), but it will be dicey since some of those are electives and not GEs.

Current GPA is 3.54 (because he got a C in a UCSD summer class; otherwise, it’s 3.68). His SAT was 2230.

The one thing that has (mostly) been consistent in his life is his cello playing, though he’s taken time off here and there to deal with his health issues.

He has no clue about schools; he says he doesn’t care where he goes (I think differently; I think he needs to be at home or near home).

Money is a huge factor. Prestige is a nothing-burger. Conservatories are out-too competitive and most are too expensive. I’ve gone back and forth with music schools at several schools that give lots of need-based aid such as Vanderbilt or Rice, but I don’t think he’d get in or could do the work.

That leaves us with Cal State schools, Christian schools in So Cal (possibly Chapman, Cal Baptist, APU), and maybe a few schools in Arizona or Utah-possibly Texas Tech since, if you get a scholarship, you get in-state tuition.

Our EFC this year will be around 6-7K, but will go up next year.

His teacher knows the cello prof at SDSU and Univ of Utah and has reached out to both. Problem with Utah is the cost, so it might not even be worth pursuing.

As of now, this is what it looks like:

SDSU (my #1 for him because he can live at home & he’s had a lesson with the prof and he really liked him)

All the rest might be unaffordable, so are all maybes:

CSUF
CSULB
NAU
ASU (not WUE for music, so likely no)
U of A
Chapman
Cal Baptist
APU
Fresno State
Cal Poly Pomona
Sacramento State
Texas Tech

I also checked out these 100% meets need schools to see if they have cello openings and take transfers (yes to both), but he won’t apply, I’m sure:

Vandy
Rice

How do we possibly pare down the list and know if the cello teacher’s a good fit? How do we know if we can afford anything? What’s a safety school for a kid like mine?

He’s a very, very good cellist, and with the right training, his teacher believes he can do whatever he wants whether that’s go professional or become a teacher.

So that’s where we are.

9

I believe Cal Poly Pomona is a non audition program. At least it is for voice. That would help limit his audition list at least. It was one of my D’s non audition programs.

10

Long Beach seems like it would be great for you - strong music program and close. And they have merit money. And what about UC Irvine or Santa Barbara - the financial aid is better than for the CSU’s. Or even UCLA, or USC which certainly offers financial aid, although the level at both of those might be higher than he’s prepared for right now? or is the problem his credits? Are the UC’s completely rigid about transfers?

Since you’re considering Christian schools - one Southern California school that comes up which isn’t on your list is Biola: https://www.biola.edu/conservatory-of-music. Also Univ. of Redlands is known for good financial and merit aid, and has a strong music department. http://www.redlands.edu/study/schools-and-centers/school-of-music/

Seems like there are plenty of choices within Southern California that you needn’t look at some of your out of the box choices out of state like Texas Tech. He could also consider a liberal arts college like Occidental where he could major in music, even though they don’t have a School of Music.

11

Hi @SpiritManager,

I do like the idea of Biola, but wasn’t sure they’d offer enough merit aid. I will look again! I’ll look into Redlands. I assumed it would be too expensive.

Yes, the problem is credits! He won’t have enough UC transferable credits to apply this fall; the irony is, of course, that he was admitted to UCSD and UCI as a freshman in 2015. Sigh. And yes, both schools were affordable for us.

I did attend a UC counselor event today (I’m a private counselor) and asked several UCs about sophomore transfers. Only UCSC and UCR (UCM has no music) said they’d consider it on a case-by-case basis, so if my son is truly applying this fall, UCs are mostly out unless he applies to UCSC or UCR.

My son’s cello teacher’s son, a bassist, graduated from USC, and he said it’s probably too cutthroat-type competitive for my son, and every time I run an NPC with USC, I can’t see a way to pay what they want us to pay.

We’ll cull the list; I appreciate the advice!

12

Wow! I have the opposite problem; panicking that there are too few schools. S wants to apply to five: one prescreen/January audition, one Dec. 1 audition, one in-state school (easy drive to audition), two where I’m not sure the dates. They’re all a pretty good match academically, so it comes down to auditions. He feels like five is enough, whereas I’m worried —what if he has some bad days (or what if he gets in but doesn’t get merit aid?) I know I’m being illogical — he’s a good player with decent grades, made the all states, wrote some great essays fwiw. I’d like to add a couple of places to the list but he’s not enthusiastic. And I’m not sure what to add.

13

@akapiratequeen, is your son a cellist, too? I worry about money and my son’s capabilities to do school and music. I don’t doubt his musical abilities, but everything else is unclear.

14

No, he plays saxophone and is applying for music ed/jazz.

15

Given his stats and a non audition program, I am assuming that Cal Poly Pomona is a sure bet. But it doesn’t help with getting to know the teacher. The same could be said for UCSC. You can send a video for scholarships but they don’t audition for admission. My D got a 1/3 tuition scholarship at UCSC but was not admitted academically (heading to UCI which is mildly ironic). Your son might be able to use Cal Poly and UCSC as non-audition backups.

I think Concordia in Irvine has large music scholarships.

Long Beach, SDSU, UCI and UCSB all had similar vibes. Serious about their programs but with a relaxed, supportive atmosphere.

16

I think you have to accept that everything won’t be perfect. First and most important is can you afford it. If you can’t afford it, it doesn’t really matter if it has the best cello teacher in the world, you can’t afford it.

Will he qualify for Cal grants or whatever at each of the UCs or CSUs? Is he interested in any of the ‘old’ majors he had before (video games?)?

17

My daughter auditioned at 6 schools, no prescreens required. I made a spreadsheet using the prior year’s audition dates and then updated once the current dates became available, usually there was no change in weekend. Advice from one school was to not pick their last audition date if they were your first choice, in case of bad weather and trying to reschedule, but of course some school will have to be last. So she did a bit of prioritizing. Ended up doing one via Skype due to changed circumstances, but she made it to the rest in person. Her high school officially only allowed 5 days of excused absence second semester but we gave the dates and reasons ahead of time to her guidance counselor and had no problems.

Assuming you are looking at required curriculum - music majors have a lot of requirements so make sure you know what will transfer and what can be finished in the next 2 years.

18

@twoinanddone, my son will get Cal Grant and Pell Grant the first year, and Cal Grant subsequent years.

No “old” majors; music is what he has finally chosen after saying he’d never major in it–but it’s where he’s invested most of his time, and is the one constant in his every changing world.

I think it’s really daunting to have to apply to all these different app systems…

@BearHouse, that’s crazy that your D got into UCI, but not UCSC! Very ironic, indeed.

Re. affordability: honestly, we really can’t afford college. Yes, it’s great he’s willing to try again, but having watched money go down the drain (he basically had all his expenses covered through need-based aid and an NM scholarship except for about $1200 a year at Penn) is tough. No matter. We will find a way.

@3goldensmom, I don’t believe he’ll finish in 2 years; it will likely be 3.

19

I don’t have information about whether or not ASU’s school of music is part of WUE but I do know the cello teacher there and he is phenomenal!! I would apply/audition there if it were me just for the chance of studying with him. I just wanted to put that out there for your consideration.

20

@Violinmomaz, wow, thank you! I took it off the list, but I’ll go ahead and put it back on the list.

So, if anyone is still following this thread, I have another question. Do you or your kids ever reach out in advance to the cello teacher? I’ve been emailing school just asking if they have openings for cellists, and have gotten all yeses.

One cello teacher at APU said they have openings for spring. I followed up, told the guy it was for my son, and sent him a video of a solo with orchestra from a few years ago and asked if my son might be considered for admission. The guy got back to me and said he really enjoyed the video (was kinda poor quality) and that he’d love to have him in his studio. That was encouraging; of course, APU is probably not affordable, but I guess he should apply.

Anyhow, just wondering if your kids ever do that. I have to help my son through this process all the way. It’s enough that he’s getting back on his feet, trying to get back to school, practicing and just last night told me he’ll be teaching cello again (he taught for years, but hasn’t taught for about 8 months) at a local school.

Thanks again.