Hi,
My son is going to have an audition at Manhattan School of Music in early March. MSM has about 100 (or less) jazz students including both undergrad and graduate students (about 45%-undergrad / 55%-grad). I am wondering if someone with some observations / experiences can give me an idea…Do top conservatories like MSM and Juilliard, do they consider applicants’ age (17 or 18 years old) on admission decisions or do they tend to choose top applicants for an opening(s) in general? It depends on applicants’ level and types of instrumentals, too. I have an impression that admission rate for freshmen to MSM seems much lower than overall acceptance rates in some online data. Thank you for reading my question.
It was my impression that most jazz programs go for the top applicants and best fit for the program regardless of age. I do believe that experience plays a bigger role regarding “fit” at Juiliard/MSM than some other schools-you have to be able to hit the ground running there and raw unpolished talent isn’t enough unless uniquely extraordinary. Those were the 2 where S didn’t make the cut. A friend of S was accepted to MSM jazz as a 17yo, so it does happen though! Best of luck to your son!
FWIW the jazz students at Oberlin are your typical ages for incoming freshman.
MSM and Juilliard’s jazz programs have very different cultures. I would make sure that if you have a student who is interested in studying exclusively Jazz at a conservatory that they visit and talk to the current students. If being in NYC is important to your student than they also should make sure to spend time there so they understand the stresses and the challenges of living in such an urban place.
One thing to keep in mind is that in a place like NYC where you have Jazz students at NYU, MSM, New School, CUNY, Columbia and Juilliard there is a lot of collaboration among students from different schools. The Jazz world ends up being like a small family and people tend to know one another regardless of the institution they are at. The same can be said for Boston where you have Berklee, NEC, Boston Conservatory, BU, Harvard, MIT and Tufts.
As for admissions all these schools are looking for a basic level of accomplishment and skill at this point. But they also are balancing that out with the need to fill positions. I do know that there were a few years when Bass positions went unfilled (probably because they did not feel there was a qualified applicant to admit). In that climate a competent Bass player would likely get in, while for piano where they have many qualified applicants it might be a bit more competitive.
Thank you, all.
When we had a MSM campus tour a few years back, we were told that MSM would take students who are qualified and best fit / musicians for MSM even though there aren’t any openings. But I am sure it is a rare case especially for freshmen. Past several years, at least 1-4 of my son’s peers (older than him but they were in the same “outside of school” ensembles formed by auditions, both regional and national) per year got accepted and enrolled to MSM as freshmen. Those students seem very happy at MSM and seem like getting BM done in 4 years.
My son’s 2-year-long NYC fever went down to normal temperatures when his college audition time came. So, he didn’t apply to Juilliard or The New School. Many people in CC know about The New School but not much information about MSM Jazz or Juilliard Jazz. I plan to post about my son’s MSM live audition for future applicants.