<p>Quick note on lesson costs which depend on the TEACHER, not institution, as 2 professors at a single institution charged differently. We had 2 professors provide free lessons, one giving us all 2 lessons free, 2 professors at $40, 1 professor at $70 and 1 professor at $150. </p>
<p>How do you pick a school? That's a complex and individual question, but the best answer is ROAD TRIP! Regional school fairs are nice to start your list, but to find out where you want to go means hitting the road, and it's a multi-year process.</p>
<p>This was the schedule we used. Not saying it's "perfect," but it worked for us. Even at this "leisurely" schedule, we wished we started a bit earlier.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT: Everything listed below should be done with your private teacher's input also. They are an important part of this process. Other good sources of info are HS alumni who have gone into music and maybe parents of friends who may be alumni of places you're interested in. </p>
<p>A potentially HORRIBLE source of information is your HS school's College Resource Center, UNLESS you go to a Performing Arts High School. Even though our HS consistently places 10 students at year at conservatories, they continue to be CLUELESS about this process and had to be ignored, lest you'd laugh in their face because of comments like, "Well Peabody is Johns Hopkins so better take calculus so you can get in."</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Sophomore Year - Winter of Junior Year: Start thinking about where.</p>
<ul>
<li> Search the internet</li>
<li> Visit regional school fairs, etc.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>January of Junior Year: Visit the schools you're interested in and have lessons with professor. Make sure that you've familiarized yourself with audition requirements and STARTED to work on at least one piece; you need not be great, but this is a good piece to play at the lesson to start a meaningful dialogue. There's usually a common audition piece for all schools so pick that one. Listen to the prof for the areas that they expect you to work on; if you like this school and prof, you'll be back for an additional lesson or two and you want to show improvement. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>There should be considerable dialogue during this lesson, probably at least 15 minutes or so for both of you to get acquainted. Ask all and any questions and make sure that you tell the professor your career aspirations and goals. Don't hesitate to ask if you're a viable candidate for that school. You may not want to hear the answer no, but it will save grief in the future. </p>
<p>Another important, and valid, question to ask is for recommendations for other schools. The music world is small and they do talk amongst themselves. You may exhibit traits that work well with Professor Jones at XXX University. A good professor will be quick to share that with you so ask!!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Summer before Senior Year: Decide which of the schools you visited you want to attend AND start working on your audition repertoire. A rigorous summer program is also a good idea.</p></li>
<li><p>Fall of Senior Year: APPLY and visit the schools you've applied to for another lesson. In this lesson, you should play all the required repertoire pieces. You aren't expected to have them perfect yet, but do incorporate the suggestions from the first lesson into the one piece you've already played. This is IMPORTANT! It demonstrates to the professor that you can take direction. Listen to all the professor's comments and suggestions and write them down; you'll need to work on these for your audition. Do ask questions about the audition and the best way to perform and prepare.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This is also a good visit to ask any specific questions to other areas of the institution, Financial Aid, Housing, Ensembles, etc.</p>
<ol>
<li>January/Februrary/March Senior Year: Auditions - give it your best, remembering what the professors at each institution told you.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>As others have mentioned, audition IN PERSON at the institution if at all possible. Let's face it, people are people and if you're vying for the final position with a person of equal musical talent who's totally unknown to the professor, having experience meeting with you in person multiple times can only help. Since you want to audition in person, you'll probably have to limit applications to 5 or less since there are just not that many audition dates available. </p>
<p>Funny story, but at the Parent's Meeting at Peabody on audition day, the Admissions Director asked for a show of hands on how many schools did your child have auditions at. When he saw a reasonable smattering of hands raised in response to his query of "More than 6 auditions?" he joked, "Do you people have a job?" Suffice it to say more than 2 auditions does put a strain on family finances and schedules. I wasn't at work a full week for the entire month of February. I'm fortunate to have a huge frequent flyer miles resevoir, a very understanding boss and a boss's boss who was going through the same thing with his DS, who was also auditioning. We were able to commiserate and exchange notes.</p>
<p>OK, long-winded again. Here's the executive summary.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Lesson costs will vary widely from free to $150ish. Ask professor when you schedule so there are no surprises or awkward moments.</p></li>
<li><p>Identify schools of interest and visit them for a lesson before the end of your junior year.</p></li>
<li><p>Once you've identified schools, get out your project scheduling software since this is a major project. Figure your key dates and stick to them. Key dates are application deadlines and auditions. Also try to get another lesson visit in prior to auditions.</p></li>
<li><p>Work with your private teacher on all of the above too! Their experience and recommendations are critical to the process.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!!!</p>