<p>Are there any schools for voice that do not require auditions and are still taking applications this far into the game?</p>
<p>Simpson College in Iowa appears to still be taking applications. A year or so ago a parent posted some very positive comments about the voice program there. The school did not require an audition for admission, but did hold a scholarship audition.</p>
<p>College of St Rose in Albany, NY will require an audition but their website shows they have an April 16th date for auditions.</p>
<p>Thank you for the suggestions! I will definitely look into them.</p>
<p>I was applying to mostly theatre programs but had kind of the epiphany to apply to music schools pretty late in the process.</p>
<p>I am from California and since I know that vocal performance colleges that require no audition are not in abundance, I’m trying to not be too picky. In my own perfect world, it would be a great performance program that wasn’t in the middle of nowhere (I’m a city guy) and wasn’t outrageously expensive. But I know we can’t have it all, so I’m just exploring any options I might have.</p>
<p>I know Oregon State University has a vocal program and is still taking applications, but I missed the financial aid deadline.</p>
<p>Anyone know anything of Columbia College in Chicago? They have a BA in Vocal Performance that interests me.</p>
<p>Columbia in Chicago is a non-audition school and they appear to accept most everyone. Not too picky on grades either. It would be worth contacting them - at least it is a big city for you! D applied and was accepted to Vocal Performance.</p>
<p>^But notably, NOT CHEAP. Check the grad rate. Not great, but for the right 'hands on" kind of student, could be worth looking into. Just remember, with open enrollment and no audition, your peer pool may not be one from which you can learn a lot – and lots of students really learn almost as much from peers and networking as from the work itself in music. Don’t sell yourself short – if you want a quality vocal program, it might be worth a gap year to prepare for auditions!</p>
<p>Believe me, I want to take a gap year more than anything right now but my mom has told me that I HAVE to go somewhere in the fall and will not support a gap year at all. Mostly because so many kids from my town take “gap years” and never end up going to college but she doesn’t realize that my case is different. :/</p>
<p>Oh dear – that’s too bad, because left to your own devices, I feel you’d be making the better decision. What about trying this: prepare – as in research and write up a “gap year plan” for your mom that includes private vocal lessons, music theory course, basic keyboard (eg. a community college usually has this) a summer program if you can find one still open; plus some local liberal arts courses at a nearby community college (cheap and they can transfer in at a U. later on). Work out the budget of the lessons and all that. Prepare a budget for audition travel next spring.</p>
<p>Present the “plan” to your mom and explain that you’re being a good fiscal steward because you want to stretch your education dollars and you want to end up at the highest quality program available to you. Agree that if next spring you are NOT accepted to any of the audition programs to which you apply (research to make sure you have enough on your list to get in somewhere! Your vocal instructor will help!) you will finish your junior college associates the following year and then transfer to a non-audition university or another field of 4-year study.</p>
<p>This way you both have the best of both – you are working toward a degree in a cost effective way and still working toward your dream. You have a backup plan but still take a shot. I have a hunch if you mapped it out this way, your mom might support such a plan. </p>
<p>What she’s likely worried about is the kind of inertia that can settle in on kids who don’t move forward after high school. It’s a legitimate concern that can only be combated with some kind of plan and the commitment to follow through.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>(PS Don’t get me wrong, you might really enjoy Columbia. But really, it’s a LOT of money considering factors such as rigor and graduation rate.)</p>
<p>My son graduated from Columbia’s Audio Arts & Acoustics Program. Don’t let people who rely solely on numbers scare you off from looking into it. Some programs there are quite strong, while others account for some of those negative numbers. For a student with wide-ranging interests in music and theatre, it might well be worth a look.</p>
<p>^Excellent point. I also know a handful of students who’ve had an excellent experience, most notably in specific tech/media applications like Stradmom noted – and some who never finished actually didn’t finish because they were HIRED (eg. out of the film program.) it’s just that I also know several who’ve had issues with the party atmosphere/slacker mentality of <em>some</em> aspects/student groups. The ones who felt that way were from my son’s school, which was pretty rigorous, and just kind of picked the wrong fit. But for talent-based programs (eg. vocal) you want to really get a sense of the fit – school and peers.</p>
<p>Another option might be to attend as an undeclared major at a liberal arts school that has a music department you like and that you feel you would have a strong chance of getting into. There would be the opportunity to get your core courses out of the way, sing in a choir and/or vocal ensemble open to non-music majors, take a beginning theory and piano course and take lessons privately. I actually did this many years ago, and found it much less daunting to audition in front of professors who knew me and were familiar with me and what I had to offer. Also, if you decide to transfer to another school, you will have had a year to improve on your skills with theory, ensemble and lessons.</p>
<p>Do the schools for musical theater programs to which you already applied have voice performance? You may be able to transfer over once you are there.</p>
<p>stressed, why don’t you want to audition?</p>
<p>Most schools have already finished their auditions and I cannot really attend any late audition dates some schools still offer, because of georgraphic and financial reasons.</p>
<p>I also wouldn’t be prepared for the auditions at all, which is why I would love the gap year. I am coming from mostly a theatre background, so everything I prepared for this year was for theatre auditions - I just know I wouldn’t be competitive at this stage.</p>
<p>I am going to try to make the “gap year plan” and present it to my mother and see where that goes. I’m going to try my hardest to make it work but who knows. My mom really wants me to just go to my musical theatre safety school and if unhappy, transfer. But the money we would spend on that year, I would prefer to use on training and preparing for the next round of auditions to go to a school I truly love. Plus, we all know the odds of transfer admissions…</p>
<p>Thank you, stressed. Was just curious. But back to your question. Moonmaid made an excellent suggestion. It would be good for you to call a couple music departments or school and ask for guidance. Also, you might look into community college. And I wouldn’t discount what your mother says. If you are good, you will be able to transfer.</p>
<p>^Now you’ve piqued my interest - with the phrase “musical theater safety school” (Didn’t know there WAS such a thing – admissions to MT are typically just as wily as music school admissions ;)</p>
<p>I am thinking that any school that has a musical theater program is likely to also have a vocal studio. It’s not like you’d be going “backwards” to go – you can accomplish all of the things I mentioned at a university with a musical theater department. Plus develop your voice. And then take “extra” vocal lessons. Kind of a perfect place to prep for auditions, to my mind. </p>
<p>What is it about your musical safety school that has you less than excited about attending? Is it, perhaps, cold feet?</p>
<p>Yeah, I got accepted at a non-audition state school with a small BA Musical Theatre program. I’m just nervous because I don’t think I will be satisifed with the training there, as it doesn’t seem too rigorous, especially in the music department. (This is from looking at their recommended course sequence.) That’s why I’m kind of hesitant and exploring any other more music-heavy options I might still have.</p>
<p>However, I am visiting soon, so we’ll see how that goes!</p>
<p>Do let us know. Also, try to schedule a sample lesson with the voice instructor to get an idea if there’s a fit. That way, you could still move toward your goal.</p>
<p>Good luck, stressed. Keep plugging away.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. I just wanted to let you all know that I just got back from this Musical Theatre school’s preview day and LOVED it. I met quite a bit of the faculty, talked with a lot of the students and really got to know them, and got to see pretty much all there is to see in the theatre department (they had a performance that day, so it was cool to see what a show day is like). I did not schedule a voice lesson but I did get to see their students perform and I was really impressed by the vocal aspects of their performances and their music department seems much more solid than it appeared on their website, etc.</p>
<p>And I just sent in my deposit! :)</p>