<p>OK, so yesterday my son got "the BIG envelope" from his dream school, Ithaca College. He has two more auditions coming up this weekend. Do we still go? Is there a benefit or risk to go or not go?</p>
<p>I suppose that comes down to whether you feel that you will be able to send your son to Ithaca regardless of merit scholarship/financial aid decisions that might come down later in the pike. If your son’s financial aid/scholarships at the two as-yet-to-be-auditioned-for programs turn out to be much better than what he gets at Ithaca, might he chose those institutions instead? Also, in the event that Ithaca’s package is unlivable, would you be able to use any potential other scholarship packages to argue for reconsideration of his Ithaca package?</p>
<p>If finances are not a big deal, then it would probably make sense to cancel the other auditions and break out the sparkling cider!</p>
<p>Congrats to your son! I would still recommend going though, if it’s not a huge inconvenience travel/time-wise. First off, there’s a chance he could be offered significant merit scholarships at the other schools, which could possibly be used to convince Ithaca to send a little more money your way. Also, there’s definitely a benefit to having more options in the spring - even though Ithaca may be his “dream school” now, there’s a small chance he could change his mind about that a few months from now. Or he might see something that entices him at the other two schools that he had overlooked before. I have an older sister that had her heart set on one school and just assumed she would be attending the day she got her acceptance letter. She went back for a second visit in April before committing to them, and found several things she didn’t like. She ended up choosing a different school, and absolutely LOVES it there - definitely the right choice for her. I’m sure your son has done a lot of research about Ithaca to come to the conclusion that it’s his top choice, but as you know, we teenagers are liable to change our minds at the drop of a hat!</p>
<p>Skipping the remaining auditions certainly won’t hurt him now that he’s been accepted to his top choice, but I think there is something to be gained from keeping his options open, just for the heck of it.</p>
<p>Whoops, didn’t see glassharmonica’s response - sorry for reiterating the same idea!</p>
<p>Auditioning well is a skill that musicians need to master. If the auditions are not terribly far away, it could be worthwhile doing them just for the practice.</p>
<p>In addition to what glassharmonica and BassDad have said, there’s also input here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/460187-how-many-music-voice-performance-majors-find-jobs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/460187-how-many-music-voice-performance-majors-find-jobs.html</a> (posts#143-147).</p>
<p>Congratulations. I’ve also added your son’s acceptance to Ithaca as a BM voice performance major to the compilation here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a.html</a></p>
<p>I agree that doing the upcoming auditions is probably a good idea if they aren’t too far away or a huge expense. Most students will have moments of “buyer’s remorse” at some point before or during their degrees; it is probably easier to overcome the remorse if one has seen more schools. Even if your son is fortunate enough to never doubt the wisdom of his school choice, seeing the other schools will probably help him feel even more positive about his dream school. Having confidence in one’s teacher and program really goes a long way to helping students commit to the type of work that is necessary for a musician to achieve their potential. </p>
<p>An increasing number of music majors go on for grad studies and selecting a grad school is easier if one has experience auditioning at a variety of schools for undergrad. Even if the two remaining schools do not have graduate programs, visiting them and auditioning at them will provide your son with a frame of reference with which to compare other schools.</p>
<p>Music, like most businesses and fields of academia (it is both), is about connections as well as skill. If the auditioning panels at the remaining schools consist of well-connected people, then it can be advantageous to have one’s name and face in front of them.</p>
<p>Inadvertently posted the wrong link in my post above. The correct thread is here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html</a>. The post range of #143-147 is accurate.</p>
<p>(Whereas I am apparently not.)</p>
<p>If you decide not to attend the extra auditions, please make sure to inform the schools ASAP. There may be others who would like to have those slots or to swap their assigned times for them.</p>
<p>But if your son pretty much refuses to go to the other auditions, relax and know that he’s probably chosen his best fit school. When my D got her fat packet last year, it made me crazy that she was done and canceled her other auditions - didn’t we want to negotiate scholarships, etc? But she was set, and now into the 2nd semester, she’s totally happy. Alls well that ends well.</p>
<p>Wish I had that problem! My S has only been accepted at one school of four, and that was only for academics. We should hear from one this week, but the othere two won’t make decisions known until April 1. </p>
<p>I think it is always good to go through with all your auditions, especially for instrumental performance and composition majors. You can do all the research on faculty, but if you get an audition with that “one” professor that you know you have connected with and feel you want to study with, you might change your mind about that dream school. That has already sort of happened to us. You can also get a feel for how well the school of music operates by how they run their audition days. You might get a chance to talk to a student or two and get more insight into what it is really like to go to that school. You might talk to someone who also considered your dream school but chose that one, and find out why. My view about auditions is that you are auditioning the school as much as it is auditioning you.</p>
<p>Auditions are also many students’ first glimpse at what a job interview is like. Good experience, no matter the outcome.</p>