<p>DS received an invite to the Performing Arts College Fair at Oberlin. Looks like around 26 Colleges will be represented, including Yale grad program. Has anyone gone to this in the past? Would you recommend the 3 hour drive to check it out?</p>
<p>Schools include CIM,CCM, BU,Rice,San Fran Conservatory, Mannes, Colburn, Juilliard, etc. A lot of top notch programs. Just wondering how much specific info the recruiters will have available.</p>
<p>Are you any closer to Cincinnati than Oberlin? The NACAC Performing Arts fair will be in Cincinnati the following day with even more schools and a large overlap between the two. I bet a lot of the same people will be representing their schools at both events since they are reasonably close on consecutive days. You can get the list at <a href="http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/Events/CollegeFairs/PVA/ExhibitorSearchNCFPVA.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/Events/CollegeFairs/PVA/ExhibitorSearchNCFPVA.htm</a> by clicking on the event box and selecting the one at Cincinnati.</p>
<p>Realize that these fairs are only about two hours long. They are generally crowded and each school sends from one to three representatives, usually admissions types. If you like to wander about, have short conversations and collect a lot of brochures for later digestion, then you will probably like the event. If you have already done a fair amount of research and need to ask very specific questions, you will probably get more done in a shorter period of time through email and over the phone. We attended one of the NACAC fairs in Philadelphia a couple of years back and were somewhat disappointed because we did not come away with anything (other than glossy brochures) that we had not already gotten elsewhere. It was not out of the way because we were in town for daughter's music lesson anyway that day, and I would have been much more disappointed had I made the two hour trip only for that.</p>
<p>I took my son last year--2 1/2 hours for us--but combined it with a visit to one of the studios he is interested in, and a tour of the conservatory. Of the three activities, the fair was the least interesting. It was very crowded and claustrophobic. We did get some ideas and lots of catalogues, though.</p>
<p>Good answers mom4 and BassDad. We do still need to visit CCM and CIM/ Oberlin. Since they are both in Ohio we saved them for late in the game.</p>
<p>One thing I will say in favor of the performing arts college fair is that it may help you find a safety or two. Here on the CC Music Major forum you hear about the top ten or twenty music schools constantly. It is easy to find lots of information about schools that you have already heard about. You might just find an interesting program at the fair that you would not have considered otherwise.</p>
<p>If you have not yet visited the Ohio schools, combining a visit with one of the fairs is a good idea. It might be a little late for Oct 8 or 9 to arrange a sample lesson, which is one of the main points of a music school visit, so be prepared to return if your initial impression is favorable.</p>
<p>hello momnipotent (which is not how I am feeling today!),</p>
<p>this past weekend, S and I took a 4.5 hour train and an overnight stay in DC for the NACAC Perf. Arts fair. Considering that we've only had the chance to visit a few music departments in the past few months, it was worth it. Certainly no stand-in for college visits, but S's schedule is so completely packed with academics and singing that he will have to wait for auditions to visit. (I should say that unlike some CC musicians who have been playing music since early childhood S is singer and has only started thinking about BMus in the past 6 months; formerly thinking BArts (more and more we are hearing from singers that you don't need an undergraduate degree in musical performance to be a professional musician; this may be different for other instruments, of course). He did think about stand-alone conservatories for a short spell but has decided against it for undergrad.</p>
<p>CONS: Very crowded exhibit space with barely room to move and no overhead signs (all taped to table fronts--how useful is that?), but at least mostly alphabetical, with a few outliers, for some reason (late to sign up? not sure). Some reps were not conversant with all aspects of a music program--and why should they be? Some schools had two reps who could speak to different programs. Some reps were the actual directors of music-school admissions, which is a good thing. Another con is that you can't really ask all the questions you want, as there's always someone hovering. </p>
<p>PROS: Fair was held on Terrace level of Kennedy Center, so could go outside for spectacular views and great weather. (Nice that it was on weekend instead of a school night, too, as the other fairs that were closer to us are all scheduled for nights that S had conflicts--hence the trip to DC.) A few important questions answered (Oberlin said, point blank, that Opera is pretty much the focus of vocal performance; Rice--very nice and helpful admissions director--said that in truth the focus is mainly opera because that's where the jobs are (uh oh!) but that undergraduates are really just beginning to learn the craft of singing. He also said they will be accepting 4 to 6 vocal freshmen for fall 08 (that's for ALL voice parts, not per voice part, of course). That's very helpful to know. Interestingly, almost all college reps started talking about opera right away, assuming that S was interested in being an opera singer--saying that so-and-so was joining the faculty or such and such opera was being performed. That, too, was interesting. BU rep said that an early-music focus isn't available until grad school, and Peabody said they were just starting an early-music major.</p>
<p>Another good aspect is that S had to come up with a list of questions to ask, and that process--and the experience of talking with reps--is helping to shape his goals for college. So it was worth the train ride (and I'm a bit of a Pollyanna and like to think that all experiences are helpful), plus S got to attend a service at the National Cathedral and now knows that although the UK--where he's done a lot of singing--has a preponderance of beautiful cathedrals, we have a few here in the states.</p>
<p>We went last year. Although it was crowded most of the time, it thinned out toward the end and we had the undivided attention of the reps. We saw these same folks at subsequent visits to their schools and they remembered my son. It also encouraged him to email that specfic person with questions throughout the process. Nothing like face-to-face.</p>
<p>There is a similar fair being held at Eastman in October. Having been to one 2 years ago, I can highly reccomend them, but be aware that they can be packed with people and it can be difficult to ask as many questions as you'd like to. Take a tote bag along ( to put all of the handouts in- you may get a plastic bag from one of the schools, but they are hard on the arms and can split open!). Sign the "guest book" at the schools which interest you and then expect to be contacted via mail or e-mail shortly!</p>