<p>@kmcmom13, I’d be surprised if my EFC is over 0 (I’ve done several calculations and all of them resulted in 0 by a long shot). Northwestern should be free or close to free for me. Schools like Northwestern and Rice are very good with need-based aid, and that is what I am going for. But yes, I will be looking into more financial and artistically safety schools - maybe DePaul and Lawrence.</p>
<p>Soprano93- Do not e-mail your rep list to any schools! They really need you to be able to do these things on your own, and with 100’s of applicants for each spot, they don’t have the time help, even if they could (and they are always knee-deep in lessons for their own students, opera prep, competitions,etc). You need to work with your own voice teacher to prepare the proper rep for each school, and you do have time for that if you begin now.
While the big name schools hold a lot of attraction, they also have some negatives.One, they are often very heavily skewed towards their graduate and post graduate students and undergrads may not get a lot of attention, and younger singers need regular lessons and solid, bel canto training. Two, these schools are very, very expensive and they-especially the NYC schools- are not known for giving a lot of financial aid. Even with an EFC of -0- you aren’t going to get a free ride; your package will include a loans of various types, no matter what. That I can guarantee! Some schools can come up with more $$ for academic majors, but you just won’t find that in music; you will be expected to work during the summers, and during the school year as well as take out loans. “100 % need-met” = grants+scholarships+loans, no matter what it meant in the past. The Federal Govt will offer you loans if you have an EFC of -0-, but , eventually, they want it back!
You need to have some schools on your list that are definitely realistic and not just “reach” schools, which is why I included DePaul and CCPA (Lawrence is a good option too). Each year, when April rolls around, there are a few kids who find that although they did everything right, they weren’t accepted at any school where they auditioned. There are only so many spots available and that’s not within your control.You don’t want to be in that spot, so do everything you can to make sure that you have several schools on your list where you can really shine and where you will be happy.</p>
<p>^^That is a wonderful point. Sometimes even if you have a better audition than some of the people that get accepted to a school you will still get rejected. Thr mysteries of college admissions! Another good “safety” school in the midwest would be DePauw. You would get great scholasrhips with your grades and they are pretty generous with their music school scholarships as well. It’s just that since you already have two schools that are extremely selective on your list, adding another might not be wise unless you think it is your dream school.</p>
<p>Also, you said that you will be pressed for time during auditions. You really should visit these schools over the summer. Oberlin is often hit or miss for many people. It is a very specific environment that makes the people who don’t like it when they come to audition say, “well this was a wasted audition.” If you can’t see yourself at the school, don’t apply. Save yourself some time and money!</p>
<p>As much as it seems unthinkable now, you may need to reconsider some things like All State Chorus. DD had to give up anything not required for school that had performance during audition season Jan-Feb to allow for the travel and to be in her best shape for them. Not all schools schedule the audition dates far ahead. This incurred the wrath of her chorus director who received state recognition for the number of singers she always sent to all state and honors choruses, but few of them were making a career of singing. </p>
<p>Your future is in your auditions. I know there are many sentimental events that occur in senior year but don’t loose sight of what is important for your future.</p>
<p>Check to see if some of the schools on your list have fall auditions. I believe Oberlin does. That might ease your winter schedule a bit. Also, some schools hold regional auditions or accept recorded auditions if you live a certain distance from the school. Some say your chance of acceptance is better with an in-person audition, but it is worth checking out your options.</p>
<p>I know you are relying on need-based financial aid, but your stats would make you eligible for academic scholarships at many schools. Check their websites, though. Some schools (CCPA, for example) offer only music scholarships to music majors. Other schools offer a combination of academic and music awards.</p>
<p>Oberlin does have the ED auditions the first weekend of December and you find out about your acceptance within the next 2-3 weeks. It isn’t binding so you can still do all of your other auditions. I auditioned Early Decision and it was nice to go into my other auditions knowing that I already had that acceptance. Definitely gave me confidence. It also made scheduling the auditions I did have in January and February a lot easier.</p>
<p>Also, see if you can schedule auditions the same weekend if the schools are close together. I did my auditions for Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory in the same weekend. Only had to fly to Boston once!</p>
<p>Where did you end up?</p>
<p>Oops- I meant, where did you end up, Operaluvr (if you can say)?</p>
<p>Good luck to you Soprano93! My daughter will also be applying to vocal performance programs this year, so I am interested in these suggestions. I am surprised about University of Maryland… I hadn’t heard about that program being outstanding. For those of you who mentioned it, how would it compare to, say, University of Miami (and this is for classical)?</p>
<p>just PM you. As for Maryland, their program is regarded as one of the best. Don’t know much about UMiami’s program. Classical Singer magazine just wrote an article about their graduate opera studio being one of the best in country right now. You should definitely look into it.</p>
<p>Haha I know what article you are talking about! No but when I was at Eastman for undergrad many of my vocal performance friends applied to Maryland for grad school. A lot of them ended up going there and have terrific voices now.</p>
<p>But again. That’s their grad program. While the undergrads get all the same teachers and facilities, the program will be slightly different. Still, very much worth looking into.</p>
<p>Im in a rush and dont have time to look through everyones comments. But if it wasnt already addressed, I would like to say that you can " waive" prescreening audition tapes, if a faculty member approves. I know this for a fact because my prescreen tape at IU was waived by a faculty member.</p>
<p>I know this thread has been dormant for half a year, but I’m looking for more information from experienced people like you here.</p>
<p>I am a soprano applying for vocal performance to schools that seem to have strong undergraduate voice programs and academics. I want to become an opera singer, but I want to have the necessary liberal arts background to interpret a role. I also want to be sure that I have enough credits in academic subjects that I can switch careers if I completely fail at opera. I go to a public high school in California, where I have a 4.25 GPA and an SAT score of 2250. I’m not sure whether I want to study in-State or out-of-State, but I know that I don’t want to live at home. My family’s EFC is unrealistically high, so I’m looking for inexpensive schools or ones that offer great merit awards.</p>
<p>So far, the schools I have offically gotten into are: Baldwin-Wallace, CSU Sacramento, University of the Pacific, and Willamette. Heads of programs have “recommended” me for admission (the central admissions office still has to clear it) at UCLA and SUNY Purchase. I am still waiting to hear from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Eastman and University of Rochester (double degree), Ithaca College, and UC Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>I have visited all of the schools and had sample lessons, except at Willamette and UC Santa Cruz, both of which are safeties. My top choices right now are UCLA and SUNY Purchase. At UCLA, I was thrilled by the teacher but disappointed by reports of the music program. Purchase seems to have the best undergraduate course of study of any school, but I don’t know with whom I would be studying. At both, the music buildings are falling apart, and many of the practice room pianos are badly out of tune. I am also excited about CSU Sacramento and Ithaca.</p>
<p>Does anyone have information on these schools, particularly UCLA and SUNY Purchase? I especially would like to speak to a student at UCLA, if anyone knows one. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>we heard on our tour that UCLA got a 10 million dollar gift to make the music facility state of the art. Construction will begin this spring and be complete by 2014. Here is a link to the article:</p>
<p>[Ostin</a> Family Foundation funds new music facility at UCLA / UCLA Newsroom](<a href=“http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ostin-family-foundation-funds-202541.aspx]Ostin”>Ostin Family Foundation funds new music facility at UCLA | UCLA)</p>
<p>Our impression is that the UCLA program has incredible, collaborative faculty and the opera program is amazing. We have been to two operas now and several other campus music events. They were fantastic. The director of opera is extremely highly regarded and the head of opera coaching comes from the Met. Undergrads regularly get roles. </p>
<p>That is my two cents.</p>
<p>Ongoing threads each year about SUNY Purchase and their teachers. Don’t get comfortable because at the end of each year ( or otherwise, if the mood strikes them), you can be compelled to switch teachers- this is something most singers are loathe to do because it takes time to build a relationship and it can be hard in many ways. Use the search feature on this board and check out what’s been written in previous years. Purchase is a cold, grey campus,which doesn’t appeal to all students- make sure that you would be comfortable with the physical plant there. There will probably be someone here who will disagree with me, but there are many other schools that I would put ahead of SUNY Purchase for an undergrad VP major. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk further about some of the schools on your list.</p>
<p>“disappointed by reports of the music program”: will agree that the practice rooms are in bad shape at UCLA, but what other disappointing reports did you encounter?</p>
<p>Because of the size of the program(30-35 voice students total), caliber of the teachers and opera director, and the success of its graduates-----UCLA should be a top choice. The classical and new music scene in Los Angeles is vibrant and that does matter. Not to mention, you get in state tuition. You will have plenty of opportunities to spend money down the road. The practice rooms? Meh…</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that when UCLA renovated the dorms and built new ones, they installed music practice rooms in many, if not all of them. I haven’t seen them yet but the idea that you can practice “at home” and not have to go back to campus is great.</p>
<p>I have seen some pretty fantastic elements of the program that, at least to me, demonstrated a vibrant environment. One night we went for German poetry night. There were students from the German department who had teamed up with the voice majors so that the German student would read a poem in German and then the Voice student would explain the meaning of the poetry (perhaps give the historical context) and then sing the art song or aria which had been created using the poetry. There was a reasonably large audience and this was yet another chance for the Voice majors to perform. I was very impressed. </p>
<p>Also, I saw that all the teachers were there and each congratulated every singer and seemed to have a personal relationship with all the singers, whether or not they were in their studio. That was very compelling. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. We have spent a significant amount of time checking out the program at UCLA.</p>
<p>D auditioned and was accepted to SUNY Purchase last year. She had a great sample lesson and was strongly considering the program. The sample lesson teacher said she would love to have D in her studio. The Chair called her to congratulate her, but told her she wouldn’t be in the studio of the teacher that gave her the sample lesson. Very strange experience, overall. D ended up elsewhere.</p>
<p>^the strength of the language programs at UCLA is a HUGE plus. And you will get support from the entire voice faculty, not just your own studio.</p>