<p>So we got one kid successfully "launched" via the conventional route and now I'm seeing that almost nothing that I learned is applicable for kid #2 who wants to do music. He is looking at percussion / jazz studies programs and I'm finding that we are on a short time line. He has also mentioned looking at music education. Ack! I am learning to navigate the audition requirements and time lines which I see are WAY sooner than the standard apps. There is a lot of sorting to do in terms of programs that require 2 and 4 mallet pieces and those that don't. He is OK on mallets but doesn't light the world on fire. And that's just the tip of the iceberg on things that I'm learning.
If there are any other parents of 2015 kids out there who want to share the journey and/or others who have good advice and tips (yes I have been checking out some of the amazing linked tips on other threads) I would love the input and company. Here we go . . .</p>
<p>Hi! When I was a senior in high school, my plan for college was to be pre-med or pre-physical therapy and I was kind of thinking about majoring in music too. They offered me a music scholarship, but I had to major in music to get it. Three weeks after college started, I found out that being a music major really wasn’t for me. A few minutes ago, I actually made a thread called “What is it like to be a music major”. I ask some questions for people who are thinking about majoring in music. Maybe you can have your son read through some of those questions, and after thinking through them, he can decide whether or not he truly wants to be a music major 
And if he really does want to be a music major, just keep on supporting him because college kids want/need all the support and positivity they can get 
Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>Saintfan,
My youngest child is now a sophomore and I remember entering his senior year thinking, “Easy we have done this before”. But nooooo…everything about applying to music school was different. There are some great posts on this web site by Bass Dad on this subject. One thing that helped us was having our son’s private teacher act as his guidance counselor for this process. The school guidance counselors were pretty clueless when it came to applications to conservatories. I don’t know if your son has anyone he knows who themselves went to college for music but it might help to ask them to be guide/mentor for your son. This helped us not only with the logistical part but also with the emotional part. My son’s private teacher was there when our son felt he did not do well on one of his auditions. He prepared him for potential rejection and he helped me understand the process so I could be a support for our son. He also helped our son eventually choose which conservatory was a good match for him.</p>