piano performance schools - midwest

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Greetings all.... I'm so glad to have found this website. I've gotten so much out of it in just a few days of reading old threads. So now, let me ask a question.</p>

<p>Here's the situation.. I have a talented young step-brother who is, at present, taking an unintended gap year. He was admitted last year to one very prestigious music school, for a BM in piano performance. I probably should not share complete details, but I will say that it is widely considered one of the top schools for music, and is a large state university in the midwest. </p>

<p>The financial aid offer for this school was generous (I believe it was a 50% tuition grant) but it also included a huge amount of loans. Half of 45k a year is still a ton of money when you add it up over four years... He was not able to make the numbers work, and had to turn down their offer.</p>

<p>He had not applied to a financial safety school, and this was the only school he was accepted into. He applied to just one other school, a highly-competitive conservatory, and did not get into that program.</p>

<p>After watching this unfold from afar, I'm butting in and trying to help ensure the process works out for him this year. </p>

<p>Where I am now, is I'm searching through this site and various other college guides, looking for affordable music schools in the midwest. He would prefer the midwest because he is a Wisconsin resident, and all of his family is there. And given limited family finances, visits home would be nearly impossible if he's beyond driving distance (10 hours or so).</p>

<p>I'm already recommending he apply to the University of Wisconsin - Madison, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, and the University of Minnesota... because he gets in-state tuition at all of those schools. (MN and WI have a sharing agreement.)</p>

<p>Can anyone suggest any other affordable universities (possibly private schools with generous merit aid) that he should consider?</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your help.</p>

2

<p>Northwestern in Chicago, though expensive as a private, has generous merit aid and an excellent music program (probably superior to most you have mentioned). It is a competitive admit.</p>

<p>Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin also has a very fine music program and good aid for talented students.</p>

<p>Depauw in northwestern Indiana also has a good music program (not quite as good as the two aforemention) and has generous aid. Because it is a less competitive admit, the aid might be higher.</p>

<p>The University of Iowa has a good school of music, as well. I don’t know what financial aid is like. </p>

<p>Of the three publics on your list, U of W (Madison) and U of M (Minneapolis) are stronger than Eau Claire, but private teacher considerations might override the school’s overall quality.</p>

3

<p>All good advice from Violindad - but do note that Northwestern’s merit aid is not actually known as generous - rather very rare and usually a minimal amount. On the other hand, Northwestern can be extremely good with financial aid, not merit, and give aid as grants rather than loans if the student’s financial picture warrants that.</p>

4

<p>If the highly competitive conservatory did not begin with the letter “o”, then I would suggest Oberlin.</p>

<p>Perhaps a bit more south or west than desirable, but UNebraska Lincoln (Hixson-Lied) and UMissouri KC historically can be kind to top OOS music applicants. Both are very solid programs.</p>

5

<p>Just to add a note about Northwestern, if the family has well-documented financial need, the school can be exceptionally generous. I know a student who had all but $3,000 grantedof COA (in other words, $50,000). It is a “meets 100% demonstrated need” school, unlike the school to which I suspect your talented step brother was accepted (which I suspect is also my son’s school, in which case, it is a very steep Out-Of-State proposition even with generous merit.)</p>

<p>So, if the family qualified for any part of the Pell, for example, your stepbrother might want to consider schools that “meet 100% demonstrated need” for the best deal. In that case, Oberlin would be another great choice – one of my son’s pals is attending there this year.</p>

<p>PS I believe, for purely anecdotal reasons, that UMich and Oberlin piano admits are roughly comparable.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all, very much. </p>

<p>I’m sorry to be a little secretive… I don’t feel comfortable sharing too many details since I am not the student nor one of his parents. Perhaps in the coming weeks/months they will get active here and share more.</p>

<p>And I don’t (yet) have the full story on the financial aid package they were offered last year… but the family’s finances are pretty typical working/middle-class. </p>

<p>It’s good to know that Oberlin and Northwestern are generous with financial aid. I will add them to the list for sure. Depauw and Lawrence were already on my radar… Nebraska and Iowa are interesting possibilities. I’m a little leery about OOS publics because of what happened last year, but perhaps they are better about meeting “100% demonstrated need.”</p>

<p>His SAT scores are average… they equate to an ACT of 25. His hs grades were good, and he took two ap classes… Do you know if not being an “elite student” academically would make it difficult to be accepted into the music programs at Oberlin, Northwestern, or Lawrence? Last year, the school that accepted him seemed to relax their usual academic standards (and even asked him to retake his SAT to raise it “just enough.”) Is that common amongst all of the best music schools that are also highly elite academic institutions?</p>

7

<p>Can’t say for sure about the others, but Northwestern will require academic clearance and a 25 ACT is too low for traditional clearance – which is not to say they might not exercise discretion the way the other school did, but it is less likely to be accommodating due to the admit rigor of the school overall. He may want to prep and raise that score as much as possible. The general policy of many schools seems to be that the academic requirements exist so that it is possible for the student to keep up with any gen ed requirements or the level of rigor in courses such as musicology and theory. So a high GPA with a low-ish ACT raises red flags (eg. grade inflation or less rigor at the school, meaning perhaps inadequate preparation academically). Other programs really focus almost entirely on the talent itself.</p>

8

<p>Oberlin offers the option of applying for and studying solely within the Conservatory; I’d need to refresh my memory if Lawrence affords this as well. BassDad is the resident expert on all things Oberlin, and has a very good handle on the specifics. Worth a pm if he does not comment here.</p>

<p>Northwestern is a whole different ballgame, and while there can be a slight bending of the academic bar, admission is contingent upon academic acceptance in a very competitive pool, as well as audition results at Bienen. Might be worth a read <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/656219-northwestern-flute-audition-unfair.html?highlight=unfair[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/656219-northwestern-flute-audition-unfair.html?highlight=unfair&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Look within the (music) scholarship pages at both UNL and UMKC, as there were varying levels of awards, and I know at one point UNL did waive OOS fees for the top music students, based of course on standing within the audition pools. Appalachian State (Hayes) was another, but out of your geographic range. Given the economic downturn the past few years, these may well have changed. The UNL program is generously supported, and has seemed to have some deep pockets historically.</p>

<p>This may be useful as general background info: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/886715-2010-scholarship-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/886715-2010-scholarship-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>I’ve posted a number of academic thread links here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1006890-performing-arts-class-2015-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1006890-performing-arts-class-2015-a.html&lt;/a&gt; that may also be useful.</p>

10

<p>He really should not discount studying at UW- Madison. Christopher Taylor is a fabulous pianist and an excellent teacher. Your brother could do a lot worse than study with him. They also have a competition for a full scholarship in piano that would cover all of his expenses and give him a stipend as well.</p>

11

<p>Just wanted to say I strongly agree with shennie’s suggestion about UW Madison and her appraisal of Christopher Taylor. </p>

<p>Additionally, because of the extreme level of competitiveness and unpredictability of piano performance admissions, and since money also is a consideration, I would recommend this student casting a much wider net than last last year. Aside from any financial or academic considerations, Northwestern and Oberlin are among the most competitive in the country for piano performance admission. Good idea to include schools on the list (e.g., Depauw, Iowa) that have very good programs but are not considered to have the most extremely competitive auditions. Not recommending any of those specifically, just used those as examples since they were mentioned already.</p>

12

<p>rigaudon… that’s my biggest frustration with what happened last year… that he didn’t apply to enough programs. And the two he applied to were both “tier 1” high-tuition programs which he would not be able to attend without significant aid.</p>

<p>My list of possible schools is taking shape… thank you all for you guidance.</p>

13

<p>A follow-up… After reviewing options with his teacher, the list has been reduced to six schools.</p>

<p>– two conservatory-type programs (Oberlin & Lawrence)
– three large public universities, including two that are in-state
– one regional in-state public university that is very inexpensive, with a respectable piano program. (safety school)</p>

<p>Although I suggested several small liberal arts schools (of the Truman State, St. Olaf, Carleton, Luther College, Depauw persuasion), the piano teacher recommended against all of them because of their rural and/or cloistered environments.</p>

<p>Do you think we have our bases covered already without a small LAC, or would I be right to insist he apply to one school like that? St. Olaf is one that I have been eying in particular. I worry that he will not get in to his top choices, and that he won’t receive significant aid from any of the public institutions.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

14

<p>I think of Lawrence as LAC-like. We know a terrific pianist who got great merit aid there.</p>

15

<p>Yes, both Lawrence and Oberlin are LAC-like (although Oberlin has the semi-autononous conservatory).</p>

<p>Your list sounds good, but, without having heard your step-brother, no can answer that definitively. Piano is very competitive and given the limited financial resources it is good that you have the inexpensive regional in-state school on the list as a safety. </p>

<p>It would be good if your step-brother could take a trial/sample lesson at perhaps two schools prior to applications being due (so very soon). I would recommend doing one of them at one of your in-state large universities. When arranging it, make it clear that you would like to know at the lessons what the chances for admission are and what the size of aid is available for people who play at that level. The feedback that you get from these trial lessons can help you adjust the list of schools applied to.</p>

<p>If you are interested in St. Olaf (and assuming that it is relatively close to you), then a trial lesson there would be good (I would recommend Kent McWilliams). St. Olaf is expensive and their financial aid is fairly limited for many students. Be sure to ask very specific direct questions about scholarship sizes and chances. While it is a wonderful school overall, I think that it may be less financially doable than most of your other schools. </p>

<p>I am surprised that the teacher rejected schools like St. Olaf, Carleton and Depauw as “rural and/or cloistered” but kept Oberlin. Oberlin is in a tiny somewhat tired-looking town in the midst of cornfields. St. Olaf actually has quite a scenic location on the top of a hill in a postcard perfect little college town and is almost as close to Minneapolis as Oberlin is to Cleveland (and Minneapolis is arguably a nicer place for college students to visit than is Cleveland). While St. Olaf and Luther do have Lutheran connections, they certainly aren’t cloistered and the diversity, vibrancy and energy level on the campuses is much better than that of most urban schools. </p>

<p>If you are worried about the aid from public institutions, perhaps add another inexpensive safety. (Yes, the problem is finding one that has a respectable piano program–easier said than done!)</p>