<p>I know there are already some threads that discuss about this topic already, but do any of you know APPROXIMATELY how many percent of the students are able to pass prescreen? I am asking because not only do I want to be musically prepared, I also need to be mentally prepared and understand how many students have I already "defeated" and how many will I be competing against. I am going to audition for NEC, CIM, MSM, Peabody, Eastman, UCLA, USC, NYU, Northwestern, and CSULB. Sorry for so many questions but I am sure you all know how stressful this audition process is. :) I appreciate all of your advice and opinion!</p>
<p>The percentage of students passing the prescreen will vary from school to school, from year to year, from instrument to instrument etc… At somes school, the prescreen is only used to eliminate those that stand absolutely no chance, whereas at other schools (like Juilliard which gets a huge volume of applicants due to its name brand recognition) a healthy chunk of very good musicians don’t make the prescreen cut.</p>
<p>I would suggest that a better mindset that will probably result in better auditions would be to change from a “competing against” “defeating” frame of mind to a desire to communicate musical ideas and feelings to those that you play for. Focus on making music and playing for an audience.</p>
<p>A couple more thoughts:</p>
<p>Only the schools themselves can give you reasonably accurate figures, so call the schools about percentages that passed the prescreens.</p>
<p>If you did prescreens for all ten of your listed schools and passed all ten, then you will probably be accepted by at least a few of them. You have some highly competitive schools for violin on that list of ten.</p>
<p>I know you put “defeated” in quotes for a reason and I know you’re a violinist, which has a very competitive mindset, but…music is not a competitive sport. You can’t worry about what anyone else is doing - and that holds in the practice rooms while you’re warming up too (don’t listen to what the violinist next door is doing, good or bad). All you can do is prepare yourself and do your best when you get into that room.</p>
<p>thank you both of you.</p>
<p>violindad, yes i did pass most of the prescreen already, just waiting to hear back from NEC. Reading what you said comforted me, because I have been very worried that I would not get into any of those schools since they’re so selective…</p>
<p>Not to throw cold water on this but it’s not solely a numbers game. Some schools will not reach to accept students below the level the professors require. It is conceivable that a school will have five open seats but decide that only three musicians are worthy of an acceptance. </p>
<p>That said, having passed the prescreen at all of those schools, you must be at a high enough level that you should be able to relax and play well.</p>
<p>Lastly, it’s a hard process to figure out. My child is at Bienen and absolutely loves it. Had other options, including some with nice scholarships, but also had wait list/rejections at schools that some would consider lesser destinations; there’s no sense in trying to solve that riddle. You have a nice list of schools to visit and evaluate. You will surely play well at many of the auditions if not all of them, and you will have options.</p>