Reality check: What's it actually like at ____ now that your kid is enrolled ?

College Majors Music Major
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I’m the parent of a freshman finishing his first year at Juilliard. I spent a lot of time lurking here and got many insight so I figure the least I can do is to return the favor. The following is my impression of my son’s experiences. Over all it has been a far more positive experience that my son, my wife or I could have imagined!
– Environment Incredibly supportive. My son almost didn’t apply to Juilliard because he thought it was cutthroat. He literally believed the rumors that students put razor blades in keyboards to harm fellow students. But beginning at the audition his senior year he was dispelled of that rumor. It seems that everyone at Juilliard realizes if their classmate got in they too must be good. In fact, I sense that most kids there suffer from imposter syndrome and question whether they belong! This very issue was addressed during an orientation skit. In this skit a “student” gets the call telling them they’ve been accepted. Immediately thoughts start running through their head chief of which is some version of someone must’ve made a mistake. Also EVERYONE rotates through the one Juilliard orchestra. Grad and undergraduate students. There is no competition to get in. This facilities a real sense of camaraderie and cooperation.;
– Facilities other that not having enough pactice rooms the facility is amazing. The dorm has ridiculous views. It’s all suites and the students are not grouped according to division);
– Performance opportunities (as part of the program, as extracurriculars on campus, or side gigs - my son played in 5 Lincoln Center concerts his freshman year. And has had opportunities galore to play;
– Faculty (obviously I can only speak to the bass faculty. They are amazing and extremely collaborative. In fact, once a week ALL studios get together for Rep Class taught by one teacher. This promotes even more cohesion amongst the students. Again grad and undergrad are together;
– Cross-departmental opportunities the cross pollination occurs mainly outside f class. The dorms are populated with students from all 3 divisions and my son is friendly with other students from ever division);
– Academics (workload, difficulty, ratio of music-to-gen-ed requirements, course offerings) - brutal. First semester 19 credit hours second semester 22! Not including practice. One liberal arts Course per semester; Course like ear training music history and theory can be VERY demanding!
– Social life It’s new for. Pleanty to see and do. Most of it is nearby. Usually once or twice a week he will go out with friends. Sunday can include walks in the park going to a museum etc;
– Actual cost of living no unpleasant surprises);
– The larger community Juilliard is incredibly safe as its part of Lincoln Center. the upper west side is a nice area. Of course their are parts of NYC that aren’t so safe I guess;
– Happiness (does your kid merely like it or really love it --HE LOVES IT! He getting sad as we speak that the seniors are graduating. He has grown more as a musician and a human being than he expected
– Anything else your kid talks about or you’ve observed (campus food, airport/travel hassles every semester, weather, size of program, whatever!)

It would also be great to hear: Was this originally your kid’s first choice, back-up plan, or something in-between?

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My son is a freshman VP major at Florida State University, College of Music

  • Environment (supportive, competitive, friendly, cliquish, etc.); Very supportive environment. His studio consists of half grad students and half undergrads. The older undergrads and the grad students are incredibly supportive of the young singers as they stretch, learn and find their voices. -- Facilities (quality & number of practice rooms, school instruments, libraries, dorms, gyms or athletic facilities, student union or common areas); The facilities are very good. Plenty of practice rooms though my son prefers to practice in his dorm (sometimes students gather outside the door and clap afterwards). Lots of great and beautiful recital rooms of varying sizes. Ruby Diamond is the main event space, and is historic and stunning. The campus is well laid out, shady, and the music school is centrally located. -- Performance opportunities (as part of the program, as extracurriculars on campus, or side gigs); FSU has a grad heavy reputation in VP, and certainly the grad students are receiving the primary roles in FSU operas. Freshman are encouraged to use the year to learn and work on technique, and few participate in the operas. My son has followed that path but has easily found significant performance opportunities. He works with his collaborative pianist twice a week and his voice teacher once a week. He has studio once a week, and performs in studio every other week. He has performed solo in front of all the VP students and teachers twice this year. He is a member of one of the university mens choruses and a club a cappella group. He had lead roles in two musicals at a local community theatre. he competed successfully in regional NATS competition and Classical Singer competition. Soph year, he is auditioning for the FSU operas and perhaps several of the FSU musicals.
    -- Faculty (accessibility, style -- supportive, demanding, etc., skill; anyone particularly amazing who's made a difference for your kid or if there is someone to avoid and people should PM you if considering the school!); He went to FSU primarily for the voice faculty, and has not been disappointed. His primary voice teacher is amazing. Vocally, my son has grown tremendously this year under the teacher's instruction. His collaborative pianist is an older instructor with many years of experience at FSU, recommended by his voice teacher. She is like having another voice teacher. His choir conductor is a legend, though sadly retires this year. -- Cross-departmental opportunities (is there cross-pollination between opera and musical theater, music and theater, or classical and contemporary, for example, or is it more siloed); He has not had the opportunity to test those waters yet. He has burrowed down in voice instruction and music classes this year. But his voice teacher is very supportive of MT and he has done a few musicals this year, outside FSU. He will likely audition for an FSU musical next year if he has time. -- Academics (workload, difficulty, ratio of music-to-gen-ed requirements, course offerings); He is in the honors college at FSU, entered with 39 credits, and is taking several upper level courses for his general education requirements; but still finds his music courses his most challenging. Especially music theory. -- Social life (what does your kid do for fun; are there non-musical things to do; does campus shut down on weekends; opportunities to meet and hang out with non-musicians, etc.); There is a large social scene. He did not participate in rush or join any greek organization. His core group of friends are in the honors college. They enjoy going to football games, going to clubs, and going to area parks and beaches. He enjoys rock climbing. There are lots of campus events. -- Actual cost of living (were the estimates correct, pleasant or unpleasant surprises, tips); All his expenses have been covered by his scholarship funds thus far. Soph year housing off campus will be a bit steeper than I had anticipated, because it is new construction very close to campus. Anything within walking distance to campus is about $600-$800 a month. You can get $500 or less, but you'll have to drive, catch the bus, or tolerate a sketchier area. -- The larger community (safety, things to do in the town or city, availability of off-campus housing, if a university or LAC how the rest of the school impacts the vibe); There is a lot of social media angst, primarily by parents, every time there is a crime committed anywhere near campus. There are not great areas in Tally, and you have to be aware. But it has not bothered my son at all. There are great parks and beaches near by, and being the capital there are plenty of events and festivals downtown very close to campus. -- Happiness (does your kid merely like it or really love it -- or neither, how about other kids -- what's the attrition rate). He is extremely happy and has not second guessed his choice. It was his first choice, choosing FSU over USC-Thornton and Miami-Frost, among others. He loves FSU. In fact, he will stay there this summer to take courses. -- Anything else your kid talks about or you've observed (campus food, airport/travel hassles every semester, weather, size of program, whatever!). Weather has been great thus far but the summer will be hot. He had a full access meal card this year, which worked well since the main dining hall was next to his dorm. But he is tired of the food offering and will not have a meal card next year.
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@vistajay Great to hear! I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind PM’ing me (I don’t think I can- either because I am not allowed or because I can’t figure it out! lol) as I have a few questions you could maybe help me out with. Thanks!

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I won’t go into extensive detail, but people can PM me. But just the quick summary.

My S is at IU Jacobs. He could not be happier. He could not be busier doing composition and an instrument. He also added a minor. There is limited free time, but he decided it is worth it.
IU was not his first choice. He got into his first choice, but ended up choosing IU. He did not apply to conservatories, but only universities with music schools.

He feared going to a big school - hearing only grad students received attention and he wouldn’t have access to faculty. The student body is big, but so is the faculty. He mentions that he has excellent access to his professors. He finds them to be extremely supportive. Significant one-on-one attention. Works and has classes with undergrad and grad students - which he believes is a huge bonus both for his music, personal life, and to have a better understand his career trajectory.

He has grown musically (and personally) far more than he anticipated. He has had many opportunities to perform and to have his compositions performed. The number of arts/music performances on campus can’t be beat. I think they say something like five events every single day - from Opera’s to bands, to individual recitals.

He loves that he has friends from both Jacobs and all the other schools at IU - business, theater, arts, etc. And that he can take non-music classes.
He loves Bloomington for college - not that he wants to live there after school, but it is the perfect size town for college.
I do not hear anything negative except maybe that he works a lot, much more than he did in high school, but it is by choice because of what he is studying. He still has a social life and close friendships.
As I said, feel free to PM me and I can try and answer questions. My knowledge of music is still quite limited and I may not have much more to add, but I can try.

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Oh - one addendum. I just remembered that he complained about a TA for a class that he really did not feel was very good. I don’t remember the all the details, but it did put a damper on that class, but not overall.

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I attended NEC from 87-90 as a transfer student (bassoon), met my husband there (oboe) and our D as just finished her freshman year there (violin). We are an NEC family. But I thought I could give insight on how the school has changed over the last 29 years (what?? omg that is a long time!). I’m being told my post is too long so I will be posting in two parts.

Pros:
Amazing faculty who are active in their professions, teaching from the reality of the music profession
Jordan Hall - one of the most beautiful halls in the country - both to see and to hear and you get to rehearse/perform in it all the time. (it was renovated shortly after we left in the 90’s but they worked extra hard to make sure its acoustics were not impacted)
Free access to the BSO (almost worth the COA) - many members of the orchestra are on faculty
Boston - what can you say?

Cons:
Cost of course
Not fully streaming performances yet, though they did make an effort to start this year.

– Environment (supportive, competitive, friendly, cliquish, etc.);

29 years ago - it was a family. Yes there were stories of string players being cut throat but I never witnessed it. Of course we were jealous and hungry for the good parts, but I have no memory of any kind of mean situation. It was great camaraderie. Now - my D has found a friendly and supportive environment as well, especially within her own studios. But the supportive environment has really been throughout the school, in my daughter’s experience.

– Facilities (quality & number of practice rooms, school instruments, libraries, dorms, gyms or athletic facilities, student union or common areas);

The new Student Life Performance Center has been a wonderful addition to NEC. The dorms are on the upper floors. The bottom floors are performance spaces, rehearsal rooms, Book and Listening Library and the cafeteria and large eating/lounging space (affectionately called the “Girk” - Green Room Cafe… The SLPC adjoins the Botolph building (which was purchased and used for classroom space when I was in school there) seamlessly so students don’t have to go outside to get to that building.

The dorms are beautiful and spacious. Beds are lofted but not dangerously so and there is plenty of space between the two halves. Beautiful views of Boston. Nice common areas on each floor. No complaints from my D except for being FORCED to have her door locked at all times (RA’s do not allow them to prop their doors open either). I find that a perfectly acceptable rule but she wishes she didn’t have to take her key to go to the bathroom. Back in the older dorm when I was there we had our doors open wide most of the time which makes a more accessible social environment.

The old dorms (where I lived) are now used as practice rooms which has been a wonderful addition. The bottom of this building now houses a great little music store which was across Huntington Ave 29 years ago. This store is like the school book store where they can get not only school textbooks but all their needed repertoire and school spirit stuff. Students are allowed to practice in their rooms, in the Gainsborough building (the old dorm) and of course in the Jordan Hall building - but these are rare. Even with the addition of the Gainsborough building there are days when my D could not find a practice room but that was not every day. She did not practice in her room all year because she wanted to save her sacred retreat space (which I think was a good idea).

I’m not sure about other instruments but there is a competition for use of several NEC owned violins that students can participate in. I know they have a good Contrabassoon or two because I was forced to play it… haha

There is a YMCA (I believe it was the first in the country?) next door to the school and they offer a student rate, though most students find it too expensive.

– Performance opportunities (as part of the program, as extracurriculars on campus, or side gigs);

There four orchestras - Symphony, Philharmonia, Chamber and Opera. There is an audition at the beginning of the year for placement (Symphony is generally freshman, sophomore, Philharmonia is generally upperclass and grad and I think that Chamber and Opera orchestras were drawn from the Philharmonia group. Once auditioned the strings rotate through the sections (1st and 2nd violin). I’m not sure how the winds, brass and percussion are rotated. It was similar to the string assignments when I was there, but since there are so few wind parts, there were concert series where you sat out. But everyone played in one of two Wind Ensembles. So a wind player could potentially be playing in an ensemble every day of the week - MWF for Orch and TTh for Wind Ensemble or Symphonic Winds

NEC has a strong chamber music program and each group is given an opportunity to perform each semester. There is also an honors chamber competition which gives the winners extra performance opportunities.

My D’s violin studios have class each week (I say plural because she was in 2 studios this past year. Next year will be in only one). She was able to perform in these classes several times even as a freshman. One of her teachers has a student project every year where they pick a “theme” at the beginning of the year and then each student or maybe a duet of students performs a piece in a studio concert in the second semester. This year they performed at the school and then again somewhere else in the city.

My D was asked to perform on several student recitals, from classical to jazz so she had a lot of fun doing that and exploring other genres.

NEC has a good gig resource for students (it used to be a cork board in the bottom of Jordan Hall! haha) but my D didn’t take advantage of it this year. She plans to sophomore year now that she has her sea legs and knows what school takes.

– Faculty (accessibility, style – supportive, demanding, etc., skill; anyone particularly amazing who’s made a difference for your kid or if there is someone to avoid and people should PM you if considering the school!);

I had the absolute fortune to study with Leonard Sharrow and Matt Ruggierro (both of whom have passed) and they were formative years for me. Matt Ruggierro was actively playing in the BSO at the time and he was the kindest and best of men. I know none of this helps anyone looking at this school in the future but I just had to mention my wonderful teachers.

My D’s experience with all faculty has been wonderful. Her private teachers were equally demanding and supportive, in the exact right measure when she needed it. Private teacher/student relationship is so important, not quite parent, but more than professor, and we are all so happy that she has really found her place and that her teachers are so caring of her. Always accessible by email. Had an end of year party at their house which my D says was her happiest moment.

The music and liberal arts faculty has also been wonderful for her. There was on LA teacher she was not happy with but everyone else has been great. Challenging with a dose of “we understand you are a conservatory student”. She has one fantastic LA teacher that was there when we were there! and they share the same birthday which is too weird!

– Cross-departmental opportunities (is there cross-pollination between opera and musical theater, music and theater, or classical and contemporary, for example, or is it more siloed);

I believe there is a great deal of cross-department opportunities, some official and most student led. As I said above students and composers drew from their friends from all over the school for their recitals and performances. My D learned a lot about Contemporary Improvisation and Jazz this year.

//continued//

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NEC Part 2

– Academics (workload, difficulty, ratio of music-to-gen-ed requirements, course offerings);

Tonal Practice (theory), Solfege (ear training) and Music History are ubiquitous and become increasingly more difficult as the semesters go and that is as expected. I understand now thought that the Jazz/CI kids do a different track in these areas than the classical kids, so that is interesting and appropriate I think.

When we were there, NEC offered many good liberal arts classes (history, creative writing, etc) that I enjoyed very much. However, the offerings are much wider now and include some science classes as well. They now offer a Liberal Arts or Science Minor at the school. This consists of a few more targeted classes, mentoring by a faculty and a large capstone project their senior year. It is a new program and still being developed, but my D is very interested in it.

Nothing is more important than practicing. That needs to be said about conservatory life. So with everything my D does or is interested in, nothing is more important to her than her weekly lessons with the master. She did well, was on the dean’s list, etc. but violin was king.

– Social life (what does your kid do for fun; are there non-musical things to do; does campus shut down on weekends; opportunities to meet and hang out with non-musicians, etc.);

There is all of Boston to explore and enjoy. My D inherited my wanderlust and has spent much of her time walking the city and finding new places to see, food to eat. (It’s scarier when it is your D than when it was yourself). There is also lots of time sitting in the GRC with friends (writing those academic papers late into the night because you didn’t have time to do it earlier). But it all leads to a very fun environment for students, much needed for such a serious and taxing school.

– Actual cost of living (were the estimates correct, pleasant or unpleasant surprises, tips);

No surprises, but talk to me junior year when we have to find an apartment.

Work study opportunities are plentiful. For most of the year she was an usher at Jordan Hall so she also got to hear all the performances there for free (also worth the COA). Then towards the end of the year she secured a Liberal Arts assistant position where she gets her own little desk and does office support work. This is her position until she graduates (if she wants to keep it). Good real life work experience for this spoiled violinist!

One thing - this year the meal plan was price based, so they had a certain number of dollars to spend at the cafeteria. It worked out to only about $12 a day which was ridiculous. Some genius figured, well they always go out to eat so we will only give them enough for a meal and a half each day! We were not happy. But for 2019-20 they have switched it to a 3 swipe a day system so they don’t get charged for every apple, every sandwich, but can choose an entree, a side and a drink. Should save her work study money.

– The larger community (safety, things to do in the town or city, availability of off-campus housing, if a university or LAC how the rest of the school impacts the vibe);

Boston was and is wonderful. So many things to do. We have not experienced apartment hunting in 2019 but we will tackle that next year.

– Happiness (does your kid merely like it or really love it – or neither, how about other kids – what’s the attrition rate).

My D LOVES it!

– Anything else your kid talks about or you’ve observed (campus food, airport/travel hassles every semester, weather, size of program, whatever!)

One thing that is either new to the school, or new to me because I was not a string player in the 80’s but the violinists (don’t know if it is in other instrument departments) are given a certain allotment of rehearsal time and lesson/studio class time with a collaborative pianist. So they can have lessons, classes and performances with a pianist and it is covered by the school. If you don’t use your allotment you can gift them to a friend and you can always pay for more. THIS IS HUGE. She wound up with a pianist she knew from her time at Heifetz Institute, who also played for her on her NEC audition so they have a long history. I can’t stress enough how great this is!

It would also be great to hear: Was this originally your kid’s first choice, back-up plan, or something in-between?

She was admitted to NEC, Juilliard, and CIM. NEC was her #1 choice, mainly because her teacher was her #1 choice

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@Violinmomaz so nice to hear your D is happy and wonderful to read your amazing report on NEC.

So powerful. Same story with my D. She chose to apply to a very limited number of schools on basis of her connection with her teachers. She is a NEC Prep kid so we will be eternally grateful to NEC.

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@Violinmomaz Thank you for those great posts!! We visited NEC this past spring (and had the tour, but then unfortunately due to a stomach bug had to cancel my VP daughter’s planned lesson there – thankfully she’d already had her BoCo lesson before getting sick on that trip). I loved the NEC building and the vibe, and I’m happy to hear that your D is having such a great experience there!

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Some great info here! We are new parents at Eastman (son starting in August) so thought I’d offer an update as some things have not gone as I expected! Note that the following applies only to students at Eastman, not double majors at U Rochester.

First, there’s a parents Facebook group specific to Eastman, very small but super-helpful: search Eastman School of Music Parents. I have not found the huge U Rochester group to be useful simply because Eastman is run so differently.

Second, no one is in a rush to update materials or send us emails. This was really making me panic because my older kids went to much bigger schools, so I thought I must be missing important deadlines (housing, course signup, etc.). It turns out that pretty much everything is done on such a small scale here that long lead times are not necessary.

Example 1: Housing. There is only one dorm. Your kid will be in it. Eventually, they will ask what time he/she likes to go to sleep and if he/she wants a specific roommate or a room on a quiet floor. All requests will be answered personally via email or phone. If you get worried, you can call and speak to a person who will assure you that, as one of just 125 incoming freshmen, your kid will have a room.

Example 2: Notification of studio placement. This is just a confirmation because the studio head – who only takes a few kids a year – has already reached out to your kid. Don’t panic if there’s no official letter until late June.

Example 3: Orientation. They definitely don’t rush to update their materials. However, little changes from year to year. Info is here: https://www.esm.rochester.edu/studentactivities/orientation/ Move-in is always on Wednesday (Sunday/Monday for international students).

Example 4: Course signup. You didn’t miss the notice–there is no notice! Course signup is handled one-on-one between students and advisors during orientation week, There’s no chance of being shut out of classes because the classes are tiny.

More to come, of course. Good luck to all new students!

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Update from Temple. Probably complete opposite of @akapiratequeen! Temple is a big school so they offer lots of orientation options. Kid did the first one (Monday/Tuesday this week) and there was a simultaneous one for parents so we all three trekked to Philly.

His orientation group was by school/program so all Boyer kids were together: performance, jazz, music education and music therapy. Nice way to make friends before they all show up in August. They did the usual rah rah as well as nitty gritty academic stuff. He was able to sign up for classes (they did theory placement online and did their in-person piano placement on Monday) with the advisor so he knows all his classes, except ensemble placement which happens the first week of school. They have a plethora of general education options so he’s super excited to take a class in “Race in the Ancient Mediterranean” because he’s a Latin geek. I’m just envisioning a minor in Classics. :smile:

Dorm sign up was slightly crazy, but since he’s in the Performing Arts LLC (living learning community) he got priority sign up and by luck of the draw has a roommate who is local (Philly) and we were able to meet him while we were in town so one less thing to stress about.

Temple, as a whole, is a well-oiled machine and had great parent orientation classes and the usual good/boring stuff for kids. Boyer is definitely a small school in a big campus, so they feel like a more tight-knit group (and so did us parents as we got a specialized orientation from Boyer faculty as well). Their music program is definitely rigorous as kid got placed in lowest level piano and theory - and he already had a basic foundation of each. Glad he will be well-grounded in his music…

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Son just got back from a 3 day Michigan orientation SUPER happy and excited. He was initially worried about commuting back and forth up to the music school (it’s a bus ride from the central campus), but now he loves that the music stuff is physically separated from all the happenings on main campus. He says it feels like a conservatory but with UNLIMITED bells and whistles since the University is so big and so well-equipped. Literally everything is at these kids’ disposal. Everyone he met at Orientation seemed passionate and high-achieving in their own field. SMTD has many double majors so that should make for an interesting cohort. (He is not double majoring). He got the Freshman Writing course he wanted (which consists of going to various assigned music performances by visiting international groups and writing about them), and for the subsequent 7 semesters, all other non-music classes are electives. This is very unique to Michigan. All the other universities he looked at (BU, Ithaca, etc) had tons of required general ed courses (or at least broad topics that had to be accounted for.) Michigan wants their musicians do study what they want. There are pages and pages of classes at UM that he can choose from. We are excited!

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@akapiratequeen - good to know about Eastman. That would just absolutely drive me crazy finding things out so late and thinking that I was missing out on important information. And @Lendlees, so far so good at Temple- yay! (Make sure you get some water ice from Pop’s or even Rita’s.) Right now, these are S’s 2 of 3 considerations so looking forward to hearing more about their experiences. So so excited for you.

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Friendly, welcoming, thoughtful, and well-run—that was our experience at the Luther College orientation.

Students and parents each had their own itineraries. We talked ‘life in college’ dreams and fears, got financial, medical, and tech details, and students met peer advisors and faculty advisors and registered for courses, and started their first Padeia (first-year course) discussion, and met new friends. Nice day in all.

D also got set up with a good set of courses (including lessons in both voice and cello, honors music theory & ear training), and plans to join both one of the choirs and an orchestra (auditions in fall). She’s excited!

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We went to S’s orientation at UMKC yesterday on what turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. It was well organized and the student orientation leaders were very enthusiastic and friendly. We had assigned tables and groups, with different majors/schools mixed together. I loved the diversity of the student body and atmosphere of the school. After lunch we were separated out by divisions and went with the group for Conservatory students (music, dance, and theater). I was so pleased to learn that the Conservatory has a full time advisor who schedules each student individually. The Jazz Studies BM program is front-loaded with required classes, so his schedule was already built for him. He also had the pleasant surprise that he did not have to take freshman English because of his ACT English score, so he has only 14 hours! His future roommate (high school friend) was also there with his parents and it was fun to do the dorm tour with them. We were happy to see that the dorm is not as far from the dining hall as we originally thought, and we discovered that there is a brand new Whole Foods a block away from his dorm (he won’t have a car). We also learned that the city buses/trollies are free with his UMKC ID. It’s not NYC mass transit, but better than nothing!

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I would also like to hear about Ithaca and Eastman!

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So now that departures are imminent…anything else to report? Packing tips? Roommate updates? When was/is registration at your student’s school?
Here’s a bit more on Eastman: roommate and room assignments arrived on August 1. S is in a triple, in one of the “Houses” (there’s a tower and five connected, four-story houses as part of the Student Living Center). He requested and got a “quiet hall.” Supposedly House rooms are bigger than tower rooms, which is good, because a tiny triple would be quite a challenge for my 6’4" son! Also, neither of his roommates are in the same program. Apparently they mix it up on purpose, so he’s got one flute performance major from North Dakota and one oboe performance major from LA. Should be quite interesting for my jazz sax-blowing, Brooklyn/Jersey boy!

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We got a good packing tip from a veteran percussion parent - spread the mallets out amongst suitcases or one can easily exceed the 50 lb limit on airline baggage. Need to pick up kid’s new black suit (how the heck did he outgrow the old one in a year? when do they stop growing?) and order some lightweight large suitcases to pack ‘fluffy’ stuff like comforter, pillows etc.

My kid’s roommate is a music tech major who also plays the trumpet, so there will be some interesting conversations going on in their room, I’m sure. He got super friendly with some music therapy and music ed majors at orientation, so he will have a fair amount of kids he’s knows in his theory class.

We are T-2 weeks and a couple of days from departure, and it’s starting to feel a lot more real.

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Still 3 weeks to go before start of sophomore year for S18 at FSU. We’ve done a bit of shopping. He needed a second suit for performances, so we picked up a well fitted gray one. He is moving into a 4 person apt, so has been trading texts with his roommates so they don’t show up with 4 spatulas and no spoons. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and got a bunch of stuff. Rugs and floor mats did not survive freshman year, so we got some new ones. Opera auditions will commence immediately upon his return to school, but he is already cast as an opera singer in a play at a local theatre. He plays the younger version of a retired opera singer, coming onstage to sing parts of songs at flash back moments. Should be fun. Happy packing!

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Advice from a friend whose son lost stuff for a couple of months until another kid found it in his closet: MARK EVERYTHING WELL.
Most schools have wonderful volunteers who, for your first move in anyway, help get everything in the dorm. They often have masking tape or printer labels to mark the student’s name. Neither are very sticky and both are small. They can fall off or be overlooked. When everyone packs in the same sort of Rubbermaid totes and milk crates, it’s easy for stuff to get lost.
Mark everything at home as it gets packed-Sharpie, duct tape, obnoxious colors… it may look like overkill but it’s far easier than trying to track stuff down later.