Recorded Audition Vs Live Audition

I’m applying to 8 music schools, 6 of which are outside of my state. Obviously, each school rather me to go and audition on their campus over a recorded audition. Here’s my deal, I really can’t afford spending around $1,000 (between plane ticket, hotel stay, food, etc) for EACH audition (and for only the slight chance I will get accepted). All of these schools are very far away from me. I emailed some schools about the recorded audition and Shepherd School of Music replied to me kind of a lowkey angry/mean way about them not knowing how serious I am about going to their school. I’m very serious about each school that I am applying for, if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be wasting my time. I would love to get accepted but I just can’t audition live.
Now this whole vent/question introduction leads to this: How much does sending a recorded audition really affect my chances at getting accepted at a school? (I’m applying for a performance major for 4 of the schools and the other 2 in Musical Arts in performance)

I honestly think it is much more difficult to be accepted through a recorded audition–or even a regional audition, most of which are situations in which you play your whole program before a videotape. I’d say that think carefully about where the investment is most likely to produce the results you want and audition in person in those places. I don’t know where you are located, but $1000/trip sounds on the high end. Can you audition on a circuit, e.g., flying to New York, doing the conservatories there, renting a car or buying a bus ticket to Boston, etc.? Are you able to drive to any auditions? My daughter had a schedule conflict (two auditions on the same day) and sent a recording to one. She was accepted, but that program was much less competitive and they already knew her because she’d attended a summer program with their faculty. I would not advise risking a recorded audition for a school that you are very serious about attending and which is also a reach.

The schools I’m applying to are: UF, UM, U Mich, Vanderbilt, JHU, USC, Oberlin, and Rice. As you can tell, these are all over the place. I can obviously do the live auditions in the schools in my state (UF and UM), the problem is the rest. I can’t just drive from Los Angeles to Houston to Nashville and all the other places, it has to be by plane.
I just calculated around $1,000 because I would be flying in high season + with either one or both of my parents and all other expenses that go along with it.

There are several strategies you can use to save money. I would start by ranking your schools and seeing if you can prioritize those that really need an in person audition. Talk to the admissions offices, don’t email, and ask how many they have accepted from alternative auditions. Then see if any provide support in any way, rooms, meals, transportation, small grant, etc. Do your parents travel at all and have mileage points? There are some good deals right now if they sign up for credit cards with mileage bonuses, as long as paying off credit cards are not a problem for them. We did a lot of travel with award points. Consider Southwest airlines if they are near you. We drove an hour to get the airport they flew out of to save money. Also you can book the flights on SW when there are sales and change them with no change fee if you do not get the auditions. We took some chances that way, too. Then consider going alone. Many others will be there alone, too. Good luck! Auditioning does not get any cheaper as you progress so developing some strategies is important.

We live in Michigan and I just made all the travel arrangements for an audition at Berklee for my son and I and, yes, I think your $1K estimate is about right for trips where you and a parent have to fly, major city, stay in hotels, etc. If you get an audition at Thornton (USC), it will probably be much more. You can try to get close dates for U of Mich and Oberlin; it’s about a 2-hour drive in between.

For us, we budgeted the whole application process. We considered the cost of recording the prescreens, all of the application fees, and the cost of attending auditions. It’s not an insignificant amount. If you know how much is available, then maybe you can prioritize for the schools you care more about.

I agree with the sentiments of others, if there is any way possible to do live auditions, do it,the conventional wisdom seems to be true, that doing a live audition is better than a regional or a taped audition. There are a variety of reasons I have heard, some of these are from admissions people (some of it is fear that the taped audition can represent multiple tries, some of it is the fear that the tapes may have been manipulated in some way). I know someone who is on faculty at a pretty well known school of music, and they told me that they used to use taped auditions, especially with overseas kids, and they ended up doing in person auditions overseas, because with taped auditions the quality of the kids they were getting was disappointing, and they felt that a live audition allowed them to see more of the kid and the way they played, plus it also took out the possibility of fraud.).

If money is an issue, then I agree with what someone else posted,maybe only do live auditions at the schools you would really want to attend and do taped ones for the others. I would recommend doing as many as you can live, I am not one that thinks conventional wisdom is always so great, but in this case I think it has validity. Auditions are the kind of thing where any edge you have, any advantage, is worthwhile doing. That doesn’t mean submitted a taped audition is worthless, they are looked at, but when admission is often based on small, unknown things (basically, it is a subjective crapshoot), any edge you have is worth doing if you can. In the end, if the finances don’t work out for you, then by all means submit a taped audition.

Oberlin states that there is no preference given for a live audition over a regional audition. But the regional audition is only recorded by the Director of Admissions with no faculty in attendance. It would seem that the strongest impression would be made live in front of the faculty rather than by video. As ScreenName said, you may be able to work Michigan and Oberlin in the same trip with a bit of driving involved.

So, backing up a bit and combining the implications of this question with your other one about the recording quality of your prescreens, it sounds like you may be planning to apply to pretty exclusive music schools/conservatories without any pre-application visits to meet potential teachers, pre-screen recorded via phone camera and, if you get an audition, a submitted recording. While each of these decisions by themselves may not be deal-breakers, I think the combination will put you at a big disadvantage.

I don’t know what your instrument is but some of the studios are very small. You need to make a connection with a teacher, in terms of catching his/her interest and making an impression somehow. I don’t know if you’re giving yourself a chance for that to happen.

Thank you all so much for your answers, I really appreciate them. I guess my top priorities right now are Rice, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, maybe Michigan (which in that case it would include oberlin by car). This will still be around $3,000 though…
I’m doing harp as my major instrument and another reason why I was off put by going live was because some schools explicitly said I had to bring my own harp. If any of you know how big and heavy a harp is, you will understand that it’s just impossible to take it to those schools.

Here is how my D handled a similar situation. She had a budget for travel for auditions for grad school. She had to cut a school. It was of course her last choice. She emailed them saying she could not attend the audition due to financial constraints. They got back to her and said they would accept an electronic audition. This wasn’t special for her. I think she just missed it. So she resent her screening audition for her final and was accepted. She had never visited the school and had no teacher contact. However her teacher knew people there - but she’s was looking at grad programs so that’s a bit different.

So don’t give up. Just start communicating. If rice gave you one answer you may get a different answer at another school. So maybe you travel to rice and not oberlin. I would take the schools at their word. But ones you do not visit you may want to be in contact with by phone to assure they know you are serious but have financial constraints. You can reach out to a desired teacher too to let them know you are serious but unable to attend due to finances. Just keep it short, sweet and honest.

I hate to add to your list - especially considering the topic! But have you considered Eastman? I hung out at the harp practice rooms while my son was auditioning and it was pretty impressive.

And I will just add that during my D’s audition two seasons ago, we attended a phenomenal harp concerto performance at Oberlin!

So I talked with my parents and they did their side of research and everything and have concluded that we can’t go at all to these schools, it’s too expensive. This puts me in quite a predicament. How can I prove to these schools I’m not just a random bum applying but absolutely interested in going even without a live audition?

We are in the same boat. It is the craziest, most discriminatory process I have come across in a long time. Yes, discriminatory. Not in the sense that in-person auditions are an outrageous request. Of course they are preferable, and for both parties. But why SOMs have not gone to some sort of centralized consolidated audition process is beyond me. The current process privileges those with a healthy travel budget. End of story.

I have been studying a couple schools, and, for example, the UNT jazz bass audition has this note:

“If you are an international student and cannot come for a live audition, or if it is a hardship to come to come in person to UNT for a live audition, email Professor Seaton in addition to marking that on your application.”

So, maybe some of your schools will work with you?

@greatchoir this is not the “end of story”. It’s just the beginning. I suggest you research how expensive the audition process is for singers who turn professional. My D has a savings account she uses expressly for auditon expenses.

Yes, musica, I am aware of that. Just a turn of phrase. That’s great that your D has an account dedicated to the expense of auditioning.

GoForth, I will be inquiring of schools for possible support. But none of the school’s on D’s list make mention of hardship up front. I suspect that most will simply suggest uploading a digital video. And therein lies the rub, as it is clear from the collective wisdom on these boards that auditioning in person is advantageous, both in terms of acceptance and funding.

Could D be accepted based on a recorded audition? Maybe. Would D be awarded the merit $$ that would make attendance possible? I doubt it. Stories to the contrary are most welcomed here!

I guess I just don’t understand the “discriminatory” angle. My experience is that the world in general is easier for the rich. Less fortunate singers just have to work smarter and harder. In the long run it works out.

The effect is discriminatory, not the intent. Certainly both the applicant and the school benefit from face-to-face interactions. That is indisputable. But the expense of auditioning means it is not a level playing field (sorry for the pun).

I have the same concern about the fact that this is a hard business if you are not upper middle class or beyond. It is a fact and unfortunate. Still there are ways to continue in music.

Look at your in-state schools including your public university. They all have fine programs with teachers who know a lot and will be able to help a student grow. You don’t have to travel to NYC, Rice or wherever to audition.

I always find it an irony that some students will lament their inability to get into certain selective schools while turning their noses up at their state schools. You certainly don’t want to perpetuate the discrimination that makes you angry.

I’m not saying this is “you” - I had to use that word instead of “one” (it sounded weird). My point is you are not alone and there may be options closer to home. My D has several friends at in-state schools due to this and they are doing fine. You may want to talk with students already in music programs (maybe at the school closest to you) to see how they have made it work. You can call the music dept and ask if there is a student who acts as an outreach liaison. You may find commonalities that help you see a way forward.