<p>Hi all. DS is a senior in the midst of setting up auditions (he is applying for a music ed major). One of the schools (SUNY Potsdam) has a regional audition 10 minutes from home. We have already visited that school (open house last year) and going to this regional audition will save us an 8-9 hour drive and a hotel expense. We went to a college fair last night and were told there is no disadvantage to the regional audition - that they are treated as equally as those done at the school. I am not sure how much I believe that. The regional audition is also 3 weeks later than the one he would sign up for. The rep from Fredonia told us the same thing but since we haven't visited the school yet we are making that trek to combine visit with audition. Can anyone weigh in on this? As much as I would love to save the time and money associated with going up to Potsdam I want him to have an equal opportunity. Thanks!</p>
<p>We’ve been to both Potsdam and Freedonia - For music ed a regional is aok imho. Best of luck. We know of several students that have been accepted at the school they wound up at with a regional aud.</p>
<p>Does DS play the piano? I ask that because my DD did a regional audition and the piano she had to use was poor. You just never know when you can’t bring your own instrument. :-)</p>
<p>Most regional auditions are video recorded, and maybe you have one live evaluator. On site auditions, you are likely to have at least 3 evaluators hear you live. If your son has some type of prior reputation (competitions, awesome prescreen DVD, etc.), then other teachers may try to watch live.</p>
<p>I’m sure the evaluators adjust for the fact that they see one person live versus video.</p>
<p>If it is a school at the top of his list, then I would make an effort to do an on-site audition. You want every possible advantage.</p>
<p>BTW: On-site auditions does not guarantee a great piano. More likely, but not a guarantee.</p>
<p>Son is currently at Potsdam. Son did audition on campus but most of the students in his studio and other studios did the regional audition. Potsdam realizes that they are “way up north” and getting to auditions on campus can be difficult. Son also did the regional for Fredonia and was accepted. Both schools increased their scholarship offers during son’s spring break visit in Mid April. Once you have your acceptances, try to schedule re-visits with the studio teachers during April. (This worked for some of son’s friends as well but not all.) I think the schools are more likely to make better offers once they know the audition pool for the year and how many confirmed acceptances they’ve received so they can offer more money if they have it to the fence sitters.</p>
<p>Thanks all. Really on the fence here. This is #2 on his list, he wants to do the regional. I am not so sure but hearing Momofbassist say many did the regional maybe that is way to go. Such decisions! And he plays trumpet so no worries about a piano.</p>
<p>I had the same worry last year, and it turned out the one regional was probably son’s best audition. Certainly it got by far the best response. My suspicion is that my son was far more relaxed - just a nice guy & a camera there instead of 3 to 5 (tired) faculty. Easy trip to get there, nothing too unfamiliar. Also, if anyone else reading this is curious about pianos, the regional was also one of the top pianos, definitely.</p>
<p>SJSMOM we must almost be neighbors, as we too are not much more than 10 mins from regional audition for Crane. We are doing regional fopr both Potsdam and Fredonia but live auditions for out of state schools that are higher up the list. Will be interested to see where we all end up. What is your child’s “instrument”?</p>
<p>Tried to PM you NYsaxmom but apparently they changed the rules and I can’t do that anymore. We are about 5 minutes east of the regional to give you an idea where we are. DS plays trumpet. We are doing live audition for Fredonia since have not had chance yet to visit the school. Potsdam is #2 on his list which is why torn between what to do - right now more concerned about impact regional on the distribution of scholarships (being that it is one of the last audition dates). What out of state schools are on your list? We’ve got Vermont, Delaware, Hartt and possibly URI. And what degree is being pursued?</p>
<p>I received this e-mail from the Fredonia Music dept.</p>
<p>When prospective students ask me if there are advantages to auditioning here on campus rather than on Long Island, my responses are: </p>
<p>• Auditioning here on campus guarantees you live performance time with faculty members in your area.* A face-to-face opportunity to interact with your future mentors and teachers is always an advantage. </p>
<p>• However we also send at least one faculty member from voice, string and wind areas to the Long Island site, and your audition there will be video-recorded for referral to the artist faculty responsible for your instrument.
• If you do not audition on campus, it would be wise for you to visit our campus and School of Music at some point before you choose what school to attend. </p>
<p>• Your audition is the most important part of the School of Music admissions process.* This means you need to be at your best.* If traveling to Fredonia for the audition is likely to result in lack of rest, discomfort, or undue hardship for you, you will struggle to perform your best.* If auditioning on Long Island means better rest because you can wake up in your own home, eat familiar food, warm up and perform at your peak, then despite the advantages of auditioning live at SUNY Fredonia, you may do better if you audition on Long Island.* Discuss the options with your music mentors and your family, and choose what will give you the best possible chances for success.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A little hype, if I do say so, myself. They tend to be too busy to have time for any meaningful two-way interaction. Better that they see you live (you interact with them), but not much chance for feedback.</p>
<p>Fredonia’s comments make sense only from the standpoint of the fact that it’s wise to be able to visit each school for which you are accepted at some point before signing on the line and sending a deposit. The NYC/LI area is vastly different from Fredonia/Dunkirk area and that alone could be a negative (or a plus, depending upon how you look at things!) for a potential student. If one is seeking a lively scene with readily access to public transportation and plentiful cultural experiences, it won’t be found in rural Western NY, but that same relative isolation can encourage more interaction on the campus itself.
If a regional audition makes life easier, then go for it; if you can make it to the school without too much hardship, then do the on-campus audition. OperaDad is right when he said that there is little time for two-way interaction on audition days; there may be departmental and informational meetings, which are nice, and if you can land a sample lesson at day’s end, that’s great. Remember to consider the weather conditions too, since auditions fall during the winter (that stretch of the NYS Thruway can be horrible in snow!).</p>
<p>To SJSMOM: Been off the site for a while. Maybe because of all the audition planning…LOL!!! We have local Fredonia audition this Thursday. We live about 15 mins south of that location! Will be doing local Crane one in Feb. others: already done and been accepted at Hartt (double major Ed and perf) . Just got back from Pittsburgh for Duquesne (son very confident about that). After Fredonia we have Temple, Miami, Hofstra, FSU, George Mason, finishing up with UNT. Phew!!! But have to look at it as fun and auditions don’t phase him at this point. Once i figure out how to PM I will be more specific</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone auditioning. Just a few thoughts on regional auditions versus on campus. We found that the regional auditions were far more chaotic than the on campus ones. One site used by several schools for regional auditions was at public high school so there weren’t as many practice rooms available as you would find at a music school. Son ended up warming up in the library along with a tuba, bassoon, flute, trumpet etc. Also this particular venue hadn’t turned the heat up so the school was very cold and it was especially hard on the brass players. The string players auditioned in a tiered lecture hall and son had to carry his bass up several tiers to reach the small space they had set up to record the auditions. The string staff person then stood below him as he played. Just be forewarned that some regional facilities are not the most ideal locations for auditions and don’t let it add to the stress of the day for your student.</p>
<p>To NYsaxmom: I sent you a PM but not sure if it worked. Check your PMs and hopefully it did.</p>
<p>Thanks Momofbassist! DS regional audition is his last one so by then he should be
really comfortable with it all. The fun picks up again next week - we have a busy
month ahead of us. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>I did get your PM but I don’t have enough posts yet to reply ��
But I did reply on one of the threads ��</p>
<p>I’m new hear, but I’ll be blunt.</p>
<p>Unless there’s a financial reason, regional audition is a bad idea.
It shows the college that you do not consider to be so important.
Of course, if the student is a top performer, then it’s totally different.</p>
<p>My comments is based on my experience talking with professors
over the last few years, right after auditions. You’d be surprised
what they’re willing to say to parents these days. 
One of them
said this to me: “an audition is just as important as a job interview…
would you consider meeting with HR in LA if the company/job is
in NY? If you are not even willing to spend the $500 airfare and
a couple of days to fly to NY, they probably won’t give you a job…
unless your previous employer was Google or Apple, Inc”</p>
<p>CarlaSopr,
I do not agree. First it costs a lot more than 500 dollars to get to some schools when you consider hotel costs, transportation to and from the airport and meals out. Also spring is a busy time of year for many seniors and arranging a time to travel to an audition between festivals and other auditions is not always possible. In our son’s case we felt like Oberlin might be a good match for our son (and I have to admit it was a parental first choice) but we decided to do a regional audition due to time and finances. After our son was admitted we did send him to visit. The admissions officer who handled our son’s regional audition was awesome and was great about communicating with us.</p>
<p>We concur on the regional audition being fine. The Oberlin admissions administrator made my son feel completely at ease. No jet lag, just a rental car. Also January can be hellish to fly and worry about weather delays. Far nicer to perform relaxed in a familiar setting. Then visit if accepted.</p>
<p>The exception is if the student and music teacher click. My son’s prior flute teacher auditioned in person at NW and when now retired Kujala asked if there was anything else she wanted to play and she got out her piccolo, the audition went 30 more minutes and she got a free ride to NW. Kujala was the picolo player for Chicago for 35+ years. So on institutions where the one teacher has the say, it might be best to go in person.</p>
<p>My worry on spending the $$$$ to audition in person is if that college is their #1 choice, and they don’t get in, if we had the $$$$ to spend.</p>
<p>I recently asked a parent (from the private orchestra my kid plays in ) who happens to be a major league music prof AND just went through the music school audition process with their kid, what was the ONE thing learned from being on the other side of auditioning and the answer surprised me. " Do a private lesson or lessons with the prospective teacher and do the on site audition only". In all the years this person has taught at big-time institutions they could only remember a couple of kids taken that hadn’t come in for a lesson first and only one that was taken from a regional video. This person had never really thought about it until it was their own kid in the process.</p>
<p>I know this is only anecdotal, but so is the rest of this forum :-)</p>