<p>Our daughter is planning on entering a Master's program in voice next fall. She's been accepted to Jacobs @ IU, U of Mich, Mannes and the Royal Academy of Music in London. She's gotten little to no scholarship money from any of them. We are Indiana residents, but she did her undergrad at Jacobs, and wants a change. Any thoughts anyone? She'd love to go to London, but the price is frightening. We are NOT wealthy people.</p>
<p>I'm trying my best not to freak out. I know she's an adult, etc. etc. but you know how that mom thing can be!</p>
<p>Purely a personal statement of philosophy: from the standpoint of an MM performance aspirant, one needs to correlate the amount of money offered, the scholarship history and mentality of the school, the renown of the school, and the potential chances of success as a professional performer. </p>
<p>I’m still debating what that amount needs to be, and I’m hovering around a 50% tuition talent award as a minimum. Perhaps at the that point it’s time to rethink options, unless one has very deep pockets (or better yet a patron).</p>
<p>Hoosier Mama, I know that doesn’t help and please to not take it as a slight against your daughter’s talents. I do not intend it as such. It’s just that your question afforded me the opportunity to vent to the ether.</p>
<p>It sounds like RAM, UM, Mannes are about the same in cost, while Indiana is significantly lower as an in state student. Ticket prices to London would be higher. Access to London and New York music scenes would be a plus. My daughter attends RAM as a strings student, so if you have any questions on the school feel free to PM.</p>
<p>My understanding is that RAM would be in a similar “tier” with Jacobs, UM, and Mannes. Each has its strengths and all are very good schools. Depending on the instructor, RAM might be a better or worse experience than the other schools. I don’t think that the calibre of education would alone justify significant extra expense (although the whole international experience might partially justify it). </p>
<p>Traditional wisdom is to avoid debt when doing music (with a bit more leeway for graduate debt). If it were my child, I would be strongly encouraging IU and probably limiting my contributions to the others. IU has such a large music school that doing a second degree there should not have the claustrophobic feeling that doing a second degree at most music schools would have-- at IU, there are tons of different instructors to learn from and tons of new peers to work with.</p>
<p>The answer here, because the student in question is a female VP major is quite a bit different than it would be for an instrumental major.
Unless she has a very unusual quality within her fach, I would avoid IU for grad school at any cost. It’s not at all unusual for girls to have to take 3-6 years to complete a masters degree there simply because they can not get the number of required roles in staged performances since the graduate program has large numbers of sopranos.
Based upon friendship with two recent students in the RAM graduate voice program, I would say to save money and look elsewhere. Neither of them got the training they would have gotten in the US in a similar program and neither one has made much progress. Neither one would recommend the school at this point in time.
Hoosier Mama, has your daughter been accepted to study with the teachers she selected at Mannes or Michigan? If so, then they would be a better option, and finding affordable living arrangements is possible through the schools, since they know of others looking for roommates.
Another option is taking a year off to work, really seek out the right fit in a teacher and going through the audition process again. It’s no secret that undergrad VP programs makes their money from sopranos, admitting many more than there could ever, realistically, be jobs for, much less places in great grad school programs…</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama, interesting observation on IU. Do you know if it is the same for mezzos? IU was recommended to DD who is taking the time off to work and will audition for grad programs later.</p>
<p>Some mezzos may have it easier than others, since many so-called mezzos are really sopranos. On average, there are 12-15 females for every male in VP programs, and then you have the “wild card” of which opera the director is going to choose. which may or may not have a nice mezzo part in it. IU has a top-notch opera facility, no doubt about it, but if you sift through their cast lists for the past five years, you will see that many of the roles go to PhD students or older, with a few pros thrown in for good measure (a replacement “Lucia” was brought in from NYC when one of those cast became ill).
It would be wise to speak to the prospective teacher and program director to discuss the plans they have for upcoming productions and also to ask about the numbers of females who actually graduate from the program in 2 years, etc.</p>
<p>I was actually talking to a current grad student at IU a few weeks ago and she told me to only consider the school if they are paying you to go there. If you are getting a stipend, they will probably cast you. You are getting that money because they want you. It also depends on your teacher. Some teachers at IU have pull in the opera casting. I did not apply to IU or look at the school. This is just what I heard from someone who graduated from my studio a few years ago.</p>
<p>Just an aside regarding London Study. Our S is an actor- attending London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for grad school. London is VERY expensive. The cost of living is high so its important to calculate that in to the decision outside of the tuition etc. The UK will require a Tier 4 Visa which is complicated and requires proof of sufficient funds on deposit to cover all of the tuition for the first year (they will consider scholarship and loan guarantees) and living expenses for 9 months. Sufficient funds for the London Boroughs are calculated as 7200 pounds. Tier 4 allows them to work up to 20 hours a week and register for the National Health Service. If she goes to London be sure to start the Visa application early. Its complicated. PM me if you want more details.</p>