<p>Schools require both admission to the university and then admission to their school of music. Most music programs auditions start in the fall for the following year. With that in mind, when do students send in the application for the school to ensure acceptance before the audition process begins?</p>
<p>You have to look at each colleges admissions website to get an accurate answer. Julliard, for example, wants applications in by Dec. 1, including pre-screening materials. Once they have all the applications, then they’ll schedule auditions for March for their Bachelor of Music candidates. </p>
<p>Each college will spell this out clearly in the admissions section of their website, so you may want to create a spreadsheet or large table to track these items if you plan on applying to several schools.</p>
<p>I understand the deadlines but I am referring to what is the earliest they begin to accept them</p>
<p>Actually, many schools do not admit you to the university before your audition. At many schools, you submit your university application and separate music application if they have one (and prescreening if required), and then you audition (or are invited to audition if there is a prescreening). After you audition, the school of music makes its decision which it forwards to the university admissions office and they then make the decision about academic admission. This was the routine at all of the schools my daughter applied to last year, though I am aware that some schools admit you to the university first. That is by no means universal, however, so you really do need to read the websites. One thing to keep in mind is that the music applications (and especially pre-screenings) are usually due well before the university’s general application deadline. In any case, the process is different at each school so you really have to carefully read the websites to know whether you have to be admitted to the university first or not–again that was not the case at any of the schools my D applied to, all of which were BM programs within universities. Conservatories generally do not have a separate university admission.</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments. When did your d submit applications? At the beginning of her senior year? During the summer before? July, august, September, etc…?</p>
<p>Some colleges/universities have “rolling admissions” where you may submit an application at anytime. Others have set dates for submission and notification. All state their policy on their website usually found within the admissions section. </p>
<p>My son applied to the University of North Texas and has been admitted to UNT very quickly based on test scores and GPA however he had to apply to, and has to audition, to be considered for admission to the School of Music and wait for the decision. Auditions for his program are in late January and February. The ability apply to UNT for 2012 admission was opened in September. </p>
<p>Schools admission policies differ from one to the next.</p>
<p>She submitted her applications and prescreenings in October and November. She started working on applications and essays in the summer. Auditions were mostly in January and February. A couple were in December. Remember that you will also need to spend a lot of time practicing and preparing your audition repertoire. Good luck to you! What is your instrument and what is your current year in high school?</p>
<p>Most people submit their applications during the two to three months leading up to application deadlines (for schools with deadlines between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31 which would cover most top music programs). It would be rare to submit an application during the summer and some (perhaps most) schools do not have their websites open for accepting applications in early summer.</p>
<p>Thank you! This is very helpful. My d will beginning this process next fall.</p>
<p>As I recall, few schools had updated their admissions form for the next cycle before late August or early September. Also, since you need high school transcripts and possibly some forms that the guidance counselor must sign, it is unlikely that she will have all of the materials needed to submit much earlier than that. Note that some schools also have early audition dates for which the deadline for the paperwork may be as early as mid-October. Those same schools also have standard December or January deadlines for the main audition season which runs from mid-January through late February or even early March is some cases. If you have not already found them, you may want to read the first dozen or so postings in the thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html</a></p>
<p>sread1, I would say submit your applications for both general university and music school as soon as each are allowed, usually in the fall. At my son’s HS, the counselors advice juniors to give teachers of whom they will be asking a reference letter a “heads up” before school is let out for the summer. My son waited until the fall for that and it was OK, still got his teacher references and his applications in before Nov 1st. Another reason for getting the general university application in early besides rolling admissions is I think one’s chances of getting an academic scholarship may be better…son received one from UNT.</p>
<p>To answer the question of how early a student can apply, the schools to which my sons have applied typically make their on-line applications available around September 1, though some are available in August and maybe even July.</p>
<p>My son submitted his applications the day before each schools deadline (one in Nov, 2 in Dec, one in Jan). He was accepted at every school he applied, so I suspect that there might not be much advantage to applying months in advance.</p>
<p>Also, one of the four schools requires that students be admitted before they can audition, the other three he had to apply, and then schedule an audition, and the admitance letter came for both music and the college the same day.</p>
<p>I would make an even stronger statement than imagep (with whom I agree): I don’t think that early applications confer any advantage at all as to admission chances. My son too was a last day applicant everywhere and was accepted everywhere. [Proviso: there may be some rare schools that require earlier applications in order for students to be considered for all possible merit scholarships and financial aid–for example, at IU, international students have a November deadline if they want to be fully considered for all sources of scholarships and aid).</p>
<p>The advantage to early applications is that you have plenty of time to get everything done at a high standard (essays, letters of reference, prescreening recordings etc.) without the stress and hurry that inevitably accompanies the last minute application. Starting applications early in the fall is certainly a good idea.</p>
<p>Agree w/violindad - S completed last app last Friday night (due 1/1). He started working on prescreen rep back in Sept and recorded mid-Nov. All had uploads except 1 school which required a DVD. He will now have a much more pleasant Xmas break than his older sister (non-music major) did! The only thing he wished he had listened to me on was getting the essays done earlier - they were what slowed the process down.</p>
<p>I think I learned this from BassDad, but one reason to get the applications in early is that at some places you will get a better choice of your audition dates by applying early. That way if you are auditioning far away at a number of places it will be much easier to coordinate your trip.</p>
<p>We had a less than pleasant Thanksgiving with 3 of my son’s applications for composition due December 1. He had been working on the prescreening submittal for many months, so that was ready well in advance. However, the applications do require essays, and in some cases, there wasn’t a lot of overlap between the essays. In order for the essays to be well-organized, thoughtful, and polished, an applicant should probably start writing them earlier than, say, 2 weeks before they are all due. So, as soon as the application becomes available, I would suggest looking at the essay questions first.</p>
<p>In addition, he ran into some problems getting files uploaded. Technical glitches do happen (they did), websites do crash (it did), recommenders might have problems uploading their letters (they did). Son had 2 days to spare, which was good! The best advice I can give is don’t wait for the last day to submit everything.</p>
<p>Oh boy VMT we were in the same wait til the last minute boat including the last minute decision to apply to two schools with prescreens. A 9 hour recording event took place Thanksgiving weekend. Some editing is still in process, some applications are still on progress. Nothing like putting things off! The twins #1 school got applications in Nov 1st, no problem. Dec. 1 was not so easy! Now the first audition is this weekend so little progress is being made on the remaining applications. Oh well, lessons will be learned regardless!</p>