Should I apply to juilliard

College Majors Music Major
1

I am currently a senior and I do have the pieces for prescreening ready to go
But I am worried that I will get rejected…
THe pieces I have are
Mozart sonata k332
chopin etude opus 10 no 8
and
brahms Paganini variations book2 (half of the variations)

I know that the quality of the music is more important than the difficulty of the piece so I know you can’t say whether or not I will get accepted,
but I just wanted to know if I should apply or not

if I have no chance at all than I won’t

How hard is it to get accepted?

2

Well, I’m going to state the obvious. If there’s one thing that you can know for sure – you won’t get accepted if you don’t apply.

But, yes, it’s competitive. I think the latest statistic is something like a 6-7% acceptance rate, so about one out of fifteen applicants. It may sound dire but that one person does get accepted and it could be you.

And as a parent of a high school senior who is also an aspiring musician, if you want to compete in the music industry, getting used to reaching for things where you think you have “no chance” isn’t a bad thing. My S is applying and we’ve decided that we would consider a huge victory if he actually gets an audition.

3

yeah I guess it would be better to apply even if I don’t get in than to not apply and regret later.
I think I will apply just to have no regrets
Thank you so much and good luck on your son’s application/audition!

4

yeah I guess it would be better to apply even if I don’t get in than to not apply and regret later.
I think I will apply just to have no regrets
Thank you so much and good luck on your son’s application/audition!

5

No risk in submitting the pre-screen video.

What other schools are you considering?

6

Other than Juilliard, I’m just applying to U of Houston and UNT which I don’t think I have a big problem with. I wanted to apply to Mannes, Bard, etc but then my parents told me not to. I guess I’m just going to apply to Juilliard without telling them and let them know if I pass the pre screening

7

Do you want to attend Juilliard? If you do then why not apply? I wouldn’t apply just because of the name alone. You should really want to go to Juilliard and believe in what the program is about.

8

There are many top conservatories besides Juilliard and each one has their own unique flavor and style. If you want to apply out of state (I assume you are in Texas) and experience a new environment and different challenges then you are best applying to a range of conservatories. Because in addition to the quality of your music you want to land at a school that is a good match. Many successful musicians land at one of these conservatories but did not necessarily get admitted to ALL of them as a high school senior. Juilliard may or may not be the best match even if you are a brilliant performer. Some conservatories to think about:
Eastman
Manhattan School of Music
Oberlin
New England Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
Peabody
University of Indiana
and I am sure there are others I have forgotten…those are just the one’s I happen to know.

9

In addition to what @StacJip mentioned, if you are in Texas, have you looked at Rice?

10

Also in Texas - Meadows at SMU is worth exploring. Don’t let sticker prices deter you from considering a school. Until you apply, audition, and are accepted, you’ll have no idea what a school will cost. Truly.

11

s others have pointed out, there are a lot of really good music schools out there, others not mentioned include CIM (Cleveland Institute of Music), U Michigan, Northwestern, USC, UCLA. There also is Colburn in LA, that is very tough to get into, but is also totally free ride (tuition, room and board).

Juilliard is a great school, but on top of the 6-7% acceptance rate, also know that it is especially difficult on piano, they are flooded with applicants from around the world, especially from Korea and China, so it may even be tougher than that number indicates. However, the real answer is you never know, the audition process at Juilliard is not scientific, and what they look for on a pre screen or in an audition is not scientific, so you truly don’t know. So you apply for the pre screen and you don’t get an audition date, so what? Unless the money is that big an issue for the application (and it can be for some people), at least you tried. And if you are seriously interested in music, as another poster pointed out, in any kind of music you will face this situation, especially as a pianist. Orchestral instrument musicians if they audition for any kind of decent orchestra, might be competing against 150 other people, and if someone looks and says “I’ll never get in there, so why audition?”, they will end up not doing anything…

My son auditioned at a school he was pretty certain he would get into, but also put down a teacher he thought he had little chance of getting into the studio io, this guy takes very few students each year and most of them are grad level, and was shocked when he got in. If he looked at who was getting into the studio, the kind of kids that often have artists representation and have won major competitions, it would be very easy to say “I don’t stand a chance in h*ll” of getting in, but he did, even though he was none of those when he got in.

Why did your parents tell you not to apply to Bard? Bard requires a dual degree from its students, so while studying music you would also be getting another degree, maybe that would influence your parents, if they think getting a conservatory degree is ‘not real’ or something…

12

yeah but rice a bit too expensive tho

13

@lilyseo - you truly have no idea what a school will cost - until after you’ve applied, auditioned, submitted your financial aid forms, and been accepted - then only will you find out the true cost. And even that can change with subsequent offers, or increases in aid. DO NOT rule out any school in advance because of cost - if you’re applying as a music major.

14

@lilyseo but they meet 100% of need so not necessarily (basically reiterates the post above by @SpiritManager )

(and actually about the same tuition as Juilliard, so if you’re considering Juilliard . . .)

15

I agree, don’t look at the cost of the school and assume you can’t afford it, you don’t know.With Juilliard, for example, it will come down a lot to your family income, all or almost all of Juilliard’s aid, financial and merit, is based on financials, and other schools will do the same, others might give you merit aid irregardless of financial, depends on the program and what they are looking for. In our family’s case, I knew that we would get little aid of any kind, we have the kind of resources where we can afford to pay pretty much full freight (scraping by, but able to do it, thanks to savings and income) and knew that, but if cost is an issue, if you are doing it alone or your parent’s financials are not in that range, then you never know what you will get. Bard for example is expensive, but from what I have heard they are pretty decent with aid, I can’t guarantee that, but I wouldn’t rule them out without seeing what they offer, if you get in.

Another option (though it isn’t in a university where you can dual degree) might be Colburn, as I mentioned, if you get in there, it is full free ride, so it might be doable even if your parents don’t want you going to a music school only.

16

Just as a point of reference Bard Conservatory offers many full tuition scholarships for five years, and now, even some full rides. Some of the Bard scholarships are fully merit based, but a number of them do take financial need into account.

17

Thank you! I will look more to the financial aid and scholarships and apply to the ones I really want