Since Hindsight is 20/20, What Would You Have Done Differently?

<p>I'm basing my hindsight on the results: Son only applied to schools where we had visited and liked a professor; result of 2 rejections, 2 waitlists and one full-out acceptance was very very difficult. I can think of two more schools that he probably would have gotten into, (of course, we thought he'd get into more of the ones he actually applied to...) so he'd have had more choice. Also, we never got numbers on how many openings there were for his instrument. If we had known, he definitely would have added another couple of schools. And we really had fun doing the auditions!</p>

<p>I feel like regretting choices is a very dangerous thing! But, passing along advice to others getting ready for the process of applying to music schools is positive. I slightly regret not being firmer with my son about applying to UMich for Jazz Studies. The glitch was that they did not have permanent guitar faculty for some odd reason. We could have explored what it would be like to be a jazz guitar major there, and perhaps it would have been fine.</p>

<p>But, we'll never know that and it's really okay because he got into one of his two "dream" schools. Looking back, we were all thinking he would not get into this school after the audition because he felt it was one of his weakest. So, my advice would be to give the audtions your all, but it's not over til it's over! The admission process in music is sometimes mysterious.</p>

<p>I really hope that our experiences will inform others. It's frustrating to have twins and realize that I can't really 'learn' from our experience...but maybe we can help others by sharing our story and what we think we might have done better. Not that our outcome is a sad one by any means; I think D is in the right place.</p>

<p>Operahorn: I know next to nothing about strings, but I believe that your daughter will love (or come to love) Ithaca. We have known a few kids (both music and other majors) who have loved their time there, and Ithaca is a great town. Everyone seemed welcoming and friendly when D went for (voice) auditions. The (or one of the) orchestra(s) played on our audition day, I thought they sounded great!</p>

<p>What we should have done different was to audition at more schools.
My S only wanted to apply at schools with music business programs and performance which proved difficult to find. We should have looked towards schools that provided for a double major of performance and business. </p>

<p>Luckily his first choice came through and no they don't have music business.</p>

<p>My S applied to traditional conservatories plus the state school he will be attending. He dropped a couple of applications in part due to school constraints and in part because he decided he wouldn't go even if accepted.
What I would have done differently:
1. Add a couple of schools to the list that are "up and coming" conservatories
2. Past the pre-screening phase, I would have asked the conservatories how many applicants they were going to hear and how many openings they were trying to fill. It was a particularly competitive year for cellists.
3. I would have dropped any names from the list that didn't have much of a local music scene generating performance opportunities.</p>

<p>Wel:
Yup.
I wonder if Oberlin accepted ANY cellos this year. Rumor has it that Eastman had 3 openings; we also heard that the teacher my son requested at Peabody took 3 "advanced students" (not freshmen). Had we known how few spots there were, he would have auditioned at a couple more schools.</p>

<p>Eastman had an enrollment target of 3-5 cellos. Something like 95 cellists made it past the pre-screen. </p>

<p>Demographics obviously comes into play. It is also possible that turnover at CIM had an impact when students were developing audition plans.</p>

<p>Son probably should have applied to CIM, but didn't because CIM seemed to have lost several cello faculty.</p>

<p>Thanks, Violadad, for resurrecting this. 2009-ers, would you add to this?</p>

<p>As crazy as it sounds, I wish S2 had applied to a couple more conservatories, and that I hadn’t listened to “I will NEVER be accepted at X.” I also wish I had convinced him to apply to a TRUE safety–in the form of a LA college with a decent, small jazz program–that was an ace-in-the-hole if he wasn’t accepted to any conservatories. We spent waaay too much time worried–truly–if he would be accepted anywhere other than the state school he refused to attend. LOVE THY SAFETY.</p>

<p>The only thing I can think of that we would have done differently, given the chance to do it all again - and I’m sure it’s been said before on the previous 5 pages -</p>

<p>I wish we had started visiting colleges sooner - the summer between sophomore and junior years to start, and then sporadically throughout the junior year. That would leave more time to really focus in on the favorites during the summer prior to senior year, and less time away from school during the senior year. As it is, with all the auditions, these kids miss a LOT of school!</p>

<p>I wouldn’t have limited myself so much geographically. I refused to apply to any schools in the South or in hot areas…because of this, I could have missed out on a lot of great schools. I was lucky though and was accepted into one of my top choice conservatories, so this didn’t matter in the long run.</p>

<p>I would have thought about teacher selection more carefully. I did not have the luxury of taking many sample lessons before my auditions. So, on the teacher preference forms, I was basically just basing my selections off of bios I’d read on the internet. Later, when I did more research on here, the new forum for classical singers, and even ratemyprofessors.com, I realized that I’d definitely made a few errors. By the time you receive an acceptance with your studio assignment, it’s often too late to make changes. Do your research.</p>

<p>Lastly (and most importantly): I would have realized earlier that this process is COMPLETELY out of my control. There is no way to predict anything. Getting into one amazing school does not mean you will automatically get into all the lesser ones. It’s a crap shoot. Looking back on my acceptances and rejections, it all looks completely bizarre. I got into one school I never thought would take me. I got rejected from my BIGGEST safety.</p>

<p>I did, however, do a few things right that many of my peers did not. One, I performed music I felt COMPLETELY comfortable with. Words cannot describe how important this is. In an audition atmosphere, the last thing you need to be worrying about is whether or not you will remember your pieces. Aside from memory, you can rely on the fact that pieces you’re this comfortable with will sound good even when you’re nervous.</p>

<p>Vocalists, avoid pieces that don’t sound good in your voice 100% of the time. Showy arias may sound good in the practice room, but once the nerves kick in, they could sabotage you. Sing music you’re COMFORTABLE with. I used all art songs, and one of them was Caro Mio Ben. You can’t get any more overdone and cliche than that. I did just fine. It wasn’t about my selections, but how I sang my selections.</p>

<p>APPLY TO SAFETIES! I have a friend who only applied to Boston Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory and Curtis. Did he get in anywhere? No. If you can get any of these safeties out of the way early, it will be a HUGE relief. I got my first acceptance in December and it made the whole audition process about 10 times easier.</p>

<p>If any current HS juniors (or even freshman and sophomores) have ANY more questions, feel free to contact me! I’ve been through a lot this year and I have a lot of information to share. :)</p>

<p>I can’t remember if I said this before, but even if I did, it is important enough to reiterate. My son was hitting a wall in the spring of junior year. We could tell, but the teacher was either unaware or not admitting it - she blamed it on his shortcomings and recomended a switch to viola. He needed a new teacher. He ended up with a new teacher finally in September of Senior year of high school which luckily did not have the disastrous consequences it might have, but it made for a far more stressful audition year. His progress has been smoothe and confident ever since. If you feel it’s not working in Junior year, don’t hesitate - change teachers ASAP!</p>

<p>I would have made sure we understood majors and programs before visiting schools–failing to do that meant that we visited some schools that weren’t a good match, and we could have known that with a bit more research.</p>

<p>Jolene100 - did you decide where you’re going? I saw you on the list of acceptances, but not final decisions. I’m trying to figure out how to apply your advice on teacher selection because it makes such huge sense. Since we’re just starting the looking/visiting process, I’m trying to figure out who to email, etc.</p>

<p>stringfollies already presented one of my regrets; not changing private teachers soon enough. We’d all started seeing signs of a slowdown in forward progress in my D’s sophomore year. She was in a major rut by the time she was a junior. We made the switch about midway through last year and it made all the difference.</p>

<p>My kid would tell you that her biggest regret was taking A.P. Music Theory as a sophomore. She did it mostly because she could but, after not reviewing the material as well as she should have, she didn’t do as well on Eastman’s audition day theory test as she would have preferred. She said there were some things that she just couldn’t remember. She now has to take an online summer class and it may have cost her some scholarship bucks.</p>

<p>One thing to keep in mind is that things change between spring of Sophomore year and Fall of Senior Year. We looked at several schools early Junior year when my son thought he would study Music Business. He totally loved one of them. Well, his level of playing jumped up several levels and after participating in a few summer programs he decided to apply for music performance. His list completely changed and so did his target schools. He did not even apply to those early visit schools. It is is good to look at schools and educate yourself in the process early, but keep an open mind and research all the different opportunities that are out there. Schools that were on the top of S’s list a year ago are either off or on the bottom now. Things really can change with time.</p>

<p>I am so glad I pushed a certain school for my S to investigate. He was very resistant but parents know their children. I think he is going to end up at this school.</p>

<p>He did not want a small LAC atmosphere but I think that was a mistake, it ruled out some really great programs and opportunities, especially in the mid west which he totally would not consider. Coming from the cocoon of the Northeast it is hard to imagine anything beyond NY or below Baltimore. We now live in the south and that was the last place he wanted.</p>

<p>We did have several safety schools but were totally surprised when he did not get any Music Scholarship money from one of them. Keep in mind that nothing is a sure thing. </p>

<p>The process of applying to Music School is daunting and virtually impossible for a 17 year old to manage themselves. Be a good “manager”. They will appreciate your assistance with the little details in the long run. I have seen several talented kids who did not get in to schools because they were missing vital information that was right in the instructions.</p>

<p>I second slovesviola’s recommendation that parents “manage” this process. Son had a very aggressive hs guidance counsellor (private school) who was all about the kids doing their applications on their own - she was obviously completely unversed on music school apps. After making the mistake of an early showdown with her, I got around her by giving my son the things/decisions/forms that needed to be gotten by her and staying completely hidden behind him. Don’t be intimidated by aggressive guidance counsellors (unless your kid goes to a music academy of course) - they really don’t know. Your kid will need all the help he/she can get in this maze of a process. I am constantly in awe of the occasional child who manages the whole thing alone.</p>

<p>stringfollies brings up an excellent point, and beyond that do not rely or expect any informed suggestions, an understanding of the academics/auditions parameters, the need NOT to necessarily have AP’s, the importance of applied faculty to be within the realm of a hs guidance counselor’s knowledge.</p>

<p>If you get any discipline specific help, you will be among the few.</p>

<p>I agree totally with the last few posts. The father of an athlete told me at the beginning of the whole college search process - you MUST be your kid’s manager. He stressed all of the following to me: Other kids who are not applying as athletes or musicians might not need a manager, but your kid will. The wisdom you hear about leaving the process in the student’s lap, because it’s their responsibility, is false. The negative vibes you may occasionally get because of your involvement as their manager must be ignored, he said. Your job is to manage his “career” at this point. He’s 17 years old. He cannot manage all of this on his own, not only because of his time constraints, but also because he will be “negotiating” with adults who are experts in getting the best students for the least amount of money. He may not know how to get the best deal without your advice. These early decisions, like where he’ll go to college and who he’ll work with are all too big and too important to leave in his lap.</p>

<p>As I said, he was the parent of a star athlete. But it does seem like his wisdom applies - except, maybe, with regards to the money – because the audition process is different for musicians and schools give their own X amount for Y talent, almost period. Still, some people on CC have said that the student should handle financial aid appeals. I have followed this friend’s advice instead, and I handled most of my son’s appeals myself, each time with success and without any sense from the schools that I was out of line as the one doing the asking. It IS my money, after all, not his.</p>

<p>I am so glad I listened to this fellow. Throughout the rest of my kids’ high school lives, their school work and their music lessons and practice obligations are THEIR responsibilities. I think they have benefited by this approach. It’s their baby, not mine. BUT this process is way too much for a 17 year old to manage alone while attending high school and continuing his music education. There were just a few instances during college visits where I felt like maybe I was being viewed as too involved - but I focused on this guy’s advice instead and remained my son’s manager.</p>

<p>Now that it’s all over but the final decision, it’s all back in his lap!</p>