<p>Provenance has always been a big deal for musicians -- there is much prestige in having been a student of Rubenstein, DeLay, Fleisher, etc. And reputations of schools depend heavily on who the faculty is at a particular time (this explains Vieuxtemps saying that Curtis is not "what it was," and Colburn can jump to the top of the heap overnight). But for the particular student, being at a place where he/she can thrive and grow as a musician is also essential -- and for some, a conservatory-only setting can be stifling, for others a dream come true.</p>
<p>The vocal world is certainly different. Many of the the best known teachers were not necessarily the most successful performers and often went to what are considered lesser schools or even schools not known for music. When I started researching teachers, I thought that I could get some guidance from their credentials, but I quickly found that credentials were of very little help in judging teaching ability.</p>
<p>On the original topic: NYU is so infuriating!! They have all over their site that admissions decisions will be mailed April 1st, no sooner. Now we find out that some accepted students have gotten postcards "unofficially" accepting them and inviting them to accepted student events in March and April!!! You can imagine how this adds to the daily mail stress. Good news is we have not heard of anyone who had to audition or submit a portfolio through Steinhardt hearing yet and also on the NYU site it states these postcards will be mailed sporadically up until April 1st. This is really maddening though!!</p>
<p>The first thing that matters instrument wise is the studio, and that's what determines a lot about the school and how you'll study. With violin people are totally crazy about teachers and getting the most famous one possible. There's really big benefits to studying in a famous, selective studio, but also there's problems. </p>
<p>The Colburn example proves this. A school that didn't even exist a few years ago now has one of the most competitive violin studios in the world because Mr. Lipsett is so famous now. So it's not so much about what school you go to but moreso the studio. There's teachers at juilliard that no one really cares about, and won't really do you many favors career wise. Just be careful that a teacher doesn't have a big reputation just because they're mean... that really doesn't help anybody.</p>
<p>I remember being so nervous about acceptances, even though the teacher said they'd take me after my audition. I don't remember when I got my letter but I kept it. My roomate is waiting for his Northwestern letter and he's pretty anxious.</p>
<p>String players require a good teacher and good peers for ensemble work. Singers require a good teacher and choral/opera directors who respect the sanctity of vocal health.</p>
<p>"They will not fall very far behind their contemporaries who go the conservatory route and do music full time."</p>
<p>Since you need to be a junior before you get a vocal coach in a conservatory setting (if at all), I will assume that you will be ahead of those on a conservatory path providing you have a great private voice teacher and a great vocal coach weekly combined with plenty of practice and performance opportunites. At least my DD sincerely hopes so :)</p>