<p>Does anyone know how hard it is to get into Stanford through a live audition? How many violin students do they usually accept per year? Thanks!</p>
<p>At Stanford, you do not apply to the music school, but just to the university. You must meet all the usual Stanford qualifications, regardless of your intended major. They do not, for example, accept a certain number of a particular instrument. Your music can help you get in, but the audition does not hold the weight it does when applying to conservatories or music schools within a university.</p>
<p>I've heard though that if you stand out enough and the music professors want you in after they've heard your performance they can go directly to admissions and tell you to be let in.
If that's not true then:</p>
<p>How much of a factor is an outstanding performance then? Perhaps as influential as a top gpa, or SAT or considerably lower?</p>
<p>From what I was told--my younger son (the music major) applied there three years ago, but was waitlisted--if you have a great audition and the music department really likes you, they will send a recommendation to admissions. This can be an important factor in admissions, but I don't know exactly how it rates. You would still need to have a top gpa and good SAT scores, but the recommendation would also be important.</p>
<p>The way Stanford differs from many universities is that you are not admitted by major. Someone who applies intending to major in music is not required to do so, but could switch to any area of the university. (For example, my older son applied to Stanford intending to major in engineering, but ended up with a degree in Japanese.) Thus Stanford feels applicants must be qualified for the university in general, not just for one part of it. However, an outstanding audition would certainly be a help in admissions.</p>
<p>thanks for your help, i have another question:</p>
<p>cornell doesn't have live auditions, but you can send in a CD. do you know whether a good CD would be able to ofset a alright gpa 4.5 (rank 23 out of 470). Like whether I'd have a better chance getting into Cornell ED (acceptance rate 48%) using a CD or a live audition stanford (early acceptance 18%). </p>
<p>sat: 2200 sat2s 800,770,750 </p>
<p>a lot of ECs in music, speaking/debating/, and leadership</p>
<p>You may want to pose that question under a new thread. I personally have no experience with Cornell, so I can't help there. Sorry.</p>
<p>One of my co-worker's son who was an accomplished bassoonist, which is one of the more rare and in-demand instruments, did not get enough "push" from his audition to get into Cornell. His GPA & class rank were similar to yours, but his ACTs was a little less strong than your SAT scores...</p>
<p>That's all I know.</p>