<p>I was suprised to find out recently that some schools pick your voice teacher AFTER you send in your deposit so you are basically going to the school blind. They apparently feel that the teachers all use the same basic philosophy but they know better which match is best. After hearing about how you need to pick the school by the teacher, not by the school reputation, I'm really uncomfortable with this concept. Do alot of colleges follow this philosophy?</p>
<p>It is not only a matter of the colleges feeling that they know which match is best, it also comes down to the mundanely practical matter of which teachers have the time to accept more students. A top teacher will always have more students trying to get into their studio than they can possibly take. Instead of losing an otherwise promising student who might not make the most popular teacher's roster, some schools will use this tactic to try to get that student in the door. The issue then becomes one of what is to be done in the month of April, between receiving the acceptance from such a school and mailing in your deposit.</p>
<p>The first thing to do is to contact the teacher in question and let them know that they are the most important reason that you have chosen their school. One of three things is then likely to happen. If the teacher is willing and able to do so, they should be the one most capable of getting you an early assignment to their studio.</p>
<p>If the teacher is willing to teach you but says there is nothing that they can do, then your next call is to the admissions department. During the month of April, their principal mission is to manage yield. This works best when managing yield means getting more bodies for next year's class, so a good time to call is right after the acceptances have gone out. If they are getting turned down more than expected, just before deposits are due is the best time of all.</p>
<p>If the teacher says that their studio is full and they seem unwilling to help, at least you will not be operating under any false assumptions when choosing among your acceptances.</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly with BassDad. That is unreasonable to expect you to make a commitment without knowing the studio teacher. Be adamant about it.</p>
<p>BassDad ~ you are an amazing wealth of information!!! THANKS!!</p>
<p>My son was accepted to the school he is currently attending without a studio assignment. The teacher he most wanted to study with was at that school. If he could not study with that teacher, he wanted to look at some of his other options. A phone call was made to the teacher. The teacher was not available and son left a message. When the teacher called back, son was not home so teacher talked to me. I very tactfully made it clear that we would not make a deposit until we knew his studio assignment. If this teacher was not going to accept him, then we needed to know that. Teacher said he would have to "get his ducks in a row" and would call us back in a couple of days. He called son the next evening to welcome him into the studio. </p>
<p>This teacher is the most sought after one on his instrument in the school. Most students auditioning request him. So what Bass Dad says is right. They are hoping that students will be excited enough about getting into a top conservatory that they will take who they get. But it is certainly worth calling and seeing what happens. They will not resind the admission and if you have some other choices at other schools, you need to have the cards on the table.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your experiences shennie...I feel much better about my D's choices for next year knowing you have options like that!</p>