<p>For that strong academic but not Ivy material, it would be wiser to work on a strong audition( even the Ivy type). Son has a good friend who graduated #2 in her class of 1000 with 42 AP credits and she found that as a music major she still is graduating in 4 years. She was offered nice academic scholarships as well as music scholarships. However, son only had 11 AP credits and was not in the top 1% and he received a little bit more in scholarship money from their school. It’s a balancing act. Obviously good academics will not hurt but strong musicianship is important… </p>
<p>As others say, it all depends on the school. In most cases I have heard of, they do give wiggle room to students with their academics if they are applying for a BM degree in a music school in a larger university, that even at places like U Michigan and Northwestern they will look at a performance student differently than one applying academically, because they understand that music students have committments to practice and such that academic students don’t necessarily have. It doesn’t mean if you are a music major and have a 3.0 GPA it won’t matter, simply saying that being at the top of your class, 2200+ SAT’s, X AP’s, etc, will mean less with a music student in terms of admission to the academic side. On the other hand, being strong academically might get you academic scholarship money you otherwise wouldn’t get.</p>
<p>However, keep in mind that you don’t get into the school of music unless you audition well, I have heard drivel from people (not on here), how if your kid has a 4.0, 2200+ SAT’s, etc, etc, that the music school will admit you…In some cases, it was just someone bloviating, in others, I suspect they were confusing a BA student with a BM, with a BM, you don’t audition well, unless they otherwise would admit you (for example, they think it was nerves, they saw the student play other times and knew they were better), perfect academic stats will not get you into the music school, period, as a performance student. There is no magic, but if you really want to do performance, having great academics won’t get you into the music school, so I would recommend leaning towards the practice and work towards the audition; if you aren’t top X % of your school, if you have only relatively few AP classes, it might cost you on the academic merit awards a bit, but if by doing that it allows you to have a solid audition, and get in, that should be the goal, because getting a stronger academic award and letting your skills not develop further may leave you admitted academically, and not in the music school:). It is why it is so, so important to know where you are with your audition rep at all times, having a teacher who understands the levels required, so you have feedback into where you may need to adjust your academic load (or not). </p>
<p>Hi @compmom. I would like to dispel the notion that conservatories like NEC “don’t care much about academics.” Yes, our process relies heavily on audition/portfolio review results, but we always end up with tiers of applicants with identical audition/portfolio review scores. The way we can start to separate them includes a review of transcripts, recommendations, and the essay. As our applicant pool grows ever more competitive, academic preparedness continues to become more important in our decisions.</p>
<p>@pohsmom My advice is to allow your daughter to pursue what she is passionate about. But, life is a balancing act, and she should also understand that any drop in grades on a transcript can be an enormous “red flag” to admissions officers. Most importantly, don’t make too many decisions based on what may or may not impress a college admissions officer!</p>
<p>Alex Powell
Assistant Dean for Admissions, NEC</p>
<p>I’ve got to agree with NECadmissions on this one. Yes, an great audition is important for performance majors, but as others have heard me say many times over the years. grades and test scores can/are used to differentiate between two relatively equal candidates. This can be even more important for VP majors, since they don’t have the years of training and ensemble experience, and their college degree course work will include 3 languages and extensive diction classes.
Some APs and dual credit classes- assuming scores of 4-5 and A’s, can be used to fulfill gen ed requirements but the most a conservatory will allow for AP Music Theory is to test up a level or so.</p>
<p>Put it this way: great scores and top grades won’t get you into a conservatory. But terrible scores and rotten grades could certainly keep you out. I know students with the SATs of a potato who got into top conservatories (because they were phenomenal players.) But I wouldn’t advise that as a strategy. On the other hand, you don’t need to get sucked into the uber-competitive rat-race towards the Ivies unless you are actually applying to Ivies. Make time for practicing and also for good old-fashioned rest and reflection. You’ll be a better musician for it.</p>
<p>Wise words, @glassharmonica!</p>
<p>Alex</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. The information is what I had expected and now feel validated. The advice I am giving my daughter is do your best at school but not at the expense of her music. She is taking time for composing and practicing and trying her hardest to keep up her grades. If she loses out on merit money but still has a chance at getting in to a competitive program we will work it out. If getting a “B” in a subject or two keeps her out of a program, it was probably not the right program for her in the first place. I am a true believer that these artistic students end up where they really belong. </p>