<p>Back from a grueling audition week. More on that later. Please let me know what you think of this: Two days after my S auditioned on grad violin at one of his prospective schools, he received an email from one of the violin faculty members there letting him know he'd been accepted into her studio, and was being recommended for the maximum scholarship available. The note was very complimentary about his playing, but the faculty member was not the person S requested to study with. What does one make of this? This is not his first choice school, but it's a respected school, and the teacher he requested is a pretty well-known performer and teacher. It's confusing!</p>
<p>That’s great news! Congrats! It means that for whatever reason the teacher he listed as first choice can’t or doesn’t want to take him (probably there is no room in the studio.) But another teacher really liked his work and wants him enough to recommend him for the best scholarship. </p>
<p>EDIT: Ugh…didn’t see glassharmonica’s post (distracted while putting it together, and no refresh to see replies). In the interests of not repeating previous posts almost (if by accident) verbatim…I’m removing mine except to say congratulations! </p>
<p>Such GOOD news, onekidmama! Remember when we were worrying about our kids just getting their pre-screening videos done, and now here we have an acceptance! Congrats to you and your S! News like this, even when taking an unexpected turn, is all good–sometimes when our Plan A does not work out, the alternate plan will be just fine. At this stage of the game in graduate admissions when just getting accepted is so competitive, having this news, and this early, needs to be viewed as a real gift. Many grad students (my S included) are just fervently hoping for even just one acceptance somewhere, so that they can continue their musical journey to the next level. Even if it is not the top choice school or the top choice teacher, all it takes is one acceptance somewhere–and now you have it. And, with scholarship money! Sounds like beautiful news to me–and you still have several other schools to hear from, so there is light at the end of the tunnel!</p>
<p>I’m glad you all think it’s good news, but he took it differently. He applied to this school for the specific teacher, although the one that wants him is no slouch. But he would not have applied there if not for this particular teacher. Still, it’s something. The way he looked at it was, “Well, that’s not a good sign.” And I suppose it’s not, right? Which led me to seek your opinions. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>This exact thing happened to my D when she auditioned for grad school. She had not requested the specific teacher who contacted her(teacher #2), so her immediate response was to call the teacher who she had initially requested (teacher #1). In fact D had had a lesson months earlier with both #1 and #2 and after that decided to only requested teacher #1on her application … It ended up that teacher #1 wanted her as well, but had not “jumped the gun” and contacted her immediately. Teacher #1 confirmed that she was also accepting her into her studio with the maximum amount of money. Though I thought that it was thrilling , D felt it was extremely awkward. She chose another school, but I do not think that this particular sequence of events played into the choice. </p>
<p>Oh, that’s too bad that he took it as less-than-happy news. I can see your point–he probably views it as a ‘rejection’ in a way by that teacher. But, that teacher might not even have any choice in the matter–it could be political, it could be about numbers–we just never know how these decisions are made. You said it wasn’t his first choice school, though, so there might be other possibilities coming up. At least he has one acceptance in his pocket that can be a pretty decent Plan B if nothing else work out–even though at the present moment it might be what he had hoped for. Hoping for all the best for you and you S–hang in there, onekidmama!</p>
<p>Listen to glassharmonica and Clarimom here. Studios can be full even though a teacher had anticipated openings a few months ago.Students who may have been planning to leave-such as going elsewhere to grad school- and decided to remain, or there were internal transfers from other studios who may have priority because of school policy. It sounds like the teacher he heard from really would like to have him in her studio, so that’s definitely something to consider.</p>
<p>Yes, but he told S he had 13 openings! Which doesn’t make sense, does it? Wouldn’t that be an entire studio? Perhaps he meant between the three violin faculty members, or perhaps my S misheard. He did say he was cutting back his studio, but S is sure he said there were 13 slots to fill, which is one of the reasons he was puzzled and disappointed that he wasn’t chosen for this teacher’s studio. I do think he could find himself very well-placed with this other teacher, though, even though she’s not the big name he is. He had a lesson/consultation with the teacher he was seeking, and this person spent more than an hour with him. I also thought it was odd to get the email just 2 days after the audition, from a teacher he’d not requested, telling him he’d been accepted into her studio. Again, she is also well-regarded, so this could be fine. He hasn’t heard yet from the other schools.</p>
<p>The reason he got the email 2 days after the audition is because that teacher really liked him. What is so odd about that!</p>
<p>If your son wants to know what is going on, call the preferred teacher. Very simple. “Teacher A, I had requested you are my faculty mentor, but teacher B sent me the invitation. It was a very gracious offer, but I was just curious as to how these things are decided”</p>
<p>I have to tell you, the attitude is very ungrateful.</p>
<p>The more I think about this, the more I think it would be a good idea to contact the preferred teacher–just to make sure there wasn’t some kind of miscommunication. Maybe he was saying there are 13 spots overall, but he was cutting back his studio, just to imply to your son that there might not be space in his? I just think it would at least answer the questions in your mind if he politely asks–especially since he had a lesson with him and not with the second teacher. Just a thought.</p>
<p>geo113 – I am sorry I sounded ungrateful. I am not at all ungrateful, and my S is not either. There’s more to the situation than I can share on this public thread, so it was a mistake to post about it at all. My confusion would make sense to everyone if I could share. Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>I don’t think your son sounds ungrateful. By the time a student reaches the grad school level, they should be pretty focused on what they need out of a program. Your son is focused on a particular sort of teacher. Nothing wrong with that. I think he is being smart.</p>
<p>My daughter also selected her school based on one particular teacher. Had she been put into a different studio she would have gone elsewhere. Recently her teacher almost took a position at another conservatory–she would have gone with him to that school. Particularly for grad school, your son is right to be focused on a teacher he wants to study with. He should try to get his questions answered. On the other hand, it’s great news to have an acceptance with scholarship money. It gives you leverage.</p>
<p>To play devil’s advocate: when my daughter auditioned for undergrad, at one school (where woodwinds’ daughter goes, actually) she auditioned for the studio of a teacher who takes 1 undergrad/year. The acceptance letter said she was wait-listed for teacher 1’s studio and made no mention of any other teacher, but the next day she got an email from another teacher who was accepting her into her studio. She had never heard of this teacher, although research showed the teacher is well-respected. So she went for a lesson and felt that she really clicked with teacher #2. She did not end up at that school for other reasons, but it was a bit of serendipity to hear from teacher #2, as she could see it would have been a good fit even if she did not make it into teacher #1’s studio. So the moral of my tale is maybe your son should check out the other teacher, who clearly wants him in the studio. </p>
<p>Even as a newbie I know it’s all about the teacher. Now that the acceptances have started coming in, my daughter needs to schedule lessons with the teachers to see if they click. That of course will be one of the deciding factors in choosing what school she ends up going to. I imagine that by grad school that process has to be even more intensified.</p>
<p>I actually don’t believe that it’s all about the teacher. The teacher is extremely important, but teachers move on to new positions (and sometimes you can’t go with them, or would not want to change schools.) And teachers get sick, retire, or die. And sometimes the teacher you thought was perfect turns out not to be. For all of these reasons, consider the school itself carefully.</p>
<p>I agree with Glassharmonica. Fortunately, we were looking into music ed schools with performance secondary when son was choosing schools. So we went with a strong music ed and cheaper state school. However, there were 2 teachers that at private schools that son loved and would have loved working with. He heard from some friends that one of the teachers was badly hurt and was out on disability and at the other school, the teacher left. So as GH said be sure that you like the school and if something happens to your preferred instructor will there be another studio that could work or will the school be able to attract another teacher of equal or better stature?</p>
<p>I’m also thinking about that teacher described in another thread who gave a poor grade to a student which put her on probation at the conservatory and is causing so much anxiety and stress. These are the types of things you can’t discern from a sample lesson–and no matter how great the teacher’s reputation is and how ‘perfect’ they might seem at first meeting, you just never know. </p>