<p>Okay. What do we need to consider? The school reputation, studio, alumni, child’s preference? One of the schools my daughter loved I dislike because there are doesn’t seem as if there are enough people in the voice department. If she did not like the studio she started in there doesn’t seem to be many options. There ought to be a chart for this. lol And how do you know what kind of teaching skills a particular teacher has? How do I get that information? I mean a lesson is not going to say all that much.</p>
<p>It’s always a tough call with so many variables to weigh: the school, the campus, the department, the teacher, etc., etc. You know what though? I think in the end any number of teachers would be a fine choice–even if a teacher might not have the most ideal personality or teaching style for a particular student, there is still much to be learned. (There is no ‘perfect’ teacher in my book). Like I told my son, I have gone through a number of instructors, each having something different to offer me–maybe some things I liked and some things not so much, but still I learned something. You take what you can from each instructor, in the end sorting through it all and finding your own personal voice when all is said and done and you’re out in the professional world after graduation. Same goes for the schools: I think anyone could be perfectly happy at a number of different schools. Once you get settled in, make friends, get involved–many, many schools will be fine choices and will feel likely exactly the ‘right fit’ once you become a student there. </p>
<p>So if you do your homework and come up with a number of teachers that have good reputations in the field (talk to your current teacher, have a sample lesson, and even talk to other students of that teacher if you can), a number of schools with strong music departments, good ensembles, a nice campus (check out residence halls, food services, extracurricular activities, campus life, facilities, etc.) I think you’ve done all you can. Then you wait to see where you are accepted and what kind of financial package is offered. My son was fortunate to have a number of nice undergraduate acceptances–and I think he would have been perfectly happy no matter which one he had chosen. That said, OP’s son is a graduate student–I think at this level the campus is less of a factor, and the teacher becomes more of one in some ways, as does the quality of the ensembles. My son used these two factors to decide on all of the graduate schools he applied to this time around. But, again, he would be happy at any one of them, should he be so fortunate as to be accepted.</p>
<p>For my D, sitting in on a studio class gives her a lot of insight into the teacher, the general atmosphere of the school, performance level of her peers etc. </p>
<p>Excellent idea, stradmom.</p>
<p>I agree with Clarimom-- and I think her advice is true for anyone with a kid trying to pick a college (or a life partner, or a job, or, or…) It’s not that there is one true love/true teacher out there, but rather that there are many paths one might follow. I’ve seen kids become overwrought because they believed, in a fatalistic way, that there was on Right Path, and they had to find it. No-- you could be happy (or unhappy) in a number of places. Clarimom is also right saying to wait to see how it falls with financial aid. </p>
<p>Stradmom’s idea of sitting in on a studio class is excellent. If your daughter visits her accepted schools and can manage to attend studio classes, she will have much more information to use than if she only has one-on-ones with prospective teachers. </p>
<p>There are other things to consider in grad school. And for the most part it depends what that particular student wants out of the experience. Some students need work in a particular area, some students (voice for example) are ready to go and just need stage time. In the later example you want to find out particulars that are irrelevent to the undergrad----does that particular teacher tend to find their students work, is that teacher well connected with the music world at large, does that teacher work well with other faculty members . It’s probably only going to be a two year program, so you want to get it right that first year of grad school.</p>
<p>Observing studio class is valuable, but so is sitting in on lessons. Students taking pedagogy classes have to sit in on different lessons- vocal and instrumental- and write evaluations of teaching styles, so I’d ask if that was a possibility when making final decisions.
Glassharmonica’s words are wise; there are other things in addition to the teacher to be considered when selecting a school. Look at the overall program to see the level of the students and the quality of the ensembles. Are there adequate and appropriate performance opportunities? Will the entire 4 year curriculum prepare you for graduate school or will there be things that you’ll have to take in the first year of continuing study? Even if there are plenty of teachers in your particular area, what is the policy for changing studios should it be necessary? Something that is difficult and maybe impossible to determine before enrollment is the collegiality among teachers in a department but that can make or break a learning experience.
My D’s teacher elected to quit teaching and announced that to her horrified studio in October of D’s junior year. As a group, they asked the administration to have input into the hiring of a replacement which turned out to take the form of using the juniors in the studio as guinea pigs in lessons with the potential teachers in front of the department and admin. The rising seniors remained because they had no option but three in the class below them left (2 for study abroad and one transferred to another conservatory) while 2 in the next class down elected to get out of music altogether because they couldn’t deal with the “uncertainties”.
As luck would have it, my D knew the professor who was hired but with pre-screenings and applications due during the first semester of her senior year, she compiled her list of schools, chose her own rep and it was her own drive and organizational abilities that carried her through auditions and acceptance into graduate school.
An instrumental teacher also left that year but because he did some team teaching and his students worked with others in orchestral rep class, his seniors made lateral shifts, as did some of the underclassmen, while others followed him to his new school.
Bottom line is that you just never know what is going to happen, so you do your research, make your choice and do your best.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys. Every kid new to this should read this valuable information. (And their parents!) </p>
<p>Not to pile too much on, but you might want to think about who covers lessons when the teacher is away on tour or ill. In my daughter’s program the TAs are generally not grad students–they are professor-worthy assistants. But sometimes even they have subs. You can be in a professor’s studio but have a substantial number of lessons with a TA. So, another thing to think about!</p>
<p>As others have said “It is the teacher” is a simplification of something that is a combination of factors. The teacher is extremely important, of course, a primary instrument or vocal teacher is more like an apprenticeship, and because of that ‘clicking’ between the teacher and student is pretty important. That said, teachers and students ‘click’ in different ways, it is why most performers have had more than 1 teacher, one teacher’s approach brings certain things, another brings another.</p>
<p>There are certain things that are overblown with performance, a schools name means very little once you go out the door, but on the other hand a school can provide a network of opportunities. Juilliard (to pick one of the more well known programs, this applies to a number of them) is not the be all and end all in music , as no school is, but for example it does provide a lot of networking opportunities, being in NYC and also having teachers and such with connections (same would apply to a lot of schools, again, Juilliard is an example here). </p>
<p>Likewise, the level of fellow students can be very, very important. You can be in a school with a fantastic reputation where the faculty on the instrument you are on may not be that great, you can be at a school where because of a teacher, the studio gets tip top applicants, but other teachers on the faculty, for whatever reasons, don’t draw top students, so if you got into one of the other studios you may not be ‘pushed’ forward as much. Likewise, if you choose to go to a program because they offer a full ride, but the teacher is not necessarily that good, it could hurt you…or even with a great teacher, in a program where the level of the rest of the students is not that competitive, you could find ensemble play frustrating. </p>
<p>A key factor when thinking about a program with 1 or 2 teachers is what happens if it doesn’t work out, or if the teacher you like leaves? My S turned down an offer that was financially attractive <em>sob</em>, because the school in question had only a couple of teachers, and one of them was new and unproven (which was the studio he got into). He liked the guy, but was afraid that the school and the teacher had limitations that made it less attractive, so he ended up not going there <em>bigger sob</em>. </p>
<p>And yes, where you are located matters, depending on what you are in and plan on doing. It is a lot easier for example if you go to school in an area with a big music scene, if you want opportunities to do gigs and outreach and such, which may not be available at another school. </p>
<p>In the end, though, there is no science to all this, there is no magic formula. The school with the attractive campus near a beach might look idyllic, but might not be anywhere the level you need, and the school in a great area for gigs might not be so great on your instrument, and what it boils down to is looking at all the factors, weight them (with teacher weighing heavily), and see what you gut comes up with, and then apply limitations, like, for example, financial. So if your gut says school A might be better for you than school B (I am talking degrees, not leagues of difference), but B means you won’t have 100k in loans and your parents in the poorhouse, B would probably be better.</p>
<p>The one thing to keep in mind is it is rare that if a student has prepared to get into a good music school, that they would be immensely harmed by making ‘the wrong choice’, and that there are always ways to work around mistakes. I have plenty of examples, personal or otherwise, where someone questioned their choices in retrospect, yet even if they feel that choice turned out not to be the best one, they still did okay, and I think in the end that a lot of what goes into the making of a musician is being able to navigate the murky waters, and if you find yourself in a not great situation, learning to navigate out of it. There is an old aphorism, it is a foolish sailor who deliberately sails into the teeth of a gale, it is a poor sailor who cannot handle a gale that comes up later:).</p>
<p>I was considering posting you guy’s responses in a seperate thread because they are so good and important. So I searched to see if anything like that exists already and found a 2010 thread by violadad with links to a bunch of other threads with answers to various questions one might have after the acceptances have been aquired. I really hope people will be able to find this information because I am sure I am not the only one in need of guidance. So I’m gonna start directing folks to this thread. Never even considered the TA thing Glassharmonica. I’m just so afraid of making a bad decision. I just want the best experience for her that I can afford. And I don’t want to waste my money or four or more years of her life. </p>
<p>Funny story: My daughter’s best friend who is going to be a musical theatre major said to my daughter that if she chose a school in the same city as her then they could get an apartment. And my daughter is excited telling me this and I’m like, NOOOOO! that is not one of the factors we need to consider! :"> </p>
<p>So eloqent musicprnt. Thank you.</p>
<p>Agreed! The info on this thread is so valuable for us as we navigate this process. Just remember: Having choices is always a good thing! Hopefully all of our kiddos will have at least 2 or 3 schools to choose from after the acceptances come in 
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