Little known one called The Twelve Chairs.I think his second movie after the Producers.
@SpartanDrew , if I approach a school now or soon, it is going to be a school that he wants to go to and would very likely commit to if they can just come up with a bit more. I agree, if only from a leverage standpoint, that it would be better to wait until all results are in. But at the same time, I do not want this school to not consider him for other scholarships, under the assumption that he has been offered enough already.
@NYCMusicDad This only affects double reeds, and especially oboe reeds. It seems you need a thicker cane for a high altitude, and itās shaped differently. A reed that works at 5,400 ft (Boulder) wonāt work at 11,000 ft. so there are levels of high altitude reeds.
@oboemom65 Well thatās an indication of VERY high interest! Congrats on such a great weekend. As @dramasopranomom has said those warm and fuzzies from a professor can really win you over. Andā¦not everyone gets that experience and still gets acceptedā¦but it is reassuring when it happens.
I second doing the final audition in your circumstance (since you have the ticket and you are doing 4 not 8). My D ended up doing a paid gig with a teacher at a school (5 years later) were she originally auditioned. The teacher remembered her. Long story, but itās a small world so getting in front of more people and getting more experience is never a bad thingā¦unless you are in major audition fatigueā¦at some point it can be counter-productive.
@vistajay Hmmmā¦this is a little difficult. We always worked with the music school admissions people on money initially. You may want to check on the schoolās ability to āstackā academic and merit. Some schools do it. Some donāt. Before you write your ācaseā, you may want to call music admissions and get āthe lay of the landā on stacking. If you donāt like their response, you can always try the academic side and talk with them as well. You donāt need to bring up your sonās case in detailā¦just figure out what is possible at the school. They should be pretty factual and helpful. You can ask the appeal process. Knowledge is power and if you believe he deserves more āon paperā (based on stats) you should inquire.
I would suggest waiting a bit for the appeal to the teacher (unless you learn otherwise when calling)ā¦itās seems early to me to bring a teacher in IF they are still auditioning. Once all auditions are doneā¦it may be worth letting the teacher know that you are really interesting but need more money to commitā¦and see the response.
Hope this helps in some way.
One other thing I thought about @vistajay at the water coolerā¦you can contact the school for general questions on āhow does this money thing workā. For a contact to a teacher, it SHOULD be the student. You should tell them what to write but it should be them. In both UG and grad, my D (to her great discomfort in UG) sent a message to the teacher about her sincere interest to be in her studio and inquired about additional funding as it would help commit immediately (be sure thatās true!!). For UG, it was obviously a no (said in a nice way). She waited a bit and then committed regardless. For grad school, the response was more like āwhat would we need to do to put you in this car todayā. So then it is on your plate to give a response of the amt needed to commit NOW. IN GENERAL, if you need another $20,000 or $10,000 yearly, good luck negotiating that! I would say most negotiation will fall below that ā¦ a few thousand more a year. Thatās where having other offers can helpā¦you can simply see what others are offeringā¦think over your optionsā¦and make your case for dollars needed to commit. Remember you may commit without it tooā¦so it should be worded as high interest regardless. Again only do this where you really are willing to commit (no game playing)ā¦thatās why itās still a little early.
You can also get the answer that you have to wait to see if dollars free upā¦that does happen. My D did send her ānosā in pretty quickly (however schools do over-promise a bit based on yield - so one no, doesnāt mean money is immediately free). Still you can be left hanging to see if money frees upā¦with everyone doing their best to be honestā¦it just depends.
I would wait for all your acceptances and merit/ financial aid offers before you appeal for more money. And then compare offers from peer schools only. (Schools are not interested in offers from programs that are not considered their equal.)
I would definitely work with the music department and have them fight for you. Present the school you want to attend with academic, talent and financial aids offers and the bottom line cost of attendance for each school. You might have to give them a copy of this in writing. Different schools have different policies concerning this. And schools will obviously go to bat most for students they really want.
There was a snafu in awarding merit aid to my D at NYU. She was a VP major and the program director knew her from their summer program and really wanted her to attend. But there was a change in the requirement for the scholarship he was trying to award her and it was bounced by the financial aid office because she had no need. So we got her acceptance offer without any merit aidāwhich was not the program directorās intention.
Once I contacted him with the situation (he was unaware she wasnāt awarded this scholarship), he made an appeal on her behalf and fought for more scholarship money. (He had already given out all of the departmentās $.) We had to provide copies of her other offers and merit aid to him.
The process took about 2 weeks. And we had our answer (11K in talent money) by mid April.
One thing to considerāsome schools will have a cap on merit aid. The year my D got into Muhlenberg, her merit aid was capped at $20K. Even if the theatre or music department wanted to give her more money, the total couldnāt go above this number and her music scholarship was relatively low because she had already recād money for a special honors scholarship and had gotten money from the art department for a supplemental portfolio she had sent in before her music auditions.
Good luck!
@vistajay with a 3.9 and 35 ACT, I would certainly be looking for top merit aid. Especially if the school grants higher merit awards for those stats. Having a talent shouldnāt reduce the academic side of things. However, I would probably tread cautiously if the combined amounts offered are already reasonable. Good luck!
@bridgenail I donāt agree with you that financial aid negotiation should be done by a student. Yes, I was insistent that all OTHER contact was made by my daughters, but when it came to financial aid and merit aid, I think itās time for the parents to jump in there directly. We, as parents, are accountable for paying and filling out our financial informationātherefore schools do not hesitate to speak to parents about these matters and would never hold that against a student. However, that does change for grad school because students are applying for aid as adults and a parentās financial situation is not part of the equation.
I guess for UG I donāt disagree with you entirely. In my Dās case, I was ādirectingā it all. Iām sure schools are aware of that. I looked at it as a basic learning exercise. If it got gnarlyā¦I would have stepped in. I will say that my D has to negotiate contracts nowā¦and you have to start somewhereā¦so if itās a pretty basic question, I still think itās OK if a student does it. I wanted her to see the process of negotiation first hand. Also I work in financeā¦and am of the opinion that you better start them young on advocating for moneyā¦so a little background on my opinion. But for the big stuff and any āissuesā, yes, as a parent I would take over.
edit - and maybe an IMPORTANT point - I was not referring to financial aid! We did not qualifyā¦so I was simply trying to be sure no dollars were left on the tableā¦out of fear of asking. They wonāt rescind an offer for āplease sir may have a little moreā. I wanted to show my D itās OK to ask. HOWEVER if you are wrassling with a financial aid offerā¦that would be a parent.
Sometimes a teacher or head of the department will say āWe can try to get you more money if you need it in order to come here.ā
I am chuckling to myself because at several auditions my D was asked how she will make her decision. Since she is mostly applying to in-state colleges, we have not discussed music scholarship money and she never mentioned money. Just fit. But while at SDSU she met a student who was there on a full tuition scholarship. We. Had. No. Idea.
I have one D who is a 2nd year full pay at a pricey LAC. Since my VP D is mostly interested in state schools, I thought weād already won the tuition lottery. If any offer music scholarships in addition to our in-state tuition, I will be doing a happy dance.
I just want to say that Iām in awe of you all and your sons and daughters as I read your postsāyou guys are such troopers! When my son was auditioning at various schools as a freshman (as a guitarist who at least didnāt have to worry about the various things that can affect the voice!), we did some traveling, but most of it was relatively close to either me (in Florida then) or his father (in NJāclose in to NYC). It wasnāt nearly as grueling as what some of you are describing, and Iām not sure I would have held up as well as you all seem to do.
Iām hoping that your children all end up where they want to be and where they will be happiest, and productive, and successful. And YES on those post-trip/audition glasses of wine, whiskey, and/or copious amounts of ice cream, chocolate, or whatever does it for you. Spoil yourselves rotten! 
Well, the start of this big audition trip did NOT go as planned at all. We have had a whirlwind, stressful, anxiety-induced 24 hours but we are in Miami and decompressing in our super cute VRBO rental house. I am SO happy we are in a nice little house with all of the creature comforts of home versus a hotel room right now. D is currently power napping in her room that also happens to have a pretty cool guitar that the owners said she could use.
To start, I must have really overscheduled myself yesterday and of course hadnāt even packed, when I heard my poor dog out back yipping terribly! My other dog was barking her brains out. He came in the house limping terribly. All while I was on a phone interview for a potential new fabulous job. UGH! My D got him and brought him upstairs and he hid in the corner. I jumped on another conference call and at 6 PM called it vacation time and figured Iād better start to pack but needed to check on him first. I canāt even tell you how my heart fell when I saw his legā¦BROKEN! Hubby got home and we rushed him to our uber expensive and nationally known university emergency vet clinic and they confirmed, broken. So after 2 hours at the vet and getting the news that he would be taken to surgery in a day or two, with the subsequent bill that follows (think every single audition trip airfare and hotel and youāll come close :-(( ) Hubby and I tearfully kissed him and left to go home. I feel SICK that my poor guy who has never even been kenneled is at the vet on his own having surgery tomorrow without us there. My son is home animal and house sitting and can visit him thankfully but you canāt imagine the stress of leaving my injured furkid behind to start what was supposed to be such a great trip and mini family vacation. The good news is my good friend works in the clinic and he knows her, is visiting him too. Horrible way to start this trip. Needless to say, I didnāt sleep at all last night.
Then this morning what should have been an hour and 15 minute commute to the airport took 2 hours due to bad weather and traffic! We were all convinced we would absolutely miss the flight. Somehow, miraculously, we made it. The flight departed at 8:23 and we arrived at the gate at 8:15 after sprinting, parking in valet, curbside check-in of luggage and TSA precheck thank goodness. We got to Miami, got the rental car, headed to our rental house, grabbed lunch, groceries and took a power nap! I am so glad we have had today as just a travel day before visiting the U. Tomorrow and Thursday D will sit in on classes and Friday is the big day.
Someone on here, maybe @bridgenail or @dramasopranomom had said early on, āthere will be bumps in the road and surprises along the wayā. I really hope the rest of this trip is smooth sailing. I canāt take much moreā¦FYI they have a wine fridge in this house that I quickly stocked! Glass number one poured as I type thisā¦
Hugs, @SpartanDrew ! This has been a terrible year for singers and their family pets!!! Cheers to some liquid courage!
We plan so carefully and our children practice so hard and dream for so long! You guys are going to be okay! Look at you, using your extra time to recover from the unexpected (heck, you would have had time to catch a different flight if you hadnāt made your scheduled one)! Iām sure I sound crazy when I advocate for all sorts of extra time surrounding these audition trips, and itās absolutely true that it is possible to fly in and out every two days to different schools in different cities-IF everything goes as planned! Trouble is, if youāre doing 5 or 7 auditions or more, something is going to go wrong- probably more than one something (illness, weather, traffic, injury, petsā¦the list goes on). Good job remaining flexible and rolling with the punches (which, by the way, is one of the huge lessons these young adults are learning in this process, and essential to their future success)!
I imagine you on the undoubtably beautiful deck at your fabulous VRBO, drinking chilled wine just out of the wine fridge, surrounded by humidifiers and mentally preparing for Dās Frost visit (Iām sure D is comfy, too, lol)!
@SpartanDrew I am SO sorry about your dog! Itās so hard to have an animal in pain and frightened, and not even be able to explain to him whatās going on. And I totally get it about leaving him at the hospital when heās never even been kennelledā¦again, without being able to tell him why. But it sounds as if heās getting the best (albeit expensive) care, and will be comfortable and treated very well.
But to have that happen at that particular momentā¦hard to fathom. Enjoy the wine, breathe some tropical night-air, and do your best to relax. Youāll all get through it.
@SpartanDrew, I will be thinking healing thoughts for your pooch, who I choose to believe is a little zonked out on doggie Percoset or whatever they give them and is feeling very little pain. My own D has remarked several times how much sheāll miss our dog next year when sheās living elsewhere, maybe a few more times than sheās mentioned missing Mom or Dad or her sister, hmmm.
And best of wishes to your D on Thursday. Iām sure the extra day will giver her time to regroup and focus. Do you even need humidifiers in Miami? I guess it is February and the A/C could kick in. Singers, like Boy Scouts, need to Be Prepared for any contingencyā¦
Enjoy Miami. Your dog sounds like is in great hands.
Hugs to your doggie, @SpartanDrew , and I know your D will wow them at Frost. I expect to hear the faculty still singing your jazz singerās praises when we are there the following weekend!
Oh no! @SpartanDrew That is horrible. It does sound like your dog is in good hands. Hopefully, your nice accommodations will help your daughter relax and de-stress. I suspect she will wow them at Frost too! And you all can enjoy Miami sun! We finally have one dog recovered from the canine flu. The other two are still coughing like 40 year smokers.
Since my daughter liked San Diego State University, I searched for SDSU information on this site. A post was made connecting to admit rates by major. They had 364 apply for music performance last year and accepted 87. Forty enrolled. A 24% acceptance rate? Iād imagine the acceptance rate for vocalists is even lower. And especially female vocalists. I wish other programs published these stats. Of course, I am not sure I would do anything useful with the numbers other than obsess needlessly.
@SpartanDrew - sorry about your dog! Our dog still gets so excited when my D comes home (after 6 years gone) she hyperventilates! Just do the essentials in Miami. Your D will do fine.
@BearHouse - tis the season to get really focused on numbers! Early on you are too busy to think about them. Now you have time and you may thing āwhat in the world were we thinkingā¦this is crazy!ā Yep, best to stay away from the numbers. The fact is many students get accepted and with a good list yours will too.
OK, well we are rested and decompressed and about to head to campus. @dramasopranomom is 100% spot on accurate! If we hadnāt had extra days built in we would feel really stressed and anxiety-ridden. We did have time to take a later flight yesterday had we missed the morning flight but we all remarked at how nice it was to get in early, settle into the house, go grab a nice lunch and then get some groceries. We stayed in last night and after Dās huge power nap we sat around and watched āFinding Doryā with some much needed humor and relaxation. We are all well rested today and ready to go see campus and D has a list of classes to sit in on.
Despite not needing the humidifier here we still brought it and it is happily chugging away next to Dās bed. Sweet dog is having surgery at noon today and believe it or not, I had another phone interview this morning with the same company at 9 am for a great new job opportunity and I almost forgot it! Yikes! But I remembered as I woke up in a panic at 7:30 am and had enough time to make coffee and get my notes together and I killed it. In the same way, I hope D kills her auditions on Friday. She has a cute and comfortable (most critical) new dress she is wearing for her audition and things are starting to look up hopefully.
THANK YOU ALL for your tremendous support and kind words! Hopefully, some of us can meet in the future and hoist a glass of wine to toast our kidsā success in this crazy process!!