Update on the dilemma. We were convinced we were going to cancel the FSU audition. But we had her USF audition today and were persuaded by the prof there to still go. Her audition went very well and he came out and told us he was going to ask for the max scholarship for her. He recommended we still go to FSU, as that will give him more ammunition to push for her getting what he wants. The more acceptances, especially at rival schools, the better it is for him negotiating with the other faculty and admissions. Hadnāt really thought of that! I learn something new each time!!
@NYsaxmom Thanks for the update, I was just wondering about your decision. With my dancer we did cancel one audition as she decided she would rather take a gap year than attend said program.As went went along it became clear that this school was not on the same level as her others. However, we also struggled with possibly skipping another audition for various reasons. In the end we decided to follow through with it. It was during this audition that D learned what she did not want in a program. She again wanted to bail on her audition the very next morning, but I stuck to our original plan and made her go. She loved it! This school showed her what she really wanted in a program. For a few weeks it was her ONLY acceptance with 2 wait lists. In the end I wish she had followed through on all of them for the same reasons you mentioned, matching scholarship funds etc.IT was my first experience with an arts major and the things we did not know were numerous. It may have helped her with her top choice school. But she is happy where she landed. It is all part of the journey.
As for AP and schedules. Definitely something to try to plan ahead. Dancer actually decided to take a few duel credit classes and graduate a semester early so she was free during audition season. This year my Music D, a competitive student, decided to take 3 APās with and early out all year and a late in second semester. We were hoping she would have her auditions second semester and have less school work to worry about. Unfortunately she had the bulk of her auditions first semester. At least we tried!
@diglass you it amazing what lessons can be gained from what we think will be a fruitless journey. Reasons to attend an audition are not just because you want to get into that school!! But it may also end up being where you want to go!!
Congrats to those of you with offers and successful auditions! As I mentioned in my first post, weāre a year behind you. and these posts of yours are an invaluable resource for us.
In that spirit, Iām hoping you can give us some advice. Weāre headed to USC next week for our first college visit. As I mentioned, my drummer daughter (junior) is interested in both popular and jazz programs, although leaning heavily to jazz at this point. So weāve lined up tours and meetings with faculty in both programs for this trip. Sheāll sit in on a few rehearsals and classes to get a sense of the vibe in each.
She also reached out and set up a meeting with the head of the drum department. He was super nice about meeting with her and said they could chat or play together or whatever she wanted. So hereās where I need some advice.
What is the best way to think about and make use of a meeting like this? Obviously she wants to put a face with a name, and be on his radar for next year. But the idea of playing with him now is a bit stressful, as sheāll obviously be a more prepared player a year from now. Any thoughts on that? I mean sheās confident in her playing, but as this is her first visit she has no idea what to expect in a meeting like this. Down to what questions to ask that wonāt sound naive.
The one thing we discussed as an obvious one if she does play with him is āwhat should I be working on and trying to improveā? But beyond that weāre in the dark. Sheās in a pre-college Jazz program at MSM right now so sheās got enough theory under her belt to be dangerous and she understands the academic side of drum instruction from that as well. Other topics that spring to mind would be around how ensembles and combos and groups work and how much interaction there is between pop and jazz programs.
But any specific or general advice on how to make the most of a campus visit and a meeting with faculty would be greatly appreciated! We will be visiting over a series of days and hope to catch one of their monthly jazz showcases at night as well. So weāve got time to be thorough. Thanks in advance!
@DrummerDad18 itās good to play with the instructor now so that when she auditions next year heāll hear how much she has improved. In all of Dās auditions the professor has commented on her improvement from the first time they heard her play. Her private teacher said that these instructors are looking for students that work hard and the improvement demonstrates that.
Questions my D has asked during trial lessons: How large is the studio and how many spots will you have next year? What do you look for in new students? What is your teaching philosophy? What is the audition process like? What would your recommend I play during the audition? What ensembles to freshman usually play in?
Every instructor we met with talked about the school, their studio, what they were looking for, and the audition process.
@ tripletmama - @ DrummerDad18 - Ladies in Jazz: divajazz-dot-com with leader Sherrie Maricle, drummer.
@momzhood - Our āultimate safetyā - take a gap year.
In general, we found ramping down the academics senior year (study halls, fewer intense AP classes, being a teacherās aide as a second āstudy hallā) was awesome.
My son has been taking lessons with a USC prof since last summer, and we made sure he took lessons with guitar teachers in each department that he is applying to. If you are so cal locals you should definitely take a lesson. For my sonās USC audition his teacher was there ā it was nice to have a familiar face in the room with him. Donāt know about drums, but my son did skype lessons with several profs.
To help with nerves, I think it can always help to frame such a meeting, for the kid, as a chance to ask questions and learn about/evaluate the school, rather than the other way around, meaning a way for the school to evaluate him or her!
@DrummerDad18 welcome! As others have said ^, I think youāll find that teachers are very used to these meetings/lessons, and will likely sort of set the toneā¦ it is an excellent idea to do this now, since you can, and they will definitely be glad to note the growth in the next year. For my D, who is not reticent to ask questions, we didnāt really āprepareā; she came out of every single trial lesson with very definite impressions about teaching style and fit (even if the impression was āmehā). Honestly, I was amazed by how much of an impression was made (likely both ways) in just 30-60 minutes. Some of her ābestā experiences were when teachers asked unusual questions and clearly tried to get to know her better. I think trial lessons are the only way to determine fit with a teacher, and are so important! I will say, have your D read up on a Professor before meeting with themā¦even just the bio published for the College; this was something D and I did together, sitting at the computer. It was a fun bonding experience and when you are asking professionals for their time, I think itās important to respect them enough to know who they really are (probably not such a big deal with percussion, as there may be only one or two Profsā¦but with Voice, certainly donāt request a trial lesson without doing your homework)!
To your campus visit question, do everything you can! Meet current students and talk with them ( your D will get the inside scoop, and talk to severalā¦D can see if sheāll āfit inā/likes other students), do the standard tours, practice in their practice rooms, sit in on classes and rehearsals. So, so helpful!
My D also made her senior year less intense. While she took 2 AP classes her junior year, she did not take any her senior year. She also took an extra elective in the fall so that her spring semester is easier.
It is a tough trade-off. Luckily, S tested out of some classes, and APād out of others - good to check each collegeās policy on what AP scores are needed to āescapeā each class. We did. Even now, this semester, S has an English class (AP got him out of the first semester, but not this one), and it is a real drag. He was putting in extra extra doses of practice and playing and is now agitated that a research paper is competing with that time. It is college, so there will be some of that. He mostly paid up-front by loading in some good AP scores in HS, although that cut into his practice time in HS. Of course, donāt fall into the trap we were warned about at Sās college - donāt pile up all your non-music classes for your last college year - it could be a real drag.
@GoForth let your S know that the frustration with the academic requirements will become the frustration with a non-music job and making needed money when done with college. If only they could do music all day. Probably not. Soā¦itās a balancing act always.
And good writing, research skills and knowledge in a variety of areas such as history and the arts, are helpful for musicians as much as for anyone else. Too bad the English class is a ādragā!
My son is in a BFA theater program and one thing he did to help with the time issue was take an online class over the winter break to fulfill a gen ed requirement. He got an A, so a boost to his GPA and got a requirement out of the way. This way, he can take the minimum number of credits and still graduate on time.
Ok, the talk of college tours and lessons with professors has me thinking. DD feels pretty neutral about her current realistic options. We are waiting to hear from one more. Due to various reasons she did not visit these schools before auditions. So my question is, would it be appropriate to request a lesson if we revisit the schools she has been admitted to. She will request to sit in on classes and rehearsals as she gains a good bit of info from this. Lesson learned is that relying on the schools organized class observation and rehearsal observations during audition days does not always provide the feedback you may be looking for.
@diglass - it sounds like an awesome idea. S found that even a single lesson with a prof could shed much new light. When else will you have/take the chance to go visit so many profs and get so many viewpoints.
@diglass This is my Dās strategy. From her audition experience, she now has a better idea of where she might like to go. Once she finds out where she is admitted, she will circle back to the top 2 or 3 colleges for a lesson. She is already heading back to one college because she was invited to do so and she already knows it will be one of her top choices, if admitted. So, I hope requesting trial lessons after admission will work because this is what she is doing!
So to finish our Miami-Fla audition trip report. S18 had his audition on Friday. It was one of two general Frost auditions, so there was a pretty good crowd of all instruments. There was a talk by admissions first, then I went to a parents meeting with the dean while S18 warmed up. The dean was really impressive. He came from USC-Thornton where he was the Jazz Studies head. He has seven Grammy nominations since 2007, and works extensively in the industry. He is very big into facilitating cross over studies and experiences, with the belief that any additional skills can lead to better and more varied music employment prospects. So, for example, it is the kind of voice program where your teacher will encourage a classical voice student to perform in a MT production or try his hand at jazz. Obviously, there are some limits to that but the message was that college is a time for experimentation and developing relationships with all types of musicians, rather than staying in your own āsilo.ā The school is about half undergrads and half grad students. The grad students are T.A.s as well, and teach non-music majors who want to take lessons or classes at Frost. Performance majors are taught by a full professor. Ensembles are populated from grad and undergrad students. They are careful to include opportunities for both. For example, we heard a performance by the top level sax quartet that includes a doctoral candidate, a masters candidate, a junior and a sophomore. They were incredible!
S18ās audition went great. Seems like he has a really good shot at acceptance and that the program will fit him well. The rest of Friday and Saturday was spent at Miamiās Stamps/Singer Scholarship weekend. Of about 300 attendees of the two scholarship weekends, we learned that only 4 were Frost students. Almost all Frost EA applicants were deferred admission to the university, pending auditions. S18 and 3 young ladies were the only Frost applicants granted admission to the general school before auditions. That made S18 feel pretty special! Of course, given the small size of Frost to the rest of the school (about 350 undergrads in Frost, and 10,000 at Miami overall), proportionately there may be only one full tuition scholarship given to a Frost student. We will see! Overall a great trip though.
Great trip/audition report @vistajay! Tell me more about the Stamps singer scholarship. When I asked the jazz voice head about it I mentioned Iād heard they offered a Stamps scholarship to classical voice and she said they didnāt have stamps for any vocalist. Sounds like she is incorrect. Itās a bummer they donāt offer it for a jazz voice major since they offer it for the combo. You could tell it was a sore spot with her which I understand.
D and I have boarded our flight to Boston and arrive this afternoon. I was googling some vegan friendly restaurants in the back Bay Area so if anyone has any recommendations let me know. Thinking we will hit a Tapas place tonight called Barcelona. Yelp listed it as vegan friendly. I found us a nice 2 bedroom apartment on VRBO for $150 a night and itās very close to NEC and Copley place. Dās Audition is in the morning tomorrow which isnāt ideal for a singer but oh well. Then off to NY on Wednesday. I canāt even imagine how exhausted we would be had we done the original Frost audition this past Friday and then headed straight to Boston and NY! Having the week at home to rest and recharge was invaluable.
Final stretch here we come! Iāll be so happy when the auditions are all in the books.