My DD received a phone call (from a state school) last night about a scholarship offer deadline. Of course she did not answer the call because she was at a 2 hour rehearsal. They left a voice mail saying she could ask for an extension. These extra deadlines just create more stress in the process.
I donāt quite fit into this thread so apologies for crashing it but thought I might be able to get some guidance.
My daughter is only a Junior so I really appreciate the insight to this overwhelming process on this thread. Glad we are starting to research and learning early. My daughter is primarily a vocalist but can play piano and mandolin. She is also a songwriter interested in contemporary music and sound recording technology. We recently visited Berklee and it was as if the program was designed to fit everything my daughter wanted from a music school. She loved the Professional Music degree option which would allow her to study songwriting, performance and sound recording technology all in one degree.
I heard that Frost School of Music, USC Thornton, the New School NY, and Clive Davis (NYU) would be must-see colleges if my daughter loves Berklee so much and wants to study popular/contemporary/jazz as a vocalist. Miami and LA would be a bit of a cost to arrange a tour of (coming from Buffalo) but if you think those are worth seeing I will make it work. Interested in any impressions as compared to the Berklee vibe. Obviously, cost will be an issue in the end with Berklee being crazy expensive. She will probably be doing the Berklee 5 Week Program this summer and I feel she is already sold on Berklee but says she is open-minded and wants to keep her options open, including āsafeā schools like SUNY Fredonia because she understands our limited finances and the importance of her getting scholarships.
Maybe look at SUNY Purchase too.
Second @compmom to take a look at Purchase. The Studio Composition program sounds like a good fit.
Yes @AmyIzzy if you are a NY State resident I wholeheartedly agree to look at Purchase. I would also add William Paterson (New Jersey) to the list but I donāt know if they have the music business program. And Loyola New Orleans also has a great contemporary music program and are generous with scholarship money as well. Lovely campus and lovely people there.
Every single one of those programs are just as expensive if not more than Berklee just so you are aware. Some are notoriously stingy on scholarship offers, NYU and USC Thornton stand out in that regard with offering little to no money to most applicants. She can and should audition at the end of her 5 week program at Berklee for scholarship. If she is offered money she will find out at the end of the program during the blowout concert. If she gets money and itās not enough, or even isnāt offered money then, she can go back and audition again in the fall for more. Itās a great audition experience as well to get her ready for audition season. But you should know that when you hear of these āfull rideā offers etc, those are rare. I think the average scholarship at Berklee is around 20K with many more falling quite a bit short of that. I also havenāt heard of anyone in the popular music track (aside from Berklee) getting any money from any of the other schools you have mentioned so be aware of that as well. If Iām incorrect on that hopefully someone will comment on the thread and correct me.
Good luck to your D! ITās a crazy ride for sure. Oh and so cool that your D plays piano and mandolin! I love the mandolin. 
Alright - D got admitted from the waitlist of her last program. We are heading to NYC to visit on Monday. She has it narrowed down to that one and one other. She already declined her other four. Iām so excited to have all the info on the table so she can make her final decision!
Thatās great @BassTheatreMom! How long are you in NYC? D heads there on Saturday to visit one of her top 2 choices and we fly in next Friday to see her perform at YoungArts!
D went yesterday with her theatre class (they are seeing 4 musicals in 3 days!). I will fly in tomorrow and meet her Saturday before her theatre group heads back home. Weāll have the weekend to enjoy the city together.
Sunday afternoon is the senior showcase for the graduating class of the school we are visiting. This is the show the seniors put together and industry professionals come check them out to see if they want to sign any of them. So our timing is great for seeing the kind of talent the school is producing.
Monday we visit the school, and Tuesday we fly home. Then itās time for a decision and prom!
Just had a 20 hour trip to Vanderbilt.
It truly is incredibly impressive and the professor was very convincing, so in the airport on the way home we went online and paid the deposit.
Decision made. Phew
@NYsaxmom Woot! Congrats!
Yay!! So happy for you, @NYsaxmom!
Wow @NYsaxmom! Just delighted for you all! Hopefully that will be us next week.
Congrats, @NYsaxmom!
Awesome @NYsaxmom ! We are ready to pay the deposit here too! Just trying to get S18 to call and email a few schools to decline personally. But he is in the last weekend of his schoolās Spring musical, so good luck getting him to do anything else! Meanwhile, the wife and I are ordering fan gear!
You guysā¦Iām so jealous!! Canāt wait for our ādeposit dayā!
Thank you everyone. Itās a sign of the times that we couldnāt leave the deposit when we were there!!! Had to be done online. So she actually accepted while we were at the airport waiting for our return flight. She tried to do a few declines from there (the ones she that she didnāt have a close relationship with), but couldnāt. We have a huge event tonght for her music program. An auction and concert (sheās playing and Iām volunteering) so I think the declines will be tomorrow.
Congrats @NYsaxmom , excellent choice! Hoping for the best and wishing your D a wonderful undergraduate experience.
Just as she was about to start the decline emails, there was an email from Peabody telling her she has successfully appealed her scholarship and she is getting more. Odd thing is, she didnāt appeal. I guess the prof did it?
Or they read this thread and quickly fired off an email to try and change her mind! LOL
Haha @vistajay
I like the way you think!