So my son, a cello performance transfer applicant, definitely has too many colleges on his list. However, he has no pre-screens and he’ll be sending recordings to at least 5 of them in lieu of live auditions. However, it looks like he’ll have live auditions at 7-9 schools between the end of January and beginning of March. All are in Southern California except one in Arizona.
Do you think that’s crazy? He didn’t enjoy his trial lesson at CSULB, so it might be that he won’t audition there, so even though he applied there, he just wouldn’t follow through with the audition. That would make it 7-8 schools.
He’s been to one other trial lesson (he likes that school and the teacher really likes him) and will take 3-4 more trial lessons by early January.
If the auditions are spread out to 1-2 each weekend (most weekends are just one audition), is that still too much? All schools except Arizona are within 2 or so hours of us.
We just don’t know who will accept him, what kind of money he’ll get (ie. what we can afford) and where he ultimately feels most comfortable. That’s why the list is so big.
I think it is too many but you have to do what you have to do. You went through this 2 years ago and I thought you had way too many schools then but you managed them, and they weren’t all located in Southern California so this might be easier. I assume the auditions are all the same pieces and format.
I know! Ugh. I thought we were going to have a shorter list this time. Sigh.
Yes, same songs for all; in fact, fewer songs for some. I’m hoping that with the trial lessons, some schools will be culled.
He’s been admitted to 4 schools, but still needs to send audition into 3 and audition at the 4th.
How do people decide on so few schools? TBH, if money were no object, he’d probably be happy just going for the one school that he already likes, but it’s completely unaffordable without significant scholarships.
My D auditioned live at eight programs last year. Six were in Southern California, one in Arizona and one in SF. She (and we) were pretty tired once it was all said and done. However, it was manageable. The only mistake we made was a three audition weekend - Saturday, Sunday, Monday. It was too stressful.
I think it is hard when money is a factor. My kid applied to 11 schools (well 1 is a BA program - no audition). 7 require prescreens and he is VP so no guarantees anywhere for sure. In theory, schedule wise he could do them all and it would really be done in 3 trips, and then some not so far side jaunts. Got one out of the way EA this month. If he gets a decent offer there, I could possibly see a couple dropping off. I just assume he won’t get through prescreen everywhere. If he does, we will see.
Where are his favorites scheduled? Could some drop off at the end if he burns out? Our last weekend is currently my 2 least favorite options right now (as a parent, my kid may feel a little differently). And one of those could actually be scheduled a couple weeks later as a standalone audition as well as another option.
Geography wise it sounds actually pretty doable to me if your musician wants to do it and isn’t the stressed type. My son rolls very easily with this kind of thing and doesn’t get super stressed out by auditions. I think with my other kid if we did this with her it would require more thought and planning and honing of a list.
My vocal performance D applied to 11 schools. She auditioned to 8 schools between the end of January to the first week of March in four trips missing a total of five school days. It is doable especially if you can audition two schools in various trips. If your son gets invited to more auditions than what schedule permits, then this is a good problem to have. Choose wisely which to attend and send video auditions to the others. Good luck!
I appreciate the feedback. I’m glad to hear that if the schools are in the same geographical region, it might be doable.
He dropped the two pre-screen schools (Vanderbilt and CCM). He did end up recording a sonata, a Bach and a Piatti last Saturday, and he could use what he has for CCM pre-screen, but it’s so far away.
He’s still in the process of taking trial lessons. He’s scheduled to do Fullerton next week and Redlands in two weeks. I think he’s doing trial lessons at Concordia and Cal Baptist in January and I’m trying to figure out if he can get to ASU in January to take a trial lesson before the Feb. audition because if he doesn’t like the teacher, no point in auditioning. He’s taken a lesson from the SDSU teacher in the past, so that’s fine.
Right now, he’s sending recordings to Boise, UNR, U of A, Sac State and Stanislaus. Tentative audition schedule:
Cal Baptist (hoping in January)
Redlands (if he likes the cello teacher) 1/26
Fullerton (if he likes the teacher) 2/2
Chapman 2/9
SDSU 2/10
ASU (if he likes the teacher) 2/16
Concordia (if he likes the teacher) 2/22
What do you think about the schedule?
Last question. Is Biola too stressful because it’s a competitive conservatory? He didn’t like CSULB because the guy liked him a lot, but picked apart everything he did, and that’s not what my son wants. The Chapman guy was just more kind and chill, which is what my son needs.
My S applied to 14 schools, all for music. He did 7 live auditions, 2 regional, and the remaining were submitted as video screens. It’s possible to improve your chance of acceptance by adding on schools - but having said that, it’s a nightmare when it comes to scheduling auditions, even for 9 over a 6 week period (including regional). And that’s not counting missed school during the first 6 weeks of the last semester of senior year.
@sbjdorlo : Your schedule looks eminently doable. In our case, we had to be in Boston on Saturday and in LA on Sunday. We were able to reschedule NEC.
@gram22, based on my son’s health history, we agreed to just let the farther away schools go. Schools that were considered and let go include Vandy, CCM, UNT, Texas Tech and U Denver. We briefly looked at various highly selective conservatories along with Rice and Northwestern, but I think the reality for this guy is that if he can somehow manage to stay in school, it would be much better for him to be at home or near home, or near his brother in Phoenix.
Hats off to you for managing that schedule with flying around the country! BTW, what is a “regional” audition?
It’s a little sad because he got very positive feedback from Vandy and CCM cello professors, but I don’t want him to make the same mistake he did when he applied as a freshman and choose a highly selective stressful college. He needs something academically easy (or easier) and where the cello prof is supportive rather than trying to make him into a superstar. He was told by the prof at CSULB that he had “great potential to be an amazing cellist”, but my son wants to be a teacher, not a soloist. He felt much better about the cello teacher at Chapman, who gave more positive feedback.
Fit is everything, @sbjdorlo !! There is no shame in wanting a less angsty/competitive experience with less pushing when that is right for your child. He is much more likely to be happy and successful in his program (and want to continue making music) if it’s a good match for him in all the ways you talk about.
@sbjdorlo : Colleges schedule “recorded” auditions in some cities around the US. For example, BU had an LA audition which worked out well for us. Peabody (JHU) had one in San Francisco. They call these “regional” auditions - where they go to specific regions of the country to conduct their auditions.
He’s down to 6 live auditions and 11 schools. I think it will be totally doable. He recorded three songs but needs to record a few more pieces for video submissions. After that, it’s just those 6 auditions. The end is in sight!
I think it will be totally doable. He recorded three songs but needs to record a few more pieces for video submissions. After that, it’s just those 6 auditions. The end is in sight!