Pomona College declares in rather surprising language that musical skills can help in admission, even if music is not your major:
"Whether intending to major in music or not, students with strong musical skills, significant ensemble or solo experience, AND a strong desire to participate in the Music Department’s performance offerings should be in contact with appropriate Music Department faculty BEFORE the senior year of high school. (…} strong musical profile can enhance a candidate’s prospects for admission. The Music Department is particularly interested in candidates who have thought carefully about how their engagement with music would be integrated into their full liberal-arts experience.
This seems quite different from a situation when a college orchestra is looking to replace a French horn player who is about to graduate…
Do you know of any other colleges or universities that make a similar declaration on their Web sites, in their recruiting materials, or through less formal channels?
Very interesting and something I haven’t seen before. We’ve always known that skilled and accomplished musicians are highly welcomed at LAC’s like Pomona, Williams, Amherst and others, but to actually declare their “wish list” is astounding.
About two years ago when my violinist son was in the process of selecting which colleges to apply to, we targeted these LAC’s, among other non-LAC’s, specifically because of their support for music programs. The fact that he was admitted to all three LAC’s had a lot to do with his musical skills more than anything else. I’ve always believed that was the case, and now it’s no longer a belief of mine but a fact. Williams even went so far as to invite my son to a music camp run by its violinist faculty/artist in residence even before the admission results were announced. It’s a great feeling knowing how much musicians are loved.
I’d love to see exceptional high school musicians get to have a “signing day” akin to the ceremonies that recruited athletes get. They’re just as deserving.
Thank you so much for this info. It really is on their web site! HOME-Academics-Dept and Program-Music-Prospective Students. My DS(violinist) just applied RD. For me, Pomona is #1 on the list. Now, after reading this post, it is #1 for my daughter(pianist) who is a sophomore.
I, as a music parent, appreciate the official acknowledgment from college about importance of art.
Curb your enthusiasm, guys.
That’s their declaration. Is it based on facts, or is it wishful thinking? How much pull does the music department have, especially when only 0.5% of student population majors in music?
I asked, at the Pomona forum, if someone can tell me whether or not musicians can indeed hope for a little bump in the admission chances. So far, not a single answer… @fsdlfkjsdklfjs Define privilege. If you, for example, include people who came to this country with $100 in their pocket, worked hard, and saved some money so their kids can have music lessons (not to mention their 529s) , just think if these kind of values really deserve your scorn.
As far as I know, Pomona is the only college with an official statement that directly links the admissions chances for applicants with strong musical profile:
“…a strong musical profile can enhance a candidate’s prospects for admission.”
Although the statements are coming from the Music Department and not the admissions office, I strongly doubt that the Music Department would make such bold and unusual statements without any approval of and entirely independent from the college.
I suspect that this unusual move by Pomona indicates two possibilities: one, an institutional effort to enhance the tie between its mission of providing the liberal arts education and experience with music as an integral part of it; and 2) by encouraging musicians to apply, strengthening its Music Department with a possibility of increasing students who’d consider music as their major. It’s possible that Pomona has been experiencing ever dwindling number of music majors in today’s environment where music major isn’t seen as desirable.
The key words to keep in mind, however, are “strong” and “can” in the above sentence. The word “strong,” at an elite LAC like Pomona with a single-digit acceptance rate, means a conservatory level profile with many accomplishments. The likes of Pomona will receive a plenty of applicants with strong musical profile. The word, “can,” means there’s no guarantee, for one, and second, it means the applicant’s admissions chances are contingent upon all other qualifying aspects of the application. Just because the applicant has a “strong” musical profile doesn’t mean that Pomona is going to offer an automatic admission. So, yes, “Curb your enthusiasm, guys” applies here.
No one knows except the adcoms, and it’s individual case by case, year by year. Given the bold declaration, however, having a strong musical profile now can definitely be seen as a “hook” at Pomona.
@TiggerDad pretty much nails what my understanding is of the situation. I’ve heard it described as similar to athletic recruiting in that it changes from year-to-year based on what they need, and contacting the respective music profs early is like contacting coaches to give them a chance to begin evaluating their “prospies.” My Pomona kid had a friend who was admitted after being “recruited” for voice (invited to campus for activities like @TiggerDad 's kid) - but YMMV A LOT since she was also a recruited athlete, a valedictorian, and applied ED1 (so a typical Pomona applicant). The statement cited by @ArtsyKidDad has been on the Pomona music page for at least the past 6 years and for at least the past 5 years, Pomona’s admissions page has stated that, “We seek the brightest, MOST TALENTED, most driven students from all over the world.” (emphasis mine). And, its CDS says that “Talent/ability” is ranked as among the “Most Important” factors in evaluating candidates (FWIW, so does Amherst’s, Yale’s, and Princeton’s, to name a few). So yeah, it probably doesn’t hurt your app if you fit their needs.
That is not really true. They are not any more privileged than any other kids attending that high school. Moreover, one does not need the family income to provide a kid with musical education that one does, say, to provide a kid with the training for athletics. Moreover, it is easier to get scholarships and other financial aid to support the musical education of a talented musician than it is to get financial aid to support a talented athlete.
The top musicians graduating high school come from upper to lower middle class families. Look at median family income and the number of Pell grant recipients at top music conservatories, and compare that to whatever info we have on athletes attending “elite” colleges. These are the most talented and skilled musicians, and they came from the same communities and SES as do the skilled musicians who are applying to Pomona or any other college.
Yes, many musicians do come from a very privileged background, but not “most”.
@TiggerDad Interesting thoughts as to why Pomona would do this. Our numbers of music majors have been increasing since class of 2020 were freshmen though.
Of course, as to why Pomona made such a declaration is anyone’s guess, as was mine. If the music majors have indeed increased since the class of 2020 at Pomona, I wonder whether the Pomona’s efforts to “recruit” the student-musicians have had the desired effect? Whatever the case, that’s good to know.
@TiggerDad my friend and I (both music major first-years) are incredibly interested by this. She said that most of the first years in the department didn’t even know about this music recruitment.
That’d make sense, as my son would have been the class of 2022 had he accepted the Pomona’s offer of admission, and we didn’t see that “recruitment” statement at the time my son was applying. Otisp on post #8 above, however, pointed out that the statement has been on the webpage “…for at least the past 6 years.” Irregardless of when the webpage went up with the statement, we knew going in that a strong musical profile was pretty much a “hook” at Pomona as well as at other top colleges.
The acapella choral group performance during the admitted students day in 2016, was our first experience with the Pomona music scene. What a great group of talented vocalists who helped solidify my sons decision and now he’s only months away from graduation.
Time has flown and now our youngest, a vocalist (jr), having gotten to know P vicariously through her brothers experience is more than interested in attending Pomona. (As anyone who knows can imagine)
Reading through this thread, again, has been really helpful and if any one (singers) could share more specific info / personal experience re their admissions process - we would be most grateful! Thanks so much in advance!
@Violin87 Hi, I’m a current student at Pomona. I’m wondering why Pomona is your #1, specifically, if it’s because of its music program. I applied with a music portfolio (not recruitment like I know others did, since I’m out of state), and after a couple years at Pomona, I can say that the music department is definitely not what I expected it would be when I applied ED2 (I was originally going to apply to dual degree programs like Harvard-NEC, Rice, etc. but decided against that last minute). In retrospect, I regret that decision. If your daughters are looking for a school with a strong emphasis on music to continue their studies, Pomona won’t particularly suit her needs, in my experience.
My son, who is a great violinist (uploaded videos to Slideroom as supplement) with great stats, got rejected by Pomona after all. We live on East Coast.