<p>hello there,
my son just recieved news that he was waitlisted at oberlin conservatory. while it's a little better than being outright rejected, we were wondering how likely it would be for him to get off the waitlist and/or is there anything we can do to improve his chances of being admitted (letters? cds?)
i guess if there's little hope of him getting in, then we can start looking at the other options.
just wondering if any of you had any suggestions or have had similar experiences!
thanks</p>
<p>jtz50,</p>
<p>Welcome to CC. I am sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the outlook is not good.</p>
<p>I can't find the numbers for the conservatory alone, because the detailed info that used to be on peacock.adm.oberlin.edu is in the process of being moved elsewhere. The combined college plus conservatory numbers for fall 2006 admissions were as follows:</p>
<p>Offered a spot on the waiting list - 846
Accepted a spot on the waiting list - 600
Admitted from waiting list - 33</p>
<p>The con will only admit from the waiting list if the yield on a particular instrument is well below expected. I think you would do well to have him put his name on the waiting list just in case, but to also look at those other options a lot more seriously. If we are talking about an instrument like tuba or bassoon, the numbers are small and anything can happen. A spot may open up if just a couple of kids to decide that they want to go elsewhere. If we are talking about a popular instrument like violin, piano or voice, the pool of accepted students will be relatively large and the odds of getting off the waiting list are much worse.</p>
<p>I very much doubt that a letter would help, since most of the admissions decision is based on his audition. The teachers there are well aware of what can be done to edit audio recordings, so they tend to be very critical of recordings unless they know for certain that they are unedited. I would only recommend sending it if the recording demonstrates a much higher level of playing than his audition did. I can't think of anything else that you could do to improve the odds at this point (anything legal, that is.)</p>
<p>EDIT: On second thought, I did think of one thing that might help. If your son has not had direct contact with the faculty member(s) for his instrument, either at a sample lesson or at a live audition, then it may be worthwhile to try to set up a lesson. The teacher may or may not be willing to do this, but there is no harm in asking. One of the things the teacher looks for in sample lessons or auditions is how easy it will be to work with your son. That is much easier to tell from a live contact than from a recording, and it could give him a slight edge. Note that this could be rather expensive and it is not very likely to change the outcome. I would only recommend trying it if you happen to be in the area for some other reason.</p>
<p>I'd actually find out where he is on the waitlist. It's not like there are 846 kids in the conservatory list. my understanding is there might be (making up numbers) 4 flute openings. The accept 6 and waitlist 2 or three.</p>
<p>That is a good idea and worth a try to get that kind of information. Realize that, in some cases, they may not have a hard and fast order on the waiting list if they wait to prioritize it until they know which of the admitted students will be attending. To extend the flute example above, perhaps they are looking for at least one student who plays both flute and piccolo. If they do not get one from the six accepted students, they could look at the waiting list a little differently than they would otherwise.</p>
<p>My D. (violin) was waitlisted at a school last year. She stayed in frequent contact with the faculty member there who promised to keep her updated on the process although I don't think he told her where she was on the waitlist. He was very nice about it and eventually told her (in plenty of time before the May 1st deadline) that it didn't look too promising and that if she had offers from other schools she should accept one. She still wanted to hang in there even after that. Someone gave this advice which seemed sorta harsh at the time but turned out to be correct: Move on. Go to a school that wants you NOW. She did accept another offer and has never looked back. </p>
<p>So staying in contact with faculty is my suggestion and shouldn't be too difficult for your son to do if he has an already established relationship with a teacher. It might be a little trickier if he didn't have a teacher preference but certainly doable. The teachers know what these kids are going through and our experience is that they are very helpful and compassionate when dealing with these situations.</p>
<p>D was also waitlisted at Oberlin. I called the admissions office yesterday to see if I could get any more information; the woman I spoke with was very nice and helpful. She asked what instrument D played and then told me that 200 kids had auditioned for the 20 violin openings. Their yield on acceptances runs about 50%, so they sent out 42 admission offers and 30 waitlist letters. She couldn't tell me where D was ranked on the waitlist because they have to get all the waitlist response cards back to see if any of the 30 drop off. She also said there really isn't anything we can do to improve D's chances, other than returning the response card (although I agree with the previous posters that staying in contact with the faculty and/or the admissions office is a good idea; it certainly can't hurt). She said they should know pretty quickly after May 1 if they will be making any offers to the waitlist kids and financial aid will still be available. </p>
<p>In terms of the May 1 deadline, she suggested that we call the school that D would otherwise commit to, explain that she's been waitlisted and ask for an extension. Apparently, this is fairly common practice and preferable to putting a deposit down at one school and then trying to back out of that commitment if another school makes an offer from the waitlist.</p>
<p>"In terms of the May 1 deadline, she suggested that we call the school that D would otherwise commit to, explain that she's been waitlisted and ask for an extension."</p>
<p>The advice I have always had for waitlists is to go ahead and make a deposit at a school where you have been accepted and would like to attend. It is best to lock in your place. If you do get off the waitlist, you can contact the other school and let them know you have gotten off the waitlist at another school and will not be attending. You will lose your deposit, but it is not uncommon for this to happen and is not considered unethical. Schools even have a term for it - summer melt.</p>
<p>No one will tell you this until it is too late:
Everyone prepares for "acceptance"--but in very competitive programs and instruments, preparing a backup plan for being "waitlisted" or "rejected" should be done while preparing for admission.</p>
<p>Okay--what's a good backup plan for a high school senior in the event of not being "accepted"? Instead of hitting the panic button and enrolling in a safety school, consider taking a "gap year."</p>
<p>A "gap year" means enrolling as a part time college student and continuing private study to address issues encountered in the audition. </p>
<p>You might also enroll in a performance prep program or College Audition Prep program (like at Indiana University, Bloomingtion). During the gap year, you can check your progress with another sample lesson with the faculty member who you will reaudition for. In a few cases, you may be able to arrange studying with that faculty member. </p>
<p>Now here's the sweet part: when you reaudition, you may still be considered a freshman applicant--with a potential 4 admission slots. Compare this to a transfer student, for whom there may be only one slot. If you get accepted at your top choices, you can transfer academic credits taken part time. If you still just get accepted at a safety school, you can take your credits with you then take a lighter year academically tp devote more time to practice for reauditioning as a transfer student. </p>
<p>This is not quite a win-win strategy, but it sure beats the labor and long odds of trying to transfer from a safety school. Some teachers have a tradition of rarely taking transfers.</p>
<p>Important: Check with the schools about their gap year policy. Eastman, for example, will accept a gap year. But don't take my word for it--ask the question while initially applying to schools and you'll be doubly prepared to succeed!</p>
<p>This is excellent advice. Our son was fully prepared (even sort of looked forward) to spend a year just studying with his wonderful teacher at home and not having to worry about all the high school work and schedule in order to improve his chances of getting into a top school. We thought this was a real possibility going into the process and had mapped out what a gap year would look like - he liked the sound of it pretty well. Luckily for him, he had a successful season, but it could have gone the other way. An extra year after high school does not seem at all unreasonable given the demands that high school academics put on kids these days. It can be good psychologically to just have a breather. It would also would have given him the space to figure out whether he was going to be able to surmount the technical hurdles necessary for a music career - I'm still not sure he will be able to even though the schools voted in his favor. Now that he's all set to go to music school in the fall, I still regret that he can't get that window of time to relax and enjoy life a bit more.</p>
<p>Mother of a gap year student here: it was an excellent idea. There is practically no down side for the student who is really open to it; colleges love it--they get a more mature student. I think it's very exciting to just pop out of the box and do something unconventional after high school graduation. </p>
<p>Also, just want to reiterate that our experience with waitlisting this year was that the head of the department was open in telling our son what his chances were for getting in, and that could help with your decision making.</p>
<p>My son was waitlisted at Oberlin for cello, as were at least two of his other cello friends that we know of. (While several CCers actually got into Oberlin Conservatory, the only one we know who wasn't rejected or put on the wait list is an oboist). His "alternative" school said that if he accepted their music scholarship, he would not be allowed to accept another school's offer after May 1. We had sent lots of supporting material to Oberlin and they knew it was his first choice. I called Oberlin and told them the situation; they got back to us with the news that no cellos were being taken off the waiting list this year. Frankly, for us, this has been a very painful period of waitlists and rejections, despite lots of positive feedback from the teachers he auditioned for and even during the auditions, and his winning several high level competitions in our area. His teacher, who is a young and very, very accomplished symphony musician, and many others who know my son are shocked. I'm sure that my son would have had better results in a different year--it's really beginning to look like just plain bad luck.
I am lucky that he's handled this all so well; he's very happily planning to attend his "safety," because he can stay with his wonderful teacher.</p>
<p>The gap year was absolutely my son's plan, had he not been admitted to a program he wanted to attend.</p>
<p>As it was, he applied to only five schools, claiming that he didn't want to go just "anywhere". He was fortunate with his results, but seriously would have preferred a gap year to attending the perceived "wrong" program.</p>
<p>I don't know that I agree completely, since I think there are a number of programs that he dropped early in the process where he might have been happy too, but it never came to that. But for kids like mine, and probably many others, the gap year really can be a great option. However, there are also kids who just want to go off to school when everyone else does, so there is an element of "personality" that goes into the decision making too.</p>
<p>Mom4, I hope your son is very happy next year. Getting to study further with his great teacher will be a bonus for sure! Congrats to your son too, Stringfollies. Sounds like he really had some nice options.</p>
<p>Yes, Allmusic, we were surprised and thrilled with his results. He is not a big competition-winner. Just a talented guy who works hard. He's really looking forward to IU next year!</p>
<p>Thanks very much for this discussion. S and I have been discussing the option of a gap year as we enter into the college application rat-race. I think it changes one's perspective on the schools and applications when you have this as an option. I have also heard of a number of people who have done much better in their applications with the gap year under their belt.</p>
<p>I had shared my S's experience in Bass Dad's terrific thread (So you want to be a music major?) and thought it might be relevent to this discussion on taking a gap year, so here it is again. The "vanbuff approach" certainly worked for him! (I would have preferred to simply link to that thread but my hopelessly inadequate computer skills prohibit me from doing anything more than a cut and paste.) </p>
<p>"There is not much anyone could add to improve this thread. BassDad, your account makes for wonderful reading, filled with valuable information for anyone embarking on their own incredible journey. </p>
<p>That said, I would like to share an abbreviated version of our own adventure to show that the fun doesn’t always end with the mailing of that deposit check. The best possible outcome sometimes lies at the end of a rather long and winding road. </p>
<p>By junior year, S figured out that he wanted to major in music performance. He’d been taking lessons from a great teacher, someone who regularly subbed at the Met orchestra and NY Phil and played in our local symphony. By all estimations, S was “pretty good,” so we took a rather conservative approach in applying to schools: two in-state state universities with solid music programs; one LAC; one large out-of-state university. </p>
<p>S auditioned onsite for one of the in-states offsite and was waitlisted. The other in-state audition was onsite, and went very well. The instructor really wanted S, offering what money he could and going so far to call his private teacher to ask how he might persuade S to enroll. </p>
<p>S was a late auditioner at the LAC and was not accepted. </p>
<p>The auditon at the out-of-state university got off to a shaky start. (In hindsight, I think the fates were trying to tell us something.) S fractured his wrist (not badly, just a hairline) about a week before his audition date. A cast would have made it impossible to practice, never mind audition, so S (with my reluctant okay) got by with a removable splint. Then about two hours and two states into our trip to the school, he realized that he had forgotten his instrument. Nevertheless, when we finally got there (with instrument) he played well, made it into the scholarship round, and got a nice offer that ultimately sealed the deal. Or so I thought. </p>
<p>Some months later, we drove down to attend orientation for admitted students. S went to workshops, registered for classes, the whole bit. All seemed fine, until well into the ride home when S nearly caused me to drive off the road. “I made a mistake,” he said. “I don’t want to go there.” Neither did he want to go to the in-state school. He was adamant. Now what?</p>
<p>Well, S got a job. For a year, he continued lessons with his private teacher. He played in a community orchestra. He enrolled at the local community college and took core courses at night. He saved money and did some more research. And he set his sights on a completely different school, a conservatory within a university. He auditioned, was accepted with a nice scholarship, and immersed himself in his surroundings. He transferred his core credits. Four years later, a very happy S graduated magna cum laude with a BM in performance. </p>
<p>Onto grad school, but not right away. The stress of senior recital, school performances, and finishing degree requirements took its toll and his auditions at the conservatories did not go well. S sought counsel from a professor, who told S to enroll in the certificate program at his alma mater for a year and to just play, don’t do any academic coursework. Good advice that paid off – he auditioned this spring and was accepted at a NY conservatory in their MM program, with a little money to boot. He couldn’t be more pleased. Will S make a career of music? Who knows? He is following what he feels is the right course, and I applaud his tenacity.</p>
<p>I share this saga to help ease the anxiety of both those kids feeling the pressure of having to make exactly the right choice, and those who ended up with not many schools to choose from. There are many routes to success, not just one. And sometimes the more meandering path will actually lead you closer to your desired destination."</p>
<p>Thanks, it’s 2011 and this post remains relevant and helpful! Keeping our fingers crossed for Oberlin this week!</p>