<p>what am i going to do?</p>
<p>you won’t exactly get the best responses by a pretty vague post like that…</p>
<p>in the event that you don’t get into any colleges…well your best chance is to apply to a community/local college and wait it out at least a semester or a full year and try again. or look at other pursuits, get a job, save up, practice more etc.</p>
<p>I feel for you. Our D applied to eight schools. only two acceptances, and three rejections so far with three more auditions to go. My advice is that if you get in to the acedemics, but not the music school, pick the best one and pursue a liberal arts degree and take the most music classes you can. There are many paths to the same end result - it just might not be as direct as you had hoped. Best of Luck!</p>
<p>This happened to me last year. I rode out two semesters at community college, and I’m trying again this year. But last year I was applying and auditioning as a prospective MuEd major; this year I’m a composition major.</p>
<p>Sorry if my post was too vague. I applied to around 8 or 9 schools and all of them are pretty high up there. i have done 2 auditions so far and i thought i could have done a way better job, so right now i am feeling i already got rejected by those 2. brightonpratts, at least your D got accepted to two! congratulations. i am just worried that my dreams will be crushed. i am glad there are others who feel the same!</p>
<p>I don’t mean to derail, but is it possible to not get accepted to the music school and get accepted to the school as a whole? Can you still attend? What do you get put under, as undecided? I’m probably mistaken, but I didn’t think it worked like that.</p>
<p>i honestly don’t know how that works either…but i know a friend who was accepted to USC and Indiana but did not get accepted to both music schools. i cannot picture myself NOT studying music, however…</p>
<p>Even if they all reject you, it’s not the end of the world, and it certainly does not mean you’ll never study music.</p>
<p>IF you don’t get into any, I would sit back and evaluate what you can do better next time around (if 9 schools reject you, I’d wager there is a good reason…do you get too nervous to play well? if so, I’d put myself out there and perform in front of audiences and have mock auditions as much as possible in the interim), possibly attend a community college to take some theory and sight-singing courses, and practice smart. In a semester or two, try again.</p>
<p>If you are worried about getting into such-and-such school by a certain age/graduating by a certain age, don’t be.</p>
<p>^Re: admission to the school but not the music program – it depends on the school. Sometimes it makes sense to dual apply to the regular school and the music school. Eg. my son applied to UMich LSA and Umich SOM just so that if he were rejected, he could still take some of the courses/studios and improve his portfolio for a second attempt. At UMich, you definitely need to apply to both if you want that option, because the academic screening for the school of music is not the same as academic admission.
At Jacobs, however, it is. So each school is different.</p>
<p>The prior discussions with lots of insights (and additional links). Open and read them all:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/897466-rejected-what-do-now.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/897466-rejected-what-do-now.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/878931-what-do-now.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/878931-what-do-now.html</a></p>
<p>It’s a bit too early in the process to lose hope. This is not an easy process.</p>
<p>appassionato: It is rare for high-end musicians to ever feel that they have done their best at auditions so I would stay positive. The audition panel usually have very perceptive ears and can hear the talent and potential and your hard work through any glitches that might occur. </p>
<p>Occasionally I hear people make comments about students needing a perfect audition to get into the best schools or that a memory lapse or wrong note will mean an automatic rejection. Such statements are utterly false and either the products of huge ignorance or malice. No one has ever given a perfect audition and countless people have either had memory lapses or played several wrong notes and still been accepted with large scholarships at the best schools.</p>
<p>A good audition is not the audition with an absence of errors or glitches. Rather the good audition is the one that has an abundance of good things happening: beautiful tone, control of the instrument, connection and communication with the audience, deep understanding of the musical structure and impulses etc… If you possess those things, they shine through even on a bad day, even through the obvious imperfections.</p>
<p>So, stay positive, keep preparing well, anticipating the best.</p>
<p>I just wanted to second violindad on the fact that auditions have no need to be perfect. They’re not looking for perfection!
I know a horn player who auditioned for the Chicago Symphony. He told us a story of this day…
At one point he messed up royally, and made the horn belch out this monstrous unbecoming sound, but he managed to recover and continue on. He was totally not expecting to get the chair, but as it turns out they selected him over 79 others for principle…he was far from perfect, but he allowed the music to continue on from this random mishap, which is a monumentally important skill.</p>
<p>I hear a lot of music performed at my school, some by world class pros who have been doing this for decades, and I’ve yet to hear a perfect performance. What I do hear is confidence, colour, and art. Don’t go before that panel striving for perfection. Make it a moment they can easily recall after listening to who knows how many other auditionees that day…make them stop jotting down notes or texting to just listen to you. Make the choice easy for them.
Don’t compare yourself to the other students, and love what you do.</p>
<p>Regarding acceptance to the college but not the music school/department: In some cases, the only music opportunity allowed would be auditioning for ensembles–no classes or lessons at all. So do check carefully, if that’s what happens.</p>
<p>I agree with sopranomom92 but would add: at some institutions you can’t audition for certain ensembles if you are not a music major in the music school–you need to check this too. Most schools will welcome auditions from non-music majors for at least some of their ensembles. Most schools will allow non-music majors to take at least some of the music classes, but not necessarily all. What schools are the most restrictive with is allowing non-music majors to take private lessons; because private lessons are expensive for the school, many will not allow non-music majors to take private lessons.</p>
<p>I am currently in the same position where I did not feel confident after my auditions and they were pretty much all reach schools. Just because two auditions may not have gone as you planned stay positive because this will effect your playing at other auditions. Keep in mind that the faculty look for students who have potential. I would recommend emailing some teachers, perhaps you could even add some back up schools that are alright with music but have good private teachers. Don’t give up on yourself. Just keep believing that you can do it and you will. After all you end up going to one school in the end.</p>
<p>Based on my experience with all this, most kids going through auditions seem to come out thinking they blew it, it didn’t go well, etc. Music students seem to be some of the most self critical people I have met, which given the level of music these days is not necessarily a bad thing.Also understand that like most things, it seems darkest when you are in the middle of it, the anxiety and everything is magnified. </p>
<p>I have heard a lot of the conventional wisdom surrounding auditions, how there are these cadres of ‘perfect’ kids auditioning, how there is X who won all these competitions and so forth, and therefore unless you are perfect you won’t get in, and a lot of that is frankly, myth in many cases. First of all, even the best players makes mistakes, they are human, and in many cases they probably make the same mistakes you did. More importantly, it is difficult to know what in fact the audition panel is looking for or what constitutes acceptance. From everything I can tell, it involves a lot of things, depending on the school and panel, and it could be that the ‘perfect’ auditionee doesn’t get accepted because they don’t show what the audition panel wants to see. Conversely, I have seen kids who in some ways weren’t the most ‘superior’ players, who got into high level programs and I would hazard a guess it was because they showed the kind of passion and love for the music, showed interpretive skills and unique expression that caught their eye…</p>
<p>If you don’t get in, it isn’t the end of the world. Others had some suggestions, and mine would be that if you don’t get in all the places you auditioned (which I suspect is unlikely, unless your teacher and yourself were totally clueless about the level you were at, which I suspect isn’t the case), then take a gap year to iron out the problems. While they generally don’t give feedback from what I have been told, you may be able to ask the admissions department if it would be possible to get some feedback, to see what the issues were. More importantly, you could try and get evaluations from teachers at the schools or an equivalent level, to see what they think, and then address the issues. </p>
<p>Plus also understand that you may simply have hit a bad year and there were few openings at the top schools and a ton of really incredible candidates. There are times when on a specific instrument few slots or any are open, and often that includes grad and undergrad applicants and it could be luck of the draw. </p>
<p>I wish you luck, hope you are flying high when the answers come back.</p>
<p>thank you for all of your precious advice. i will continue to try hard and hope for the best. it’s nice to know that there are others who feel the same!</p>
<p>I have the same concern for my son, any good ideas out there for a gap year in addition to studying and practicing while making money to try again. I know of someone at Interlochen for theater. My son is composition major.</p>
<p>that is probably what i will do IF i don’t get into any colleges that i would like to attend. don’t make up your mind so early now, i am sure your son is talented and will get into somewhere!</p>
<p>My son was in a similar situation a year ago. He was (relatively) new to comp, grades were <em>good</em>, but not <em>great</em>. But his SAT and ACT scores were excellent - couldn’t really have done better. He applied to Curtis (long shot), Temple/Boyer, MSM; Rutgers (Comp) and Drexel (Physics) as safeties. Curtis and MSM both said “thanks, but…”, Temple said yes/Boyer said “thanks, but…” as did Rutgers (Univ yes, Comp no) and Drexel said yes. Ouch. </p>
<p>He immediately contacted Boyer and asked if he could still be considered for a place as a BS Music, and could he apply to transfer to Comp as a soph. He could and was accepted. Yay! Despite some pressure otherwise (long, boring story), he chose Boyer. (He would have chosen Temple anyway, as a Physics major, I think.)</p>
<p>Busted his butt first term. Got involved in an on-campus composers’ group, took Comp (only frosh in class), worked with relevant profs. Mid-term, it was suggested to him that he reapply ASAP to the Comp program. He did. And was accepted. (I can tell you all that when he called me - at work - I immediately busted into tears, in front of a store full of customers. :D)</p>
<p>All that to tell both of you asking questions in this thread - do NOT lose hope! There are always options and opportunities - but it is up to you to make them. You may NOT be handed an easy path to your future. In fact, you probably won’t be. But if you want it badly enough - you will find a way to make it happen. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>