Hello everyone,
I applied to a number of conservatories, and just out of curiosity wondered which ones take need into consideration when admitting students.
Specifically, those on my list:
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory
Peabody Conservatory
Mannes
NYU
I applied 3 months after the deadline to bard college/conservatory…I didn’t even submit all the requirements, and I ended up wait-listed… now I understand that getting wait-listed when you don’t submit all requirements isn’t a bad result, but I wonder if the fact that I needed a large scholarship may have negatively impacted my chances of admission as well.
PM’ed you
In the vast majority of cases, admission to these conservatories is based on the strength of your audition relative to the rest of those who audition.
It’s very possible that your rejection at these schools had nothing to do with financial need at all.
Did you get accepted elsewhere?
I just read your other threads. You are looking at some joint programs with NEC, etc. as well as some strong music programs. I would strongly suggest you discuss private piano faculty with your private teacher(s). Also, you need to figure out what you need to do to improve your audition…you didn’t get accepted at the conservatory programs this year.
You also mention that your EFC is in the $1800 a year range, but your parents can contribute $15,000 a year. Are you sure? With a FAFSA EFC under $2000, their income is pretty low and $15,000 a year would be a large portion of their take home pay.
I am confused. I understand that you applied to Bard in the past, but are the applications to those other schools current or were you rejected last year?
It looks like he didnt get accepted to the music programs at any of these schools. @Lyoder2051 I hope you understand that you need to actually get accepted to Thornton at USC to get a music degree from Thornton. Same with Shepard School at Rice, and Northwestern, Eastman and all the others on your list. This requires an audition.
Please…you need to do some reflection…your audition will be THE key thing at these programs. It sounds like you really want to be a piano major…but to get there…you need to do a great audition.
Another option would be to get a Bachelors of Arts at a place that does not require an audition. But right now…your potential list of colleges are all audition based music programs.
The previous thread had suggested schools. Most of the schools on your current list are freestanding conservatories and won’t have much need-based aid. They may have modest merit aid. You originally wanted music schools that were part of a college or university, which can mean more chance of need-based aid.
You may be using the term need-aware to refer to admissions chances, not affordability. I can’t tell.
Need aware means that the schools consider ability to pay when they consider your admission. Honestly, I’m not sure most conservatories care. They want the best musicians in their programs. And as noted by @compmom not too many have much money anyway.
Sample of one…my kid got accepted undergrad to Peabody with a $7500 a year scholarship…we were told that was a large award for this school, and his instrument. He got accepted to NEC with $0 in scholarship money.
Have you already sent in your applications to these schools? If not…you may have missed the deadlines as many of these places are already scheduling auditions. Check for deadlines.
And read EACH site carefully. You missed the deadline for Bard Conservatory because you didn’t read that website carefully. You were lucky they granted you an extension, and allowed you to audition.
And frankly, I think if you get last the pre-screen and are offered an audition anywhere…you need to plan to show up in person.
I will echo the comments that conservatories are not need-aware and that most of the aid offered is merit aid. Getting accepted and paying for it are two different issues.
I just checked…and the application deadlines for Peabody, NEC, San Francisco, Rice Shepherd, Oberlin Conservatory, December 1. In my opinion, it is highly unlikely you will get an extension if you miss the application deadlines at these conservatories.
You still have time to apply to Northwestern and Lawrence.
Where else are you considering?
You need to check the deadline dates for all of the schools you are considering. All of them.
And check to make sure about exactly what applications are necessary for each school. Make sure you do what is needed. For example, at Oberlin, if you wanted to apply to the college for a degree, and to the Conservatory for a degree…you would need to be accepted by both.
Hello all sorry for the confusion. I have applied to all these schools, and have been neither accepted nor rejected. I am waiting for pre screen results and am wondering how the amount of money I can pay will have an effect on admissions. I applied to Bard last year, and was wait listed. I decided to take a gap year, saving my admission from USC (history major) as a back up option (its not preferable because of cost at this point, which is why I’m applying to Thornton to try to get a scholarship) at this point, knowing which music schools are or aren’t need aware wont change anything as I have already applied, so I am merely curious. I took a gap year, saved my top academic admission (USC) from last year, and am applying to a number of music schools this year. So when I say applied, I mean I applied in the past few days, and thus don’t know the results yet.
Thank you all for the advice; unfortunately my internet will be very sketchy the next few days, so though I will read any further responses, I may not be able to reply to them.
Ok…as I understand it…you accepted your offer of admission to USC but deferred enrollment for a year. Yo7 are now applying anew to Thornton in hopes that this will increase your financial aid? Is that correct? If so…don’t hold your breath.
With regard to the conservatories on your list…how do you plan to pay for these conservatories if you do get accepted? As noted by me, and others, they aren’t particularly generous with need based aid. Even merit aid is unpredictable and certainly won’t cover a $60,000 plus a year bill.
In my opinion, your finances won’t have any impact on your admission chances. So concentrate on having a A + audition in person at each school. That is your best chance to secure a music performance award.
Freestanding conservatories and NYU tend to be expensive. Would merit aid of $15-2k be helpful?
So basically, the answer to the original question is that elite conservatories in general are not need-aware. Need-awareness comes from a goal of increasing yield (the higher percentage of admitted students who matriculate, the higher the rating of the college of university.) But that is more of a consideration for academic universities, particularly those with lower endowments that can’t offer great aid packages like Ivies.
I’ll just chime in that full-meets-need programs are rarely, if ever, need blind. In other words, they cannot possibly admit a high percentage of high financial need students and still pay to keep the lights on; but such programs often have mission statements that reflect their values of educating talented and bright young people who would otherwise not have access to such an education. This should not dissuade the OP from applying to these programs! Just diversify…make sure you include talent and financial safeties in your list of programs.
As an applicant you really don’t care if a school is need aware or need blind. If you like the school, the NPC suggests it’s affordable, and it’s a good match for you, you should apply. Aware/blind just affects the chance of admission (up or down), and then usually only if you’re on the cusp.