It’s common in conservatories that some in-demand instructors sit on multiple school faculties. I found an instructor who works at two schools, which one is D top reach, one is considering safe. I’m wondering when doing trial lesson or auditions, how to make it work with the same person who leads admissions decision at both schools? Will it cause any confusion and diminish a chance to get in the top school?
Others can correct me but I do not believe that trial lessons necessarily factor into admissions decisions. They are mostly for the student to get a sense of whether this is somebody they want to work with. Not all students can afford trial lessons so if it did play a role to be fair the school would have to make the trial lesson be part of the admissions process. But maybe in some situations it does. I imagine if a faculty taught an exceptional student who they enjoyed working with they could put in a word to the admissions committee, but I honestly do not know how often that happens or how much weight the admissions committee’s give to those recommendations.
My son had teachers who were on the faculty of both Berklee and NEC. In his case it worked well for him as it meant he sometimes went over to Berklee for his lesson and that allowed him to connect with Berklee folks. I imagine the reverse is true for Berklee students studying with faculty who might decide to walk over to NEC for their scheduled lesson.
I also want to say that the private lesson is just one small part (albeit in can be an important part) of the conservatory experience. Playing with peers in ensembles and groups and classes is also a huge part. And admissions officers are looking not just how the student will do working one on one with faculty in a private lesson but also how they will fit into the greater community at the conservatory. In other words, having a faculty who is at both schools should not impact your admissions.
Thanks @StacJip for sharing your experience!
I’m new to CC and starting to plan D’s music journey, so trial/sample lesson is new concept to us. D can do her best in music; for my part, I’m a copycat and trying to learn other parents experience from CC.
My concern is more about school admission and merit scholarship, and this question came up when I read CC threads (I can’t remember which ones and original words).
- Trial lesson: Admission committee will consider a student is serious about their school if took lesson in advance.
- Audition question: Faculties used to ask students if they applied for other schools during audition, which could weight how serious students to the school, and how secure if gave a student scholarship (as the teacher will lost the funding of that year if student ended in other school).
For our situation, D will meet the teacher twice at two schools if she made in final. Obviously, the teacher can’t offer or recommend D for scholarships at both school (in two cities). Therefore, I’m worry that D will get none in either school by the end. I don’t think we are only one will experience with it and hope to get some advices.
The teacher is one of the best (with a new graduate hold 2nd chair in major orchestra this year). It’s not necessary to take a trial lesson on our side.
Respectfully, I disagree–sometimes these visits are mini-auditions and can very much factor into admissions decisions. It depends on the process at the individual school. Some conservatories cede power of admission to studio teachers; others depend on a committee vote. And it can even vary in an institution depending on instrument/discipline. That said, I don’t think it will decrease chances of admissions if you apply for the same teacher in two different institutions. It’s normal to apply to multiple schools and to spread a wide net; the teacher will understand that and will interpret your student’s interest in his/her studio as interest in his/her teaching.
I don’t think this is obvious, or even true. I can think of multiple anecdotal examples from my own experience in which students were admitted to studios of a top teacher at two different conservatories in two different cities.
As for the “audition question”-- I think it’s less to gauge interest than to gauge how serious and competitive the student is. If the student answers with the names of six schools that are less competitive, it says one thing about her sense of self; if the student is auditioning at top programs, it says another.
Thanks @glassharmonica again for sharing your experience. I’m feeling a bit relieved to know students were admitted at two schools with the same teacher.
But I still have a little concern if the teacher would offer two merits for the same student. Obviously one scholarship will be waste (it could be used to attract another talent), since D can only accept one school offer.
I knew no one can predict it and all depend on schools, teachers, instruments and D talent. I still want to get more advices from CC valuable resource.
The process for assigning merit scholarships differs from school to school. It’s not usual for the teacher to be fully in control of awards. If you know for a fact that at those two schools the teacher has control over merit awards, I suppose that would be an issue. Likely, the teacher would simply award the merit scholarship to whichever institution he/she thinks is best placement.
@glassharmonica That’s convincing.
The reach school votes by committee. I assume the teacher could fully control awards at the safety school. I have time to find it out. Thanks.
PM me if you want–I may be able to be more specific.
@glassharmonica I’m willing PM you, but I’m a New member and haven’t reach 13 posts. Please initially PM me. Thanks in advance.
A “few” more general comment as @glassharmonica will be able to answer more specific questions.
1.) In general the faculty understands that you have to audition many places. I would guess that it would raise eyebrows if you ONLY auditioned one place. So do remember that the faculty does not live in a bubble that expects loyalty to one school. They get that students have to audition at many schools and answer the “why this school” question (while answering the same question enthusiastically at another school). They are looking for thoughtfulness in the search not loyalty to one school.
2.) Music admissions can be very helpful if you have questions about how to proceed with a school. You can call as a concerned parent (not even give your name) and ask ANY questions. You may or may not get the level of detail you want…but I would not hesitate to call with your concerns and see how they handle it. I would be surprised if your question has not already been asked by others. It is an expensive process…and if you have any hesitation about applying somewhere and getting merit dollars, it’s fine to pick up the phone and just explain your concerns and see what they say (most likely they will go into recruitment mode and encourage you and answer your questions as best they can).
3.) If there is genuine interest by the teacher, he or she may (or may not) start steering the student in a private lesson, audition (or follow-up) or with the money offered in the end. But I don’t think you can ASSUME that one initial money offer would exclude another. Getting the initial offer from a school “could” be based more on the institution’s process than solely a teacher’s opinion (and admissions may be able to help you understand this). The teacher may just be professionally quiet at that point about the other school and follow the process (recommending or not based on the institutions needs). If the teacher does have control over dollars, you would hope at some point that he or she would “do your kid a solid” and make some sort of comments to help you out (teachers are people too and often want to help young musicians). Bottom line there is no way to really know without engaging in the process and having faith the teacher will help your kid be successful in the process.
I just wanted to comment to the fact that the process does become a “back and forth dance” bx the institution (faculty) and your kid (you). Sometimes that’s not evident until you start engaging in the process. At first it may seem cold, distant and ominous but as you start engaging with each school/teachers, if there is interest, they really do make an attempt to communicate and help you out (in most cases…and if not maybe it’s the wrong school and teacher).
Thanks @bridgenail !
I would say your comments are too much! I mean Too Much for me to digest. Actually when read through, I was somehow in 2020, was in the role on my daughter behalf to bargain with different schools dollar-to-dollar.
I’ll definitely PM you someday, but not now (as too much).
Looks like I only need one more post, so I can Free PM @glassharmonica for specific question. Cheers,
Just adding some more info if that’s ok. In our experience my D was admitted to 3 conservatories and only one gave her the studio assignment at the time of admission. At the other two schools she had trial lessons with her #1 picks during audition week. She was admitted to both and offered merit awards before given the teacher assignment. She did wind up with her top choice at both schools after all but they did not have a say in the $. However, I will say that at her final choice school the teacher she had a lesson with told her on audition day that my D was “on her list” so that did, I feel, play into admissions.
The schools will expect you to apply to more than one school and if you are showing true interest in this teacher by putting them as #1 choice at both this will send a very clear message to the teacher that you are interested. A trial lesson will emphasize it further. This may play well into admissions. The thing NOT to do is pursue more than one teacher at each school. Of course you put 1st 2nd 3rd choice but if you play them all they will find out. And it makes you look like a “shopper”. This is advice from a retired violin professor who taught at two major music schools for decades.
Good advice, although not universally true. Some teachers won’t mind this, but some will and it’s best to be safe. That’s why earlier lessons at festivals and such can be beneficial if you are trying to figure out if a teacher is a good fit. When my daughter was looking for teachers at major conservatories (Juilliard, IU, CIM, etc.) she had lessons with multiple teachers at these places, and no one minded. When she did this at another conservatory, which I won’t name here, it backfired and the original teacher was offended.
I’m a rising high school senior in the PreCollege program (strings) of a top conservatory with questions related to the last few posts.
My 1st choice is to stay exactly where I am and continue with the teacher I’m working with, so I’m not having sample lessons with other faculty here. I’ve visited other conservatories, but I limited sample lessons to “one teacher per school” as mentioned above.
I’m wondering:
- Any advice for handling the 2nd, 3rd, 4th choices I’ll be asked to list? (I’ve met some instructors at festivals, and friends talk about their teachers, but it’s not enough to figure out who I’d personally be a good match with).
- Of the top conservatories, which rely more on an individual faculty member wanting you (versus a committee ranking)?
- I thought studio assignments always came with admission, because that’s been the experience of friends ahead of me. Is that unusual?
Studio assignments usually come with admission, but not at all conservatories. Things may have changed since my daughter applied a few years ago, so more recent applicants can correct me, but, for example, at IU, assignments are made closer to matriculation, although it is common for students and teachers to set assignments up in advance. As a reference anecdote, my daughter was admitted to IU after the first admission cycle and had lessons with several teachers during the spring (which meant one trip back to Bloomington and another to DC and another to NY, catching up with the teachers while they were on the road. We were completely open about this, and the teachers were fine with it, because they understood the process and were also juggling their own studios, waiting to see, for example, if AD students would graduate, and whether there would be openings. In any conservatory, it’s common that teachers don’t know how exactly how many openings they will have because it’s uncertain until later in the year whether some students will move on/graduate–that is why studio assignments can sometimes be unsettled, even at times of admission. Generally, you do know your teacher before accepting the school’s offer of admission, but sometimes it’s a leap of faith.
Thanks @glassharmonica for sharing this. There’s a lot in this process that varies so much, it’s hard to get a handle on it.
That’s why it’s probably wise to cast a wide net–there are so many moving parts. (Wow, I’m writing a lot of cliches this morning–but they’re true.)
@amidalas - in my daughter’s experience this past school year only CIM gave her the studio assignment with her letter of acceptance. NEC and Juilliard did not. For my daughter this was very difficult because who she wanted to study with was the most important part of her decision. The assignments at both schools came just a few days before the decision deadline. It was a hard wait but ultimately worth it. Some of her friends applying to the same schools got their teacher assignments very early on, but they were in other studios.
Regarding one faculty member vs. committee - we heard that Juilliard committee does not know who your choices are at the time of audition. Nothing stops you from contacting teachers beforehand, of course. NEC seems to work both ways, or however they please. haha. Not really sure. But the teacher my daughter contacted, who was #1 on her list, did tell her that day (she told her to come talk to her at their lunch break) that my daughter was “on her list” for consideration though no guarantees. I have no idea about CIM as we had the least amount of pre-audition communication with them, though my daughter had met her choice teacher at a summer institute.
So, that’s what happened to us. I’m sure all schools are different. We had the wonderful blessing of a mentor who is a retired conservatory teacher guiding us through teacher and school selection. His insight was very helpful, even down to what to or what not to wear! 
Best wishes for you on your journey!
. This is also my understanding, backed by anecdotal experience.
Thanks, @Violinmomaz and @glassharmonica - that is good to know, especially since those 3 conservatories are on my list. I am getting the sense that Juilliard’s process is one of the most formal, and NEC’s one of the most likely to vary by department.
@Violinmomaz, if you don’t mind sharing, what did your daughter’s mentor suggest about what to wear and not wear? (My assumption would be something conservative and all black is best; curious if she heard differently).